General Nitro Questions

[gillbot]

I've run electrics for a while, not racing pro but just for fun. I do very little maintenance other than cleaning, etc. No comm cuts or anything. I've always shyed away from nitro because of everyone telling me it's way too much maintenance, even moreso than an electric.

I'd like to get a LOW cost nitro car just for fun, what is a good CHEAP car to try out and what are these horrible maintenance practices that need completed? :shrug:

 

[olds97_lss]

Car or offroad? There's a significant difference. Offroad, there's obviously more dirt to contend with.

 

[jetmechG550]

I'd second what olds has to say. Once you narrow it down to on or off road then we can start to throw some ideas out there for ya

 

[4u2nv]

A "decent low end" is probably going to be a duratrax something. But you really do get what you pay for. Just be sure to shy away from the no names, and the Smartechs. There junk. If you wanted to spend a little more (What Id do) Id suggest a Savage or a revo if your going the MT route, or a Rs4 or Tc3 if your going on road.But Duratrax are pretty cheap, and seem to be not so bad, but again Id hold out and spend a little more and get something better and more dependable.

 

[gillbot]

I have both offroad and onroad electrics now so it could go either way. I seem to favor the onroad stuff a little more though. I currently have an electric TC3 and I run that 95+% of the time and my offroad stuff is gathering dust sitting on a shelf.

I just don't want to shell out $300 plus on a car I might not like.

 

[fisherman]

Well it sounds like you need to go the onroad rout but I'm an off road guy so someone else will have to help you. after learning and all nitro isnt really that hard you just have to take your time. if you have any friends with nitros then ask if you can drive them and if they can share a little info on the basics about them. Or you could go to the hobby shop and test one or if they wolnt let you just pump them for info on them. Or if neither of those work for ya then just leark around the onroad nitro and general nitro forum and see if you know what parts ppl are tlakin about and if you dont then ask what it is and how it works.

 

[AC48]

Duratrax Street Force GP2 would be a cheap nitro onroad.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXEHW8**&P=ML

Not the best out there, if your willing to spend a bit more HPI RS4 3 Evo would be a good choice.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXKKW4&P=7

 

[SMaxxin]

Seems like you really like the TC3 so try a nitro one

 

[Diver6127]

I've run electrics for a while, not racing pro but just for fun. I do very little maintenance other than cleaning, etc. No comm cuts or anything. I've always shyed away from nitro because of everyone telling me it's way too much maintenance, even moreso than an electric.

I'd like to get a LOW cost nitro car just for fun, what is a good CHEAP car to try out and what are these horrible maintenance practices that need completed? :shrug:

Other than the cleaning issue, what other maintenance issue is there? Offroad or onroad, the car needs to be broken down for a complete cleaning. Bearings need to be checked (as with electrics also). The engine needs to be clean, glowplug checked and aro used when storing and/or end of day use. (this is a personal preferrence but I do it every use).

The only thing that needs to be done to a nitro that canbe a royal pain is tuning her. Especially when using a pullstart. She won't wantto turn over when the tuning is bad. If you use a rotostart, starter box or other sort of motorized starter method, it's not so bad. You're not sweating trying to get her started.

This is the only issue that all nitro modelers have had every once in a while. Cleaning is something every hobbyist needs to do so that's not an issue.

 

[aj200415]

i think you should go wit smartech.everbody said it sucks but they never owned one. i had one and it was one of the best. i only had to replace the muffler cause i hit a mailbox at full speed! they are round $180. They are a good low cost nitro car.Also, people say they are hard to find parts for, but u can get them all at excelhobby.com

 

[greenwing7]

smartechs are JUNK i have one and wouldn't piss on it if it was on FIRE I would rather let it burn!

 

[aj200415]

smartechs are JUNK i have one and wouldn't piss on it if it was on FIRE I would rather let it burn!

well u can go fiddlesticks yourself and your burnen smartech u basterd

 

[greenwing7]

i guess the truth hurts sometimes?

I'll sell it to you no problem you want it its yours!

 

[aj200415]

i guess the truth hurts sometimes?

I'll sell it to you no problem you want it its yours!

i was messen wit u, some people hate em, i like em, every one has there own opinion. i dont care if u hate or not.

 

[CorradoPsi]

go HERE and buy an associated refurb, they carry the same warrenty that the normal cars do and you can save about $100 on them. pick up either a rc10gt plus or a NTC3 plus package. cheap easy way to find out if nitro is for you.

 

[greenwing7]

OH MAN I AS FREAKIN OUT! I thought some one was genuinely PISSED off at me the only problem I really have had with it is getting parts, and the fact that now that the 2-speed transmission gears are stripped I have to buy an entirely new tranny for like 50 dollars! thats absurd!

 

[gillbot]

I was lookin at the smartechs but they seemed a little cheezy. Price was nice though.

I think if I can't find anyone that has one locally, I'll probably go for a NTC3 and see how I like that. I was just concerned because of all the "cloud of mystery" surrounding nitro cars and people stating the maintenance was too much.

 

[retarded pilot]

maitenance isnt really that bad on nitro's, other than a little more cleaning than electric
you just have to read up on the tuning aspect do your homework on how to tune a nitro engine before auctualy touch one ...i guess you just have to ask yourself if your a paitiont person who can take a step back and evaluate why your car is acting the way it is or if your more prone to throwing it aginst a wall and makeing a post here like *my f*&^ing car wont run again I'm going to smash it with a hammer LOL ...btw i think a nitro tc3 would be a perfect car for you you already know the general layout and how to fix it

 

[olds97_lss]

I was just concerned because of all the "cloud of mystery" surrounding nitro cars and people stating the maintenance was too much.

I guess it also depends on what to much is. Pretty much the only extra components you have on nitro is one more servo (throttle/brake servo instead of ESC), mechanical brakes, engine and flywheel clutch.

Electric motors have to be maintained as well. From what I've read, to keep top performance on a motor, you have to cut the comm's, deal with the brushes and springs every 20-30 runs or so.

For a nitro rig, you can get about 7+ gallons out of an engine before it needs a new piston/sleeve or pinch.

With a 75cc tank (NTC3), that's about 50 tanks (or 50 runs) at roughly 8-10 minutes per tank for 1 gallon of fuel.

Depending on the clutch you run on the engine, you may have to take it apart and re-rough the shoes about once a gallon. I run MT's and that's about how often I do it. About every 3 gallons, I replace the clutch bell bearings. I've been running the same shoes on my savage for 8+ gallons or so.

Other than the nitro mess that comes out of the exhaust, glow plugs and clutch maintenence, there is still all the other stuff you have to maintain on both electric or Nitro. CVD's, bearings, bushings, ball cups...

The other bonus of nitro is that you don't have to wait for your Engine to cool off before running it again. At least after you do the break in process. You can run it all day long or until you run out of replacement parts from smashing into stuff.

 

[redhatman]

I have both offroad and onroad electrics now so it could go either way. I seem to favor the onroad stuff a little more though. I currently have an electric TC3 and I run that 95+% of the time and my offroad stuff is gathering dust sitting on a shelf.

Hey Gillbot, I would recommend getting a buggy. They go very fast (not as fast as an on-road car, but faster than offroad) This way, if you are driving at high speeds on your neighborhood streets, and you loose control...you just go right up into the grass without damage.

If you were to get an on-road car and you had the same situation, then you would most likely hit the curb, do some flips, and end up with some body damage and some engine damage.

Here is a good 4wd buggy.

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0161p?&I=LZ1305

It is a Ofna 1/8 9.5 MBX Buggy RTR w/Fail Safe. It is $474.99, but it comes with everything that you need except fuel.
It also has a .25 engine. Which is one of the higher end engines.