General questions from a newbie

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Morpheus

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Beaumont, Tx
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
I just bought my first Nitro Truck yesterday, the T-Maxx 2.5 and I'm curious about some things. The salesman broke the truck in for me using the method shown on the DVD. Used 5 tanks, did the 1/4, 1/2 throttle, etc. He did some basic tuning, and said he would fine tune it after I run several tanks through it for no charge of course! Now I plan to do my own tuning eventually after I get used to it. Anyway, yesterday as I was playing with it, it died probably 3 different times when there was fuel in the tank. Is this normal for the first couple of hours? After the third time it died, I checked the glow plug, and sure enough it was gone. The salesman gave me a free one, said I would probably need it before he fine tuned it. Anyway, would a glow plug going bad cause it to die?? I'm only assuming it would since it fires the cylinder. Also, I noticed it was a little sluggish after about 20 or so minutes of playing with it, checked the glow plug again, and it was fine. I let it cool off for a few, and it ran great after that, started popping wheelies again. Do you think this sluggishness is from getting hot, or rather a tuning issue? I don't have a temp checker yet, but I'll get my hands on one in another day or so. Last but not least, the storage maintenance issue....when I put the vehicle up for a day or two, is it really necessary to take the glow plug out after all the fuel in the carbs are used up, and put WD-40 in the cylinder, or is that technique used when the vehicle is put away for several days or more??? Sorry for all the questions, just want to take care of my investment. Thanks

T.
 
Sounds like your running it too lean for where your driving it. Or just too lean in general.

Did your LHS guy happen to tell you there's a temp gun he can sell you?

Once you get it running for a bit, put a drop of water or spit on the top of the head and watch it. If it sizzles and jumps around or off, then it's running really hot. If it just sits there and doesn't do anything, then it's too rich. If it evaporates at a more normal speed, then it's probably ok.

My guess is though is that your running too hot and it probably needs richened up a bit. Running too hot will blow out plugs frequently which in turn can damage the engine if the filament in the plug ends up going through the engine. Will make some nice gouges in the sides of the piston which will affect the seal/compression and performance.
 
Yeah, I think it's running hot myself, just seemed so. And of course when I changed out the glow plug, I made a newbie mistake and grabbed the heat sink on the head like a dumb a@@ and burned the heck out myself! Please tell me I'm not the first person here to do that?!? I laugh about it now, just wasn't thinking at the time. I wasn't thinking about overheating when I was playing with it yesterday, but after reading a few threads here, it seemed that's what it was. I'm gonna give a go around tomorrow for a few rounds before I go into work, and keep an eye on the temp. I'll bring it back to the LHS, and let the guy tune it for me. What about the maintenance after run time? Is it really necessary to oil the cylinder if it sits up a few days? Say 2 or 3? I can see a week, but every time I let it sit up? I will if its necessary, what's yall's word on that? Thanks in advance.

T.
 
Yeah I would get a few glow plugs and it's definetely running too hot. Temp guns are sweet tools to have but make sure you memorize the traxxas tuning instructions. All you want the temp gun for is to make sure it's not too hot or cold. Temps will vary depending on how hard you beat it. Too much full throttle on grass (for example) will heat up a well tuned engine to 300 no problem.....take it easy on blacktop it'll cool considerably.
 
Tuning will take some getting used to, but it is fun. As far as putting it away goes, all I do is remove the filter from the carb and give it a shot of WD-40, then spin the eng over with the starter. Do that a few times and it will coat the internals of the eng to protect them from moisture/high humidity in the air. Make sure first the fuel is out of the lines. This is what I do and it seems to make starting it the next time easier. Welcome to the hobby!
 
Yeah man welcome, hope you learn some things and don't give up on nitro it is a blast. You have to like tinkering with things, I do more of that than anything!! But it's all fun. Another good idea is when you shut off your motor unhook the fuel line and attach it where the exhaust line goes on the tank. This eliminates the possibility of flooding the engine when you carry it with fuel in the tank. Then try to fire up your engine 2 or 3 times, it should start and die. You want to burn off whatever fuel you can before you use the wd-40. Just don't try to rev it. Also if it's HOT and DRY out you don't need to do the wd-40 unless it's going to sit more than a day.
 
Awesome! Thanks for the info guys! I did get a chance to take it back to the shop earlier today before I went into work. It was idling way too high, and it was bucking forward when sitting still. I trimmed on the idle screw a little, but it was backing just about all the way out and still not idling down. I didn't realize there were two screws for setting the idle speed until the LHS guy showed me. Lesson learned. I'm just glad he's not charging me. I've been up there three times already for various reasons. He also tuned it for me, and gave me my second gear. After watching me for a few min in the parking lot he thought I was handling it pretty well, so he went ahead and adjusted that screw in the tranny, and man what a difference once that thing hits second!!! I have rolled it over a few times just from doing wheelies, it just kills me to watch it roll completely upside down from the torque of that thing! These things are just amazing!! I can't imagine what a 3.3 would do in terms of power. That'll come in time though, I can see it already!! I'm gonna go ahead and get a wheelie bar next trip to the shop, just to keep her tamed!!:hehe: I'm ready to actually do some off roading though. The neighborhood streets are starting to get boring. A few miles from my Mother In Laws house is a retired motor-cross track (its been leveled out of course) but it has plenty of dirt, and I don't think it's posted with no trespassing signs, so I'm gonna pay her a visit in a few days, and see what kinda of damage I can do in some dirt!! I'm ready to see it fly. Anyway, I'll keep yall posted with any other questions I may get in a day or so. Thanks again!

T.
 

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