Glow plug wire

[yfzracer450]

Hey everyone. I'm still learning but on my nitro rustler 2.5 it seems like it's melting the rubber around the glow plug wire where it actually goes onto the plug. This is actually the 2nd one but on the 1st one i replaced i was really new at it and i was running at a temp around 300 but i shut it off quick cause i noticed it was smoking at the head. The car seems to be running good other then it doesn't seem to like running with the body on in the grass cause for more then like 1/2 tank but here in Florida the temperature is 97° right now with a feels like 109° so it's hot and its running in the sun but if I put a temp gauge on it depending on where I point the laser I get like around 230-250 with the body on after running a few laps up and down the backyard. With the body off it was doing really good and got temps around like 215- 230 Also my backyard isnt very big so maybe i just dont have enough room I know traxxas runs hot. It pulls wheelies in the grass with full throttle and has plenty of smoke at wot. Am I just being paranoid? The plug is still shiny. It's not black or anything and what little bit of the top of the piston I can see it looks like a nice golden brown. With it being so hott here should I get an aftermarket cooling head. Will that help?

 

[Littlemotor]

Is the body vented? How tall is your grass? Grass in general puts a helluva load on a nitro vehicle, and is less than ideal.. you’re right-215-230 is where that little trx mill wants to be. 300 will ruin it QUICK..

 

[yfzracer450]

Is the body vented? How tall is your grass? Grass in general puts a helluva load on a nitro vehicle, and is less than ideal.. you’re right-215-230 is where that little trx mill wants to be. 300 will ruin it QUICK..

Yes I cut a hole in like the windshield to get airflow going thru but maybe I need more? And the grass isn't tall tall I just actually mowed it this afternoon. So I would be better off staying out the grass and going somewhere that's like dirt or even like the soccer field cause it's very short grass.

 

[Littlemotor]

Yes I cut a hole in like the windshield to get airflow going thru but maybe I need more? And the grass isn't tall tall I just actually mowed it this afternoon. So I would be better off staying out the grass and going somewhere that's like dirt or even like the soccer field cause it's very short grass.

View attachment 195141

Yes, correct. Unless the grass is literally putting green height, it’s a TON of rolling resistance.. I’m assuming there’s another hole for the air to leave the cab as well, yes? Still-at 300deg, I’d be willing to bet it’s on the lean side of things.. If not, there’s about got to be some other resistance or issue within the vehicle itself-overgeared, bearings, driveline, mesh too tight, dragging clutch shoe, or the like. If I run on grass with my stuff, I can expect about a 20deg increase over dirt due entirely to rolling resistance. But NOT 50-70deg.. all things considered I’d say it’s likely lean.

 

[yfzracer450]

Yes, correct. Unless the grass is literally putting green height, it’s a TON of rolling resistance.. I’m assuming there’s another hole for the air to leave the cab as well, yes? Still-at 300deg, I’d be willing to bet it’s on the lean side of things.. If not, there’s about got to be some other resistance or issue within the vehicle itself-overgeared, bearings, driveline, mesh too tight, dragging clutch shoe, or the like. If I run on grass with my stuff, I can expect about a 20deg increase over dirt due entirely to rolling resistance. But NOT 50-70deg.. all things considered I’d say it’s likely lean.

No it's not running at 300 anymore. That was way before when I 1st got the car. Like over a yr ago now. Now I've replaced the carb with an os and I get temps with the body on in grass around 240ish with it off its a bit lower but I noticed like a little smoke coming from the head like it was melting the rubber. But I also spilled a little oil there and it got some grass down in it. Before when it was really hot it was smoking A LOT now it was just a little but temperatures were still good. Should I be concerned about the plug wire? It's almost like it's dry rotted as well and breaking apart. And the other vent is the factory hole in the back of the body but I have the air filter turned up so it's basically sticking out of the hole

 

[Littlemotor]

No it's not running at 300 anymore. That was way before when I 1st got the car. Like over a yr ago now. Now I've replaced the carb with an os and I get temps with the body on in grass around 240ish with it off its a bit lower but I noticed like a little smoke coming from the head like it was melting the rubber. But I also spilled a little oil there and it got some grass down in it. Before when it was really hot it was smoking A LOT now it was just a little but temperatures were still good. Should I be concerned about the plug wire? It's almost like it's dry rotted as well and breaking apart. And the other vent is the factory hole in the back of the body but I have the air filter turned up so it's basically sticking out of the hole

Oh I gotcha-good deal. Nah-you’re in pretty good shape then. I had an old Revo 3.3 in like 2004, and the insulation around the wire doesn’t last long as it just can’t take the normal heat from the motor, so I wouldn’t worry about it. When mine finally gave up the ghost, I moved on to a standard hand held ignitor. That oil was probably burning off regarding the instance you’re touching on.

 

[yfzracer450]

Thank you. I feel relieved lol I'm just paranoid about keeping my rc car running as long as possible. If I get rid of the igniter wire and use a handheld igniter can I still use the ez-start?

 

[Littlemotor]

Thank you. I feel relieved lol I'm just paranoid about keeping my rc car running as long as possible. If I get rid of the igniter wire and use a handheld igniter can I still use the ez-start?

That protective sleeve is just some low dollar silicone. -and silicone has a shelf life for sure. It’s consumable, just like fuel tubing. It puts up with chemicals better than most anything else it could’ve been made from, but eventually it hardens up (from heat cycles, and chemicals), and gets hard. I replace my fuel line once or twice a year habitually so that I’m not chasing air leaks, or leaking fuel.

 

[Lostinthewoods86]

Thank you. I feel relieved lol I'm just paranoid about keeping my rc car running as long as possible. If I get rid of the igniter wire and use a handheld igniter can I still use the ez-start?

Yes you can use the ez start still to spin the motor over with the hand igniter for the glow plug

 

[easy rider]

In your climate, with running in grass, you are as good as it gets. What fuel are you running? I’m guessing it’s got a lot of oil in it.

 

[yfzracer450]

In your climate, with running in grass, you are as good as it gets. What fuel are you running? I’m guessing it’s got a lot of oil in it.

I'm running the sidewinder backyard basher 20%/16%

 

[TeknoJ]

I'm running the sidewinder backyard basher 20%/16%

That’s not a lot of oil but it’s probably slightly more than you need. Try the sidewinder that is the racer/off-road blend. It’s about 12% oil. Fuel cools, and less oil is carried easier. More oil gives you a tight tuning window.
If your breaking in the motor, more oil is good, once you are just running it, well back off the oil. 10-12% oil is plenty.

 

[easy rider]

The oil content is why it’s so cool. Try other fuels but when that oil content drops, the heat is going to increase. I like cool.

 

[tudordewolf]

The oil content is why it’s so cool. Try other fuels but when that oil content drops, the heat is going to increase. I like cool.

You can reach a point where too much oil makes it tune poorly, and then people run their engines too lean & have to spend more time at WOT trying to get power, running their engine harder & hotter while getting less satisfactory results. This is a lot of people's experience with the Traxxas brand fuel blends.

The high-oil content fuels are meant to give you some "padding" so you don't fry your engine the first time you run it lean, but experienced racers will run much lower oil contents, sometimes _half_ as much as backyard basher, and not damage their engines even though they're running them as hard and fast as possible, and it's because they're tuned right.

 

[Littlemotor]

I run a whopping 9% oil in my 30%, and my engines last over 15gal..

 

[easy rider]

You can reach a point where too much oil makes it tune poorly, and then people run their engines too lean & have to spend more time at WOT trying to get power, running their engine harder & hotter while getting less satisfactory results. This is a lot of people's experience with the Traxxas brand fuel blends.

The high-oil content fuels are meant to give you some "padding" so you don't fry your engine the first time you run it lean, but experienced racers will run much lower oil contents, sometimes _half_ as much as backyard basher, and not damage their engines even though they're running them as hard and fast as possible, and it's because they're tuned right.

I understand and agree with it. But, there’s zero denying if you are running in grass in hot and humid Florida, and only achieving 240 degrees, it’s because the fuel has a lot of oil in it. There’s no denying that just like there’s no denying the problems to much oil can cause.


It’s good to have options. Including 16% oil for guys like me that run in grass a lot with a MT nitro when it’s 90 degrees and humid.