I have no idea what I'm doing

[IdriveSlideways]

Hello all. This is my first post so forgive my noobishness. I just picked up my first nitro powered RC yesterday. I'm not new to the hobby by any means but nitro engines are uncharted territory for me as of now.

So now that I've gotten my greetings out of the way, onto my problem.

I got the Redcat Racing Tornado S30 with .18 engine. No matter what I do I cannot get the damn thing tuned. When I can get it to run, it basically runs at WOT and I have to kill it before it runs away from me. I've tried adjusting the idle screw. The carb has the 1mm opening its supposed to have but still runs like I've got the throttle pinned. I've adjusted the high speed needle. I've tried adjusting the low speed needle all to no avail. My LHS wants to charge me 60 dollars to tune it for me and I don't want to pay that much when I can just do it myself. I'm extremely frustrated and just want to drive the damn thing. If anyone could offer some knowledge it would be greatly appreciated.

One thing I forgot to mention was the engine was properly broken in by the guy who bought it new. I know this because he's a good friend of mine but is on active deployment in the armed forces so I can't go to him for help.

Anyways, thanks for the help in advance. I look forward to learning what knowledge you guys have to offer.

 

[Rooky78]

I would seal it up. Use some Ultra Copper RTV from your local auto parts store. Then read this thread a few times.
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/threads/rc-nitro-engine-performance-tuning.102688/

And welcome to RCNT!

 

[IdriveSlideways]

I would seal it up. Use some Ultra Copper RTV from your local auto parts store. Then read this thread a few times.
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/threads/rc-nitro-engine-performance-tuning.102688/

And welcome to RCNT!

Alright I'll give that a shot. Thanks man.

 

[DerekPike]

Welcome to the forum. As I'm pretty new myself, I can't offer much advice. But I can tell you that you are in the right place. Someone will comment shortly with an answer that should help.

 

[Rolex]

Here's a thread that you should find pretty helpful. Post #5 gives some excellent info on how to seal an engine.
https://www.rcnitrotalk.com/forum/threads/nitro-tuning-tips-and-tuning-flow-chart.60832/

 

[olds97_lss]

With the radio/receiver on and the air filter off, is the throttle still at idle or does it move when you apply brake? It shouldn't move when you apply the brakes. When at "neutral", the throttle slide should be resting on the idle set screw so that when brake is applied, the throttle doesn't move and kill the engine. But if the linkage is a bit off, it may be holding the throttle open on you when the transmitter is at "neutral".

 

[griff7373]

Was the engine broken in? Just want to make sure you are not jumping straight to trying to tune a new engine.

 

[IdriveSlideways]

Was the engine broken in? Just want to make sure you are not jumping straight to trying to tune a new engine.

Yes it was properly broken in.

Well I figured it out guys. I got it tuned and now she's purring like a kitten. I got one good tank of fuel run through it without any issues. Thanks for all the help guys. You guys are awesome.

 

[GAJ]

What was the issue?
Share so that others can learn.

 

[cbaker65]

What was the issue?
Share so that others can learn.

Too late ,he's already gone having fun!....LOL

 

[IdriveSlideways]

What was the issue?
Share so that others can learn.

I couldn't get the engine tuned to save my life. It was running WAAAYYYY too lean which was causing it to idle very high and in turn made it try to run away a few times. But a few knowledgeable guys on here pointed me in the right direction and posted some helpful links on how to properly tune and diagnose the issues I was having. But as I mentioned before, I resolved my issue and now my buggy runs like a scalded ape.

 

[BurningRain]

As a new member I'd not ventured through much of the forum and the links given in this thread look very useful.

Glad you got yours up and running IdriveSlideways! mine hasn't moved yet

 

[IdriveSlideways]

As a new member I'd not ventured through much of the forum and the links given in this thread look very useful.

Glad you got yours up and running IdriveSlideways! mine hasn't moved yet

Yeah so am I. There where a few moments I thought I was gonna loose my patience and give up but I got it done. I also figured out the reason it was trying to idle really high was because my throttle trim was way off which was making it extremely difficult to tune. *facepalm*

 

[BurningRain]

Well mine moved under it's own steam today too

I also had to use the throttle trim a couple of times.

 

[Rooky78]

Yeah so am I. There where a few moments I thought I was gonna loose my patience and give up but I got it done. I also figured out the reason it was trying to idle really high was because my throttle trim was way off which was making it extremely difficult to tune. *facepalm*

I love the facepalm fixes. Makes you feel like an utter and complete booger pickin moron. And then you feel better because you figured it out all on your own. Then you feel even worse that it took you so long to look at the simple stuff. Lmao I do it all the time.

 

[cbaker65]

Lol...Its the small stuff that gets people ,an some of it doesn't have nothing to do with a tune.
Their tune could be almost there until they blame it ,when its the throttle trim ,then they
go back an start screwing with their carb settings....LOL

That's why I tell folks to check the other things first!...

 

[IdriveSlideways]

As I learn more about nitro engines and the way they work, I'll start to be able to fix problems by process of elimination.

 

[DerekPike]

Yeah so am I. There where a few moments I thought I was gonna loose my patience and give up but I got it done. I also figured out the reason it was trying to idle really high was because my throttle trim was way off which was making it extremely difficult to tune. *facepalm*

I'm not sure what the trim does on the controllers, so I would have fallen into the same trap.

 

[ninnon]

Remember to come back if you want any other help Read the tuning guides and beginners guide thoroughly. They can be found on this forum