Is it really worth it?

[Tim Elliott]

Hey guys I'm new to this and having some trouble. Ok so me and my stupid self go out and buy a nitro. I bought the thing from 2 imbeciles at the hobby shop :wedgie:and they didn’t know the wing from a spring. Then I got it home and read the instructions and come to find out I need a glo plug igniter. So I go back and get it, bring it home, look at the instructions and I need to charge it. The next day I get the thing started and it’s a pain to get the body back on. So I drive it around for about 5 minutes flip it over and it cuts off. I take the body off and start it. Well not exactly. I pulled the cord and it broke. After further examination I saw that It was burned. So I take the engine off remove the starter and work on it for a while and I can't get it to pull back in so I pull the spring out and that was the end of that. So I’m sitting here wondering if it’s really worth it. The car is fun to drive even in the break in period. I want to continue to own a nitro rc car but I also want to drive it. If it’s going to be 97% work and 3% play I’m not that interested. Don’t get me wrong though I love to work on it but am I going to drive for an hour and work for 2 weeks or will I actually get to drive some. Also I want to know does every one start out so hard or is this normal for every one to start out on the wrong foot:\


P.S. any helpful information would be nice (please)!

 

[chelseafc385]

If you want a lot more time to use an RC without having to re-fuel and tune and all of that stuff, i would say go electric. Its cheaper in the long run and it also wont annoy the neighbors. Electrics are faster than nitro aswell, so if you ever wanted a big topspeed electric is the way to go, dont get me wrong, nitros are still fast.

 

[Cyclop3000]

I love nitro and gas RC, and hate electric. So I am biased...but anyways, I also started in nitro without knowing anything about nitro rigs, and I also had to learn the hard way.

Parts do break, it is sometimes hard to tune, but in my experience, and even with my first nitro, it was more like 80% play, 20% fix/cleanup. Otherwise I also would have dropped it long ago LOL

I don't know what your first rig is, but a pull start should not break that fast. I used my stock engine on my savage for years, without it ever breaking. So it might depend on the quality of the product you bought, or might just be a fluke.

All this to say give yourself some time, finish the break in period and re-evaluate. Take your time, and choose the terrain you roll on...if you don't like cleaning up your rig, then avoid water puddles, and mud patches! Stick to tarmac and roads, and you will have much less "taking care of" to do. Like to jump over things? Well that WILL break parts and force you to take the truck apart and fix it. It's all about the way you use it, if you're reasonable, it's a great hobby.

My 2 cents

 

[beason]

my question is, what rig did you buy? sounds like you got a dud..

 

[Candyman]

WElcome to the hobby. And that's not meant to be snide. Nitro is finicky especially at first. I always recommend to take it slow. One concept at a time. Spend a lot of time reading your manual. Read this forum. Gather as much info as you can as you go along. Don't be afraid to ask questions. It's not easy at the beginning. I think most of us had a difficult time with our first nitro. I know I had no clue how to tune it right. No clue how to maintain it. Each time I ran it, I learned something new. Yeah, it's frustrating. Breaking pieces in unexpected ways. On the upside, it teaches you how the rig is made and how to repair most everything.

Just be patient. Take it slow. Learn as you go. Frustrations will come. But no, it's not 97% wrenching and 3% driving. At least it won't be after you get more experience.

 

[Crunkvilletx]

I'm on my first nitro car and I drive mine a lot! I read stuff forever and now I can fix pretty much anything on mine. But u can't just drive super crazy or of course your going to break stuff. Especially when your just breaking one in.

 

[NCNitro]

Candymans's advice is excellent. Take your time, read the manual, then read it again, don't try to rush it. I almost gave up on nitro when I got my first one many years ago, I asked myself the same questions you are asking. Did I just waste $350, wtf was I thinking, I hate this friggin thing. But once I got the hang of it, there was no going back, I was and still am a full blown addict! We have a lot of guys here that are more than willing to help you with any questions. Ignore the ones that constantly badmouth nitro, they are the ones that gave up Hang in there, you'll get. BTW what car did you buy?

 

[mxracer]

If you don't like the idea of the pull start, you can buy R/Cs that have electric start, if you don't like that there is a thing called a starter box (i think) that goes on the bottom of the engine to start it!!

 

[Crunkvilletx]

Just replace the backplate and get a roto start untill you break it in good then switch back to pull start it will be a lot easier

 

[auhutchi]

i'm not sure of your rig, but I've only had a nitro for about 3 months. I've got the revo 3.3. All nitro cars are a pain to keep tuned. I have driven a lot of different ones that my buddies have. Anyways back on topic, what i did was stock every part i could find for spares. If your getting spares try ebay. Usually you can find stuff way cheap. For me this Hobby is 50% money for parts, fuel, battery's, 30% fun, 20% work, tuning, and getting the car when you flip it 100 yards away. I've noticed my revo seems to hold up 100% better than my friends cars do. So before investing a couple grand in parts consider another car, believe me parts add up fast, in 3 months for my revo and my rock crawler I've spent 2 grand. Also you may be burning up because your fuel mixture is too lean. Richen it up, if you don't know how read your manual.
- I don't suggest buying stuff from that hobby shop,

 

[MotoGod]

Ditto for me when I first started. Heck I think my "HELP ME!" posts are still on the boards from a few months ago when I bought my first Duratrax Warhead. You WILL learn. Just read up on the boards.....take a look at how the truck is all put together...and how it works. It gets easier. It really does! Now I hate electric and love my Nitro!

 

[solly69]

I have only had my nitro for about 3 weeks now and let me tell you tyhe 1st week was so frustarating that i nearly threw it in the bin and went and get a electric BUT with a little help from my Dad and ALOT of reading on this site i managed to get through and now i love nitro... i myself only brough a cheap car so i proberly do a little more maintance that everybody else but once u know what your doing its half the fun

I still ask questions on this forum that some of the more expeirenced members thing omg is he seriouse but there still willing to lend a hand and get my nitro running again

Its a great way to go just stick with it and ull get running again soon and constantly

 

[Cyclop3000]

in 3 months for my revo and my rock crawler I've spent 2 grand.

What the heck do you do with these RC trucks, go to work on them??? Hell I've never spent that much on a truck, and had to rebuild my Savage with a new engine et all. 2 grand on a nitro is way out of proportions....

 

[ThunderTiger]

What the heck do you do with these RC trucks, go to work on them??? Hell I've never spent that much on a truck, and had to rebuild my Savage with a new engine et all. 2 grand on a nitro is way out of proportions....

I think he means the combined total on both rigs. Then again, i could be wrong.

 

[auhutchi]

What the heck do you do with these RC trucks, go to work on them??? Hell I've never spent that much on a truck, and had to rebuild my Savage with a new engine et all. 2 grand on a nitro is way out of proportions....

I bought a revo and spent about 400 dollars on parts and fuel,i run for usually about 2-4 hours every couple of days. My crawler i bought from as a artr kit. After all the electronics I've put into it, LiPo battery's, chargers, Ultra torque servos, speed control, few upgrades and radio gear is about1,500 to 2, 000. I think these are about right, I bought about 5 gallons of fuel, and stocked a bunch of parts for my revo and all of my electronics for my crawler was on one reciept, overall it was like 2,100 dollars, I guess i shouldn't have mentioned the electric crawler but in the long run they're cheaper. I'm not sure on figures just for my nitro but it is about 400 dollars---Sorry about the confusion

 

[Tim Elliott]

Alot of you are asking what I'm driving. its a torpeda buggy by himoto with a sh28 motor. and the reason the pull start broke is because the body hung the cord and pulled it across the pipe agin any helpful info is apprecated

 

[Crunkvilletx]

with a roto start that wouldn't happen

 

[Tim Elliott]

with a roto start that wouldn't happen

I ordered one last Monday after the cord burned in half.
Where do you guys go for spare parts?
Is my Himoto Buggy a deasent ride?
even though I got burned I'm still hooked and have started looking at Monster and Trophy trucks.

I need to stock up on glow plugs and a few spare parts, what is a good site to get them?
Oh yeah I would like a clear body to mess with painting so I'm looking for a body and paint supplies.

 

[hipluther01]

What the heck do you do with these RC trucks, go to work on them??? Hell I've never spent that much on a truck, and had to rebuild my Savage with a new engine et all. 2 grand on a nitro is way out of proportions....

I was figuring what I have in my maxx and I'm close to the $900 mark with a spektrum dx3s radio. I'm still going to upgrade to FLM chassis and bulkheads. I'm also considering changing motors and getting a certain savage roller that is for sale on here. Ill put the new motor on my maxx and my big HPI on the savage that it belongs on... I'm breaking WAY too much. That HPI has SUPER torque and HP.

I ordered one last Monday after the cord burned in half.
Where do you guys go for spare parts?
Is my Himoto Buggy a deasent ride?
even though I got burned I'm still hooked and have started looking at Monster and Trophy trucks.

I need to stock up on glow plugs and a few spare parts, what is a good site to get them?
Oh yeah I would like a clear body to mess with painting so I'm looking for a body and paint supplies.

What I dont buy from my LHS I get from towerhobbies.com or horizonhobby.com

 

[Crunkvilletx]

I had to got to about 6 or 7 lhs before I found one I liked and that had tons of my parts. Everything else I just go to eBay