Nitro a dying breed?

[CheckMyBrain]

4 hours? buy a better charger. My hyperion charged my 8000 mah 3s in just a little over an hour.

It seems to be dying at my lhs. I noticed they only had a few nitro cars when I was looking or a nitro short course. I asked if they were getting more in, guy said they are cutting their nitro stock to make room for more electrics. They did have 3 shelves about 5 feet long of nitro fuel, now they only have one.

 

[theant]

I hate to admit it, but it is becoming harder to find parts for nitro vehicles (at the lhs's near me anyways). When I was out looking for parts for my Tmaxx, NOBODY had very much unless it was for an electric. Even nitro Savage is losing out to the electric versions. I will have to order alot of my parts. In saying this, I still love my nitro Tmaxx.....I just think I will have to go and pick up an Emaxx, Erevo, HPI Flux (Savage or firestorm), and then I wil have both so if it becomes to hard or expensive to run nitro, I have got something else.

 

[Mastio]

Wow can't beleive this thread is still going. But luckily parts wise, my lhs still carries alot of nitro parts, gas etc. And i thank the select few who stuck with it and continue to pass down their knowledge down to the youngins (like me). I really think it all has to do with the area and the lhs, if the owner is more of an electric guy, of course he's going to carry more electric, thus the clientele is going to be for electric, and the same goes for nitro.

 

[MAXXcrasher]

i love my tmaxx 3.3 i wouldnt trade it for any electric vehicle. my first rc cars were electric but it I'm not the best with electronics so messing with a battery an esc and a motor just doesn't go well. and I'm sure I'm not the only eletronically challenged person. so having nitro i dont have to get as involved in the electronics. plus the sound of a nicely tuned nitro engine is awesome!

not to bash on electrics but i was at my lhs yesterday and this guy was talking about how he had a lipo battery in his short course truck explode.. he said that the explosion snapped the chasis and destroyed the back half of the truck.

correct me if I'm wrong but I've never heard of a nitro vehicle exploding like this...

 

[mtaylortank]

that would suck!!!! and nope the only time I have heard of a nitro snapped was from a pretty good crash!!

 

[fieldmarshal]

As with anything you have to look at the audience, you have the beginner hobbyists, who will generally prefer something simpler and more convenient, and electrics fit the bill fairly well. As such, sometimes you have to put the numbers into perspective, if you see a lot of electrics, and very few nitro's, it could simply be the crowd composition, with mostly beginners and electric enthusiasts in the mix.

You also have to consider, if your living in the cities, where noise and space is of concern, electrics are a better option. I bought my electric first, because i figured it would be a good platform to learn on, learning about handling, suspension, driving, before getting into the nitty gritty of nitro's. Now that i have a nitro RC, i don't see myself getting rid of my electric because i can take it literally anywhere. A huge plus IMO.

Unless you see a huge decline in Nitro's in the enthusiasts level of the sport, especially competitions, i wouldn't write off nitro's. I would say they will always be popular, only that, with the simplicity and convince of electrics, it will just never be as popular as electrics in the beginner crowd, who make up for the bulk of the RC owners, giving the illusion that, nitro's are very unpopular.

 

[theant]

Well put.

 

[Smokin' Joe]

I'm straight Nitro and I agree that it is not as popular. But, here is my theory... The hobby/sport has exploded in the past few years and we are seeing more and more new racers. I think that right now there are more noobs than anything. Electric is easier and one can accumulate more drive time at an entry level basis. No pit man, so actual events are easier to prepare for and run. No fuel, glow plugs, tuning, etc. Not saying all, but most new racers go straight to electric nowadays when starting out. All the Nitro guys are STILL here going strong and there is a lot of noobs coming our way. This is just my opinion and theory. And, I love the smell of Nitro and the whirl and wing of the engine. The experience of winning and doing well is heightened greatly when the work to get there was harder and more challenging. To tune a Nitro car to win is very challenging and has allowed me to look closer at electric at times. But like other Nitro racers I'm stuborn and love fuel burning chaos. So, like Fieldmarshall said, we need to look at who is doing what and where they are doing it.

 

[stompie]

Alotta people think electric takes no tinkering and its all plug an play.Nothing could be more from the truth as battry and motor selection and esc programing all play a part to build a winning setup.That being said they can tear my nitro from my dying,busted,bleeding hands.I dont care much for electric cause every time I see one I'm reminded of a supermarket toy.As for the claim that faster and more powerful,please tell us what engine are you comparing to what brushless setup.A 25 engine will murder a 180w brushless setup and in turn a huge brushless setup will kill a much smaller engine.Apples with apples please.

 

[Smokin' Joe]

Yes, there is some tuning and and tinkering to do with electric. However, electric is less involved and that can not be argued. There is still electronics programming to do with a Pro-Nitro set-up. So, take EVERYTHING that is done for electrics, battery charging, programming servos and receivers, etc. and add to it. When was the last time you absolutely had to have a pit man for a race for an electric vehicle. Unless you are running an Enduro. No one is saying electric is easy. Just saying that it is less involved and easiER... My neighbor and I own a track and we see all kinds of vehicles. We know that he and I as Nitro guys do not get as much run-time as electric guys do because of the tuning and need for a pit man and other issues. Once an electric is set up and the batteries are charged, it is plug and play. It is very possible, depending on ambient conditions, to tune more than drive during a session or practice run if you are running Nitro. Not knocking electric. I want an electric buggy so I can get more practice time and run with people at our track. It is all about the level of willingness applied to the sport and preference for outcome.

 

[mtaylortank]

my slash After the initial setup is plug n play and then charge... I use that when the neibors complain about the nitro.. I put paddle tires on the slash just because there is less noise doesn't have to be less mess.. L.O.L.
Both electric and nitro will be around for a long time as long as there is people out there that will keep buying and using them,

 

[Smokin' Joe]

Well put Tank. That is the bottom line... People keep buying, and people keep supplying. I need something electric. My neighbors are OK with the Nitro occasionally... lol. I want a short course truck. Our track is perfect for them. Some wild battles I've seen from the SCT Drivers.

 

[PHR]

I think one of the main reasons for the boom in electric rigs is the fact that we are banned from our local tracks- BECAUSE OF THE NOISE!!!!! For me there is no compromise - no plug and play.
As long as we all bash together!

 

[Ghost2112]

I have owned A T-maxx, A Jato, and a Savage in the past. My whole collection was stolden from my ex-wife and her new boyfriend. I am down to a Losi Ten T that I bash, and a couple of 1/18 scale electrics. I love the sound, and the smell of the nitro, and even if they don't have the power of the new Lipo/Brushless set ups, it is the feel that they give you when you drive them. Nitro will never die out, but it is fading away.

 

[mrbones]

Nitro's will never die if it's up to me. I run nitro's because of the noise and the smell. I love walking in my garage 2 hrs after I ran one and I can still smell it. You have to be dedicated to it and want to do it. I have to tune and crank and clean and do after run stuff and that's fine with me. And yes, it's very expensive. I still love it and will never have an electric truck or car in my house. My trucks will never be as fast as electrics but electrics will never have personality that mine have. I need noise and smoke, not something that sounds like an electric shaver with wheels on it. And besides all that, I have several neighbors that I like to annoy and I couldn't do that with an electric.

 

[SchrodeMode]

Nitro's will never die if it's up to me. I run nitro's because of the noise and the smell. I love walking in my garage 2 hrs after I ran one and I can still smell it. You have to be dedicated to it and want to do it. I have to tune and crank and clean and do after run stuff and that's fine with me. And yes, it's very expensive. I still love it and will never have an electric truck or car in my house. My trucks will never be as fast as electrics but electrics will never have personality that mine have. I need noise and smoke, not something that sounds like an electric shaver with wheels on it. And besides all that, I have several neighbors that I like to annoy and I couldn't do that with an electric.

You must have never been around an ESC when it burns up, you get noise, smoke and a smell that stays around for a few hours.

 

[catastrophecat]

i'm new to this but one thing is certainly clear, there is no distinguishing between the availability or demand of nitro and electric models.
Personally, i think the disadvantages of nitro, the fact you have to work with it, maintain it, value your fuel etc, are key elements to which attract people to nitro in the first place. It becomes a proper hobby, you spend time with your machine, tinkering away, making adjustments, seeking perfection.

A case in point is my last bashing at my local park. My friend brought his 1:10 brushless buggy and me my nitro. There's no ignoring the noise a nitro makes, and soon a small group of kids wanted a crack at driving my buggy, and not the electric... says it all really.

 

[mrbones]

You must have never been around an ESC when it burns up, you get noise, smoke and a smell that stays around for a few hours.

Now that you mention it, I remember that one day one of the guys brought out an electric road car when we were running nitros. He clocked it with a radar
at about 72mph. When he brought it in, something happened and it started smoking "real bad". It was quite "intense" for a short time. He went up and yanked the battery out and it took 3 or 4 minutes to completely burn itself up. So yes, it made noise and smell too.

 

[donbjazzbones]

what do you mean 30 or 50 dollars for a gallon! i pour rubbing alcohol in mine! it runs perfect! lmfao jk * makes me wonder if that would work though*

 

[Bkyd Basher]

Might wanna pre mix with a lil oil, Try it out and let us know how it works for ya. If not theres always 151