Nitro or electric?

[Williamc141]

I know this is probably a stupid question but what is cheaper between a NITRO rc car and electric rc car?

 

[slowngreen]

Electric. Nitro will always have the cost of fuel and glow plugs. Electric has the initial cost of batterys and chargers but thats it. Then you can keep into it and get a nice brushless/lipo setup and be smokin nitro's all day in performance.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

+1, but to elaborate on what he said, the initial purchase will be more with electric, but later on down the line with nitro, you will spend much more money. Consider this: Nitro:you need nitro fuel, and batteries to run for reciever and servos. With electric: only need batteries, cuz they control everything.

 

[slowngreen]

Nitro's bring headaches and lots of stress too!!! Atleast they do for me lol.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

And every time you run one, your wearing it out. Seriously, nitro's are fun, but the learning curve is steep. I agree that electric is way cheaper these days. Lipos have really came down.

 

[alpinehyperlite]

I've run both, I got really good at nitro's, but then got bored with them, then i discovered the extreme instant power of brushless electric, and never looked back.

 

[Jmacca]

I dont see the point of extreme power without extreme noise....


Nitro FTW!

 

[alpinehyperlite]

wana race?

 

[hamz9561]

Having done both nitro and electric, I'm with the electric mob. It may be a little more expensive but will more than make up for it in the long run. I like the instant power and the fact that I can run anywhere and anytime without my neighbors complaining about the noise. I also dislike all the fiddling you have to do to tune for the constantly changing conditions with nitro.

 

[Tombomb]

You have to also consider your mechanical inclination as well. Me I'm a small engine freak. I marvel how they run; others may be more fascinated how an electric motor can really hum. I like the nitro smoke trail, the smell of the exhaust... the noise... heck the fuel even tastes good! **

If I didn't have my O.S. 's. I guess I'd fiddle with my weed whacker all day.

But if you want a cleaner car at the end of the day and don't want to be so much a mechanic, go with electric. I will consider it once NASCAR does.

** Kiddies, that's a joke! Don't drink the fuel, It's poison!**

 

[mjneid]

Personally i'm torn between the two,

Nitros-
likes-
I like the nosy raw power that comes from the nitros. The fact that is has a "wow" factor to it. the noise, the smoke, the pop, the crackle. Everything about them is cool.

dislikes
I hate the constant tuning, the oily reside from the exhaust is nasty and hard to clean. fuel is expensive, they are sometimes "REALLY" annoying with the volume of the noise. if you upgrade th engine you need to upgrade the transmission/diffs/axles to take full advantage of the added horsey power.

electrics-
likes-
Quite (doesn't bother my wife or the neighbors)
low maintenance
no near as messy

dislikes
-lack of power on brushed applications
-lack of run times
-no wow factor
-constantly changing technology, if you don't have the latest and greatest you cannot be competitive in any races (of equal talent drivers).

 

[robmob]

Piss on Nitro! Been there and I won't go back.

Brushless and LiPo's is the poop.

When I want to run a "real" motor, I whip out one of my 5th scale Baja's. Real sounding exhaust and not that obnoxious rice burning sound that nitros produce. 40 minutes of run-time per tank instead of a measly 8 minutes if your lucky.

dislikes
-lack of power on brushed applications
-lack of run times
-no wow factor
-constantly changing technology, if you don't have the latest and greatest you cannot be competitive in any races (of equal talent drivers).

In response to your electric dislikes.

1. When I first got my ERevo that was running brushed motors. I was easily beating the nitros I was racing against. You get instant power off the line with brushed just like brushless.
2. With today's high capacity batts, electrics have longer run times than nitros.
3. When I pull the throttle any of my brushless rigs, take off like they were shot out of a cannon. Plenty of WOW can be seen on the faces of onlookers.
4. Simply not true. You can be competitive with what is perceived as "older" technology. Setting up your rig to suit the track you are racing on is equally as important as the equipment you are using.

 

[neobart]

Electric racing=action movie on mute.........

And if you're into 1/8 scale, electric has a loong way to go yet. 1/8 ESC are just to damn unreliable. Even if you do run Tekin, they still get smoked from all the banging around.

If Electric was all there was, I would run it, but I will run nitro as long as I can. I guess I have a natural aptitude for running nitro, as it gives me very little grief anymore.

 

[mjneid]

Piss on Nitro! Been there and I won't go back.

Brushless and LiPo's is the poop.

When I want to run a "real" motor, I whip out one of my 5th scale Baja's. Real sounding exhaust and not that obnoxious rice burning sound that nitros produce. 40 minutes of run-time per tank instead of a measly 8 minutes if your lucky.



In response to your electric dislikes.

1. When I first got my ERevo that was running brushed motors. I was easily beating the nitros I was racing against. You get instant power off the line with brushed just like brushless.
2. With today's high capacity batts, electrics have longer run times than nitros.
3. When I pull the throttle any of my brushless rigs, take off like they were shot out of a cannon. Plenty of WOW can be seen on the faces of onlookers.
4. Simply not true. You can be competitive with what is perceived as "older" technology. Setting up your rig to suit the track you are racing on is equally as important as the equipment you are using.

Okay i'll attack this one by one to explain my self....

1) I have a Losi XXX-T Graphite Edition with a LPR v7.1 ESC, a Novak XXL Rx, JR Servo and a modified motor (not sure of the specs anymore i'd have to look it up)... i might get 10 mins of run time per charge on a 3300 NiHim battery, if i baby it and keep it on the asphalt or dirt. if it's on grass it goes down exponentially.

2) i will not spend 200+ dollars on a ESC and Motor + an new engine plate to mount a brushless motor then spend another 75$+ for a decent charger and then however much on batteries. with a nitro- any small block will fit any small block, and any big block will fit any big block. no questions asked.

3)
A) you are comparing apples to oranges. from my experience, since these are my opinions from what i've seen. Brushed motors take time to wind up just as rigs powered by nitro-methane, but let me rephrase that. i just dropped a set of Nova aluminum clutch shoes in my MGT and it "goes" when i pull the throttle... it doesn't wind up... it goes....

B) ( Picture to give you an idea )

I live approximately where the "a" arrow is.... in the yellow box is a park where i normally run my RC cars... semi busy, but nothing every crazy... big open flat area with some hills here and there..... but there is another park

I've never had one person stop me about any of my electrics.... never... not once... my xxx-t, my rc10t3, my old rustler... nothing...even if i throw AM's in the 2 of the three and some of my buddies and i race em... never have i had one person ask me about em.... EVERYTIME i run my nitro I have to take about 30 mins out of my "run time" to talk to walker-bys that are either impressed with the truck or want to know more about the hobby.... i see no "wow" factor in electrics first hand.

4) when i was in the hobby before i raced my RC10TC3 and my Losi xxx-t Graphite and was EXTREMELY competitive in every race i was in.. when that was the state of the art goodies... but now that technology has moved on and my poop is left in the dirt i have a hard time staying out of the back few in the pack.... equipment has alot to do with it... it doesn't make a bad driver good... but it can make a good driver better.

 

[icunvmytmaxx]

Electric or nitro, batteries or fuel, glow plugs or a charger......give me the transmitter, and I'm having some fun!!!!!! I guess I'm biased to the hobby. If it runs, bash it!!!!!!

 

[MotoGod]

wana race?

Sure can I pick the track and class? Nitros are every bit as fast as brushless ON A TRACK. If you're talking drag racing or desert racing or something wide open...then yeah the instant power is a huge plus.

Myself I run one of each, and am faster with my Nitro Truggy due to the fact that to race 1/8 scale electric you need to have PERFECT throttle control. One slip up...and you just jumped 3 counties over instead of clearing the 20 foot double you were aiming for. lol

If I were bashing...I think I would prefer electric, except the no sound could prove to be a problem in large areas if you could lose sight of the car for a sec or something. I dunno. I like to know where my rig is by sound if it's a little far away. lol

Bottom line...both types ROCK...just depends on what YOU want to do.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

Nitro's definitely cool. They're plenty fast. I know electrics can out perform nitros, but only when you run at pretty high power. So I see no sacrifice for a guy looking for performance by going nitro, so long as he knows the pros and cons. So long as the person knows that if they are looking for speed and nothing but, electrics are faster. And fuel does get expensive. I've seen 5000 mah 2s Zippys for $25 a piece, chargers for around $30, brushless esc/motors for $60. So it isn't a huge hit on the wallet anymore to get into b.l./lipo.

 

[MotoGod]

It's not a huge hit if you run Zippy/Turnigy, but the name brands and such are still VERY VERY pricey. Hopefully the LiFE batteries take off....lol

 

[bergoff]

I've been running nitro for almost a year now and totally love it. But then I drove my friends slash that's brushless and I have been bitten by the electric bug. So I will just take one of my sons stampedes and pimp it out. So in my opinion just have both.

 

[exmark93]

after only a few months of nitro experience, and years of electric experience i would recommend electric anyday! the electric motor creates instant torque and requires no maintenance which makes it perfect for anyone, plus most electric cars today are waterproof. and the fact that you can do a brushless conversion and easily smoke any nitro car out there is a good thing to know too!