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saltwater4life

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I want to get a nitro car because i'm tired of having to wait hours to recharge electric RC's, So i was wondering whats a good beginner truggie/truck that isn't expensive incase this hobby isn't for me but that you can usually find parts for in hobby shops. (Not sure what is carried around here in central NJ...) I figured i'd keep in eye out on craigslist. Anyways,
Thanks!
~Nick
 
There's really no cheap good nitro. Something like a Traxxas Nitro Sport qualifies I suppose. You must have some old-school or cheap charger. Most high capacity batteries can be charged in about an hour. If you have a decent electric vehicle, you may consider upgrading the battery pack and charger.
 
Thanks, Yeah i figured the best thing or me would be a used one.
Yeah they're just tyco rc's but i figured instead of investing in better batterys or charger to just go with nitro since they're pretty cool looking.
 
Tycos are really considered toys. A hobby-grade vehicle is another world. An electric Slash, a good 3000+mah battery and an appropriate charger would run you under $300. A couple more batteries and you'd be driving more than charging.
 
Oops sorry!
But when you start getting more batteries and stuff they about the same? Idk i just though nitro was cool seemed like a real miniature car having to fuel it and working on it.
 
btw do not get a used nitro for your first car
i paid for this
£100 in fact :)
 
OK saltwater I am going to tell you to do what you want you are going to have all the people on here tell you not to buy a used one. There are reasons they tell you that I bought a used monster gt. about a month ago.The guy I got it from has been cool about helping me out with the truck. When something happens to it. The reason they say not to get a used one is cause you could end up put a lot of money in it just to keep on the track or just to keep it moving I am going though that right now i love the truck but the problem is the parts are old and with my luck with in a couple weeks after i got it stuff started going wrong with it. Not because of me or him it is just three to four years old and the parts are wore out so just keep that in your mind. KNOW MATTER WHAT YOU DO JUST HAVE FUN WITH IT!!!!!!!! :D:D:D

By the way just so you know I got the truck for 100 bucks I only have about $150-$175 in to it with the parts i have had to buy vs the $350-$500 for a new one.
 
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I wouldn't recommend getting a nitro for a first hobby grade RC. Get a decent electric, battery and peak charger. This will give you experience in driving a higher performance RC vehicles than the toy grade ones. After getting used to the performance and the maintenance of the good electric, then you'll be ready to take on the added complexity of a nitro engine. Too many people jump right into nitro and then get frustrated when they can't get it to run right. Also buy a new rig from a good hobby shop. They can help you get it set up and running right. And last but not least, make sure that you can parts for the rig locally. It really sucks having to wait 2-3 days or more waiting on parts to be delivered.
 
I have to concur. Start off with a decent electric if you have never had a hobby-grade RC. The Duratrax Evader may be just the ticket for you. A cheap peak-detecting AC/DC charger like the Dynamite Prophet Sport will charge anything short of LiPo for $30. 3600 mAh battery packs will run you $25-$30 and will give you a 20 minute run time and will charge in about a half hour at 3 amps. Buy three packs and you will have all the fun you want and you won't spend a lot more than a basic USED nitro rig.

Remember that just buying a nitro is not the end of things. You will eat through glow plugs at the cost of $7 a pop and a gallon of fuel is gonna run you $28-$30 per.

Electric is actually cheaper and A LOT easier to maintain. I have all nitro now save for my crawler, but I cut my teeth on a 2wd Slash. Glad I did 'cause nitro is not easy.

Good luck!

Truck: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&P=SM&I=LXSGU7**

Charger: http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=DYN4056

Batteries: http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXJTW5&P=7

All this for $225? NOT BAD!
 
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I'll have to think about it, I was really looking for that smoking exhaust... I forgot to mention i have a Venom 3 heli would that charger work? it charges the 500mAh in like 10minutes. The more mAh the more power right? or just longer lasting?
 
Oh, and the higher the mAh the higher the storage capicity-discharge rate. The higher the voltage (more cells) the more power there is. And a 500 mAh battery is SMALLLL! And a "wall wart" charger isn't going to do much for you. A decent charger such as the one I suggested isn't expensive and will do the job in a fraction the time.
 
i know someone who bort a charger for like £150 or £200 i can't renember what he said
 
hi, check with your local hobby shops also because from time to time you can pick up a good used rc for about half the price of a new one. my L.H.S has them sometimes from around $250.00 to $275.00. and if their like tony, the guy who owns DANVILLE HOBBY, he's a wealth of information and experience, i personally have nothing against electric rc's, but i just like nitro better, they say electric is faster, maybe it is. but it's the same reason a 4 cylinder tuner car don't appeal to me in the least, i'm sure it's fast, turns 10 million rpm's but i grew up in a world of chevelles, camaros, 396's 427's 426 hemi's well you get the idea. for me it's just my preference. and i love the smell of nitro. just my opinion. kdogg
 
Thanks,
Idk i mean i understand what you guys are saying about starting easy and working my way up which kind of makes me think i should start with one of those electric ones. I just don't know. I assume you can mods and hop up those electric ones you suggested? Can you make the electric ones loud or not since they don't have an exhaust? Not like stupid loud just not the little buzzing you usually hear. How much do nitros usually cost using it for a hour or two a week?

hi, check with your local hobby shops also because from time to time you can pick up a good used rc for about half the price of a new one. My l.h.s has them sometimes from around $250.00 to $275.00. And if their like tony, the guy who owns danville hobby, he's a wealth of information and experience, i personally have nothing against electric rc's, but i just like nitro better, they say electric is faster, maybe it is. But it's the same reason a 4 cylinder tuner car don't appeal to me in the least, i'm sure it's fast, turns 10 million rpm's but i grew up in a world of chevelles, camaros, 396's 427's 426 hemi's well you get the idea. For me it's just my preference. And i love the smell of nitro. Just my opinion. Kdogg

exactly my thought!
 
well i paid about $450.00 for my savagex, and about $430.00 for my sons t-maxx 3.3, but if you look around you may find a good used nitro rc for about half that, there's plenty of guys on here with alot more experience than me and their allways willing to give their advice, so when ya need help this is the place ya wanna come to, i can't tell ya how much it's helped me. my son has a axial scorpion, its electric and he loves it. but he also loves the t-maxx, nitro stampede, hpi firestorm and my savage 4.6. id say he's just well rounded. kdogg
 
Thanks,
So how much harder is it to take care of a nitro vs electric? I read after a day of using it you take the motor apart and clean everything of fuel and then put everything back together?
 
i made a big mistake that i thought i'd better share with you, my first rc was a redcat volcano, man was it a turd, it would go off in different directions, was made bad, just wasn't happy with it. i went to my L.H.S. and saw all of the ready available parts for the traxxas and hpi vehicles, needless to say i sold my volcano and bought a new t-maxx 3.3 man it was like night and day, it was made better, easier to work on, my point is those cheep rc's look nice for the price but what's nice is my L.H.S having the parts in stock when i crash it out. so whatever you choose, it's the parts availability that you need to consider. just my opinion kdogg

no, my t-maxx was apart one time, when it blew up and that was after at least 12 gallons of nitro, that's alot of running, when i store my rc's for the winter i put after run oil in the cylinder, just unscrew the glow plug and put a few drops in, and a couple in the carb, but their actually pretty trouble free. just keep your air-filter changed after every couple of hours of running.
 
i made a big mistake that i thought i'd better share with you, my first rc was a redcat volcano, man was it a turd, it would go off in different directions, was made bad, just wasn't happy with it. i went to my L.H.S. and saw all of the ready available parts for the traxxas and hpi vehicles, needless to say i sold my volcano and bought a new t-maxx 3.3 man it was like night and day, it was made better, easier to work on, my point is those cheep rc's look nice for the price but what's nice is my L.H.S having the parts in stock when i crash it out. so whatever you choose, it's the parts availability that you need to consider. just my opinion kdogg

Thanks, Yeah i was actually looking at those awhile back until i read they're junk and i've never seen anyone selling parts for them... I haven't been to my LHS for awhile but i remember seeing tons of traxxas and tons of parts for them. I'll have to look around.
 
whatever you choose, make sure you can get parts for it cause you're gonna break stuff, i ran my t-maxx into my neighbors steps when it was brand new, boy were my feelings hurt, but my L.H.S had me fixed up and running the next day. so the parts availability thing plays a major part in my choice of a nitro. also Tony at Danville Hobby in Madison WV never charges me any labor, just the price of parts. and he'll tune it anytime i ask at no charge. can't beet service like that. i love this hobby. kdogg
 

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