Nitro definitely seems to be picking up some steam as of late, I see the threads, and a lot of stuff on Facebook really coming alive the past year. I suspect when Kyosho's USA-1 nitro hits the shelves you're going to see a major spike. Still wondering where those are....c'mon Kyosho, let's go!
Nitro has never been inconvenient or hard for me. They are such simple little engines, diagnosing troubles is usually pretty easy. Tuning isn't much of an issue if your using good carbs(i.e. anything other than Traxxas, lol). Best advice I ever got was to write down the factory needle settings of each engine I own.
It's rare that I show up at the park and my trucks don't start. Very rare. Usually they start instantly, and I warm them up and start ripping around. I sometimes have to tweak the HSN on occasion, but that part is the fun of it. Then I get to run all day long without recharging. Can't tell you how many people running electrics have seen me this year and said they want to get nitros.
The instant torque thing is way overstated. It's literally no advantage on dirt. If you're spinning, you ain't winning. What's more important is traction and handling(and driver skill!). I've raced my small block TMaxx against plenty of brushless vehicles and it fares well. I turned in the fastest lap times by far at a recent event this Summer with my aluminum race TMaxx using a Dynamite .19 engine. At another event I was running my solid axle nitros, where off the line quickness was more important, and I was getting off the blocks as quick as anyone(crashing was my downfall, lol). And I'm literally just using a tiny bit, maybe quarter throttle on launch - otherwise the truck either cyclones or flips over backwards. Both of those Dragonoid trucks make more power than can be used - if I try to run them on pavement, the driveshafts and swingshafts, both upgraded cvd steel units, get demolished.
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