What's the point of the hobby ?

[JohnnyOctopuss]

So I was wondering with a lot of these companies moving away from Nitro and into electric it seems to me like the whole fun of the hobby to begin with was tuning and building your engines and then enjoying the fruits of your labor

I've talked to a few people and they said that they would rather just plug and play which is fine but my question is it seems to me that going away from Nitro and not wanting to build and tune your engines seems like it gets rid of half of the fun of a hobby to begin with

 

[DavidB1126]

Bc the beginners want something simple and not complex. and you also have the neighborhood Karen's hating on the loud noises of nitro and gas cars when they literally drive a 1:1 gas car lol. (Or they could be driving a Tesla I don't know. )

Also nitro is a heavy price.

I never had a nitro car before although I'd like one but...
With electric you can still "tune", as in the racing part bc of high end electronics.

 

[Tunedfrog]

Nitro is definitely still around and plenty of suppliers out there. Why not just enjoy it?
It's not going anywhere.

 

[Mrgoodwrench35]

I can't speak for others but for me personally, I absolutely hated finicky nitro engines and that's predominantly why I stopped playing with RC after my Tmax.

I like the ease of use that electric gives me. And since lipo and brushless were introduced, the performance of a nitro pales in comparison to modern electric cars.

I can understand why die hard nitro/gas guys enjoy tuning the little engines but that's not the draw for me. I just like the driving aspect and that aspect is far easier to achieve with modern electric stuff.

To each their own. There's plenty of room in this hobby for both types of people.

 

[aklindeman]

There isn't just one point of the hobby. Different people are into it for different reasons and different aspects.

 

[aklindeman]

As an aside, R/C cars in my youth pretty much directly lead to me working on real cars. I bought an old British sports car confident I could work on it, if I could tear down and fix my Losi XXX in between heats. It's not too different, just...bigger. I've kept that thing on the road for twenty five years. But it really all started at the R/C track.

 

[Chubaka]

Welcome to the site. I'm a man of diversity. Get one electric, get one nitro.

 

[332_RC]

I like RCs.

 

[RetroThutmose]

I have no interest in nitro. I enjoy many aspects of the hobby but little engines is not one of them. I enjoy watching them, and I have nothing against them. Its just not for me.

Edit: I love watching nitro races. I like the longer mains with pit stops. I think that part is really cool. This guy wasn't the fastest but looked the best!

 

[9x19]

So I was wondering with a lot of these companies moving away from Nitro and into electric it seems to me like the whole fun of the hobby to begin with was tuning and building your engines and then enjoying the fruits of your labor

I've talked to a few people and they said that they would rather just plug and play which is fine but my question is it seems to me that going away from Nitro and not wanting to build and tune your engines seems like it gets rid of half of the fun of a hobby to begin with

Probably depends on how you came in to the hobby. I started with electrics, never owned a Nitro until the TMaxx 2.5 and that one had nice long run times and good performance, but once the performance and run times of the electrics came to match the nitros, the alcohol models seemed much less necessary to my enjoyment of the hobby. A plus for me is the electrics are less slimy, and require fewer add on bits.

 

[Suburban_Hooligan]

a hobby requires skills that get learned over time, its an exercise in delayed gratification. people today just want a flashy new toy they can kinda figure out enough to post on social media for the dopamine. and maybe some clout. there's a difference between a hobbyist and a person with a toy car (even if the toy car is hobby grade)

what's fun is that iv been around long enough to remember when people were claiming nitro was easier than (brushed) electric

 

[CertifiedMike]

I love nitro and electric. They each have pros and cons.

 

[Doom!]

Well I'm just lazy, I'm a driver not a mechanic, do you know how hard it is to find a pit crew who will work for nothing?

I understand the love of tinkering with the engines, it's just not for me, I just don't have the time necessary to enjoy the process. At least I still get to enjoy watching those of you who do enjoy it.

 

[RustyUs]

To answer your, "What's the point of the hobby ?" question... controlling things remotely is plain fun. For me, it's the off-road side of the hobby that gets me all revved up. Dirt flying does something visually for me.

I've always liked playing with toys in the dirt...Tonka trucks; little green Army men, GI Joe. Radio control vehicles was just a natural progression. Standing back at a distance and controlling the drama with my fingertips is just SO much better than being on hands and knees pushin' stuff for this old man.

P.S.
I didn't see any nitro vs. electric question.

 

[JohnnyOctopuss]

Nitro is definitely still around and plenty of suppliers out there. Why not just enjoy it?
It's not going anywhere.

I'm having a difficult time finding local suppliers that stock nitro cars. Most of them only carry electric and when I went to get my first car (nitro) the guys were like trying to scare me away from it telling me how much of a pain it is to work on them, how dirty they are and etc.... and for me that sounds like half the fun, keeping it running smooth and working on them.

 

[fstnd]

I second that. Only one in 5 LHS have nitro's where I live, and every other tried to convince me of the same.

I'm having a difficult time finding local suppliers that stock nitro cars. Most of them only carry electric and when I went to get my first car (nitro) the guys were like trying to scare me away from it telling me how much of a pain it is to work on them, how dirty they are and etc.... and for me that sounds like half the fun, keeping it running smooth and working on them.

 

[WickedFog]

I've only driven one nitro, and it was a Jato. It was definitely a different experience, and it was a blast. But electric RC's are just as much fun in a different kind of way. The torque they have is insane compared to nitro. Our 6s Kraton will leave two strips of dirt in a grass field. Instant power is pretty rewarding.

 

[TeknoJ]

The instant torque of an electric motor is often astonishing. Most of my arsenal is in fact electric, I have one nitro buggy and its about 20 years old. I love nitro, it's a completely different experience. 1/5 gas, nitro, and all things electric have an equal space in my heart.

I'm having a difficult time finding local suppliers that stock nitro cars. Most of them only carry electric and when I went to get my first car (nitro) the guys were like trying to scare me away from it telling me how much of a pain it is to work on them, how dirty they are and etc.... and for me that sounds like half the fun, keeping it running smooth and working on them.

I too heard the stories. If you know what you are listening to, tuning isn't all that bad. I have to order everything, so I don't bother with the shops. All they carry is traxxas anyway.

 

[majin]

for me personally its the sound, i dont want to piss off my neighbors by running a weed eater up and down the street repeatedly. it sounds hella cool on video, but i would feel awkward, it just draws too much unwanted attention. then theres the wrenching.
if my electric doesn't work i have 3 main areas the issue generally starts with.
a combustion motor has sooooo many more parts, not for me. i, like @RetroThutmose enjoy wathcing other people race theirs, ill watch the videos for hours. but in real life? id rather electric crawl thru the woods, or climb a pile of rocks.
maybe if i were more of a Speed Demon lol. but I'm a Turtle Titan

 

[CertifiedMike]

for me personally its the sound, i dont want to piss off my neighbors by running a weed eater up and down the street repeatedly. it sounds hella cool on video, but i would feel awkward, it just draws too much unwanted attention. then theres the wrenching.
if my electric doesn't work i have 3 main areas the issue generally starts with.
a combustion motor has sooooo many more parts, not for me. i, like @RetroThutmose enjoy wathcing other people race theirs, ill watch the videos for hours. but in real life? id rather electric crawl thru the woods, or climb a pile of rocks.
maybe if i were more of a Speed Demon lol. but I'm a Turtle Titan

My neighbors shoot guns and ride dirtbikes... atvs are legal on the roads here.
My nitros are pretty quiet considering.
I run my leafblower proudly when its time too!
I also have a good sized yard to run my cars in. No street required.
I think if I was just out looking for a parking lot to run in, the noise is def a factor tho.