ONCE YOU GO NITRO YOU NEVER GO BACK....LOL
#31
Tech Elite
iTrader: (5)
Nitro, Electric, gas, hydrogen, whatever I don't care as long as I can race it. Battling for first place on the track is intense no matter what kind of power plant your car has. Although I must say I love the fact that with electric cars you don't have to waste all your time tuning the engine, you can concentrate on things that will actually make you faster, suspension, tires, etc.
#32
Tech Fanatic
If you're "wasting all of your time tuning an engine" then you don't know how and/or have the wrong engine. I never spend more than a few minutes at most tuning for a given race day.
#33
Tech Champion
iTrader: (27)
well this is going to be strange to all of you.. i started with eletric about 15 year's ago... with a futaba fx10 .. and 6 year's ago i went to nitro and tryed all racing monster truck's 1/8th buggy stadium truck and now going back where i started eletric.. and i will never go back to nitro again... i like both nitro and eletric
#35
With Li-Po batteries and brushless motors becoming more popular, i think a lot of the nitro guys will give electric another chance. The ablility of an electric car to run 20+ minutes is amazing. The electric cars are also easier to maintain, so you can spend more time on practicing. You also do not need a pitman to fuel your car.
However, electric does not have the sound and smell of gas powered cars. And 1/8 scales are more durable than their electric counterparts.
However, electric does not have the sound and smell of gas powered cars. And 1/8 scales are more durable than their electric counterparts.
#37
I'm sure that I would enjoy racing electrics with the new LiPos and Brushless motors, but I'm guessing that it just wouldn't be the same...
I like the sounds and the 'raggedness' of the Nitro buggies/truggies. I'm sure that Electrics are more precise with the power delivery, but getting the motor tuned or finding one that delivers like an electric is fun.
Buggies screaming down a track and throwing up dirt is a very exciting experience. Just watch a little kid and how he/she reacts to a nitro race.
It's all good though. I'm sure I'll give electrics a try at some point.
I like the sounds and the 'raggedness' of the Nitro buggies/truggies. I'm sure that Electrics are more precise with the power delivery, but getting the motor tuned or finding one that delivers like an electric is fun.
Buggies screaming down a track and throwing up dirt is a very exciting experience. Just watch a little kid and how he/she reacts to a nitro race.
It's all good though. I'm sure I'll give electrics a try at some point.
#39
Tech Elite
iTrader: (17)
I started in nitro onroad and loved it even though for a noob it was very frustrating at times. However I love ALL the tuning options a nitro engine gives. I know you still have some of that with brushes and springs, but to me there is nothing like the mechanics of a nitro vehicle. So many things to go wrong, or try to tune just right. I tried electric and enjoyed my time, but there was not enough to fiddle with. I will hopefully be trying electric onroad soon, but my 8th scale nitro buggy is a blast right now, even if it does take me about 5-10 hours a week to bring it back to like new condition before the race. I went to an onroad club to watch electric pan car and 10th electric TC....it was SO SLOW!!!, however what interests me more is the proper line. 27t may just be what I am waiting for to have fun in onroad...
#40
Tech Addict
I hope the manufacturers start to offer 1/8th electric kits. You won't have the sound and smell, but I think ultimately you would have better racing. Not to mention the environazis must be coming our way at some point. I hate to think what these cars are putting out compared to about ANY other motor sport.
I think a lot of the personal choice is about what is actually running in your area when you get involved. I started racing in '91, and NOBODY ran nitro. If I was just starting now in this area it would about be a toss up. Although with electric you can run year round.
In our area we have the full spectrum. Some that only do electric and put it up in the summer, and some that keep racing all year. Some that do nitro and won't run in the winter, and some that will. Some that do both and switch back and forth, and even a few that run both all year. A lot of the nitro guys around here love Planet but don't want to be inside so hardly ever run here in the summer.
Personally I wish all my racers had both and put the nitro away in the winter (brrrr), then put the electric away in the summer (but still raced here, Sun hot[done in Frankenstein voice]).
I think a lot of the personal choice is about what is actually running in your area when you get involved. I started racing in '91, and NOBODY ran nitro. If I was just starting now in this area it would about be a toss up. Although with electric you can run year round.
In our area we have the full spectrum. Some that only do electric and put it up in the summer, and some that keep racing all year. Some that do nitro and won't run in the winter, and some that will. Some that do both and switch back and forth, and even a few that run both all year. A lot of the nitro guys around here love Planet but don't want to be inside so hardly ever run here in the summer.
Personally I wish all my racers had both and put the nitro away in the winter (brrrr), then put the electric away in the summer (but still raced here, Sun hot[done in Frankenstein voice]).
#41
Tech Addict
Also, regarding the Klotz. Amen, raced karts after getting out of R/C. I love the smell of caster in the morning.
#42
Nitro for me
Electrics are just too plug and play for me. And the sound of them reminds me of someone scraping their chalk on a chalkboard. You know the screech. I doubt the tree huggers will mess with R/C nitro racing any time soon. Even with 10 cars on the track that's only 30cc and change. About the same size as the average weed whacker. Most commercial fuels have too much oil in them. If you learn to tune the motor well enough you can cut the oil % by quite a bit and still be safe. Then they pollute even less. You could take all the nitro cars in the world running at the same time and probably not put out as much pollution as the average city puts out on a Saturday morning when everyone cuts the lawn and whacks the weeds. As soon as I catch a whiff of that bean oil at a race my whole body goes into overdrive. Brushless might be extremely fast but where's the fun in just charging the batteries and hitting the button. Sure it takes some time to acquire the skills to tune a nitro motor but once you are over the hump its not that big of a deal.
Griz
Griz
#43
Tech Addict
You are right about the sight sound and smell thing. It's all about adding to that adrenaline surge that's involved in it. I still feel that it ultimately isn't what keeps me racing though. I can go to a drag race (we happen to have one of the biggest here in Indy), and get pummelled by all that all day. What keeps me is the RACING.
I come from electric. So I guess engine tuning doesn't do it for me. In electric you quickly realize that your power plant isn't what is winning your races for you. You can't tell me that if that was taken away you wouldn't find something else to focus on to get an edge.
And when I talk about pollution I'm not just thinking about volume (PPM). I'm thinking about composition, and where it's going. Also the level of importance from a societal point of view. 'You're polluting MY air for a toy car?'
I come from electric. So I guess engine tuning doesn't do it for me. In electric you quickly realize that your power plant isn't what is winning your races for you. You can't tell me that if that was taken away you wouldn't find something else to focus on to get an edge.
And when I talk about pollution I'm not just thinking about volume (PPM). I'm thinking about composition, and where it's going. Also the level of importance from a societal point of view. 'You're polluting MY air for a toy car?'
#44
Tech Addict
PS, also noise pollution. We had an outdoor track in town shut down this year because of noise. Owners fault (I believe) for not getting proper variance, but still a shut down. I always wonder why nobody has developed a silencer and catalytic converter for these engines.
I ran an indoor race kart track for 2 years, and the karts had NO emissions. I also raced a shifter kart. 125cc with 40hp, and from 100 feet away you could hardly hear them. Trust me you didn't lose any thrill by being quiet.
And why hasn't there been more work on 4 strokes in surface racing. Much cleaner and quieter.
I ran an indoor race kart track for 2 years, and the karts had NO emissions. I also raced a shifter kart. 125cc with 40hp, and from 100 feet away you could hardly hear them. Trust me you didn't lose any thrill by being quiet.
And why hasn't there been more work on 4 strokes in surface racing. Much cleaner and quieter.
#45
I got both and play with then equally, I got each for almost every class (except for truggy and buggy) I like the nitro because its a dance with tuning, but when i want REAL power nothing works like a brushless MT on 6s