The End of Nitro????
#61
I hate the smell of normal gas. If you get it on your hands, wash them with toothpaste.
In 5th scale gas racing, they normally don't do pit stops during a main. Those cars can run 30 minutes to an hour on a full tank so most mains are set to where pitting will never be an issue as far as refueling is concerned. So, you fill up in the beginning and when the horn sounds, let it rip!! I kind of like the idea of continuous racing without that variable (no true "pit man" or guessing pit strategy).
Gas alone won't get you from 7:30 to 20 min run times in a 1/8 scale buggy.
40 percent longer... if that. So 10 min will be 14. Better, but you are still gonna have to pit.
#62
$20+ for a gallon of nitro
-$5 for a gallon of gas
It's a no brainer, once the tech is stable, consistent and the big guys (nova, os, reds, etc...) buy in people will convert. People who bitch about change will be left behind like always.
-$5 for a gallon of gas
It's a no brainer, once the tech is stable, consistent and the big guys (nova, os, reds, etc...) buy in people will convert. People who bitch about change will be left behind like always.
#63
Tech Master
iTrader: (1)
Refueling an 1/8 scale gasser would most likely be the same as it is now. but I could see a 1 way valve (like what is used in NASCAR or F1) being used instead of the flappy lid used now mainly because there's gonna end up being that one person who is dumb enough to light themselves on fire, most likely self induced, and blaming it on the hobby in some sort of dumbass 'tarded way like..."I was trying to prevent any fuel from dripping into the dirt and contaminating the environment, so I took what I learned in my 7th grade physical education class and tried to use a lighter to burn it away...can I have my tin foil helmet back now? The aliens are reading my thoughts..."
#64
Tech Fanatic
I raced Nitro for 5 years. I never "figured it out" well enough to tolerate the occasional mystery problem or the one or two engines that were roached by a new glow plug injecting it's filament into the piston/sleeve. Let alone the ~6-8 gallon lifespan that was "normal" for a good engine along with the $25-40 in fuel used to simply run though the break-in period.
I've been in the hobby for 25+ years and I am very comfortable with the following statement - "If I can't figure it out, then it's too hard.".
My electric idles perfectly and tunes perfectly, no matter what the weather.
I've been in the hobby for 25+ years and I am very comfortable with the following statement - "If I can't figure it out, then it's too hard.".
My electric idles perfectly and tunes perfectly, no matter what the weather.
PS electric pain in the ass too
#65
Tech Elite
iTrader: (43)
And the price for running stock buggy is crazy, add around another chassis price to get all lightweight goodies, then best rotors, FOTM motors/batts it all adds up.
#66
Yeah in most cases. But I am on my third RX8 in ebuggy in 2 seasons. Granted this was gen1 with the boards cracking with just casing a 1/10 sized jump (kyosho gel tape was not used as well). But still in ebuggy, the hobbywing does not hold a candle to tekin. For 1/10 there are many great cheaper options. My ebuggy burns throught tires easier as well, no clutch way more low end. But nitro mains were longer so it evens out.
And the price for running stock buggy is crazy, add around another chassis price to get all lightweight goodies, then best rotors, FOTM motors/batts it all adds up.
And the price for running stock buggy is crazy, add around another chassis price to get all lightweight goodies, then best rotors, FOTM motors/batts it all adds up.
I never had a issue with the hobbywing esc as far as relibity wise on my 4x4 sc . The old tekin esc I've seen people have constant issues with the new ones seen better but I don't trust them .
But back in topic l
#67
Yeah in most cases. But I am on my third RX8 in ebuggy in 2 seasons. Granted this was gen1 with the boards cracking with just casing a 1/10 sized jump (kyosho gel tape was not used as well). But still in ebuggy, the hobbywing does not hold a candle to tekin. For 1/10 there are many great cheaper options. My ebuggy burns throught tires easier as well, no clutch way more low end. But nitro mains were longer so it evens out.
And the price for running stock buggy is crazy, add around another chassis price to get all lightweight goodies, then best rotors, FOTM motors/batts it all adds up.
And the price for running stock buggy is crazy, add around another chassis price to get all lightweight goodies, then best rotors, FOTM motors/batts it all adds up.
I never had a issue with the hobbywing esc as far as relibity wise on my 4x4 sc . The old tekin esc I've seen people have constant issues with the new ones seen better but I don't trust them .
But back in topic lol .
#68
Tech Elite
iTrader: (4)
The higher the octane, the less it smells, less clingy, too.
I hate the smell of normal gas. If you get it on your hands, wash them with toothpaste.
But they are huge and have huge fuel tanks.
Gas alone won't get you from 7:30 to 20 min run times in a 1/8 scale buggy.
40 percent longer... if that. So 10 min will be 14. Better, but you are still gonna have to pit.
I hate the smell of normal gas. If you get it on your hands, wash them with toothpaste.
But they are huge and have huge fuel tanks.
Gas alone won't get you from 7:30 to 20 min run times in a 1/8 scale buggy.
40 percent longer... if that. So 10 min will be 14. Better, but you are still gonna have to pit.
I know the jury is still out on these engines but I try to keep my perceptions open about possible new advancements like this. I can understand being a little skeptical, but like LiPo vs NiMH/NiCd batteries has shown us, electric guys like the longer run times and lesser battery maintenance of the LiPo as compared to NiMH/NiCd batteries.
I look at this as a risk vs reward. If going this route means longer run times, little loss of overall power, lower fuel costs, and lower engine maintenace costs, unless the risks are detrimental to one's life, there could be a bigger reward for the racers in the long run (big picture).
#69
#70
Well, perfect power for an alcohol fueled engine comes at about a 6:1 a/f ratio. Perfect power from a gas engine comes at 12.8:1...
It takes roughly twice as much alcohol to make the same power(it will actually be a little more power, but for the sake of comparison...) as gas. So a 62.5cc tank of gas, would in theory run the same amount of time as a 125cc tank of alcohol.
I used 40% as a rough guess based on E85 vs. 93 octane. Since we don't run straight methanol, and these engines won't run straight gas... 40% is the common number when you start tuning a gas engine on E85, you you need to bump your fuel flow too...
It's hard to figure out for sure with the info I have, but you can certainly figure it out without having to actually run both, what the run time increase will be. If you find the energy content for 20% nitro and the energy content for 93 octane we can certainly make a pretty good educated guess.
I think twice as long is pretty optimistic, though... And you certainly won't go 30 min on 125cc of gas.
Still, going 15-18 on a tank would be pretty cool. Hell, if you just had a gas engine for practice...
I'm not skeptical of it. I want one. I'm just saying we know what the run time will be, with just a little bit of math.
#71
Also, to keep temps in check, since gas doesn't cool like alcohol, you will have to run a richer mixture to keep temps down, which means even less power, and less run time.
I still want one...
I still want one...
#72
Tech Elite
iTrader: (48)
would be interesting to see for sure, give it some time it will probably take off at the basher level first and then eventually the racer level. As for electric being difficult and expensive not even. You buy your gear, charger batts, gear the motor and run...very easy. Only truley difficult when you are trying to do speed runs
#74
Tech Elite
iTrader: (43)
No need to have an air-cooled engine as well. Cars won't have that ugly hole in the lid. Use the lower chassis as a heat sink and pump some fluid around the head like the boat guys. Throw in an ecu and heck its easier than electric . The 800 class heli guys run actual turbine engines, we spend about as much on our vehicles so there should be a market.
#75
Tech Elite
iTrader: (4)
Actually, no, you don't have to run it richer to keep the temps down (referring to the Zenoah). If you haven't noticed, you never see 5th scale onroad cars with holes cut into the windshields and back windows cut out. These engines don't get as hot like you think they do. The Zenoah engine in my 5th scale doesn't get nearly as hot as my nitro counterparts with all the window in on the body (which I have been running on the car during my break-in). And, even at half throttle, my Zenoah has plenty of power. I would hold judgment on this until they are made available and you can test it for yourself.