Nitro & kids?
09-09-2014, 07:36 PM
#1
Nitro & kids?
What's your thoughts...
Getting my 3 boys (8,8,10) into RC. We have a mini mx track in our back yard that would be good for rc and thats mostly where we will be running our cars. With suggestions from people here I was going to get 4 Slash's for us all. So this afternoon my kids and I took a ride to the LHS to look around. On the outdoor track there was a few cars running. One was a nitro SC10. My kids loved it and the guy running it let em give it a try. It was there first time and they did pretty good. So of course that's what they want now. There minds are made up, but I'm not so sure.
My last time running nitro was 10-12 years ago...has nitro technology changed at all? With running 4 cars I don't want to be constantly wrenching on cars. I also wonder if learning on nitro is a bad idea.
Just so you all know I'm leaning towards staying away from nitro but I am definitely open to the idea and wanted opinions from others.
What are your thoughts?
Also what are your thoughts on the Associated SC10 Nitro RTR?
Getting my 3 boys (8,8,10) into RC. We have a mini mx track in our back yard that would be good for rc and thats mostly where we will be running our cars. With suggestions from people here I was going to get 4 Slash's for us all. So this afternoon my kids and I took a ride to the LHS to look around. On the outdoor track there was a few cars running. One was a nitro SC10. My kids loved it and the guy running it let em give it a try. It was there first time and they did pretty good. So of course that's what they want now. There minds are made up, but I'm not so sure.
My last time running nitro was 10-12 years ago...has nitro technology changed at all? With running 4 cars I don't want to be constantly wrenching on cars. I also wonder if learning on nitro is a bad idea.
Just so you all know I'm leaning towards staying away from nitro but I am definitely open to the idea and wanted opinions from others.
What are your thoughts?
Also what are your thoughts on the Associated SC10 Nitro RTR?
09-09-2014, 07:52 PM
#2
I'm a nitro guy myself - but 1/2 the fun for me is wrenching on cars.
IMHO - 10 is a bit young for nitro - maybe give nitro a few more years if they are hooked on it as a hobby.
Kids of that age just want to play . . . I'd recommend you go electric, that way you can just charge a battery, and flick a switch.
Kids love the allure of smoke and noise (so do us 'grown ups'
) but dont appreciate nitro has uses more consumables (filters, fuel,plugs) and requires more care, time and effort to keep running.
No one wants to see the disappointed look on their kids face when a plug blows, and Dad doesnt have a replacement - that's when cars start gathering dust in the shed.
IMHO - 10 is a bit young for nitro - maybe give nitro a few more years if they are hooked on it as a hobby.
Kids of that age just want to play . . . I'd recommend you go electric, that way you can just charge a battery, and flick a switch.
Kids love the allure of smoke and noise (so do us 'grown ups'
) but dont appreciate nitro has uses more consumables (filters, fuel,plugs) and requires more care, time and effort to keep running.No one wants to see the disappointed look on their kids face when a plug blows, and Dad doesnt have a replacement - that's when cars start gathering dust in the shed.
09-09-2014, 08:08 PM
#4
I think it all comes down to what they enjoy. I love wrenching just about as much as driving but wrenching on 3 may be handful. Might be able to mitigate some headaches if they all have the same equipment so parts can be shared across the fleet (electronics included). I dont find nitro any more maintenance intensive than electric but I tear my vehicles down after every race.
09-09-2014, 08:22 PM
#5
For 1st timers Nitro may not be the best option to jump into. Id start them out with electric, and treat yourself to a Nitro if you don't mind wrenching and relearning the hobby. Once you get familiar with it and let the boys get familiar with it too, then move them up to nitro later. That's what I did for my son. I started him out in 2wd SC, then 2wd1/5 scale, and now he is running a 4wd Nitro truggy, and electric buggy. I do most of the up keep on the cars. He is only 7 years old but he definitely does his best to try to lend a hand.
09-09-2014, 09:48 PM
#6
Coming from experience. Please start them off with an electric short course truck. The traxxas is a nice durable basher but it's not a full fledged completion platform.
If there goal is to play in the backyard than that's the way to go. With that said they will grow out of it really quick and will want to spend everyday at the local hobby shop racing against themselves and other racers.
If I had to go back and do it all over again this is the way I would have gone. An sc10.2 fitted to race can cost upwards of $500.00 all in and that's just to start.
I would lean towards getting 1 whatever you get to start and have them take turns. Chances are they are all not going to keep interest and now your out $1k.
I started my son in 8th scale nitro. I got lucky and he stayed with it. Could have been a disaster.
If there goal is to play in the backyard than that's the way to go. With that said they will grow out of it really quick and will want to spend everyday at the local hobby shop racing against themselves and other racers.
If I had to go back and do it all over again this is the way I would have gone. An sc10.2 fitted to race can cost upwards of $500.00 all in and that's just to start.
I would lean towards getting 1 whatever you get to start and have them take turns. Chances are they are all not going to keep interest and now your out $1k.
I started my son in 8th scale nitro. I got lucky and he stayed with it. Could have been a disaster.
09-09-2014, 10:01 PM
#7
There's a reason the kids liked the nitro - because of the sound. Electric is like watching an action movie on mute.
10, with adult supervision, is perfect for nitro. They can even learn a little bit - beyond flipping a switch... Which itself makes the hobby more rewarding.
09-09-2014, 10:06 PM
#8
The sc10 nitro would be decent so would a losi scte nitro, rtr buggy or truggy.
For the nitro basher above you are in the wrong section, this is the nitro off road forum. There is a little maintenance with nitro but the e stuff has it too depending on the shape you want to keep them in. Nothing comes close to pulling the trigger of a nitro vehicle.
For the nitro basher above you are in the wrong section, this is the nitro off road forum. There is a little maintenance with nitro but the e stuff has it too depending on the shape you want to keep them in. Nothing comes close to pulling the trigger of a nitro vehicle.
09-09-2014, 10:24 PM
#9
The sc10 nitro would be decent so would a losi scte nitro, rtr buggy or truggy.
For the nitro basher above you are in the wrong section, this is the nitro off road forum. There is a little maintenance with nitro but the e stuff has it too depending on the shape you want to keep them in. Nothing comes close to pulling the trigger of a nitro vehicle.
For the nitro basher above you are in the wrong section, this is the nitro off road forum. There is a little maintenance with nitro but the e stuff has it too depending on the shape you want to keep them in. Nothing comes close to pulling the trigger of a nitro vehicle.
The plug and play beats the nitro tune learning curve. Yes you can screw up an electric really quick but if you plug it in correct and have the correct gearing your good to go.
However nothing beats the excitement of a nitro car.
Just ask James. It took me 3 days to fire up a pull start hyper 7 just to get the engine to turn on. When it did fire up it was the most epic moment. "James did you hear that" "dude it fired up"
09-10-2014, 03:24 AM
#10
Please don't start a nitro vs electric debate 
my view: run nitro and buy some cheap but strong electric short course trucks for the boys
then, see what happens.. if they are nitroheads you'll see it coming and from there you'll have to make a decision based on the time you have to maintain their cars.. and yes it takes more time in nitro, for sure.. I say that racing both nitro and electric (to me there is no point opposing the two, it's like comparing apples to oranges)
my view: run nitro and buy some cheap but strong electric short course trucks for the boys
then, see what happens.. if they are nitroheads you'll see it coming and from there you'll have to make a decision based on the time you have to maintain their cars.. and yes it takes more time in nitro, for sure.. I say that racing both nitro and electric (to me there is no point opposing the two, it's like comparing apples to oranges)
09-10-2014, 03:27 AM
#11
The thing is, the kids are asking for apples. So why give them an orange? A couple 10th scale SC trucks with batteries and everything is a fair chunk of change for something they may not get into. Before buying a 10-year old any RC, I would make it clear that its a longer term thing, it needs to be taken care of, etc.., and be prepared to help them along. That would be the case with BOTH nitro and electric. Not like you want kids messing with lipos unsupervised either... And yeah, with nitro there is a learning curve involved(which is hardly rocket science, and once learned, nitro is not nearly as high maintenance as nitro-hating flashlight drivers make out...)
09-10-2014, 04:09 AM
#12
Tech Master
Errr... all I ever see at the track is electric-people soldering wires and replacing burnt out ESC's and motors.
So where does this wrench myth come from?
I change my clutch bearings and I'm good for about a gallon.
All other car-related things should be exactly the same for wear, as the cars are the same. What is supposedly the issue here??? Sounds to me like some e-baby dind't figure out how to tune an engine therefore nitro must be bad.
Also this happened at our last race when some electric was charging his batts, good luck leaving your kids alone to play with lipo batts:
So where does this wrench myth come from?
I change my clutch bearings and I'm good for about a gallon.
All other car-related things should be exactly the same for wear, as the cars are the same. What is supposedly the issue here??? Sounds to me like some e-baby dind't figure out how to tune an engine therefore nitro must be bad.
Also this happened at our last race when some electric was charging his batts, good luck leaving your kids alone to play with lipo batts:
09-10-2014, 05:29 AM
#13
Errr... all I ever see at the track is electric-people soldering wires and replacing burnt out ESC's and motors.
So where does this wrench myth come from?
I change my clutch bearings and I'm good for about a gallon.
All other car-related things should be exactly the same for wear, as the cars are the same. What is supposedly the issue here??? Sounds to me like some e-baby dind't figure out how to tune an engine therefore nitro must be bad.
Also this happened at our last race when some electric was charging his batts, good luck leaving your kids alone to play with lipo batts:
So where does this wrench myth come from?
I change my clutch bearings and I'm good for about a gallon.
All other car-related things should be exactly the same for wear, as the cars are the same. What is supposedly the issue here??? Sounds to me like some e-baby dind't figure out how to tune an engine therefore nitro must be bad.
Also this happened at our last race when some electric was charging his batts, good luck leaving your kids alone to play with lipo batts:
09-10-2014, 05:32 AM
#14
Not that they need to - at all...
09-10-2014, 06:21 AM
#15
I am 16 started when i was 10 with an electric slash and then a 4x4 slash then an sc10 and then 2wd 1/0 buggy and now a 1/8 nitro. I wanted to learn how to work on the cars before I jumped in head first and really screwed something up. I would say get them electrics and yourself a nitro and let them learn. just my opinion.
