party_wagon

iTrader: (29)

Make sure you do your research and pick the right rtr. A lot of rtrs come w/ poor quality parts and low quality electronics and engines that won't last long. I'm not trying to scare you from rtrs, but many of them will wear out prematurely.

losi09

That is true. Thats why I go with kits.

Casper

iTrader: (34)

Gas costs me more. Clutch bearings, tires, worn out parts from being on the track longer. Longer mains mean more gas burned. Glow plugs failing. Both of these things are expensive if you want them go be. I prefer electric as when it is not running it takes less then 5 min to figure it out. I have spent hours chasing air leaks and isses like that with Gas. Is there a right answer to this. No. Both are fun and depending on your personallity you may prefer one over the other. This is a choice you will need to make. Both can be done on a budget and if you are in a money burning competition there is plenty of stuff to buy for both sides of the argument!

mremtr

iTrader: (1)

Why do you need to buy a new engine every year ? I have been running mine now for 2 years and let me tell you it is very strong! Good battereis don't last but maybe 6 months ,and I have ruined more servos in electrics than my nitros because of the voltage. Personaly I love all things mechanical so this may be why I like nitro better . I can tune the heck out of a fuel burning engine, electrics just don't get me as excited . You hop up your motor make a run and it goes up in smoke because you had 1 tooth too many on the pinion ... LOL This is not for me , $50 gone.... Nitro ,just let it cool down and re-tune . If you guys are going through nitro engines your not tuning or taking care of them correctly. I know it's hard and your forgiven for getting all over my butt . Maybe some day I'll get into electric stuff ,but not right now this is for sure . Good luck this season with what ever you run .

glassdoctor

iTrader: (4)

I like nitro too, but more for bashing lately. I didn't think I was hard on anyone.

Sound like you just have problems with electric that most guys don't have.

Batteries last at least a year... GP3300s from 2-3 years ago don't have the voltage of the newer cells but they often still run about as good as new. Most speedos don't fry, even after several years of racing. By the time most have issues, they are a couple generations old anyway. I haven't toasted one in the last 10 years that I can recall... although my old Cyclone was having some issues after many years but still works.

I don't know many serious racers who run the motor for more than 3-4 gallons.... I should have said a rebuild not a new motor. But heck a mod motor piston/sleeve is $100.

MADMAN23

iTrader: (27)

i like eletric better... i just got out of nitro and dont plan on going back... nitro can be mess .. and every day you have to tune your rc. and at lest 1 a month you have to buy fuel.... and that can cost you $20-50 a gall . i dont run lipo and i do really good... i just run a 3600 mah battery pack and eletric is more faster then nitro ... that what caraction said ... and it cost less then nitro i thank in the long run... and its more chances that it will run lol...

gatermaxx

iTrader: (6)

at inital buy in, electrics are more expensive, within one year they neutralize, after second year nitro is more expensive. if you go to races, you can pick up used motors from pros in electric, usually have one run on them, and you can win them in raffles, as well as Batt packs. Nitro has a sweet sound, I run both, and enjoy both. Electric is a little more chill, maybe it is cause it is quieter, or there are less people doing it, than Nitro.

MADMAN23

iTrader: (27)

also you have to always check the temp ..... and i thank that electric is comeing back.... with powerfull brushless you cant go wroung....

Scrubb

I like electric modified off-road 2wd buggy. That class is the great equalizer. You can buy a "factory team" or "cr" kit and run the same car as the pro's. You can simply download a setup sheet for a track that is similar to your local track and run the same setup as the pro's. You can buy a brushless system and have minimum maintenance and maximum power where even the newbs can have more horsepower than the pros decide to run. you really only need three $40 battery packs to be competitive. You can run electric everywhere - indoors, outdoors, even in the rain, just ask the European drivers.

If you get beat in electric buggy, its because other people were better than you at driving, setup, maintenance. Electric off-road really is decided by who is the best racer, not who has the best equipment. If you get beat in electric buggy, its because other people were better than you at driving, setup, maintenance.

Rysuleod

iTrader: (1)

You guys are getting caught up arguing about cost. It doesn't matter what's cheaper. If you like nitro you suck it up and pay for the nitro stuff. If you like electric you suck it up and buy electric stuff. If you can't decide you buy both and then sit back and realize how crazy expensive this hobby has become.

The biggest thing I noticed about going from nitro 1/8th scale to electric is maintenance. The nitro car requires WAY more maintenance.

Screws are constantly are coming loose from vibration (even those you could have sworn you thread locked them). Nitro spills on the chassis from careless pit men overflowing at pit stops results in dirt stuck to EVERYTHING, clutch bearings needing constant checking to ensure your clutch doesn't break and take out a $25 clutch bell and $25 spur gear, having to find a pit man for every race, being a pit man for someone else, engines requiring constant tuning due to weather changes, I'm sure I am forgetting more.

Electric is a single man operation. You plug it in and go. If it doesn't work the troubleshooting is much simpler. Yea you can do into crazy amounts of maintenance with electric too, but it's not normally needed as much as nitro maintenance to keep the car in running order.

My pro con list looks like this:
Keep in mind my experience was in 1/8th scale not 10th scale...
Nitro pro: Long races, the cars can take a beating
Nitro con: Maintenance, (for me noise and fumes because I was at an indoor track), you really always need a good pit man thats not in your race class to help.

Electric pro: Clean, single man operation
Electric con: Short races, more potential car breakage

p.s. I agree with Casper's post on cost. For me gas was more expensive. Buying lipo and a brushless ESC in electric helps keep reoccurring costs down too.

jfc_tech

iTrader: (4)

OMG
I just finished writing a short guideline about which truck should i buy? in the blog(address below) and only then i've got email about this electric vs gas thread in rctech. Too late i already posted. I knew there are more than a simple guideline. it seems that this topic is really interesting especially for the newbie.
they wanna know which one should i buy? thats big questions.
i think i wanna post another one. thanks to you all guys.

Cain

iTrader: (294)

After going back and forth with each, I would say that I prefer the size of the vehicles in 1/8 scale nitro, but I do prefer electrics cleanness of it all. Also, there is no tuning to get it going with electric, either you got it hooked up right or not.

but, you sure do get more life out of tires with 1/8 scale nitro than I have had with 1/10 scale electric, runtime to runtime. And charging batteries for 30 - 45 minutes to run a race for 5 minutes isn't that fun.

For me, if I do electric again (thinking about 1/10 scale truck or 1/10 4wd e buggy ), it will be brushless and lipos probably. At a minimum brushless.

But with tracks getting beat hard by the nitro craze, running 1/10 scale buggies can be a real chore, almost need a 1/10 scale truggy.

FowLer

I run electric and agree, it was hella expensive to get started, i have looked into going nitro but at this time elec is just more for me. I think it is a personal preference to each individual. What i think is little or no maintenance might be alot to the next guy..
the pretty much unlimited run time with nitro has always kept my curiosity up but the quiet, fume free electric events keep me stuck on it. Outdoor season is coming up soon and a nitro car might be in my future but i think it depends on what person wants from this hobby.Just my .02.

THEYTOOKMYTHUMB

I love both for different reasons, but lean toward gas.

Electric= Clean, quiet, efficent.
Nitro= Cool sound, More powerful feel, Much more mystique than electric.

Nitro's messy though and I like to keep my cars clean at all times so it takes more time to clean up after. If you're just out bashin' and people hear a gas engine in an R/C car they're like WTF!? Less toyish(not that I ever care).

jfc_tech

iTrader: (4)

maybe i should add another one in the 6 question to answer before deciding which one ... no.7 Do you a clean guy or dirty type? If answr "clean" choose electric truck. if "no - im dirty type" choose nitro definitely.