Help me decide
 

New member here. Thinking of getting an rc car. I really know very little about them but am eager to learn. I really think i want a nitro vehicle. I know they are more difficult to keep up with and there is a learning curve but i love the nitro sound and smell and think that is what will keep me interested. I do have kids that will want to run it too but it will primarily be my toy. I am looking at a traxxas revo 3.3 as they just grab my interest unless you guys can convince me my money will be better spent on another model.
Other than advice on which truck I could also use some input on resources to learn more about rc vehicles.
I live in NH and I don’t think there are any shops or tracks around me so that is not an option

Should have mentioned i am not looking to race just bang around the yard and maybe a parking lot or two. Also if i enjoy the rc i may be interested in buying my 15 year old a cheaper nitro to bash as well. Any recommendations?

Nitro revo is a great truck to start with easy to work on and every hobbyshop I've been in carries lots of traxxas parts plus traxxas parts are cheap. If you buy new it comes with tuning DVD that shows u how to break in , tune , & maintain your nitro rc. If u buy used you can always watch all that same stuff on YouTube easily. I always recommend newcomers to purchase new from a hobbyshop (if possible), that way ur not buying someone else junk and you have that extra support if needed. For you 15yr old you could get a nitro sport for cheap also made by traxxas.

What's your budget?

Having a newbie buy a used nitro rc sounds like a recipe for frustration.

I understand your logic on why nitro would be better but I'm going to recommend that you start with an electric. There's a lot of things to get a handle on when you're first getting started and it's so much easier to run an electric rc car compared to nitro. If you end up liking rc you're inevitably going to buy more of them. That's a good time to tackle more responsibility.

Either way you can look in some of the larger hobby stores online to see if anything catches your eye.
Tower Hobbies
Horizon Hobby
Amain Hobbies
RCMart
Nitrorcx

RC forums and Youtube are good places to learn more. RC Driver and RC Car Action websites have stuff for beginers.

Here's a suggestion, LC Racing 1/14 scale trucks are really well made and you could get two of them for less than the price of one 1/10 vehicle. You and your son can race around together.
LC Racing EMB-1

I would recommend starting electric, plenty of power/speed (if not more) no messy clean up. Just plug and go, lots of smile factor. I have a heavily modded Erevo for sale if you would be interested, in in CT. I bought it and built it bullet proof but I'm a racer not a basher so it just sits.

I haven’t really decided on a budget. I am buy no means a wealthy man but i do also believe you buy once cry once. I like to buy exactly what i want the first time so I don’t outgrow my purchases. for example my first motorcycle was a Harley many people said i was crazy for spending harley money on a first bike but i can tell you i still love it and don’t have much desire for any other bike. Same applies to most things in life.

You should definitely consider getting the new Traxxas E-Revo 2.0 that gets released later this month. New Traxxas products are really exciting, especially when you get one early on. You can enjoy the truck and upgrade it as new hop-ups are released. Since it is a Traxxas product, you can bank on the fact that it isn't going anywhere and will be sold at least for the next 15 years. That means you never have to worry about parts and there will never be a point where you get bored with it, because the crazy modifications will never end.

As you can see, I'm pointing you to electric. As others have stated, why not be faster with less hassle?

I have had several revo and erevos over the years. I really like them alot, but I feel like although the traxxas 3.3 is a good strong motor it just seems a little sensitive to tune. So probably not the best first nitro.
Maybe something like this
https://www.horizonhobby.com/product...ruggy-los04011
Or a Hpi Savage X if the Losi Lst XXl nitro was still around that would be my vote. The truggy I linked, you can put monster truck tires on and have all the ground clearance and a really tough base.

I see a lot of people suggesting an electric. While I understand it is much better suited for a beginner and potentially faster they are not very interesting to me. I feel like I could learn to tune the nitro and if i do have problems i do have a buddy that ised to race rc that can help or i can drive to a hobby shop for help with it if the need persists. The ability and need to tune the truck is a big part of my interest.

Why not jump up to a two stroke, 1/5 scale truck at that point? Fuel would be a lot cheaper.

Tuning is fun at first, but when you have to re-tune for almost every run or every day, it gets real old, real fast. The gas trucks are a bit more stable in that respect and may be of better interest to you, though there is a much larger price increase. Durability of the electronics also comes into play.

i took a chance 10 years ago purchased a box full of nitro stuff 4 trucks .nitro revo nitro max. losi xxt and a 1/8 scale buggy.. resold all in a week to fund my erevo and m11 with spectrum..

I'm not sure why everyone keeps trying to talk him out of nitro.
If you want to try nitro go for it. Like I said earlier though I would probably not go with traxxas for my first nitro. That losi 8ight-t I linked would be alot easier to keep tuned.

I wouldn't say I'm trying to talk him out of it, just trying to give options.

Nitro fuel prices keep increasing, and the selection of nitro vehicles decrease. Nitro is great for some folks, but I see it going the way of the dodo bird. Not to mention resale value of nitro vehicles are in the toilet.

Like I said, I won't try and deter him, just stating my own opinions. No offense meant. He likes to tinker with stuff, so nitro might be perfect for him.