Your engine isn't old but it's "worn out", why?
 

Things that cause the engine to wear quickly:
-Improper air filtration
-Running too lean
-Not enough cooling
-Cheap fuel

The solutions:
Improper air filtration... keep your air filter clean and oiled, upgrade to a high performance air filter if you run in areas with excessive dust. You'd be amazed at the engines that we see come in with dirt all over the inside of the engine.
Running too lean... adjust the carb. as often as needed so that you see a nice trail of smoke at FULL SPEED. Running it too lean on the top end will overheat the engine.
Not enough cooling... cut out your body windows according to instructions. If you don't have enough airflow over the head you won't be able to keep the engine cool. It is highly recommended that you purchase some sort of temperature gauge. Engine temperatures over 250F will cause the engine to wear quickly.
Cheap fuel... don't buy $10/gallon fuel that is blended for airplanes. Car fuel is designed for cars, the oil blend is different than helicopters and airplane fuel. Not all car fuels are the same, some have less oil than others. Too much oil will bog down the engine at idle and decrease performance, not enough oil will make the engine wear more quickly. Car fuel labeled "Race" usually has a little less oil, it is intended for maximum performance at the expense of engine life. If you are driving off-road you really don't need a "Race" blend. The fuel is what lubricates and cools the engine, don't skimp on quality.

How to stop the engine?
If the engine is tuned properly (not too rich or too lean), it is perfectly safe to let the fuel run out completely and let the engine die. If you want to stop running the car before the fuel runs out, use a rag to stick over the exhaust tip to stop the engine. Make sure it is thick enough or bunched up so you do not burn your hand. Do not use your thumb over the air filter to stop the engine, you may push dirt from the filter into the engine. NOTE: NEVER use your finger or thumb to stop the flywheel of the engine, this is very dangerous and possibly harmful to your hand!:)

Plugging the exhaust to stop an engine kills plugs, I stop them by bumping the flywheel.
An offroad engine runs cooler on less oil percentage fuels. (must be good fuels)

Rex

Not setting your piston to BDC while it cools kills your motor pretty quickly too.

yes majority of engines run around 250 or less but its not a "rule" as long as their is smoke and good power then temp. is irrelivant.

I also bump the flywheel to stop the engine 9/10 times.

Not all completely accurate.

Plugging the exhaust isn't the preferred way to kill the engine. Plugging the exhaust will flood the engine which can kill plugs and make re-starting more difficult. Bumping the flywheel is a much better method.

Running at or under 250 degrees is not always the case. Some engines run hotter than others. Tuning by temp is one of the worst habits you can get into with nitro engines.

Running fuel with too much oil can be harmful. Most RTR blend fuels have way more oil than needed which only robs power and does no good really.

My opinion.;)

Nitrokings huh ?
Kudos , nice attempt and A for effort

Maintain airfilter with high quality filters , trust me you don't wanna use cheapo budget filters , use a good quality fuel , shy away from your small time no name brand stuff you have never heard of , stop the engine by the flywheel or pluggin the carb intake , stopping the engine by covering the exhaust will blow out the front bearing prematurely , engines run where they run , temp are almost irrelevant but are good reference points for when your engine is running properly and you wanna remember where it was running right at , novarossi engines are normally about 150-165degrees above ambient temps under normal humididty conditions .

Anyway , there are so many things , if you wanna know just ask

Thank you for the responses. I also learned from those :nod:

Improper break-in procedure is what kills most
nitro engines. Also, pre-heating your nitro engine
each time you fire it up will help you get extra
gallons of run time out of it.

I am going to start a new thread and label it

Nitro engine care "tech tips"

It sounds like a good idea and hope fully a mod will sticky it up top