Originally Posted by
Sharkey_t
nitro is is finickey no matter what scale you run it at, and methanol alcohol is even worse. ive worked with both quite a bit on full scale, both working on a nostalgia nitro funny car and multiple different blown alcohol applications. it is in part to do with the low stoichiometric ratio (the ratio of oxygen to fuel where you have a perfect burn). methanol is 6.4:1 oxygen to fuel, nitro is 1.7. with both alcohol and nitro you have narrow air/fuel window where power will be ideal. on the flip side, gasoline has a stoich air/fuel ratio of 14.7:1, and best power is made around 12.8:1. gas has a wide tuning window because of this and is less suceptable to changed in weather conditions.
i honestly cant comment on how it really will work going to 1/10 scale gas. however ive seen go-peds running zenoah based motors on alcohol and around 40% nitro. they are both very finickey and take lots of playing around to get just right. meanwhile, the gas ones are almost set and forget.
everyone seems so quick to shoot down an idea that could change this hobby forever. the nitro world is shrinking, and a gas engine could (not saying for sure that it will) offer easier tuning, cheaper fuel, longer run times, and possibly less noise (depends on the exhaust system), this could really be what the hobby needs to get the fuel powered stuff back on top.
and here is the car i was thinking of
http://www.mecoa.com/compagnucci/index.htm
Sharkey, not shooting you down mate. For most of us that have been racing 1:10 nitro for a while there are worn bald spots on our heads from scratching as to where to put things and keep the chassis narrow and cg low and pwer to weight ratios. In recent times the engines are the least of our problems.
It's not the nitro thats making the "GAS" cars less appealing, it's battery technology, electronic speed controllers and brushless motors making the EP cars more appealing. Where power and speed, run time was only an option in "gas", electric cars are now as fast, run for longer, more reliable and less maintenance.
Finicky indeed, and in most part due to scale, a cheap .12cubic inch nitro can be a little mongrel to tune, in recent times the price has dropped considerably and and if you hunt around for bargains you can get an older model NovaRossi 353 for less than $300US. They can be reliable and last a few years if cared for with a conrod change or two. In all honesty, these engines need little more than 1/4 turn richer or leaner at most depending on air temp and atmospheric conditions to operate at their optimum.
Yes, many of us have at some point in time looked to 1:5 on-road with envy as they fill it with two stroke, pullstart it and GO!! That's why many people love their Bajas.
On a less serious note, 1:10 engines have taught me how to race tune my whipper snipper and my wife thinks thats the most usefull outcome of us playing with toy cars. For me, nothing beats the smell of Nitro / Castor fuel, love the sound of a 1:10 scale on the pipe screaming at 40,000