I think people get too bogged down in details regarding nitro engines - no wonder people think 'sod that' and go brushless! Lol.

RCtech has some of the best info on the Web, but let's hope that newbies to the world of nitro are not being put off by all this confusion.

Our nitro engines engines are miniature marvels but being small, sometimes they can be cranky. Please bear in mind that our IC 'nitro' engines have been around a very long time - since the 40's - long before radio control was even a thing. Long before people had infrared thermometers.

Whilst keeping an eye on engine temps is no bad thing, our engines' operating temperatures are affected by several things:

• Ambient conditions ie the weather
• The load being placed on the engine
• Air flow
• Fuel choice ie nitro/oil content
• Choice of plug
• Tuning

Getting the carb set correctly does not require a temp gun, infact for newbies, just following the operating manual and watching YouTube tutorial videos is probably more straight forward.

There is a zone where our engines will run perfectly, leaner will reduce lubrication, increase temperature and risk premature failure. Richer will increase lubrication and reduce temperature.

So observing the smoke trail from the exhaust is a really easy visual way of making sure our engines are safe. No smoke = bad.

The sound of an engine is another way of knowing if all is well.

Getting a temp gun gadget is purely as an additional aid to help you achieve a correctly tuned engine. We shouldn't ignore our senses just because we're chasing an entirely arbitrary number with a temp gun.

My engines have run at different temps throughout their lifetime. Some run cooler, others hotter. Whilst I own a temp gun, the tune I arrive at is never derived from a temperature. Rather, once the engine is tuned correctly, I record the running temperature for reference.