R\C Enthusiasts....Gotta question

[General Lee 01]

OK, does everybody remember the movie "A Christmas Story" when Ralphie wants A Red Ryder BB-Gun for X-mas and his mom says "YOU'LL SHOOT YOUR EYE OUT!". Well, I sorta got the same thing going on for myself.

 

We've been looking at several Hobby shops, and I decided I want to buy a Nitro powered R\C car (Like a T-maxx), and the first thing my mom says "NO GAS POWERED MOTORS! YOU'LL BLOW YOUR AZZ UP!"   .

 

So I have some questions for you R\C guys.

 

Is working with Nitro Powered R\C cars really that dangerous?

 

Are the Electric powered ones just as fun? Is there a noticeble difference in Performance?

[bowtie_pasta]

Dude, I'm really big into this hobby!

 

I have a totally modded Tmaxx that I race/bash all the time.  If you have common sense nitro RC are no more dangerous than electric.  I'm mean you are not going to blow yourself up.  lol

 

Only danger I can think of from nitro is if you were to drink it.     It can kill you.

 

Anyway, if you enjoy hobbies in any way you will probably love RC cars (electric and nitro).  If you have a patience problem or don't like tinkering on things, stay away.  I say this because some people jump into this hobby and don't realize things break, parts wear out.  If you don't like wrenching you probably won't like RC cars.  You may love to drive them, but imo working on them and driving them go hand in hand.  

 

Imo nitro is just waaaaaay more fun for all the obvious reasons.  Combustion motor, smelly exhaust (gotta love that nitro smell), noise, and SPEED!!!!

 

Anyway, any more questions just ask, I'll be glad to help!

 

PS - I'm painting up a sweet 2001 Chevy Silverado 4 door body for my Tmaxx right now.  Once I get it finished I'll try to get some pics up.

 

later

[General Lee 01]

Ok, here's another Q, Do you store your R\C in the garage\Shed, or in the house somewhere?

 

I guess what I'm trying to ask, is it safe to store the car inside the house?

[bowtie_pasta]

Sure, you can keep it in the house.  I know when I first got mine it spent a lot of time on the kitchen table LOL.

 

Now I just keep it in the garage on my workbench.  Plus when your collection (addiction) grows you will need some room to spread out and store your stuff.

[bowtie_pasta]

Also you will want to store your fuel out of reach of children if you have any in your household.

 

Nitro fuel can be fatal if swallowed, it also can cause blindness.

 

I heard this really sad story about some little kid who went blind from drinking nitro (he thought it was cool-aid or something).  

[Z71]

Nitro or Electric?

 

Both have pro's and con's associated with them.

 

Nitro vehicles are typically faster but they are also dirtier at the end of the day, louder and the engines can be tricky to tune.

 

Electrics have weird charging 'rules' to follow and can easily out cost a nitro vehicle if you don't charge them properly. Electric doesnt have the smell of nitro or the noise.

 

Myself, I run 1/8th scale on-road, nitro of course. 0 to 60mph in 2 seconds and it's a pure race vehicle, only see's the race track, never touches a 'normal' asphalt surface like a street or parking lot.

 

Love the hobby!

[Shaners]

Nitro!!!  Electric is OK but the charging can be a PITA and the extra batteries can run a fortune.  Your buds will be pulling in for more fuel, and you'll be shut down while you cool off your batteries and recharge them.

 

I store all three of my Nitros inside (T-Maxx, Hyper7 Big Block 4x4 Buggie, and RC-10 GT).  I also keep my fuel inside, because it is sensative to temps.

 

Breaking in the motors needs to be done slowely in order to make them last a long time.  I usually get 6+ gallons through a motor before I rebuild it.

 

Nitro can be finicky and you'll have to tune the motor to the weather conditions, but that is both fun and frustrating.

 

For all around speed and bashing the Tmaxx is the way to go.  It can have the crap beat out of it and keeps on going.  If you break something it usually only costs you $5 to get it going again.  I usually carry a fair amount of spare parts just in case something breaks.  They don't break that often, but it's nice to have the extra parts just in case.

 

The new Tmaxx with it's new motor is a snappy and fun wheely popping machine.

 

Like Bowtie, I'm big into this, and I'll help you out in anyway I can....

 

I run Byrons Fuel 15% Nitro and 20% oil mix.  It's relatively cheap ($15/gallon) and I have never had any problems with it...  in fact all my buddies have switched over because of the fantastic results I've had with it, and it saves them between $5-$10/gallon...

[bassdog]

Guess I'm the only electric owner here  

Pro's for electric:

1. No fuel to buy

2. No engine to rebuild or replace

3. No glow plugs to worry about

4. Less moving parts = less wrenching

 

Cons:

1. Cannot run them in snow or water

2. Charging the batteries can be a pain if you don't have the right equipment

3. Can't go where nitro vehicles can go (to an extent)

 

I run a Losi XXXT Matt Francis, very nice truck. No matter what you buy, be ready for expensive add-ons / equipment. I just bash around, no racing, and I have (had) $$$thousands$$$ into my trucks in the past 3 years!!!!

 

Run whatever your friends are going to run as well, makes repairs / troubleshooting easier.

[BDBWTE]

Go Nitro...Trust me you'll like it.  Yeah you have to rebuild them and tune them but for the pure acceleration aspect you'll love it.. :thumb:

[Jake99Z71]

I run both electric and nitro. I have a modded Tmax, modded Clod Buster, and electric RS4MT. I run all three year round. Yes, electric can be tricky with the charging but you buy a good charger/discharger and your batteries last quite awhile. I like my electrics for at night in the city or in the basement. I like running them in the snow,even the electric. I have never shorted one out playing in the snow.

[02 2500 Avalanche]

NITRO! I love the smell of it in the morning. They are faster and run longer than electric. ya you have to tune them but that no big deal. Every car I have is nitro, T-maxx, nitro 4tec, and 2 nitro stampedes. You can see my cars in most of my albums, including my t-maxx with the AVALANCHE body painted exactly like my Av. http://community.webshots.com/user/apache454

 

I have way too much money in my maxx and this hobby in general, but aren't the good things in life always expensive?  

 

Alex

[Firetiger(MN)]

Curious....what would a stock 4x4 T-Maxx ready to run out of the box cost?

[bowtie_pasta]

Firetiger - right now the new (Gen II) Tmaxx is right around ~$390.  If it's your first nitro RC plan on spending approximately another $75-$100 in startup gear.

 

You can check it out here:  Towerhobbies

 

later

[Shaners]

This is what it's all about!!!

 

 

It'll take a $500 bill to get you everything you need (including some spare parts) to go out and have hours and hours of fun!!!  These Tmaxx's are awesome 30mph+ machines!!!

[Firetiger(MN)]

Thanks.  So how does one of those take a fall like that?  Pretty durable or not?