diesel2111

I'm new to nitro and electric rc. I bought a slash brand new with an upgraded brushless system and I love it. But after being on the local track, I wanted to get a nitro nxt. The guy at the hobbie shop said there messy and always need work. I think he was trying to talk me out of getting one. He then said go used to see if I like it and they're cheaper. So I bought two of the net used. A ofna ultra LX pro rtr and xtm xt2. After reading the ad talking about the up grades and great for beginners, I bought them both for 200 with every to get them going. The cars are in really good condition with no scartches to the firm. Just dusty. The thing is neither won't start. I watched YouTube how to videos and read post on here. I tried the prime with my blowing into the tube til the nitro hits the carb, placing the glow stick on the glow plug then placing the ez start gun in the slot to start. Nothing. I played with the needle and still nothing. I'm gonna go buy new glow plugs for both cars. That's as far as Ive gone. Can some one throw out other ideas before I go buy antoher. This time it will be new. Thanks for any help.

johndavis

make sure you got fresh fuel 20% and the right glow plug. check your glow plug with your ignitor out of the engine it should be a bright orange. clean or replace the fuel lines it should fire right up. post back your results

johndavis

and about the cleanng and all that it does require more attention but in the end its worth it. biggest difference between electric and nitro is the engine and the fuel source or energy source both have advantages and disadvantages. im getting a electric next in a different class or type. just to have both. not any indoor tracks around here that runs nitro indoors. wonder why lol

diesel2111

Thanks man. I'm head to the local hobby shop now. I need the cross bar tool to remove the glow plug to test it. I'll pick up some lines also. These ones are a dirty yellow. Should I grab anything else to avoid the second trip? Thanks for the help.

mgtwpicco27

Even a bad engine will start up, so unless they are locked up and wont turn it is probably the glow plug(s). So, yeah, go get some fresh fuel and new plugs and change the lines, be sure they are tight on the nipples so you don't have air leaks there. Also get the right plug. .12 and .15 use a cold plug .18 to .21 use medium and anything higher use a hot plug. Of course this is to preference so you will have to figure out what you like while you are learning nitro. And be sure your glow plug ignitor is fully charged or use a d cell type ignitor. Once you get the engines running, if they run good and then, when they get hot, you cant keep them running this is usually a sign of a bad engine that loses compression as it gets hot. You will likely need to change the piston and sleeve and break it in properly. One good way to check if the engine has good compression is to try to turn it over with your finger while it is cold, if it turns and then gets hard to turn and then you feel it sort of slip as it rolls over, it may be okay for a while. If you have an engine that just turns easily and gives no resistance, you probably have a bad motor. There are alot of things to learn about nitro, for example, tuning. If you do not tune properly then you will not be able to keep the engine running for long. You can mess up an engine quickly if you do not follow the basics. I know because I trashed my first engine in my MGT by not breaking it in and just going crazy right off the bat. I'll keep an eye on this thread and try to help you if you need it.

johndavis

i agree with mgt also. start with the basics

diesel2111

First off thanks for all the replies. ok Im guessing the glow plugs were out. I got the ofna to start right up! I was pleased. I let it idle a full tank so basically it just sat and ran. Im reading up on breaking it in and tuning so i dont wanna run it til then. My other buggy is a XtM xt2. A guy at the track told me this was a good locking car because of the up grades but was ****y because of the brand. Theyre my starter cars so its cool if they get ragged on. I did the same for the XTM. I put the car at factory settings. It would power up but get real loud and die out. It looks like the fuel isnt getting sucked in feom the tank. i had to do the suck prime a few times. I opened the Low and High needle 2full turns and now the car cuts on but its going at full throttle. A pinched the line and gave up for the night. Any advice for that car? Also when the manual says Full turn, does that mean the needle goes from 0 to 30 if its a clock or 0 to 60(a full turn)?

mgtwpicco27

0 to 30 is a half turn. Put the needle settings to factory and start from there. Usually you can find owners manuals on line to get the factory setting. As far as the fuel not getting sucked up, that sounds like an air leak somewhere. Have you ever had a broken straw in a drink and when you try to suck the fluid up it's all full of air and you don't get a proper drink? That's what is going on. The pressure from the line going to the fuel tank from the exhaust pipe is supposed to push fuel and the line from the tank to the motor obviously is supposed to suck it up. If that seal is broken anywhere in the system and air is being pulled in it slows and or sometimes stops the fuel from flowing properly. So check for air leaks.

diesel2111

I'll check for a leak today. Where should I start and where should I end? The manual says if there is an air leak to tighten all screws and ties on the in and around the engine. Does that sound right? Also on the last start up, the car rev'd up this time and kept going without a cutting off. I screwed up my idle screw thinking it was the low speed needle. I screwed it in all the way and rich it out with 3.5 full turns. When I gas it up, the buggie was going full throttle. I freaked cuz it was loud and close to midnight in my house. Lucky it was on a box with the wheels lifted. The manual said the iddle should be 1/18 out. How do I find this setting?

cummins driver

My Feedback: (31)

The XTM XT2 is actually supposed to be a great basher buggy that is stronger than most. There isnt a lot of parts support for XTM most places, but you can easily get parts for them from hobby people on line, so if you need any parts, they are all available.

Also, going by the picture of your XTM XT2 buggy, it has the optional 2 speed setup. This alone is a $75.00 option from XTM and it should fly on the top end!

Here is the full online manual for the XTM:

http://media.hobbypeople.net/manual/145625.pdf

The stock needle settings for your XTM buggy should be this:

High speed- 3.5 turns out from closed
Low speed- Needle should be about flush with the carb
Idle Screw- The carburetor gap should only be a 1-2mm opening at idle

The ofna buggy you have is also a good one. It sounds to me like your XTM buggy has a good engine, but you just dont have it tuned right. Im not exactly sure what you did to the carburetor, but it sounds like you have the idle screw all the way in which wont let the engine return to idle, but will instead hold the throttle way open. Try setting to the settings above and give it a shot again. You should be able to get it running. Also, if the low speed needle is too lean, it will make the engine rev pretty high even when the idle screw is set right, and many times it will rev high and then die. You may need to richen it up some and see if that helps.

Good luck on them both, and dont give up! I started with electric, but only run nitro now just because i love having a real engine and even the tuning is fun once you figure it out. So stick with it, and you will get the hang of it. I think you will like both of the buggies a lot once you get them running and tuned correctly.

Eric

diesel2111

Yeah cummins it has a upgraded speed setup. I just wish I could get it to run right. I did the break in on on the ofna xl pro incase the past owner didn't. After, I ran it for one tank trying to figure out the right needle speed and doing check temps. I wanna do everyhting possible to not blow the motor. Had tons of fun with it. I thought my slash was fun. Nitro is way better to me. The tires kept coming off the ofna so I'm guessing new glue. Now with the xtm xt2. Even though it's giving me a hard time, it feels goods sitting in my garage working on it. I did the stock settings and now it's running when i hold the throttle open. Problem now is when I let the throttle go it runs for about ten secs then shuts off. No high revs like before just shuts off. Tomorrow I will try to lean the low speed needle out more and see where it gets me. Any other help or ideas would be great.

cummins driver

My Feedback: (31)

Sounds to me like either your idle is a little too low, or your LSN is a little too rich, so I think you are definately going in the right direction. Sounds like you are making some good progress. My XT2 should be here early this week I hope. I just traded another r/c for it, and I already have a new set of tires and wheels to go on it as soon as it gets here They are supposed to be good buggies though and the XTM 24.7 is supposed to be a great engine too.

Oh, and as for the temperature gun, that can be a good tool to have at times, but dont use it to tune your engine. Tune for performance, and smoke. If you have a good idle, snappy acceleration, and a light smoke trail, then your engine should be tuned near perfect and a temp gun isnt really needed. Of course it never hurts to see what you are running at just to be sure though. I dont have a temp gun and havent killed a motor yet, so all i am saying is dont tune solely with the temp gun.

I think you are really going to like the 1/8 buggies though. In loose dirt/jumps they are an absolute blast to drive, and they are extremely tough too[8D]

Keep us updated with your progress.

Eric

firebird78

I'm just glad to see ya didnt get totally hosed buying used....I'm verrrry weary doing that unless I can see em in person or know who I'm buying it from

cummins driver

My Feedback: (31)

Buying used can be bad, but I have done a lot of trading with nitro vehicles, and have not ended up with any real junk yet. It can be really bad if you are first getting into it though if you have several problems because it makes it much harder for a new person to troubleshoot.

dantheman237

 Hey i just got an xt2 yesterday and the steering servo sticks to one side whenever i turn fr a while and when i try to turn the other way nothing happens. I asked XTMHow2 (a youtube channel) what was wrong and he said it was probably interference cuz he has an xt2 and had a similar problem until he switched to 2.4 radio. this is my first rc ever and idk what it is! Please help!!!

diesel2111

Busy work week so I haven't been able to post an update. Both nitro RCs are working. I ran them both this sunday at the RC park. Man I had a blaste with them especailly on the straight aways. I need more practice with controlling them during turns and how to take a jump without noise diving the buggie. But thanks for everyones help.

cummins driver

My Feedback: (31)

Mine seemed to be doing that until i put new batteries in the transmitter. You might try that first if you have used batteries in it.

nitroman88

My Feedback: (5)

diesel hit the throttle more on the face of a jump and you wont nose dive as bad, and give it alittle gas while its in the air if need be. also some people have alittle drag brake set up so that when they are at idle there brakes are on alittle bit. some people have this without even knowing it so if you do every time you let off the throttle its going to nose dive. I personally have no drag brake on my buggy, if I want the nose to come down I just lock the brakes up. have fun, peace

1320Fastback

Glad you got them running, I also got a used but practically new XT2 TE as my first Nitro car and it wouldn't start either. Put a new plug in it and set the needles per the manual and it fired right up. I then started to tune it and ended up with the HighSpeed at 2 turns out and the LowSpeed at 3 turns out. It has a faint-moderate trail of smoke at full boogie and runs at 220 degrees. It idles fine and transitions seamlessly to the highspeed.

djzachtyler

My Feedback: (4)

if you are nose diving in the air you are going too hard on the brakes mid air... the wheels act like gyros... if you hammer the brake off the jump the nose will drop, if you hammer the throttle the back end will drop... it takes a bit of practice to fly a buggy but once you get it down it is like learning to skate backwards. the most important thing to remember about jumping is when you are just about to land your jump make sure you are off throttle, and off brake as well, if you land while braking, or with throttle applied you risk damage to your drive train as it puts excessive shock on the diffs, Spur gear and clutch bell...

Just remember practice makes perfect in this case. I would also recommend against trying to launch that XTM with the 2 speed too much, it looks to have plastic spurs, which would be a PITA to be replacing after 1 too many bad landings, practice your jumping technique with the OFNA buggy, it is better suited...

diesel2111

Thanks for the really good advice. I went to a track today to watch and get pointers. I now understand the giving it gas at the face of the jump and letn of the brake mid air. I will also practice with the OFNA for now to save damage on the xtm. The xtm has a pull the the left problem and I'm working on it but nothing seems to be helpn. Also can some one let me know what shock oil to use for a dirt track with tons of jumps and also what setting the shocks should be at for taking jumps? I have the front up high and the back down low for now.

nitroman88

My Feedback: (5)

nose up an back down is good, I run kyosho blue springs all way round, im not sure what i run for oils its been awhile, just see what the fast guys are running. all this talk i cant wait for spring too come and go racing again!!

did you adjust your trim on your radio on the xtm, your trim may be maxed out so you will probably have to take your servo horn off, center the trim,center the wheels,and put it back on. if this doesnt work then there is something mechanically wrong with the front end.

I never worry bout breaking my tranny when i land I just worry bout my next move on the track, you wont be fast unless you look forward and let your hands do the rest.

1320Fastback

I was cleaning my almost new XT2 TE and had the springs off of the shocks and noticed that they blew out at half stroke. I took the caps off and saw that all 4 were only filled 3/4 of the way. They don't leak and have not noticed any oil anywhere other than by the pipe so they must have come like this from the factory. It now jumps better and floats thru the gnarly rhythm section at the track I go to instead of getting bucked up into the air. You guys should probably check your also if you have never had them apart.

nitroman88

My Feedback: (5)

seals wear out over time, even the highest quality shocks will loose oil. the advantages of having a kit is you can fill them the right way, most rtrs come filled all wierd and unconsistent, I took apart my buddys rtr bout 2 days after he had it and the shocks didnt have any oil in them, talk about a peice of junk.

diesel2111

Same here. I took my rtr slash rear stock shocks off and they had no oil. That was odd. The front did though. Gonna go get some oil today. Not in a rush because most parks around my way are closed due to the rain flooding them out.