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Nitro or electric for 8-year-old?

Old 03-28-2014, 08:22 AM
  #26  
HerrSavage
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The Traxxas mini E-revo is the worst RC I've ever owned.. If the parent is buying the RC, it has to interest him/her too...

I can have my nitro up and running immediately after pulling it out of the car. OK, start it up, and let it warm up for one minute before really pinning it... But I do that with my electric (MT4 G3) too. It's not "hard" once you have a clue, and takes no more time, effort, or whatever than electric to get up and running.

It really does seem that the majority of people saying things like that about nitro have only ever had some POS Traxxas RTR, which really was a PIA... Traxxas is a brand best skipped altogether - especially their nitros.. If you owned a cheap pullstart nitro once, which was difficult, that experience does not apply to all nitro. And no, "good" nitros don't have to be expensive.. I just sold a Dynamite Big Red for 50 bucks, which I paid $119 for, and ran for four years.. It still had great compression and ran great when I sold it(have an oversupply of engines though, and undersupply of time..) The buyer was thrilled.

Last edited by HerrSavage; 03-28-2014 at 08:27 AM.
Old 03-28-2014, 08:25 AM
  #27  
HerrSavage
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Originally Posted by Antares100
Not taking sides,as I have both electric and nitro, though I fly, don't drive. But PLEASE see the new post today, "Another Lithium Polymer Fire". Not judging, but this could happen to ANYONE, so electric has it's own list of problems. For a young man who may have a low attention span (as we ALL did at that age before it was labelled ADD), supervision of both the child and the batteries and/or fuel/engine is a necessity, NOT an option. And not supervision 2 rooms or 100 feet away. After the fact, armchair quarterbacking is worthless. At the least, there could be a mishap. At worst, it could be tragic. Again this applies to both methods. R/C is a great pastime. Good luck to you and your son.

Right on - on multiple points.. I started flying last year too(electric only at this stage..), went to a meeting of the local club, and this older very experienced guy (with one of those multi-thousand Euro jets...), emphatically made the same point to everyone: BE CAREFUL WITH LIPOS.. He had several stories of real and near disasters (including ones involving charging receiver lipos in jets full of kerosene...), and definitely made an impression on me. All my lipos, from 1s to 5s, are all now in lipo bags, and I try at least to be a bit paranoid about them. My wife, after seeing various youtube vidoes, plus an E-revo go up in flames at the local park, and the tip of my thumb ripped off from my own MT4 G3 (my own dumb fault...), wishes I would just stick with nitro... Brushless and lipos can definitely be dangerous. I'm not saying that to overstate the issue either - but to correct the idea, suggested here..., that they are absolutely fool-proof and that it's not necessary to learn about and be halfway cautious with them.

Last edited by HerrSavage; 03-28-2014 at 08:31 AM.
Old 03-28-2014, 08:45 AM
  #28  
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Originally Posted by HerrSavage
The Traxxas mini E-revo is the worst RC I've ever owned.. If the parent is buying the RC, it has to interest him/her too...
.
Won't disagree in the slightest the Merv IMO needs almost half as much as the RC costs in aftermarket parts to make it decent. Stock I found it to be a turd.


Originally Posted by HerrSavage
It really does seem that the majority of people saying things like that about nitro have only ever had some POS Traxxas RTR, which really was a PIA... Traxxas is a brand best skipped altogether - especially their nitros.. If you owned a cheap pullstart nitro once, which was difficult, that experience does not apply to all nitro. And no, "good" nitros don't have to be expensive..
Agree too also to add most people don't bother following the instructions either, and decide to lean out the engine, and go run full throttle on the 1st tank then wonder why there engine don't work.

Hell I bought my savage X off one such person he claimed to only have run 3 tanks on the engine. The shell had a hole in it from scrapping on the ground upside down, and he said it kept popping wheelies on him. Funny thing is the thing should not have even touched the ground yet. For the record the dude jacked the engine up in 3 tanks running it insanely lean(I could not even get it to turn over it was so lean) without breaking it in, and it was cheaper to buy another engine(of course I paid as the engine was shot). Only reason I believe in the 3 tanks thing was outside the body post top, and body there were no scratches on the rest of the truck, and any savage owner knows that is not easy to pull if you actually run it
Old 03-28-2014, 03:40 PM
  #29  
OliverJacob
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How about a gas engine? When I lived in Germany, I had a FG on road car, and it was great. Cheap to operate and
reliable, it only needed new tires here and there.
Engine tuning is not a problem, once the needles are set, you have to barely ever touch them.

I just had to stir up the pot, haha.

I admit I am an airplane and helicopter guy, I fly electric, glow and gas. The majority is glow powered and it's fun to get the engines to run right, but it can be frustrating, too.

So these can be a real pain, sometimes they just don't like to run right and they are messy and noisy, fuel is not cheap...
I am sure the kid will be able to handle it, but the electric setup is a lot less complicated and probably a better way to get started.

There are dangers in every hobby and virtually everything we do can lead into a disaster, I bet he will do fine with
a brushless car and lipos, I'd make sure he will know about the potential lipo and esc fires
Old 03-28-2014, 06:49 PM
  #30  
049flyer
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I owned a hobby shop for about 10 years, sold lots of RC vehicles. If the vehicle is REALLY for dad then get what YOU want. IF the vehicle is REALLY for your son get an electric.

Nitro is WAY more complicated to fix, maintain and keep clean. It takes some people a LONG LONG time to figure out how to tune the engine or even get it started, some never do figure it out and give up within a short period.

I have only seen one young person under 12 or so with the patience and aptitude to tune a Nitro car. If your son goes around the house taking apart the satellite receiver, power tools, mom's sewing machine and is eyeing your lawn mower then you might have just such a child! If not electric!

Electric is nearly fool proof, simple, cleaner and much easier to repair. Try to avoid Lipo batteries for awhile but buy a charger that is Lipo capable. Above all buy the brand of car that has good parts support in your area. It's nice to be able to buy the part locally rather than wait for the UPS truck to bring you a $5.00 part.

Last edited by 049flyer; 03-28-2014 at 07:02 PM.
Old 03-28-2014, 07:29 PM
  #31  
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Originally Posted by HerrSavage
The bigger point is though, this is a hobby, and not a toy. You're going to have to learn to shim diffs, mesh gears, solder plugs, etc.. It's ALL a hobby - electric or nitro. And nitro is not so much harder than electric - not like people say. And I've seen more experienced guys fry ESC's recently than newbs. Nitro did seem daunting to me when I got started, but it was mostly in my head. The engines are more resilient than people make out, and break-in and tuning are not that hard. A lot of people - even some who really do know what they are doing, yet lack a broader perspective - make it out to be a bigger deal than it is. Yes, you have to learn it - but once you do, it's that much more rewarding. There are many things in life which are that way - they're better because you mastered them yourself instead of just buying your way around it, or having it handed to you. Plus, nitro (a good, well-tuned one..) just sounds cool.. Subjective? Hell yes.

But again, it's not rocket science. The vast majority of the supposed "difficulty" is just in peoples' heads - mine too at one point...

But whatever. The main point, already mentioned, is that an 8-year old shouldn't be messing with 8th scale high-performance nitro OR electric - not unsupervised anyway. With the help of a parent, either can be good.. So it's personal preference.. (i.e. subjective..)
Sorry bud I disagree...I wouldent say its a hobby not a toy. that logically does not make sence. a hobby is a thing u do where a toy is a physical object.
The fact is rc cars are a toy, no doubt about it. there only function is to amuse, they have no other purpose.
just because some own a rc car it does not instantly make them involved in the hobby. That is determined by there passion.
The only way I rc car would be considered not a toy, if it was been used as a tool to complete a required task that was not just for amusement.

For some people rc cars are just a occasional thing and they don't consider it a hobby.

I don't know how we got on the subject of high performance 1/8 vehicles, but I don't think anyone is recommending them nitro or electric.
for a child I still recommend something 2wd from traxxas, because they could go years with out having to shim a diff, mesh some gears or even bust out a soldering iron.
there is a whole range of beginner vehicles around, I just used traxxas as a example.
Old 03-28-2014, 07:44 PM
  #32  
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Kids are amazing tho.... check this out, this is my 2yo boy... he is better than our 8yo lol

I think if a child can learn throttle control and does not enjoy crashing (my 3yo does) they can be trusted to drive more powerful vehicles.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qedJ2LObI4s
Old 03-28-2014, 10:36 PM
  #33  
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Real race cars don't just work "out of the box" and last forever without maintenance, repairs, and learning how they go together and work. RC's entail input - that's what makes them different from toys afaic. People can see things differently of course, but I anyway want no part of that dumbed down approach to the hobby. And that "argument" for electric - that it's supposedly plug and play and so easy, and requires no maintenance or repairs or learning curve (in addition to being patently false)is just that - a dumb approach to the hobby. RC is not a video game with a reset button or a toy to throw away when something breaks.

Last edited by HerrSavage; 03-28-2014 at 10:39 PM.
Old 03-28-2014, 11:48 PM
  #34  
Large Larry
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What is your end game here HerrSavage? Do you actually think the OP should get a nitro for his 8 year old son?
Old 03-29-2014, 12:02 AM
  #35  
HerrSavage
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My main point is just that IMO RC in general - nitro or electric - is a hobby, and as such entails input from the owner. By "input" I mean learning, maintaining, repairing, maybe upgrading, etc..

That said, in my opinion, if this thread is ostensibly about what to get for an 8-year old, then what it's really about is what to get for the parent who's going to have to buy, maintain, and repair it(and oversee its use..) I have both, and for me personally I prefer nitro. For a young kid, I can imagine opting for electric, but not for any reasons given so far. Mainly, because you can put the power down to like %25 and work up step by step so they can learn to handle it. But that depends on the people and what their priorities are - more to build something together, more just to drive it in the yard, or what.. With nitro, especially if the parent doesn't know how to run them, it can be more of a challenge. BUT - some people like that. Maybe the parent wants a project like that - to learn together how to run nitros, etc..

I run at a local park that has all kinds of RCs - electrics, gassers, nitros.. And lots of people stop by to watch. And in all honesty, the kids (and old people alike..) are more bug-eyed and awed at my nitros than the others... There's a 6s E-revo which is very fast (when it's not out of commission with broken axles and diffs..), but my LST2 with LRP ZR.30X is no slouch. LOTS of fun - and honestly, brushless doesn't have much on it - maybe a bit of top speed.. It also idles and tunes great..

Here's the last outing:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_vSdwHqui08 Crummy jumping(overrotating the flips.. ) - rusty after the winter.. But the truck stood up to it and ran and still runs great...


Anyway, IMO it's up to the parent. What do they want? To do and learn something together? To just let the kid play in the yard? Where do they plan to run the things? In the street out front, or maybe they have a cool offroad site? As with EVERYTHING, there are a ton of variables, and canned simplistic answers like "electric is easier than nitro" are of limited value.. Everybody's situation - like their tastes and preferences - are different. Take the kid to see some RC's running - nitro and electric - and let him decide..

All that said, NITRO RULES.

Last edited by HerrSavage; 03-29-2014 at 12:13 AM.
Old 03-29-2014, 02:30 AM
  #36  
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If someone was looking for a 1/10 nitro off-roader what would u reccomend???

Most nitro 1/10 stuff I know of, are slow on today's standards, I just want to make the point that yeah sure nitro is great in 1/8 scale but I think its a different story for 1/10.
Old 03-29-2014, 02:55 AM
  #37  
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I don't believe in 10th scale anything personally.. Nearly 8th scale money, but much less car..

I think the Losi Ten stuff was good... Being sold off cheapish these days I think.. But even then, you get so much more car with for ex. a Hyper 7 (or that other Ofna buggy.. LX2 or whatever..) or MT4 G3.. Or a Savage, MGT, etc..

Last edited by HerrSavage; 03-29-2014 at 03:08 AM.
Old 03-29-2014, 04:31 AM
  #38  
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...Lipos and chargers are not safe for anybody who acts irresponsible.

Why don't we just put our kids in their rooms, where they are safe and let them play video games and feed the pizza all day?
As soon as a challenge comes up and the kid seems to fail, we protect and defend it from all the 'bad things' in the world.

Oh wait, that is already happening...

Back just 20 years ago, we fell with our bikes, laughed about bloody knees and kept going. Today the kid will be taken to the ER and
the bicycle manufacturer will be sued.

Just don't act surprised when this kid grows up and fails in every little task.

If a child shows real interest in rc cars, planes, boats - I will be supportive and sure talk about safety. With 8 years he is old enough to understand
Old 03-29-2014, 07:00 AM
  #39  
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^u don't have kids do u???

I'm not trying to be mean or anything, it's just in my experience comments like that generally come from people without kids. I don't know a single parent that would agree with any of that.
Parenting styles have changed over the years due to child deaths and the media, we are learning new ways to keep our children safe from other people's mistakes. It's not warping them up in cotton wool. It's more about stoping our kids doing stupid ****.

Very interesting thread, we have gone from rc car recommendation for a 8yo to a debate about nitro vs electric and now parenting
Old 03-29-2014, 08:59 AM
  #40  
OliverJacob
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Na, not getting into that.
A lipo battery is safe in the hands of a responsible user. An 8 year old should be able to handle it.
Just get him the proper equipment and training. It's all good.
Charge and store the batteries in a safe place, keep an eye on them while and after charging.
Old 03-29-2014, 09:07 AM
  #41  
HerrSavage
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My understanding is that lipos can be dangerous, even in responsible hands. Not saying that as part of the electric vs. nitro thing, but in general for all of RC. Planes, helis, whatever.
Old 03-29-2014, 09:18 AM
  #42  
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Yeah, they can blow up. You put them in a safe container, metal ammo box or similar, when charging and leave them in there for a few minutes and let them cool down. That is when almost all lipo fires happen.

Just always leave them in the box when not in use.
If you esc or battery starts burning, let it burn and don't let anybody get near it. It's a toy and can be replaced.
Old 03-29-2014, 01:47 PM
  #43  
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you are kidding right? trained or not., whats the percentage of responsible 8 year old kids????
lets see what happens when daddy is not at home to supervise his "show off" instinct.

lipo safe for an 8 year old? best joke of 2014 lol
Old 03-29-2014, 04:55 PM
  #44  
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I think this thread has run its course.....maybe a little hijacked

Last edited by phmaximus; 03-30-2014 at 03:41 AM.
Old 03-29-2014, 06:52 PM
  #45  
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I just call it "prevention"

good luck to the op.
Old 03-30-2014, 04:32 AM
  #46  
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IMO... if the kid is going to play by himself with no supervision = electric, (NO LIPO's)
if dad is going to get involved in the hobby = electric or nitro, just pick the one you like.

By the way, my oldest son started with nitro when he was 6 under my supervision... 24/7. Hes now 23
I'm 45 now but I also started with nitro at 19... and no supervision lol
Old 03-30-2014, 04:45 AM
  #47  
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There is no practical advise here, do not take this too serious. It's a good entertainment an fun to read some of the comments.
So the he should not get a glow engine - the kid will be overwhelmed with the complicated technology and he will get poisoned
by the fuel.
Electrics are simpler (some believe they are not) , but the Lipo battery and the esc will likely burn and and hurt the kid.

Now you could net a Nimh battery - but they really don't work well in high current applications and probably have a short lifespan.
So maybe a NiCd battery would be the right choice here. They don't perform as well as a Lipo, but be good enough tho get started.

I think everybody has some good and valid points here. It would be more helpful to point out the pros and cons of each setup and be open minded about different opinions. I mean all of us (me, too).

There is simply not a perfect answer for this question.

My suggestion would be - find the nearest club and spend some time talking to the people and watch.
After a while you will have a much better idea on what to get for your boy.

Maybe you find a good deal on a used car.
Old 03-31-2014, 01:08 AM
  #48  
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Get him a cheap NIMH brushed setup and let him learn showing him the correct way to handle things such as charging and let him help fix things when they break. No sense spending 400$ on a brushless and lipo setup and the kid ends up not wanting anything to do with RC. If he truley likes it and wants more then upgrade in the future. Nimh is plenty fast for him which in turn youll break alot less, safe (with supervision) and just as fun as a brushless on 2s lipo for bashing. Without all the added "dangers" of lipo that people claim. All that bs is because of improper handling and burnt up ESC's are from people overgearing not checking temps and running too many cells on an esc not recommended for it. I wouldnt recommend nitro although my personal preference IS nitro. Save those until hes a bit older, or get youself one and let him mess around with it a little bit. Watch his reactions and see what HE likes better. RC is RC there is no better than the other. Its all fun an games.
Old 03-31-2014, 02:25 AM
  #49  
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I prefer electric brushless stick the battery in and go any where and afterward clean with a brush and store no having to mess with tunning to suit conditions the noise which the neighbours wont like and having to buy the fuel over and over ive had the same batteries for nearly 2yrs now,and get the lipos at 8 yrs old kids aint stupid and they take on responsibillity well because its of there own accord and not someone else but a good charger is a must.

Also that way he wont be longing to go faster or bigger rooster tails because youll already have it just maybe turn down the throttle trim to begin with or a very big open area.
Old 05-17-2014, 01:41 PM
  #50  
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I am wondering if I should get a Traxxas Nitro Rustler or a Traxxas 1/16 mini E-revo vxl (with additional battery ). I am fairly experienced with rc. I have a very old nitro vee that does not work, but the few times I got to run it I had a blast. so basically can you guys give me some of your opinions and some pros and cons of each.
btw it would be used for driving in a big backyard, the road and a field. thanks

Last edited by Traxxas_Vee6; 05-17-2014 at 01:43 PM.

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