fredbobjoe

My Feedback: (2)

I would like to know, because i want to get an rc car, but the nitro looks a bit expensive. how long will 1 quart last?

IBrakeForNobody

My Feedback: (16)

Nitros don't get "gas" mileage. [&:]

That aside, it depends on what truck, what engine, fuel tank capacity, and how you drive. A 11lb Savage 25 with a Picco .28 or OS .30VG or even the stock Nitro Star .25 will burn more fuel than say, a 9lb Traxxas Revo with a .15. A gallon typically has about 8-12 fillups depending on how large your tank is. I had a RC10GT Plus RTR, and one tank of fuel lasted anywhere from 5-15 minutes. 5 minutes if I just do Wide Open Throttle, and 15 minutes if I'm just driving around. I burned 1/2 a gallon a month, running one day a week. I also had a Savage 25, and that could suck a tank dry in 15 minutes.

If you are concerned about fuel mileage, then A: get a new hobby or B: lean it out. [&:] Or, go into electrics. A battery initally is about $40-50 for a good one, and a charger is another $50-$100 but the battery will last about a year (more or less) for the average basher, as opposed to a gallon of fuel that costs $25 and can be used once.

jkulhanek

1 quart lasts me 25 miles exactly with my modified O.S. .12. This is general bashing and mucking around with it.

This equates to about 3 hours of bashing.

Hope this helps.

I pay $5.95 per quart to make my homebrew fuel 25% Nitro with 13% coolpower synth and 3% castor. This is extremely cheap in Australia as it's about $20 AUD in the shops. I make my own fuel and save over 50%.

-Inverted-

Personally if this is your first question nitro isn't for you, r/c is an expensive hobby and if you cant afford that you cant afford the cost too pay for broken parts, and you will break parts.

fredbobjoe

My Feedback: (2)

thanks for the info. I am prepared to pay the prices of this hobby, I just wanted to know how these things sucked down the gas.

dustin7837

My Feedback: (1)

With my Stock CEN .16 engine i got about 15 mins or so on a 125cc tank. With an OS .18 in the same vehicle it is about 13 mins. A gallon is only 20$ so it's not too bad.
1 gallon is about 30 125cc tanks. so that SHOULD last 6 hours. Due to idleing and colder weather etc. you will get less than that but the "mileage" isn't that bad.
The main thing i like about nitro over electric is that when you run out of fuel, it takes you 10 seconds to refill. No charging batteries and having a ton of them on hand if you want to run for a whole day.
Just my 2 cents

-Inverted-

You only need 2 batteries, and the battery will be done charging before your run time is up. It takes me just as long to change batteries as it does to refuel a nitro tank. I can get twice as much runtime your getting... on the same battery pack. They both are fun but comes down to what you can afford.

Rs43EVOman

OMG caddy kid again i have neveer seen a post of your thats doesnt lead up to how you think Electrics are better! As far as the Gas milegge thing, its quite alot when you think about it because look at how small these tanks are, you get plenty of mileage out of them, as long as its tune correctly

DaveG55

Two batteries for all day running????????
Run one down, slap it straight onto a charger and run it as soon as it's charged???????????
Do that repeatedly??????????
Isn't that about the worst thing ever for a battery????

fredbobjoe,
Nitro and electric are both fun vehicles. Both have their own unique set of quirks and issues. As for expense, that really depends on you. You can get a decent, entry level Nitro or Electric Stadum truck for around $200. You'll probably have to spend another $50-$100 on accessories to get started good. Of course you could easily spend several times that on the vehicle and accessories but you CAN get started for that. From that point it will depend on how hard you drive, how much you want to improve performance and how many vehicles you end up with.
It is generally easier for a complete newbie to start with an electric vehicle but it's NOT impossable to start with nitro and have great results.

Wide Open

its more cost effective to buy gallons, thats what i do. with one gallon you can get about 53 tanks worth of 75 cc tanks, which is the average stadium truck size tank. i have an .18 in my st so its pretty thirsty, so i get about 6 or 7 minutes of full throttle running, but more if i use throttle management. it all depends on your driving style.

Evader 53

When I had my evader, when I first got it I got about 15 min. run-times, but now; no matter how perfectly its tuned, the thing sucks down more gas than a savage.

Midget

yeah as the engine gets older and doesnt have as much compression, you'll fined that half the fuel tanks drips out of the stinger

-Inverted-

What are you guys talking about "all day" I didnt know people drove 4 hours straight if thats what your talking about. If you absolutely run for a long time without stopping (only to refuel) then nitro is for you. Although thats not even good for a nitro motor. A break is nessecary. The 2 batteries was just an assumption, you can run over an hour with the same 2 batteries without ruining the battery. I run about 3 but it all depends on how long you guys are running.

I only get to posting that because others have said how nitro is "so much" better and "more fun",

It just seems that every post I see about a new guy with his first car someone always posts how "nitro is so much better". Then again these are usually the people who think nitro is faster then electrics.....

Philster

Fuel is a funny thing in the hobby. If you don't have alot of money, your car will sit in need of repair for extended periods of time, so a gallon can last someone who is poor for a about two years/or two "running seasons.

For someone who has spare cash to fulfill his/her hobby dream, a gallon will last about one to two months per vehicle. When you have money to replace broken parts, or to replace worn glow plugs, batteries and other things, your ride will be on the road alot, going through a quart or more a week.

You can be like my brother-in-law, who brags about his very clean LST, which he has owned since the first LST hit the shelves. He has spent about 25 bucks on fuel in the past 18 months, because he doesn't have a clue how to keep it running. He has the money, just no clue.

My answer is this: to enjoy the hobby, you really need to blow thru a few gallons of fuel per vehicle per running season. Here in the NE USA, the running season is from mid April to October. With the heaviest use in May and September, since it is so nice out. My vehicles need to blow thru several gallons each. Anything less is a shelf queen. And with that running comes a few hundred in misc parts/accidents/enhancements....EASILY.

KyleR

By that statement, I'm guessing that Nitro has a long shelf life? How long, realistically, can a bottle of Nitro last before it should be chucked and fresh fuel purchased?


-K

Dawman

My Feedback: (33)

Funny , I was thinking the same thing. LOL

As far as gas , it depends how much you drive it and how you drive it. Myself , I have quite a few of nitro cars and I`ll go through a few cases in the summer.

Philster

I have run nitro fuel (Byrons) that was in excess of ten years old. Properly stored in the appropriate airtight container and away from sunlight, the shelf life is indefinite: closed airtight - no sun - off the floor.

I actually prefer the quart-sized bottles, as they keep the fuel fresher. A big gallon jug will have alot of air in it (even if you squeeze it down). The moisture in the air is absorbed by the fuel (bad news). Also, big gallon jugs seem to be more transparent, letting in sunlight (which reacts to degrade the fuel).

Gallons are cheaper drop for drop, buy I prefer smaller quart bottles for freshness.

KyleR

How about saving a few of your quart bottles, buying by the gallon, and transferring the fuel from the gallon jug to 4 of your quart bottles? That'd give you the best of both worlds.

-K

jkulhanek

Not entirely true. As long as your engine is maintaining a good temperature, there is no reason to stop. I sometimes run for hours at a time without shutting the engine off once.

Think about it like this, Taxi's generally last close to 1,000,000 miles, this is because the engines seldom get shut off long enough for them to cool down. And as everybody knows, the first 10 minutes in a vehicle has the most wear and tear on engines. Taxi engines are almost always hot and that makes them last longer.

fredbobjoe

My Feedback: (2)

I was planning to get a used car, (not too used) because it would be cheaper. is this a good way to start out?

Mopzilla

Nitro can be had for $10 per gallon - just buy the lower nitro airplane fuel (0-10%) - same stuff, less advertising = lower price. Lower nitro content will increase engine life.


Mileage:

go figure it out:
10000cc = 2.6417 gal
3785.412cc = 1gal
75cc tanks = 50.4 tanks = about 50 tanks.
125cc tanks = 30 1/8 scale tanks.

1 tank = 10-15mins (.12size w/75cc, .21 size w/125cc)

So there you go, 50 tanks for a .12 size and 30 tanks for an average racing .21 car or buggy.

Why nitro is better than electric:

If you're running offroad, when are you ever going to go 55mph? And if you will, do you want to spend time repairing? (nitro OR electric!). 30-45mph is enough for most people. On road - wanna go fast? get a PRP XR-80.. with the right gearing it will do 70+ easy.

As long as you keep your engine cool, running it for long periods of time is actually better than turning on and off, as the metals do not keep expanding over and over again as much. And idling literally sips fuel compared to starting up again (prime, pull, prime pull etc).

Refills: they take 5-10 seconds and all you need to do is apply brakes, open the fuel cap, and squirt some fuel in. Electric refill (even if you have endless batt packs) will be stop, turn off, take off the body, disconnect, unhook/remove screws or whatever, get another battery from the charger, install, connect, put the body back on. AT LEAST a few minutes.

The best part is, little kids can actually tell the difference between a nitro noisemaker and a TOYS R US ELECTRIC CAR

Wide Open

hey cool, i was right and i just took a quick stab at it.

Wide Open

hey cool, i was right and i just took a quick stab at it.

sorry about the double post, the computer wasnt displaying that i posted at all so i went back to try again and viola! two posts were there.

-Inverted-

Could you find me a toys*r*us car that does 50mph, please show me that....

This answer confuses me, I love r/c but what could you possibly be doing that you need to refuel your tank in 10 seconds. It only takes me around 20-30 seconds with a battery. I didnt know we were going for a guiness record refill time.

Philster

Exactly!

I just wised up recently and finally remembered to save the quart bottles!