JDenyer232

Ok so I have have been running nitro for a few years now, and I was convinced that nitro was far superior to electric, for the same reasons that many give. They sound more real, more power, faster, looks cool, extended run times, etc. Well I picked up an electric brushless buggy and a really good charger, as well and 3 4000mah NIMH 6 cell packs. I charged all three packs in 3 hours, installed my 2.4gHZ reciever, and I was ready to try it out. I took it out and all I can say is wow, what have I been missing. This thing went as fast as my nitro buggy, had far more pickup, and the bottom end torque was jaw dropping. I could pull donuts on dry pavement with this thing, while my nitro buggy couldn't, even though the tires are the same on both buggies. Can't wait until I drop a 2s or 3s lipo in this thingWhen I was done running I just had to turn the switch off, blow it down with an air hose, and I was done for the day, no after run oil, no nitro mess. I never thought I would be a convert to electric, but with the new brushless motors I'm sold. Now I don't want this thread to turn into a nitro vs electric thread, as there are far to many of them on various forums. I still enjoy nitro for the sound, smell and extended run times, but electric is just so much easier, and I get to spend more time driving rather than tuning and tweaking. As I have gotten older and now have a family, quality time behind the wheel is more important to me than tinkering with a finicky engine when I should be having fun. I will be keeping my nitro and taking it out every now and then to get my nitro fix, but for everyday bashing I will be using electric.

Subtorch

Hi JD,
Electric is getting better and better as technology advances. I'm not really into mechanics or motor tuning normally. I rather spend more time driving than playing with my tweaks. Another reason why I love electric is that I have the freedom of playing in my own backyard without making my neighbors scream. That was very important to me, to be able to drive anywhere at any time.
I can let my daughter drive it as well without worrying too much that she would cause costly damage to it. Like you said, the secret is to have a good charger and spare batteries.

This is really just a personnal choice. One school is not better than the other. It just depends what you are into and why you are in this hobby for. I think its great that we have the choice.

redfisher1974

Welcome to the dark side.

BIGMANE42

i am also starting to convert over i'm going today to pick up the traxxas rustler xl 5.the nitro is just to much stuff needed to ave fun and upkeep.i will keep the nitro that i have but its electric for me from here own out.what electric vehicle did you start out wth? i already have my charger so i will pick up a couple of lipo packs and later upgrade the motor and speed controller.

john01374

J - Welcome to "really" fast cars. Most Nitro guys give all the same reasons you listed as to why Nitro is so much better. The truth behind it is there is nothing real about running a nitro car.

more real - What's real about it? Sounds like an angry bunch of bees that gets annoying to 99% of the people around you in a matter of minutes. I guess the blue smoke is real if you're 1/1 car is a worn out pile of junk and needs rings and seals. Seriously..... If you're real car sounded or smoked like that you'd take it out and shoot it.

More power - Just simply wrong. Line a VXL rusty with a 3S up againist a 3.3 Jato and see what happens.

Faster - See above

Looks cool - Only to Nitro guys. The rest of us see something that looks like it needs a valvejob or should be cutting our lawn. Hey there's an idea. An RC lawn mower.. That I would buy.

Extended run times - Most Nitro's run 20 mins or so on a tank. 3S 5000 Lipo gives me 30+ in my VXL slash.

We're glad your here. We see a lot of Nitro to elecric converts but you I can't tell you the last time someone said they where giving up Brushless / Lipo for Nitro. Welcome aboard. Just wait until you get a 3S in that thing.

JDenyer232

The buggy I bought was the exceed sunfire pro with the brushless motor. I know it's not high end by any means but I thought I would get something inexpensive to test the waters. I gotta say for the price this thing is a rocket compared to the nitro buggy, 100% torque at 0rpm Yeah the quite factor also played into my decision to go electric, while I do enjoy the sound of nitro, my neighbors don't, and we live in a fairly dense area of houses. This has led to a few p**sing contests as to whether or not I have the right to run on my own property, copshave even been called even though I was not on the road, and I never ran before 10am or after 6pm. It is funny though thatmy neighbor thatcalled the cops mows his tiny little plot of grass with an 18HP lawn tractor any timehe feels like it whether it be early morning or late evening,anyways I got off topic here.I was simply amazed at the after run maintenance, blow the dirt of with an airhose, pull battery and put it away. Any suggestions for my next electric? The exceed was simply to see if I would like electric and now that I know that I do, I would like to get something a little more robust. Don't get me wrong, the exceed is great fun for the money, but it is just entry level. I really like buggies, or even possibly a stadium truck, so any suggestions you might have would be much appreciated.

redfisher1974

here is a nice buggy (roller) its 1/8 scale and would be real nice with the right setup. [link=http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXYCA8&P=ML]Buggy[/link]


[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kGYXHVB_h2A[/youtube]

john01374

I would go with something like a VXL rustler or buy a 2WD Slash and put the VXL system in it. I would say buy the 4x4 Slash but there are just too many people having problems with overheating due to the 4x4 drive train so I'd aviod that one for now. Either one of those trucks will take a serious beating and the VXL ESC will handle 3S batteries with ease.

You're other option might be to convert one of your nitro models over. There are a lot of conversion kits on the market for popular buggies but some of those kits cost more than a New VXL rustler.

e123

I have a stadium truck and I love it. I put some higher profile tires on it to get some more clearance and be able to run it through the grass a little better. Before I got it I had a Revo and I have way more fun with electrics. Faster and easier is ok with me.

SyCo_VeNoM

Extended run times in a nitro means you can go till you run out of nitro. not per tank (well my one does average 30mins a tank) Lets face it I can run 14 hours striaght with my MT2 on 1 gallon of nitro. How many $23 HK lipos would I need to do the same if they last 30 mins a run, and how many chargers? Not saying I would run for 14 hours straight but lets face it how eas would it be to charge a lipo if your not near a power socket (and yes I know you can use a car for 12v which most chargers accept, but how much in gas would that cost to leave it idle for a few hour compared to the nitro fuel)

I also find BL and lipo harder on tires, and they break parts faster, or at least the ones I own thats what I've noticed.

Most your other reasons you bash I've never even heard, actually only one I heard before was more real(I'll admit that one is kinda lame). Neither are superior to each other they are aimed at different type of people. I like tinkering with engines I like nitro more than electric. You hate tinkering with engines you like electric. Simple as that

john01374

I hear ya on the the extended run times meaning fill the tank and keep going. If you want to look at it that way just swap the battery and keep going. Sure you'll eventually run out of packs if you don't bring a charger. If you have a charger with you all you need is 3 packs if you're running Lipo. Each pack lasts 30 mins and will charge in about an hour. If you have 3 packs you'll always have one charged. In all honesty how long do you expect to run in one outing. 2 or 3 hrs of running and i've had enough so for me 6 packs in a day is plenty. I spent the entire day at the track 2 weeks ago and only ran 8 packs and 2 of those where letting friends and kids drive my stuff.

BTW - I love tinkering with engines. Been doing it since I was old enough to lift the hood. Difference is they are in 1/1 cars.

As for the reasons listed. They where JDenyer232's. I only commented on them. I have a whole different set of reasons for disliking Nitro.

rc18junky

well SyCo_VeNoM i see you looking around in the electric forums so you must have some interest. being a nitro guy you don't see the that lipo and brushless are way different then previous electric technology lipos have huge power storage if you got a 5000mh lipo it will run for over 30 mins easy. you spend money on nitro fuel with the price going up all the time your just burning you money. with the money buying fuel you could have several lipo packs. as for looking for a power socket well the make field chargers so you done need to just pop you hood to charge. i still have a few nitro sitting around but run the electric more because i am always out of fuel and the power socket is cheaper and closer then the hobby shop

STRAFEDOG

If your looking for a wild set up try an Associated SC10 with a Mamba Max Pro system, 6900kv motor and a 2s lipo.

cummins driver

My Feedback: (31)

He has several electric vehicles already. Along with brushless and LiPo batteries powering them. Im sure he knows about the new technology

I still really like my nitro savage. Id like to have another 1/8 nitro buggy. However, since everyone i run with runs electric because they dont really know how to work on them, it has caused me to pick up more electric r/c's just to have something similar to run. Plus, i like hill climbing, and reverse is nice for that, which my savage doesent have.

I havent had any brushless r/c's yet, but i do have a new 150a hobbyking ESC waiting to go in my Monster GT conversion, so im just waiting to upgrade batteries and get a brushless motor and do it all at once.

It bothers me when electric people act like nitro is stupid. Most of them do actually. From what I have seen, a nitro is much easier to drive because of the linear throttle response. The instant repsonse of electric is a lot of fun, but truth be known, in a race a good nitro would keep up with brushless without much problem.

Both typed of vehicles have their positives. I have an easier time buying a $30 gallon of nitro fuel once every month or 2 than I do buying batteries and chargers, however batteries and chargers are a better long term investment.

No point in arguing over it or acting like one side is just superior to the other because i own both types and it isnt true. People like what they like and thats fine with me. Especially since I like both.

Eric

SyCo_VeNoM

ding ding ding
I'm guessing I've plopped over 2 grand into electric. And under 1K in nitro
got brushed, brushless, nitro, lipos, NimH, and NiCds
I find each has their use. Electric I love in winter when nitro is a pain in the ass (and might screw up the engine), and nitro in the summer when the temps stabilize.

Brainanator

My Feedback: (1)

just wait till you hit lipos....even a 2S lipo will blow you 6 cell NiMH out of the water....
You think your jaw was low before, it'll be floored with lipos (mine was, and still is)

redfisher1974

My novak esc has a linear option, I use it for low traction areas.

redfisher1974

Thats where this hobby can get you, People think they can drop $300 and be done, when in fact when you add up everything inculding replaceables like tires etc etc, Its not hard to have 2k into a couple trucks.

SyCo_VeNoM

agree thought my 6 7.2v 5300 NiMh was fast dropped a 2S 5000mah in and the truck I had it in went flying.
on NiMh the truck was getting 20 mins run time on the Lipo it got over 1.5 hours.
Truck was my e-converted Nitro MT1 (2nd revision its on revision 3 now) with a 35t motor geared to high hell on a HPI EN-1 ESC.


Honestly this hobby is more like a can of pringles. Once you pop you just can't stop

BTW that sum I said is pretty much since november I've blown way less on my nitros (fuel included) in the past year(under half).

Access

It actually wasn't that technology advanced. It was just that the advanced technology started to be more integrated into the ground RCs. Many of these key technologies were used in planes or helis long before they were widely available for out trucks. Several years at least. You can thank ROAR or the predominant nitro users of the time for this, they did their best to keep the critical technologies (brushless motors, LiPos, sintered rotors, etc.) illegal or banned at the track and it wasn't until a number of things happened (bashing becoming a growing part of the hobby, clubs deciding to forgo the support of ROAR and race with their own rules, etc.) that electric was able to get where it was today. Of course there is really no turning back now, they can't put this genie back in the bottle no matter how hard they try, electric is here to stay at the track and on the bashing scene. Esp. now that it has performance on its side.

02bash

the only thing i like about nitro that some find as a negative is:
-noise/smell (smell too much and youll prob die lol)
-maintanance (cleaning engine after so runs)
-ignorant ass people dont relise that electric is far far faster than nitro and everytime i take my awesome electric car out they always say thats really fast, but nitro is faster (those ****ers piss me off as they dont know **** about rc but just pressume) maybe this one is more of a negative towards electric.

02bash

when you use a 3s lipo your jaw will be hitting a person's head in china

BIGMANE42

okay im new at this i'm going with the ofna ultra lx 1e 1/8th scale how do i choose the esc, motor and lipos remember i'm not going for broke or racing just having fun so no tekin or orion elctrics. i was checking out amainhobbies i seen something on there site about motor /esc combos,i like the mamba products they look like they may be the midrange stuff u know not to expensive but not cheap quality either.and lipos do i need 1 or 2 n the car and how many extra? awh yeah and is this stuff just plug everything together and go or what.thanx for any help you guys can give me.

redfisher1974

We have a thread for this buggy on this forum, check it out. [link=http://www.rcuniverse.com/forum/m_9671637/tm.htm]Ofna thread[/link]

Yosh70

You sure it was a 5000Mah, not a 15,000Mah lipo?