robriley

wow...what a fiasco !!!
i started out at around 4:30 pm...checking things over since this is a brand new, never been ran truck.
I set the gear mesh...checked it 3 times and loc-tited the engine mount screws in.
next, i checked the servos...everything is working fine but there is very little steering.
i adjusted everything and checked everything...still very little turning radius...is this normal ?
next, added fuel for my first start up for break in.
i charged my glow plug ignitor for 8 plus hours on monday night.
pulled it 3 times and it fired up....ran great until i removed the glow plug ignitor.
every time i would pull the ignitor off, the engine would die.
FINALLY got it to run without the ignitor hooked up after changing the glow plug.
had it running at idle, and it woudl only run for about 2 min. and then die. i was able to fire it right back up every time tho. it was tough trying to set the low speed needle this way, so i left the glow plug ignitor on to keep it running (it was WAY too rich in my opinion).
well, this went off and on for a long while...finally, my glow plug ignotor had no more battery left !!
so, i had to stop and let it re-charge...never did get the engine up to temp for the first tank of fuel.
again, got it running, but i had the carb setting so jazzed up it would not stay running. the manul that i have shows a picture of the carb. and it has the screws labled wrong. it shows the low speed screw as the idle screw. the idle screw as the high speed screw, and the high speed screw as the low speed screw. so i was turning the wrong screws for what i was trying to do.
i put the carb setting back to "factory specs" and it fired right back up again. (i checked here and was able to find the factory settings.
mind you, i went through 2 tanks of fuel trying to just get it to idle on it's own....and time in between waiting for the ignitor to re-charge.
at 10:30 pm, i got it to run on it's own, without the ignitor hooked up the entire time, and it idled along great. i lean the low speed needle just a tiny bit, set the idle, and let it run, checking the head temp the whole time.
FINALLY got a full tank ran though it without the engine dying, and got the engine up to 210 degrees.
wow...i started at 4:30 and got done messing around at 11:00 pm !!!
just to get the first actual tank of fuel through it at an idle.
but now, it's running like a champ !!
i did learn that you need to blip the throttle every once in awhile through this idle time to clean it out a little so it doesn;t load up.
now tomorrow, if the weather is decent, i will be able to drive it for the second step in the break in process. i'm hoping that step doesn't take as long, but it shouldn't since i got it to idle on it's own finally.
but you never know...the weather could throw the setting that i have now out the window.
on a good note...my spur gear is still in one peice because i took my time setting the gear mesh and i made sure that it was right.
this is my first nitro truck, so i expected some trouble getting it running for the first time..i just didn't think it would take me 7 hours to get it to run on it's own.

chevyderek72

Alright what you gotta do is set it to factory specs. I do 2.5-3 on the hsn, flush with the collar on the lsn and 1mm idle. Then star it up. When driving doing the break in make sure your temps get over 200. If it doesnt go over that then lean the hsn and lsn a little bit till it does. Keep it rich, but always make sure temps get over 200. I would check out the os engine break in. Redcat nick recommends it, i just did it with my new 1/8th buggy and it worked really good. It doesnt matter that much though cause you could always do the engine replacement program and get a new engine for half off. Even upgrade to the sh engine. Supposedly the tank of idle puts a lot of pressure on the con rod, making it more likely to break. I cant write a novel so if you have any questions at all ask. There are tons of people on here to help with anything.

robriley

ok, i'll do that today when i get it out and running.
oh yeah, during the idle...it did get over 200 deg.
it was around 210-215 at times, but mostly stayed around 205 or so.

RCToysNh

Steering - check the contols on the radio under the window. You can limit or increase the speed and radius of turn.
also There are plenty of videos for tuning.

http://www.rctoysnh.com/catalog/videohelp.php

robriley

i got the steering figured out. the servo horn was binding on the servo for some reason. i took it off, looked at it, and put it back on...the steering is now freed up and working great.
i took it out this morning and was able to finish the break in process...ran 5 tanks of fuel through it. (one last night to do the first idle break in and then 4 to do the driving break in)
then, i ran another 2 tanks of fuel through it and was having a blast.
it's actually pretty fast and it's a blast to run around.
so i have about 7 tanks of fuel through it so far and it's running great.
just need to fine tune the mixture a bit...but it's ok where i have it set now.
i have it a tad on the rich side, but it runs good, doesn't bog, and accelerates fast. the weather here is about 70 degrees, and dry...no humidity at all.
i was running it in my backyard in the grass, and it was pulling wheelies whenever it would hit a slight dip in the yard.
got airborn a few times on one of those dips in the yard.
so far, so good...it's a blast !!
it handles alot different than my electric truck (duratrax evader).
i'll have to go buy some more fuel soon...i'm down to about 1/2 a quart.

Brett185

My Feedback: (2)

A little tip on the fuel, it's always best to buy it by the gallon. For what you pay for two quarts you can buy a whole gallon. Plus it's always good to have alot of fuel on hand, that way you can run pretty much as much as you want.

robriley

yeah, i was going to buy it by the gallon, but my hobby shop here only had quarts.
i just wanted to get some so i could run the thing.
i've had it since december, and it's finally nice enough here now to run it.
I will buy it by the gallon next time, as long as he has it in stock.

el_tonto

Fuel does have a limited lifespan - the nitromethane absorbs water. Not a problem if you run frequently, but make sure you don't have loads of fuel leftover at the end of summer, otherwise it will sit for all of winter and deteriorate.

What fuel did you use for break-in? If you're happy with the performance of it then continue to use it. I think older manuals suggested break-in with 5-10% and then running with 15%-20%. I've never seen this advice repeated anywhere else - I've always read/heard that break-in should be performed with the fuel you intend to run with.

chevyderek72

You dont really have to use the same fuel, if you switch you just need to retune for that fuel

rjsdad

Here is a question...should you really change your glow plug after you break it in?

perhamrocks

yes you should because the breakin seems to wear the glow plug more, and then you'll get better performance with a new one even though your old one might still work.

You should actually re-tune your vehicle every time you run it. Changes in temperature and barometric pressure can affect the way the engine runs

robriley

i am using traxxas "top fuel" which is 20%. yes, i used this fuel for break in.
i also changed the glow plug after the break in because it seemed a bit sluggish.
the new glow plug made a huge difference.
i went with an os a3 (i think that's the one).