ORIGINAL: JMcDonald

1) $250 is quite a bit for an engine. My GF's .21 engine costed about $75. My ~2.7HP race engine was about $175.
2) Two or three $250 engines is $500-$750, not really close to a grand.
3) You actually can mix and match several engine's parts, as well as mod individual parts for higher performance. You can swap heads / head buttons, filters, carbs, and you can mod the cylinder and crank for more performance.

1) Here, that's about as much as 4 gallons of fuel (about $25 each, not $45). That is about 8 months of driving by myself.
2) How many do you have? Ill guess 3, and that means about $400 for your 3 Lipos and the charger. That is 12 gallons of fuel, which would take me through several seasons.

I think that if you can afford either, then choosing one of them just based on price is kinda silly (in general - not talking specifically to you). Obviously your pockets aren't nervous, since you're talking about buying lipos and motor after motor. Also, how much did your brushless motor and ECU cost?

Id guess thats probably the real reason. You run electric because it is something you like to do.


Also keep in mind that we are kinda comparing apples to oranges here. We have been mostly comparing 3lb-4lb 1/10 scale electrics to 8lb+ nitro 1/8 scales. A .12-sized 1/10 scale will get about 10 hours per gallon, compared to my ~4 hours / gallon with my 1/8 scale. When I had my old nitro Rustler with an O.S. .12 (which could still do wheelies and go over 40 MPH), I would drive almost every day and Id still get two months out of a gallon. Also, parts for the smaller nitros are also cheaper. You can actually get a decent .12 engine (new) for as little as about $55. Additionally, you dont have to spend as much on servos.

On the same note, if we compare the now relatively common 1/8 scale electrics (conversions), we start really getting up there in price. $225 on an ECU and motor is about the minimum for nitro-like performance. Two sets of decent NiMH batteries are going to be about $100, and a decent charger will be $50+. Though, they would only be capable of about 1HP (16.8v - two 7cell packs - at 40amps is 672watts, which is about .85HP). If you start looking at LiPos, add about $200 to that price for an hours worth of driving at 2+ HP.

But, really, arguing about the price of either is silly, because there are so many different scenarios and possible setups that will affect price. Still, the only concrete swaying point is that nitro is more complex, which can be a good or bad thing depending on the person.



I personally like nitros for reasons that have little to do with performance numbers. Everyone already knows that electrics can and are often faster than their nitro counterparts. However, Ill repeat that I, along with most nitro supporters, like nitro for the same reason some people like Standard transmissions vs Autos, and the same reason some people like to race dirtbikes vs 4wheelers, and why some people like making their real cars fast instead of just buying fast cars.


*edit*

However, dont think of me as "one of those nitro guys." I have no problem admitting that electrics are better than nitros in some aspects. Sometimes I do wish I could just go drive without worrying about possibly having to retune or whatever. For that reason I am often tempted either going to convert my old Storm 1/8 buggy to Electric, or buy some smaller vehicle to convert to electric (maybe a 1/18). Though, usually I am proud to drive a Nitro for the comparitively high respect it gets from others and for the sense of accomplishment I get when I finish break-in and get it tuned and running nicely.



Hehehehehe.... the voting is tied now [>:]