Almost a Beginner
 

I am interested in owning a nitro powered radio control car. I was thinking of an off-road buggy style, 1/8 or 1/10 scale.
Where do I start? I have a few questions:


1) First of all, which scale should I choose, 1/10 or 1/8? What are the main differences ie; price, performance etc?

2) Which should I choose, 2WD or 4WD? What are the main differences ie; price, performance, reliability etc?

3) As these things cost a fortune, Is it better to start with a "ready to go" package kit, or buy part by part ie; buy a second hand chassis, option gearbox etc, rather than an off the shelf box? Which is cheaper?

4) If I was to buy it part by part what would be the order in which to choose my components?

5) Which are the brands to go for in the off road buggy types? ie; price V quality V performance etc.

6) Now for some dumber questions: What sort of fuel do they use?

7) How long does a motor generally last?

8) Are option motors and parts sold by car scale size? or are they sold for particular models of cars?

9) What is this "glow torch ignitor" thing I have seen everywhere? What does it do?

10) Finally, are there any websites you could recommend for beginners?

Thanks for your time...;)

RE: Almost a Beginner
 

1) Stbilty, Speed and price and all higher. As is the ability to control a 1/8th

2) Without a doubt it's 4WD

3) RTR is easier to start with, second hand can be dodgy as there are so many parts that may need replacing. At the moment the Hyper 7 PBS is by far the best RTR kit around and to get it running you only need batteries and fuel.

4) Iwouldn't even think of going that route

5) As above Ofna are the best price/Quality, and the kit I mentioned will save you over $400 in buying extras.

6) Nitromethane similar to top fuel dragsters. Normal gas or diesel will not work. Although there running principle is similar to diesel

7) Anywhere in the region of 15 Gallons, but it all depends on how well you break it in and how you look after it

8) Mmm well this is 2 questions in one so, Engines are generally an interchangable part between different brands, but the chassis parts and such are normally type specific

9) You have a Glow plug in the engine that work like a diesel cars one. These need warming before you start up and this igniter is just a battery you plug on to it to do this.

10) Here, www.ofna.com , www.maxbashing.com

RE: Almost a Beginner
 

(1) 1/8th is way more common...and if you tried to run a 1/10 with the big buggies...everyone would look at your buggy as the "cute little thing that almost could" :).

(2) I went from 2WD to 4WD and its SOOO much more fun wit 4WD.

(3) RTR definately, especially for e beginner. A kit i cool cause you learn how it all works, but its still difficult for a beginner.

(4) This route would cost a fortune in money and heaaches.

(5) There are a few top brands. That buggy mentioned is prolly the best, but go by what your LHS carries parts for...cause it sucks waiting 2 weeks to fix your buggy everytime it breaks.

(6) Nitro Methate. Its about 20-30$ a gallon depending on where you live.

(7) Ive heard of some engines going up to 7 gallons without a rebuild...but never 15. Unless you ARE talking about the overall "engine" going 15 gallons, only replacing the piston and sleeve half way through.

(8) Motors are sold by size and type, and parts are sold by model.

(9) You can get a "working" one for about 9 bucks. They just use D batteries and the batter lasts plenty long and you dont really need the rechargable one.

(10) Also, www.toerhobbies.com and www.stormerhobbies.com are nice places to compare prices and buy.
But http://www.nitroreview.com/TheDatabase/homekits.cfm is nice. You can read what everyone thinks of almost every Kit, Engine, Pipe, and Radio! I use that site all the time, especially buy buying engines.

RE: Almost a Beginner
 

1. 1/8th Scale

2. 4WD 2 wheeldrive with the power these cars have you will spend all day trying to keep the car straight.

3. If you are new RTR is the way to go, if you can read directions and have 6-8 hours to put a car together then get a kit, kits generally come with the best parts the company sells that you can put on the car, minus electronics and motor.

4. Kit then motor then radio. Kits Hyper 7 PRO PBS (pivot ball suspension) Kyosho Kanai III Mugen MBX-5. Motors, I would looks close at the RB WS7II ($300-$325) excellent ratings more horsepower then you will ever probably need, and RB has a knack for excellent reliability.

5. The buggys are a little like Ford Versus Chevy, about the 3-4 major brands all produce excellent buggys, Kyosho Kanai III is about the most expensive kit followed closely by the Mugen Hyper 7 Pro being the cheaper, not by far meaning the "cheapest" in the right hands I dont think anything but a driver could make one of these cars better than the other.

6. Generally you will see 16-30% nitro methane 16% reserved for the smaller engines mainly .12-.15 if your buggy comes with something like this, you arent getting your moneys worth, .21-.28 are "Big Blocks" 20-30% Nitro here. The higher the nitro the more power but the less time youe engine will "probably" last.

7. Ive never heard of 15 gallons, I guess it you drive it conservatively, 8 gallons I would guess is closer to the norm, when I first started, I was looking for something that was going to last 100,000 miles, well 8 gallons is alot of fuel considering the average tank is only 125cc, a gallon lasts atleast 20 tanks, so all in all ask your real car to go through 140 full tanks of gas see how many miles you can get out of it, plus the average buggy motor spins 36,000 to 50,000 RPM

8. 1/8th scale buggys should all fit the same motors, they are all designed the same to fit in just about the same place. Specific motor parts are not likely interchangeable.

9. Lights the plug for start. I leave mine on for a little after I get it running to burn some fuel and help with warm up. maybe 15-30 secs.

10. www.ofna.com www.towerhobbies.com www.acehardwarehobbies.com www.nitrohouse.com www.kyosho.com www.mugenseiki.com

Overall for the money a Hyper 7 is about the most popular car, I went to the track last week there were about 25 buggys there, one guy had 4 Hypers and I saw 2 Mugen 1 Kyosho Inferno and the rest besides mine were Hyper 7s I had the only Ofna 9.5. which is also a great car, its about $50 cheaper in RTR form and you can bash it pretty good. but for $50 more you get the hyper 7 more upgrade parts PBS suspension and a starter box. well worth it:D:D:D

RE: Almost a Beginner
 

Hi.
Thanks for your advice. I have have done some research about the car you recomended and nitro cars in general and have learnt alot since.
Hi.
Thanks for your advice. I have have done some research about the car you recommended and nitro cars in general and have learned alot since.
There are however a few things I don't under stand.

1) The Hyper 7 PBS comes with a starter box which I assume is used instead of a pull start? Is that right?

2) Anyway, what is the advantage or disadvantage of having a pull-start like the PCR model?

3) Can you have both?

4) Which one overall is better or less hassle?

5) I am from Sydney, Aus. and I cannot find any local OFNA dealers here...but I'm still looking.
Can you recommend any other brands of similar style worth looking at?

Nitro cars are so expensive here. During my price comparisons for similar spec cars, in most cases it's actually cheaper to have it shipped over from the US!.

Anyway thanks for all your help...I'm sure you will hear from me again.

RE: Almost a Beginner
 

its probably called hobao in oz...