Okay, I got my nitro car today. I purchased it used (didn't want to spend a lot of money on it then realize I didn't want to get into the hobby). Okay, so I got a HPI MT and I got it running off the third pull. So here I am running it around my yard, and then it got stuck (in my wifes garden ) And I went to go turn it around and the truck died. So I tried to start again and it wouldn't, so I let it cool for about 2 minutes, and bam, it starts up again just fine. So again I'm driving around, get it stuck and while I'm walking over there and it dies. Okay, so I start to rev it just a little to keep it from dying on me and once I was driving it, it died[]. So what is wrong, I've heard it is to lean, then I have heard it is to rich. I read in the manual that if you pinch the gas line and the engine revs high then it is running to rich (which mine does). But I didn't think running to rich would make it die. Any help would be greatly appricated.

did you get a manual? try resetting everything to the factory specs. any time i get mine way off i just go back to the factory presets and start over.

You may also want to check the engine temp... Sounds like overheating. In wich case, richen the fuel mixture, should be counter clockwise on the primary needle valve. Stumped?... find the guy who sold it to you and get him to teach you how to tune the motor. It's not rocket science, but it takes a little know-how, good luck.

The only problem is, the guy who sold it to me lives in Rhode Island and I live in Nebraska

well that's a porblem...

Different parts and engines run and work differently in different weather... like here, today it's 101 degrees outside. Where you are it could be 75 degrees, you have to tune it to work in your weather, I would have to run it richer, while you would be a little on the lean side if you get my drift...

oh and FYI, running it rich causes more gas to flow into the carb and if you get too much in there at one time, i.e, not driving it while it's on, to much gas gets into the carb, pipe, and cylinder and it floods, thus, cuasing it to die.... try running it leaner, and if it still does it, let us know.... if you think it is flooded, take the glow plug out, pull the pull start chord 4-6 times, flip the truck over, and empty out what's inside the cylinder chamber...

Hope this helps!

Surely your local hobby shop will give you some advice on engine tuning if you just pop it into them?

Yeah, I can go to my LHS but the problem is they are usually extremly busy and want me to leave my truck there for a couple of days [] Which I really don't want to do. But what I'm going to do is I have the manual for the motor, so I will set it to factory specs and work my way from there. I'll let you all know how it goes (hopefully good )

Okay, so today I went out and purchased a temp gauge, the traxxs one, that you wrap around your cooling head. So, I took it out to the track to try and tune it. So here is what happened, I got it started just fine, but I had to have the idel really high (so in other words, the truck was moving on its own) to keep it from dying, then I started to run it. Everything seemed fine, until I put on the brakes, then the truck would die. So after running almost a whole tank thru it, the truck died and went to go get it, that is when I noticed the max temp was at 300 [:-] I let it cool, then tried it again, after that episode the truck would kick over (sometimes) and when I would give it gas it would just die, and that is where I have left off. Any suggestions?

to lean... richen it, turn your idler screw down, and reset all your throttle proprotions

I know how to richen it, and turn the idle screw down (do you mean less rpms?) but how do you reset all your throttle proportions? The controller is the stock HPI one that comes with the MT

You shouldn't have to change all that. I suggest you get a temp gun and just play with the mixture untill you get the temps right. Otherwise, you could cook it...

You should reset the needle(s) on your carb to the factory settings and then tune from there. You should be able to find that information in your truck's manual, or in your motor's manual.

check your idle stop screw, awsomaha. If your engine is cutting out when you apply the brakes then try tweaking the idle stop screw. The taped screw head should be flush with the housing that it is fixed to. Take off your air filter and apply the brake. Now there should be an tiny opening in the carb that stays open at all times so that the engine can receive air to be able to idle, but if you apply the brake and that opening closes then its the idle stop screw.

Whoo-hoooo, hurry for the noob with everyones help. I changed the HSN back to the default settings, and it started in one pull. It was very, very sluggish starting off, so I leaned it out a bit and now it starts with one pull. So now it seems to be running much better, but I still have the issue of putting on the brakes then the engine dies. I set the idle to default settings but then either the truck moves on its own or when I put on the brakes, the engine dies. So I just wanted to say a big THANK YOU to everyone for there help, I'm half way there.

You need to set the idle screw so the carb closes to approx 1 mm (the thickness of a credit card). That's a good starting place.

The idle screw sets the minimum 'closed' position on the carb. But your servo can still have more throw in reverse, thus engaging the brakes. Make any sense?