nitro
 

hi, iam a biginner to bitro. and i was wonder wat ihave to do after and before starting the car. i heard that the piston has to be at the bottomafter each tank. and the pistion has to be at the topto start it up.
plz reply
cheers!</p>

RE: nitro
 

You heard correctly, at least during break-in procedures that is true. After breaking-in you don't need to worry about anything except not to leave the piston stuck at TDC (Top Dead Center) after running. Also, after-run oil is not required unless you plan to store the car for a number of weeks or more, OR if you leave unburnt fuel in the engine or fuel lines (running the car til it stops from fuel running out means you don't need to use After run oil, there will be very little unburnt fuel still in the engine). If you are wondering why unburnt fuel in the engine is a bad thing, it's because nitro fuel is hygroscopic in nature (it absorbs water, then evaporates, depositing the water on your engine internals, corroding the engine). An acceptable and cheap alternative to hobby type after run oil, is WD40.

Finally, as a general tip, when you fuel the car, make sure to squeeze the excess air out of the bottle (of course this will make the bottle deform, that's ok) and put the top on, your fuel will degrade if it has lots of air in the bottle to chemically interact with.

RE: nitro
 

thanks heaps anything else
plz reply

RE: nitro
 

make sure the tank is filled, the ignitor is charged, the receiver pack is charged/has fresh batteries and the air filter is clean, oiled and securely attached to the engine. all of these are very easy to overlook and will drive you crazy.

RE: nitro
 

um what can i use instead of air filter oil. because the oil is come on monday and i want to srive the car on saturday. can i use olive oil?

RE: nitro
 

no, but you can go to an auto parts store and look for the oil they use in ATV and dirt bike filters. same stuff in a bigger bottle.

RE: nitro
 

could i use anthing else !!
plz reply

RE: nitro
 

how much air filter oil do i need to use?

RE: nitro
 

About 2 tablespoons.

http://www.compacc.com/images/product/300/01439_1.jpg

RE: nitro
 

I've heard of people using Crisco. Unsure if you have that product in Australia, but anything really to slightly dampen the air-filter with an oily substance will work. If you're really in a pinch, I imagine any sort of corn/vegetable oil would work.

RE: nitro
 

could i use shock oil

RE: nitro
 

No, you can't use a silicone based oil, it will just drip off slowly anyway, but in any case, filter oil needs to be sticky.

RE: nitro
 

so what else could i use plz help!!

RE: nitro
 

is vegetable oil ok

RE: nitro
 

i wouldnt if i were you.

RE: nitro
 

Honey would be better than vegetable oil, I'm not kidding (actually I am, don't use honey, just making a point). Dude, go to a bike shop and buy some. There is nothing lying around in your house or garage that will do the job, unless the label says 'air filter oil' on it.

Remember, the air filter is the only thing keeping dirt and contaminants out of your engine. Buy air filter oil, or buy a new engine every season, your choice. :)

RE: nitro
 

yes i know but im just running it for one day, then on monday my air filter oil will come. so can u sugjest something plz. and ive got a little bit of air filter oil but its only like 1 teaspoon.
so can i mix it with something
plz help!!!!

RE: nitro
 

and im not going to be driveing it on dirt so yer

RE: nitro
 

If its only a few tanks on asphalt, don't use anything, you'll be OK.

RE: nitro
 

Don't use any oil? Are you nuts?

If you are desperate, which it seems to be, find someone with a chainsaw. Chainsaw bar & chain oil is fantastic filter oil. It's the stickiest oil I've ever used next to 75,000wt diff oil.

Oh, and WD40 is NOT a suitable after run oil. You're better off using nothing at all. The WD in WD40 means Water Dispersant. It wil push moisture away, sometimes into places you don't want it. Use transmission oil (ATF) or Air tool oil but only after the engine has cooled and all of the fuel residue has evaporated.

RE: nitro
 

Dude, they've recommended quite a few different things. Why do none of them seem to work for you? I'm fairly certain that here are auto parts stores in Australia.

RE: nitro
 

Moreover, most stock air filters aren't big enough to take a full teaspoon of oil anyway. They would be so wet with oil, the engine wouldnt run well anyway. 20-25 drops is usually more than enough even for my monster trucks with big air filters.

Edit: I commented on WD40 a few posts back. Thought I'd elaborate as to why you shouldn't use WD40 for ARO. MSDS for WD40: http://www.wd40company.com/files/pdf...d494716385.pdf

The Aliphatic Hydrocarbon CAS #64742-47-8 in WD40 (about 50% of the final product) can cause fire or explosion when exposed to strong oxidants. Nitromethane is a strong oxidizer and could pose fire/explosion hazard if enough nitro came in contact with wd40. Nitromethane info page: http://cameochemicals.noaa.gov/chemical/1222

There has been enough people that have used WD40 for ARO, but for the more experienced, its a no-no to use in an internal combustion engine. Use at your own risk..

RE: nitro
 

For a couple of runs on asphalt, his engine won't suffer from having a dry filter until his oil arrives. It's not worth using a substitute oil if the real stuff is coming in a few days. My recommendation is not to run it til you get the oil, but if you do, I doubt it'll come to any harm running a dry filter, as long as you stick to asphalt and low dust environments.

As for the stuff on WD40... If it had a violent reaction with nitromethane, it would be well known. It's perfect for getting between a surface and moisture. Is it ideal? No. Will it do in a pinch? Yes.

RE: nitro
 

Well Mr. Fox... I'll have to agree to disagree.

I just need to quit giving any advice in the car forums... The kids know everything, and the adults know everything... The folks in between have to sift through what is bs and what isn't. I'm glad I have the experience I have; if I were new to the hobby I would be doomed to going electric in short order based on some of the opinions shared in these forums. Oh well, you can't win 'em all I guess.

RE: nitro
 

You seem to see everything in black and white. Engine with dry filter = crazy talk? wd40 = instant explosion? Wait, what?

Yeh, nah, I'll definitely agree to disagree with you on those. My position simply says you can get away with doing either of those in a pinch, I don't really see what's to argue about, I've done it myself without any problems.

RE: nitro
 

have you ever seen some of the advice on the electric forums? :D
Hell look at people that post there wanting a basic RC for under $200 for a little kid to play with. You get people recommending 1/8th MT's that go damn near 50mph, and require dual lipos, and whatnot that cost over $500 ;)

On topic filter oil if running it dry on asphalt where there is little to no dust won't kill it(as foxy said 3 posts or so back). I've done it at one point when I was waiting for my bottle of filter oil to come in with my one truck, and that engine still runs fine. Now if its a dusty environment I'd say wait.

As for ARO if the RC is gonna be ran daily or every few days its not needed, if being stored, or you have 2+ weeks in between planned running's I'd use it.


I swear remembering reading there was an RC company that said to use WD40 as an ARO at one point (think it was traxxas for some reason)

RE: nitro
 

I don't think any of your responses will matter anyway. The O.P. is clearly not going to take the advice of anyone. He posted his question and is waiting for someone to post what he wants to hear. Several people have posted reasonable answers...none to his liking. He continues to ask for alternatives. We should have cut to the chase early on and just told him our secret. I know guys, don't get mad at me but it's not fair he doesn't know our secret so here it is. If you run out of air filter oil just take some tooth paste and smear it on the filter. This will get you by every time.

RE: nitro
 

you fool! you could use your tower coupons for that!

RE: nitro
 

If we are gonna go that route, lets just say to use Pam cooking spray on the air filter, maybe add a drop of acetone for additional solvency. Next, flush the crankcase with vinegar to clean the goo out and follow up with wd40 mixed with karo syrup to protect the internals and use some Works toilet cleaner to remove the oil residue off the outside of the engine.

And yes, Traxxas recommended using WD40 for ARO. Now who is trying to sabotage users to sell more engines?

RE: nitro
 

Looks like this thread has taken a turn for the worst...sorry Foxy for antagonizing. So it's now the "how to support your nitro car off of household products". Next topic....making your own nitro mix out of moonshine and transmission fluid!

RE: nitro
 

you should never do that! waste of good white lightning.

sorry, couldnt resist:D

RE: nitro
 

You could always drink it and then just push your car around while making "vroom vroom" noises.

RE: nitro
 

Works for the electric guys. Just couldn't resist.

RE: nitro
 

I must've missed that one. Last time I was in the electric forums I was blinded by the 300 threads asking "what's your favorite SCT truck?"

RE: nitro
 

If you can't be objective, what's the point in having a conversation? This isn't the school playground, my words are above for all to see. Traxxas sabotaging their customer's engines?? Good God man, check your tin foil hat, I think the radio waves are getting to you.

RE: nitro
 

Wasn't your fault buddy, I mentioned WD40 in one of the early responses. Seems I've drawn the wrath of the glow purist crowd with my irresponsible and dangerously inappropriate advice. ;)

RE: nitro
 

WD-40 is perfectly fine in the engines........I have used it many many many many times over the years, as well I have recommended hundreds of people use it to clean their OWB when it is slipping....Nothing cleans a gummed up OWB better then WD-40.......... Now the thing with WD-40 is you need to let the solvent dissipate before you fire the engine.... The solvent reacts badly and will kill your glowplug violently if you try to start it "wet" ......I usually recommend people give it 5 minutes for the solvent to dissipate before starting the engine....

RE: nitro
 

I don't understand why you would "clean" and "protect" with a product that doesn't mix with the fuel. I mean, WD40 is after all 45-50% stoddard solvent. I believe most stoddard solvents are napthalene based. Basically zippo lighter fluid. Cleaning one-way clutches with it? Why not use the solvent that the oils were dissolved into in the first place? Methanol works far better for cleaning than anything petrol based and it evaporates 10x faster than that WD40 crud. I mean... Doesn't Werks fuel work for cleaning too? The oils in that stuff is so fantastic, it should work for air filter oil too I would think. Or wd40.

I guess I tried to look at this WD40 phenomena from a logical standpoint. I asked myself what was so logical about using it in a model engine but I came up with nothing.. I should have kept my fingers quiet. I better put my helmet back on and buy brushless stuff.

RE: nitro
 

WD-40 works the absolute best for cleaning the OWB....... and no the fuel itself works nowhere near as well....WD-40 dissolves gummed castor instantly.....

sometimes theory amounts to absolutely nothing....just have to get your elbows dirty and try something and see for yourself what works and what doesn't

and any ATF based afterun is a massive no no in my books...I would use WD-40 1000 times over any of that red ARO crap they sell....the nastiest rustiest engines I have seen used the red crap, and whats worse is that red crap will destroy the silicone filler used in most race engines........

personally I do not use any ARO..I just shut my engines down and leave them be..I dont runt hem dry I actually purposely leave fuel in them......I never have rust, and always open my engines to see a thick layer of oil coating over everything.....But this is not something I would recommend with most of the crap fuels sold today....

RE: nitro
 

Well that's the only problem with public forums. I feel that different opinions are a good thing and let people make decisions that work for them. Through research on the forum and the Internet in general, you can usually get an answer that you feel has merit by the number or responses that are typically the same. The problem I have is when people post their opinion as fact which happens all too often.


Things like...if you spray wd40 in your engine it will expand and crack the block! "after all, it displaces moisture and that moisture has to go somewhere". See what I mean, you can almost make anything sound like it makes sense. Maybe a lot of our members are chemists by trade and just know better than us dummies. I'm a simple guy who's technically oriented. I troubleshoot elevators by trade which have evolved ten fold over the years. As far as the cars go, I've probably been in the hobby far longer than many of the members but I'm not ashamed to take advice from them when needed.