My friend is quitting riding cars because he told me that these as car motors don't last long. Is it true that after 15 gallons of nitro you have to rebuild your motor with new piston and rings. I heard this is cheap but is it true?

Do you have any idea how long it would take you to go throw 15 gallons of fuel? This would be around $375 worth of fuel! Most tanks are only 75 to 160 cc. [X(] How does he ride his I run mine.

It is also pretty rare to get 15 gallons. People have gotten this far with an engine. But most motors will only last about 3-7 gallons, depending on how they were treated.
For a rebuild you will have to replace the piston, sleeve, and usually con rod(just to be safe). The con rod often gets a little streched over time and use. Although not required for a rebuild.

But an alternitive to rebuilding an engine is getting one "pinched." This is where they apply even pressure around the outside of the piston sleeve, This shrinks the inner diameter just enough to regain compression.
You can use the search button to do some more research on RCU about sleeve pinching.

Nitro car engines usually don't have rings, you just replace the piston and sleeve most of the time, and you'll usually have to do it after 3-7 gallons of fuel. I don't think you'd make it anywhere near 15 gallons... A new piston & sleeve will run about $40-60 depending on your engine.

But like 46u said, most STs have 75cc fuel tanks. That comes out to about 50 tanks per gallon, and at 10 minutes running per tank, an "average" engine life of 5 gallons will get you over 40 hours of run time.

dang 15 gallons? i say forget your friend he knows nothing lol.

But what they said above is mostly true^^^

15 gallons what engine does he have i will get one right now

Don't lose any sleep over it, a gallon lasts a long time.

ya here is all you would have to replace on the DTX .18 out of the evader st

http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLV1&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLV8&P=7
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLW9&P=7
and heck if you wanted to
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXCLV6&P=7

i know a gallon last a long time.
i just got though my 5 gallon of hard bashing on my fantom fr15
just bought a sleave,piston, connecting rod and gasket set off of ebay for $40
(lhs wanted $60)

Then engines will last about 3-5 gallons of gas between rebuilds and all you need to rebiuld is the piston sleeve, the other stuff is optional. And brownstone nothing is required to rebuild the evader engine in the first 2yrs. it's warrantied.

If you aren't a racer and don't need to wring the most power out of your engine the you will get much more engine live by using a high nitro airplane or heli fuel.

Car fuels typically are 12-14% oil but airplane fuels are typically 18+ oil content. I run a 50/50 mixture of 30% nitro heli fuel mixed with a 15% castor blend airplane fuel. This gives me a nice fuel which contains a kiss of castor, 19% oil content, and 22.5 % nitro. The engine loves it and I'm on my fifth gallon and it idles and runs like new.

i was thinking of going to plane fuel but how come in the engine mannuals say never run that fuel?

you won't get the same performance out of plane fuel that you will car fuel.

15 gallons is around 160 hours of runtime, or about 800 x 12 minute runs, thats a LOT, besides, if your friend is giving up nitro cars because he's worried about engine life, hes either dirt poor, or stupid, or both...

Will they warranty if its just normal wear and tear? My lhs said they wont replace a motor if its just normal piston and sleeve that needs to be replaced during normal operation. Is that true? He said its only for manufactur defects. Is that true?

If you are asking if a cylinder sleeve and piston wears out because of normal use will they replace it? Why should they? Get a grip do you know of anything that is guaranteed against normal use or if the owner does not take care of it?????????? Come on grow up if this was so every company in the world would go broke not just RC companies. Do you know of a full size car that is guaranteed for life??????????[8D][8D]

dude, cool down he was asking a question so what he didn't know and you jump all over him your the one who need to grow up
yoster all warranties are different all company's give different guaranties i have no clue what car you have i have a evader the guarantee everything on a list that comes with it i could saw Thur the arms and put it in a box and ship it to them and they will replace it no question asked. my motor i think (have to look at the manual) has a 2 year warranty if i ware it out or needs to be rebuilt (i think) they will replace it i don't know if thats true yet but i thought thats what i saw in manual said.

Did you not even read what the person i quoted said? THEY are the one that said that, not me. I was surprised by the fact that he said duratrax would cover a piston and sleeve (aka rebuild?) under warranty since its normal wear and tear.. so i was just making sure thats what he meant (I also have an evader). Was curious because if they DO i can just pay shipping and have them do it. Apparently some have already done it.... so yeah i guess duratrax needs to "gow up."

didn't volvo give you a free, new car if you were the original owner of a 250,000 mile volvo back in the day?
but really, any company that gives you a warantee on normal wear and tear would go broke quicker than me spending a day in vegas.

What's to stop you *tinkering* with the odometer?? Do they check the engine and all wear and tear or what??

OR, was it almost impossible to make a volvo last 250,000 Miles??

Sorry but when people ask really absurd questions and expect something for nothing that is what I give back. I live in the USA and have a right to my opinion and if you do not like it do not read it! My car has 150,000 miles should I ask for a free paint job? NO!!!
Have a nice day.

I'll go ahead and tell you that no company will warranty items that wear out with normal use. Maybe if something crazy happened and your piston and sleeve were gone after a quart (and you hadn't been running it insanely lean). It's really rediculous. You think Proline is going to give you new tires when yours go bald or something like that? There's a big difference between good customer support and a company bending over to take from customers.

I second that and that is what I was saying!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

hey, if you have a GM car built between 88 and 96, you probably DO have a free paint job comin to ya:P
BTW, if you only have 150k on your car and you need a paint job, what's wrong with you:P
and a guy i work with runs his T-maxx solely on plane fuel, and it's on its 9th or 10th gallon.
then again, my X-Terminator's .247 never saw more than 15% oil, and it finally gave up the ghost while working on gallon 10:P

On a real car, if you have something covered by warranty wear out due to normal wear and tear, within the warranty period, they will replace it. That is what a warranty is.

"My car has 150,000 miles should I ask for a free paint job?" If paint was covered by the warranty and the warranty was still valid, why wouldn't you?

Do you KNOW that duratrax won't replace a regularly worn piston and sleeve within their 2 year warranty period? Just because you THINK that they won't, doesn't mean that they won't. You probably shouldn't try and discourage someone from trying to get this done under warranty either. You may be costing them money because of what you THINK.

Maybe duratrax knows something you don't. Maybe they did intend to warranty their engine for 2 years against normal wear and tear. Maybe they believe that the extra sales gained through having a nice warranty on engine life outweighs the cost of replacing a piston and sleeve here and there. Maybe they bank on lots of people not getting 5 gallons thru the engine in 2 years. Lots of folks will also replace the engine rather than rebuild it. Many people will not bother to use the warranty and just replace it themself. Many people will be told in online forums that the warranty doesn't apply to them because it's normal wear and tear.

I don't know if this is the case, but if my engine goes south within the two year warranty period, you can bet I'll be contacting duratrax's warranty department before i spend any money.