u can flame me all u want.....call me LD...retard...wutever. My question is, how do u stop a nitro car? after i am done playing with my car, is there like a kill switch to stop the engine>?..or do i just run out the fuel?

Well, running out of fuel works as long as your engine isn't tuned lean, but sooner or later you'll need to stop it before the end of a tank, and you have a couple of options:

1. Pinch the fuel line with your fingers or pliers until the engine dies, it'll only take a few seconds.

2. Stop the flywheel. You can give it a firm tap with your thumb (I wouldn't try this with any larger engines though, ie a .27 on a MT or anything), use the handle of a screwdriver, your shoe, a stick...

3. Flood the engine out by covering the exhaust stinger with a rag or your shoe. This forces all of the exhaust down the pressure line to the fuel tank, in turn forcing more fuel into the engine until it floods it. There is some risk though that this can break or strain your connecting rod.

Wait, so you can't just completely close the carb? Thats how you kill airplane engines...

That wouldn't be the ideal way to stop a car nitro engine. If you were to set it up to where you turn your idle screw down to the point where the engine stalls out, you would be hurting your braking. If you went to hit the brakes that would force the carb to close off completely and then you would be cussing that your car keeps stalling when you hit the brake. Use any of the above suggestions. If you use the pinch the tube method, watch your fingers. Its pretty close to most fly wheels. My preference is to just close off the exhaust port on the muffler. It floods the carb and stalls the motor but it also makes it start easier after a 20 min cool down period. I have yet to see it hurt any of my motors.

could anyone elaborate on this "close exhaust port" method?

put the heal of ure hand or ure thumb over the air filter. that works as well.

The best way to stop an engine is to put your finger over the opening in the tuned pipe. I heard that pinching the fuel line might over lean your engine and putting your finger over the air filter might push dirt into the carb.

True that covering the filter can push some dirt in, and also true that pinching the fuel line makes it lean. But when you pinch the fuel line, the car only runs lean for a second. You engine will still have enough lubrication on the parts during that second to protect the engine. The reason it is bad to run lean is because the oil is mixed in with the fuel, and if your engine is not getting enough oil on the parts, it will cause premature wear. But if you engine has been running with enough oil to lube correctly, the short amount is time with little to no fuel will not harm anything.

I never cover the exhaust anymore, I always go for the fuel line or flywheel. Unless I just want to run out of fuel.

I've never done anything but stop the flywheel with my shoe. Its the easiest and fastest way, don't have to remove the body, ect. Also has no ill side effects to the engine such as leaning, flooding, dirt in carb, ect.

Don't feel like a dork dude , thats one of the first things I asked too. of all the ways to do it stopping it by pushing on the flywheel UNDER the car or truck is the best way to do it but ONLY do it at idel

DONT push on it with your finger though, TRUST me:|

Yeah,,, ouchie ouchie...

i always cover the exhaust outlet.. I have the exhaust deflector.. so i just pinch it..

this flywheel...where exaclt is it? what does it look lke and what does it do?

Just put ur dam finger over the stinger...a little sting...wont hurt....no risks...just stick ur finger over the stinger and it stops the car..

There is a search feature on this site that you could of used.

Basic question answer - the flywheel is the round thing between the engine case and the clutch bell.

As far as stopping the engine, all of the above work to one extent or another. Of those mentioned my least favorite would be having to remove the air filter on some engine to plug off the carb, major chance of dirt entry. On some filters that have a 45 or 90 degree extension it is possible to either pinch it closed or push it over the carb venturi shutting off the air, however, at some point you with either knock it off or shove it into some spinning object causing wear allowing dirt to enter.

Next on my not favored list would be pinching off the fuel line, only because on some models the body must be removed first. If the body is already off it is my favorite way to shut the engine down, especially if its the last run of the day.

Foot, finger, screw driver, etc. to the flywheel. Fine for 12 and 15 sized engines - IF THEY ARE AT IDLE. I have seen some 21's and up leave some cuts on folks thumbs when they stopped them and didn't get the pressure on quick enuff, especially with thin flywheels. Never try to stop a runaway by stopping the flywheel.

Most of the time my favorite way to stop an engine is to just block off the exhaust stinger with my thumb or finger. If the exhaust has no where to go the engine stops rather quickly. Keep a rag in your pocket to use to shut it down. I forget who makes it but at least one company makes a pointed plug with shirt pocket clip that plugs the exhaust stinger rather nicely. If its a runaway this also seems to be the best way to stop it, but don't try to use a body part, use a plug, a rag, stick the stinger in the dirt ( least favorite option - but remember it s a runaway).

But the best way is to enjoy the run till all the fuel is gone.

Ed M.

I have alway's used the flywheel as well......no worries[sm=thumbup.gif]

is running the car till the fuel is empty a bad thing? does it harm the car?

ETA of my duratrax maximum st.....less then a week!!!!

it does to some degree because it actually leans out when you do it. how much im not sure. but i would rather cut my run short then take a chance.

No, as long as you can recognize when you car is out of fuel. If you car runs out of fuel, and you keep on driving full throttle, and the motor runs long enough at a fast RPM with little or no fuel, it can damage it.
You can usually tell, however, that you engine all the sudden get very lean, and storts to bog out. When this happens you want to stop driving and either let is die out(if it doesn't take long), or shut it off(if it has been running for a while and refuses to shut off).

Once you run a vehicle out of fuel a few times you will get a feel that it is coming and you can back off to medium/low throttle till its dry. If you think about it, what do you do before you put in after run oil - run all the fuel out of the engine, why not do it on the track, or headed back to where you are at so you don't have to walk so far to get it.

Ed M.

I do not think plugging the stinger floods the engine as I stop mine all the time that way to make a quick adjustment and one pull on the starter and it fires right up. To me this is the very best way to do it. Other then running it out of fuel. I have never had a problem with running my engines out of fuel and most of the time is the way I stop them. I have some engines that I have done this for over 5 gallons with out any problems. When you run out of fuel there is still some oil in the engine as not all of the oil burns.

If you have the proper tank fuel, line set up, and pressure line setup, you should not notice when you are running out of fuel. The tank is under pressure to give constant feed once you are out of fuel, your out engine quits, thats it. If your car is leaning out during the last amount of fuel before running out something is wrong with the tank pressure. flooding an engine is not always a good idea you might have a chance of a bent rod, you will have excessive fuel in the engine, and throwing in a large enough amount of cold fuel into a hot engine to make it die is like throwing water on a light bulb.I am not saying these methods wont work. I just dont like a flooded engine.

Alot of times there is a little fuel in the tank that the pickup doesn't quite reach. Then when the truck moves, the fuel often moves toward the pickup and you get just enough fuel in you lines for the engine to keep running, but lean. Most tanks that are angled at the bottom do not have this occur as much.

Guys, I hate to spoil your day, but if the engine is at idle and you plug the exhaust you are not flooding the engine with fuel to stop it, you are blocking off the exhaust creating back pressure. Unless you have a check valve in the pressure line from the exhaust the pressure bleeds off rather quickly and will not continue to force fuel into the carb, if you have that problem you have bigger problems than worrying about the best way to stop an engine. As far as the argument that you are spiking the pressure in the tank back thru the pressure line, momentarily you are, if it get too high the lid pops up releasing it. You only have to think about how little fuel is going into the engine at idle and how fast you plugging and unplugging the stinger.

dalolyn, on every off road vehicle I have ever driven the vast majority of times I have been able to tell when the fuel was running out before the engine quit, unless it was in a race with nine other noisy trucks running. With the jumps and roughness of the track the fuel does not tend to stay exactly by the pickup, even on the best designed tanks.

Ed M.