DS

Just picked up a X2 crt roller of here and im facing a dilema Electric or Nitro The intial cost will be very close for both nitro and electric. I had electric before ( hobbywing but it was very very slow and idk I hated it didnt even go good in my sc-10) I heard batteries only last 12-20 mins and that my main problem. I can't see spending that much and only lasting that long While I could go nitro and just keep refueling. I had nitro before and it was moslty a pain using rtr engines. Idk what to do Im looking for real awnsers not "Electric sucks/Nitro Sucks/My electric is faster" I want to know the pros and cons of each. Thanks Guys!!

1ne8ighty2wo

My Feedback: (2)

It seems like you know the pros and cons of each pretty much. Batteries can go longer than that. It all depends on how much you pay for them. And you could always just buy a bunch of batteries to just switch them out when they run out. Now you just have to decide which one you want more

HRCules77

My Feedback: (4)

Nitro is more maintenance. There's tuning, lubing, filters, glow plugs, clutch shoes etc. and it's really noisy. You can buy foo foo for the nitro so it smells like bananas and other stuff, but who cares? Remember that an engine is just one of many components, requiring constant maintenance that help you go fast. The continual cost of these things (like fuel, clutches and glow plugs) will add up over the life of the vehicle. You can buy an expensive engine, but with out ALL the other components to match it, you may never see it reach its potential. I'm sure you know all this.

Electric is pretty much plug and go. It's also quiet so there's rarely a hassle from the neighbors. There are really only three major components that will determine speed (not counting gearing): motor, battery, speed control. You can mess with the programming on some speed controls to keep the car on the ground but ultimately voltage is voltage: rain, snow, shine, sea-level or Himalayas: tuning not required. It should also be said, that like nitro, an electric vehicle will only be as good as it's complete power system as well, though the cost is getting cheaper for a lot of the electric stuff. For instance, good LiPo batteries, the ones that will give nitro a run for its money, can be bought for very little money now: check out (www.hobbycity.com) I will add, for the sake of a good laugh, that nitro will not punish you nearly as severely if you make a mistake with one of its power components. I don't see any videos on You Tube of nitro cars on fire. All I can say regarding this is don't be dumb: pay attention to what you're doing, know why you're doing what you are doing (like gearing) and don't touch the black and red wires of the battery together...ever.

Finally, one of the major factors I consider (as a man with many other priorities) is how much time will I be spending to maintain the vehicle VS. how much time I will be playing with it. Time is money, too. Pay now or pay later. This is why although I like the sound, smell, and feel that is unique to nitro, I still prefer electric.

HerrSavage

Electric is like watching an action movie on mute.

LAME.

IMO of course..

But seriously.., I have tried elo a few times now - albeit not lipo(more hassle, more money, more risk..) - but still, for me it doesn't matter. Sound is a key factor.. A high revving race engine just sounds wicked.., even if lipo is faster. Elo is underwhelming - no exhileration. Buy the right engine, and nitro doesn't have to be difficult at all. You'd have to look pretty hard to find someone more averse to extra hassle and maintenance than I - and I love nitro. I tend to buy cheap Asian engines, and stick with the ones I like because they are so low-hassle. There are now also more and more race engines coming onto the scene - that are affordable, fast, and low-hassle.. Check out a Go GXR 5-port for ex, or one of the new Alpha Plus's... Even a dirt cheap Mach 427 with closed backplate and a cheapo Losi RTR pipe makes for a nice race combo in truggy..

SyCo_VeNoM

umm WHAT?
Quiet?
My electrics (except my tamiya) I can hear from over half a block away EASILY my nitros I can hear only a lil farther than the electrics (not much though probably 100 feet or so). Only difference is the Nitro sounds like a speeding lawnmower vs the electirc having a high pitched whine sound.


I think a clutch is also cheaper to replace than a whole electric motor. Electrics not as forgiving with mistakes and is a bigger pain to dial in optimum settings with gear changes (the pinions are $10 average for most)

I also find electric almost equal in maintenance. BTW I count charging batteries maintenance seeing its something you need to do to make the vehicle run. Something alot of people forget charging batteries should count as maintenance seeing there required to move the RC, and with Lipos you should always be watching them so incase they start showing signs of rupturing you can get them into an open area ASAP. I actually rebuilt a nitro motor the other day in the time it took to charge my lipos.


"I will add, for the sake of a good laugh, that nitro will not punish you nearly as severely if you make a mistake with one of its power components."
I will agree on that. My one truck I didn't know was way over geared (it was built pretty much from scratch) drove the thing around 100 feet away drove it back the ESC was smoking (woulda swore it was a nitro with the blue smoke) and the motor was also well over 200 degrees from that little bit. So for around 2 mins of driving I had to go buy a new motor and ESC (went with a cheap $60 BL system which is holding up fine in it)

I also find the instant torque available with brushless breaks parts WAY faster which = more out of pocket in parts. And alot of that extra speed you gain is pretty pointless seeing the RC can't turn anymore without flipping...

Side note I own both and find both have their respective uses. Neither ones better than the other (Unlike what alot of electric lovers would try and lead you to believe)
I love my MT2, Savage, and jammin X1 as Nitro I find there a blast to drive when its nice out And love them

When its cold out My Electrics take the prize as #1.
Hell I'm making a BL savage currently (only waiting for the savage itself to come) cause I missed my Savage X during the winter. I also thought about buying another Jammin X1 and making it BL also to replace some of my lower end Electric RC's.

And my cheap Brushed Tamiya DF-02 takes the prize for when weathers EXTREMELY bad Rain, snow, etc seeing unlike Nitros or my BL elecs I was able to waterproof it so it can actually run completely submerged
I'll be honest if you look at my sig I own more elecs(Had more just threw em out I got so fed up with them) than nitros(those are all I owned) cause it took me way more to find some I'm happy with, and funny enough my favorite elecs are actually converted nitros

Also My jammin .5 CRT with a Cheap Hobby wing 60a 8.5t motor hauls some major ass on a 2s 5200 mah turnigy battery. It gets around 40-50 minutes drive time per battery and is ranked #1 as favorite electric so far. (the savage might dethrone it when completed)

And with a 1/8th scale on a 4s 5200 lipos I'd estimate 20 minutes runtime


BTW a good easy to tune engine from what I hear are LRP .28s or 30s from what I hear.
.
For the electric you would need a Mamba monster (around $250-280 just bought one last week off ebay) the conversion kit (around $50 on ebay last I saw), and the lipos and charger $s lipos will cost around $40-50 for turnigy's a piece from hong kong and a charger

Hope that made sense I know it kinda rambled on, and edited some stuff after I wrote it. To summarize IMO both are fun just in different ways. If you hate dealing with a nitro engine electric is a tad bit easier wrench time, just longer down times between runs.If you love tinkering with the nitro it will blow the electric away (not in speed but hell most electrics top speeds are unable to be used on a track anyways)

DS

I really don't know what to do now![&o] You have an excellent point. I just really don't like the run times of electric but they seem so cool and very powerful. Plus I live in the suburbs and can't run nitro that often. But everytime I see a nitro truggy I get jealous lol. Even though I had them before lol. I'm bashing and my friends and dad will have nitro.

redfisher1974

Some of the tamiya kits are very loud, Almost too loud.

SyCo_VeNoM

well like I said I don't find BL to be very quiet like alot of the electric die-hards try to make people believe. Its only semi-quiet if you have a plastic spur gear(still makes a fair bit of noise just not as much). But any decent truggy will have a metal spur gear on the center differential instead and the metal on metal action is where it get damn loud
Its only a different sounding noise.

GravityJunkie

I've got an CRT X2 converted to electric. I really like it, so does everyone at the track. Crazy fast, instant power. After seeing mine run, other guys have converted their nitro to electric. Buy a couple cheap hobbycity packs and you're good to go. With 3 packs I can run as constantly as I want since I charge at 1.5 to 2C. By the time you're done with the third pack, I've already driven close to an hour. The first pack that was ran is already charged back up. And that's only running with the 8th scale, I've also got my other vehicles to run...

While I'm at home and I'm charging the pack, there is plenty of normal maintenance you can do to the rc while the packs charge. If I had nitro, I'd have to do the nitro maintenance, not the rest of the general ride maintenance (diffs, shocks, fixing worn/broken stuff).

With today's high power electrics and lipo, I've got no use for nitro. Other than passing them coming out of a corner while they spool back up on the power...

DS

im not racing just bashing. Whats you set-up? Did you have it nitro before?

mecano

I'd take nitros over electrics anytime. Once you understand basic engine tuning and diagnosis, nitros are easy to run and maintain. Mechanical moving parts are easy to repair or replace, when electrics decide to take a crap, good luck trying to figure them out and diagnosing electrical components, specially with the new brushless systems, you go bald scratching your head. Also in electrics, soldered connectors inside the components will break under vibration, and you better be good at soldering tiny spots. Besides, nitros are cool and a Fox/CNN poll revealed that 9 out of 10 women prefer guys that run nitros.

GravityJunkie

I bought the truck as a roller and immediately converted it to nitro. Nitro isn't for me. I've driven several nitros and I really don't care for'em. When I hit the throttle, I want the snap. If I bobble the tight corner into the quick triple, my electric can still clear it easy. Not so when I drive a nitro.

You have to decide what you want. Some love the smell and sound of nitro. To me, my electric has a better sound than nitro. I've gotten positive comments on it, it's not the normal high pitched whine of 10th scale. I also run a plastic spur cause the metal on metal gears sound terrible on electric. To me, these little pip squeak rc nitro motors don't sound 'cool', just annoying after while. It's not like they have the rumble of big block V-8. If where you bash you don't have a power supply to charge, that can be an issue (if you don't have enough battery run time to last you). Or if where you bash is by others, they may not enjoy the sound of your nitro.

DS

well i couldnt cancel my order on my hobby x2 conversion so im stuck going electric[&o] so we will see how I like it

GravityJunkie

Good luck on it. All I can say is that those who converted to electric really like it.

If you need it, I've got a brand new, never run Castle 2200 motor. I'll give you a great deal on it.

jigawatt

electric all the way. I don't miss flame-outs, random lacking QA from engine manufacturers, high cost of fuel, the constant tuning and maintenance, nor do I miss the debates on what 400-700 dollar engine I should invest in for the next 7-10 $40-50 gallons of fuel I gotta buy to run it. Then you have all the support equipment you always need... starter, glow plugs, glow plug heater, clutch springs/shoes... glad I left those days behind!

HerrSavage

There are, in the meantime, a WIDE range of very very good race engines to be had for 250 or less...

The list of electric hassles and minus-points can easily be just as long, if not longer...

jigawatt

the only problems you can really have with electric are with your: balancer/charger, motor, esc, battery. There is of course radio gear... but you have that same thing to put up with either way.