Electric V.S. Nitro

[twism86]

As of now im fed up w/ nitro cars. I have decidedto sell my rustler and go w/ electric. I would like to know the pros and cons about electric cars, and what advantages do they have over nitro besides there less complicated. Thanx for any replies.
-twism

[Throtl Hapie]

PROS:
They are very reliable. Also, all you need to do is flick a switch, and your car is turned on.
They are quiet.
They are easier to maintain.
CONS:
Electronics aren't cheap. An ESC can be as low as 35-40 dollars, but that's bottom of the line. They can get as pricey as $150.
Batteries:
You can pay anywhere from 15-80 dollars on batteries, give or take 5-10 dollars both ways. A good battery is expensive, and should be charged using a...
High-End charger. Chargers can cost anywhere from 20-400 dollars. Timed chargers are cheap, but they don't charge batteries well. Peak Chargers do charge well, but can be pricey.

[twism86]

ok, thanx for the info.

[Throtl Hapie]

You're welcome. :)

[KIWIRCGUY]

Gotta luv electric.... I have both nitro and electric and I prefer electric by a mile.
Here in New Zealand electric is more widely raced. But both electric and nitro are expensive here. I think electric has more pros than cons.

[ammoace]

Throtl Hapie,
Kudos on one of the least opinionated and straight forward answers to a pro/con question that I've seen. I mention this because the question itself almost begs for an opinionated answer.
You da man! :cool:
twism86,
What TH said. I did want to add that the run times for electric can be a lot shorter then Nitro.
AMMOACE

[ 05-18-2001: Message edited by: ammoace ]

[SWTour]

As the owner of several electric cars, and ONE nitro car one of the "CONS" of electric is you wanna go play "RIGHT NOW" but you have to wait for the battery to charge. W/ nitro Fire it up and PLAY, top off the tank and KEEP playing.

With electric, your battery goes dead...you either have to wait for it to recharge, or have another one ready.

I LOVE Playing w/ my nitro car just as a TOY, but I will ONLY race electric.

[Throtl Hapie]

Thanks Ammo!

DOH! Forgot to mention run times. With the "Play now" idea for nitro, that's not always the case. Some days a nitro engine just won't start, some days it will start fine, some it won't run well, some it will. Humidity is a killer for Nitro cars. Sometimes getting a nitro started can take as long as charging a battery... :)

[Skateboarder]

Thats why I traded my T-maxx for a E-maxx, I found that all the tunning and stuff involved with nitro was a little too much for just back yard bashing. I do know how to tune an engine(I work on dirt bike engines and stuff like that) but I always had to make sure that my glow plug starter was charged, the the plug was good and other things. It was just too much stuff too do when all I wanted to do was go out back and drive my truck.
Im not saying that nitro is bad, Im going to be getting a rc10gt pretty soon to bring to the sand pit with me when I go dirtbiking but like I said for just being able to enjoy driving rc's I like electric....plug ans play

[ammoace]

Skateboarder,
Ahmen on the T-Maxx/nitro tuning hassle. I can tune a 78 F250 but when it comes to my T-Maxx I feel like tossing the engine Across the yard. I do have to admit that when it runs right it is probly the most fun I have ever had with a R/C vehicle. But when it is being stubborn I loath it. Here in west Texas the weather is never constant which makes tuning a nightmare. I too have been thinking about trading my T-Maxx for an E-Maxx or Juggernaut or Clod Buster. But if I do trade it I'll be trading it for another monster truck.
AMMOACE

[KIWIRCGUY]

Ditto with the tuning probs. I built the engine for my 87 Ford Falcon, but still have the worlds largest problems with my TGX engine, even after a full rebuild. When its going right its great!! But here it rains one minute and sunny the next... HMMM Will trade TGX for monster truck
:D

[XtremLosi]

I can concur with you guys on the tuning end of things. My friend bought a T-maxx and he asked me to help him tune it because I know my way around a 1:1 car. I had the darndest time trying to get that thing to run right. I really love the idea of gas but for now I'm sticking with electric. The sedan racing is so popular by me it makes it alot more fun. I used to run a street weapon but now I just bought a TC3 and I can't wait to race it. Just my coupla cents. :cool:

[ 05-18-2001: Message edited by: XtremLosi ]

[ProjectTwin]

Another good thing about the electrics is that your nieghbors aren't going to complain about an electric car zipping up and down the street while their kids are sleeping. When I got the E-Maxx, I appreciated the plug and play simplicity of it. While others were fighting to get their T's ready to run, I was already out bashing. But then it came time to recharge...ugh!

I like running elctrics sometimes, just for a break from the hassles of tuning nitro engines.

The thing I hate about electrics though is all the stuff you need to run a nice motor. I recently bought a "Super Stock" motor...turned out to be a 10 triple.
Now I need to spend a bundle on nice batts, I guess a comm lathe...

Jason

[ammoace]

Man I thought that year in Automotive mechanics school was a waste, but now I see I'm not the only one. :p
Project Twin,
You going to put 4 engines on that E with 8 batteries and race it against you twin T? :D Just joking with ya. I did think that you were a dedicated nitro fan though.
AMMOACE

[loki]

Okay, I'm not trying to add fuel to any fires here, but here's a question to you folks running electric trucks. When people ask me how much my RC10GT costs, I tell them with a completely straight face that they can play with one for a year for $600.00, including the cost of the car, electronics, batteries, gas, replacement parts, tires, and so on. I add that it will still probably cost them $500 if they only play with it for a week.

So given that advice (the merits of which are obviously debatable), how much would you say it costs to run an electric truck comparable to the RC10GT for a year. For a week?

Thanks,

Loki

[Big Wig]

For everyone out there who's having tuning problems with their stock T-maxx engines: Buy an HPI Nitro Star SS .15 engine! I finally got the chance to try mine out yesterday and it's WAY easier to tune than the traxxas engine. After break in, I still wanted to leave it running a little rich so I didn't tune it for ultimate performance right away and the thing still ripped! I can tell that it will be easy getting it to run even better. I idled it through 3 tanks, ran it up and down my street through 3/4 tank and then did laps on my track through 3 more tanks and had a blast1

That's the most i've used the thing since I've owned it.

As far as the cost of nitro vs. electric: If you want nice stuff, electric costs a lot more but I couldn't be without it. I have 3 electric vehicles and one nitro.

[rc51racerx]

I used to work in a motorcycle shop, and have done work on friends imports to tune them, and I work on my zx TT a lot, but this nitro rustler has me baffled everytime I walk out there. I can have it running for a tank, and then I refill run it and it won't run anymore. I am running it rich, and then it dies, and won't start. I come back 15 minutes later press the button and she is back up and running. overheating?? I would have to think so, but you can never tell...
my TC3 is my savior during those tough times, I pull it out, flip the switch and I'm off to the races.

--John

[AnimeKing]

On the cost of running an electric:

Car - $300 for something quality
Batteries (at least 2) - $20 ea.
Good ESC - $125
Good Motor - $100
Good Radio - $150
--------------------------
Total - $715

Ohh, tack on $75-$100 for a charger.

Replacement parts ???

I haven't had to replace anything except a part on my RC10T3 and it only cost $20 and I run that truck like it's invinceable.

My TA04 has had tons of hop ups added to it totalling probably $175 on the low side.

Electrics are pretty expensive and you have to clean and rebuild them constantly if you run them outside (touring/rally, stadium trucks not so much).

That's my experience.

Just wanted to add --

On the subject of a RC10T3 (like RC10GT):

I got the team kit. Pretty good. Anyway, as far as run time. I have a 13 turn motor and run 1500 batteries in it. They only last like 5 - 7 minutes. You can really only run 2 batteries in a row safely or it way overheats. So you have to take a break every 14 minutes at the max and that's not even enough time to charge a 1500 fully with the charger I have.

[ 05-23-2001: Message edited by: AnimeKing ]

[JP]

I wouldnt go so much for that much for an electric car that is a kit. Thats like a RTR price.

car: $220
radio: $150
batteries: $210 (3 $70 batteries that are good)
charger - $150
discharger: $30
ESC: $125
motor: $30 (stock)
servo: $80 (or more)
replacement parts: ?

Total: $995 plus tax and/or shipping and handling will bring it well over $1000, and thats just Pretty Good equipment. If you want a mod motor, tack on another $45, if you want a better radio, servo (like a digital), better charger, discharger, or more/better batteries, you have yourself a bill!

[ 05-23-2001: Message edited by: JP ]

[Throtl Hapie]

For me it was:
car: 120
radio + servo: 45
cheap reversing ESC: 40
batteries: 15 + 24
bearings: 39
universals: 20
better motor: 25

total: 328
I don't see the need to spend over 800 on a single "toy" car.

[The_Ne-Go-She-Ate-r]

I love both electric and nitro. Some of the guys are saying 2 or 3 batteries will do you justice. I dont understand that. With electric its only fun if you dont have to worry about charging batteries. ten pack minimum if your planning on having real fun. The batterie prices add up quick, but so does the nitro fuel. :)

[BigCatDaddy-Outlaw]

Hey what electric stuff are yall buying? :eek: :eek: :eek: I'm just wondering! :confused:

[loki]

Here's another consideration for the Electric/Nitro debate, which is of greatest concern to us poor Midwesterners who have winters that are the "best 7 months of the year": It's hard to find an indoor Nitro track.

There used to be one about 15 miles away, but they just changed ownership and it turns out that the Fire Marshal wasn't too impressed with the fact that folks were in there breathing Nitro exhaust w/out adequate ventilation. And since a good ventilation system starts around $40,000, it looks like Nitro's done for at that track...

As for the cost of Electric vs. Nitro, I can honestly say that I really didn't figure the electrics would cost so much for a "good" one. There were some interesting figures thrown around in the RCCA Buyers Guide, and they actually put electrics a little cheaper than Nitro for entry-level systems...

Hey ThrotlHapie, could you elaborate a bit on that $328 system, and give us some whys and wherefores? And JP, where do you get off spec'ing a $1000+ "pretty good" system :eek: ;). No, seriously, what does the extra $700 get you?

Loki

[Throtl Hapie]

Sure, it was a Tamiya ta03f, and I bought all my stuff from Tower Hobbies online. I do not like to spend a lot of money (although I made and will make 120 a day during the summer).

[TRXboy]

I prefer Nitro to electric, just the sound and consistant power more then makes up for tuning, and who ever said electric is cheaper then a nitro is lieing, shure the chassis is cheaper, now add 2 2400's and a decent ESC and see what happens!

[NervousXtian]

first.. are you bashing or racing??

not everyone races.. if you race.. electric gets expensive REAL quick.. if not.. then its cheaper

how bout this:
HPI RS4 Sport Kit: $160
Futaba 2pc w/servos: $45
3 Trinity Time Warp 1900 packs: $23 X 3=$69
MRC Super Brain:$38
Novak Rooster: $73
SpeedGems Mild Modified: $27

grand total of $412 dollars
and thats a decent set up.. and remember if this is your second car you can minus out the price of the batteries and the charger..
so figger if this was a 2nd kit yer looking at only $305.. not bad really.. and thats a good bashing set up.. you could go cheaper also.. running a stock setup with the 2pc with ESC combo and a cheap stock setup.. save yerself another 50 bucks.. but anyhow.. yah.. the nitro setup would be

RS4 Nitro RTR: $280
2 quarts Nitro: $16
1 quart break-in fuel: $8
Glow Plug Ingniter w/charger: $30

thats basically it.. total $334..

so a diff of basically 70 bucks.. thats like 8 quarts of fuel.. (by then you migh haveta rebuild yer engine anyhow)

so its roughly the same..

[HauntedMyst]

This whole price debate is mute depending on what you want and where you shop. To me, the most expensive car you buy is one you never use. I once bought an Inferno, ran it twice, got tired of trying to get the engine and sold it at a loss of $250. The best deal I ever got was another Inferno for $35 from a bum in New York.

This year, I picked up a like new Factory Team T3 (not so much as a scratch on it) with a body, HiTech servo, new Fusion speed control, JR FM receiver and 14t Double with a body and one set of off road wheels and on road wheels for $225 and 7 used matched 2000 packs for $120.00. Of those 7 batteries, one didn't work so I got 6 great batteries for $20 each. So not including radio, I got a ready to race truck set up for $345.00. Add my Pirahna charger for $45.0 and I'm at $390.00

I'm sure some nitro person has the story of a great deal out there (probably the guy who bought my Inferno.

Just be smart about where you shop and what you buy. Good batteries don't have to be $70 each since MOST of us don't use the capacity we already have.