Nitro Vs. Electric - help!
Discussion
I'm looking at getting a 4wd truggy for bashing and possibly racing in the future.
Anyway, my dilemma is this.
This is the electric I am looking at (I haven't got any equipment for the purposes of this, I will need to buy the bundle pack, so it's going to cost me £460 basically).
This is the nitro version of the same truggy. It's £120 less expensive (though I will probably buy a bigger bottle of fuel, and a 5 cell Rx pack and charger for it, in reality... if I get it Say it's £80 less expensive!)
Well, that's... a significant price difference. If I get the nitro, I will have issues mainly with noise and... fiddling. The electric, I think, would solve most of these issues. However, I've not been 'in' RC for a few years now, and I remember battery life used to be pretty poor (but improving, almost 30 minutes on the first BL E-maxx apparently with a decent LiPo for the day!)...
So... is electric good enough to be worth the extra money? Is nitro less fiddly than I remember it was at one stage? Is it possible to get a socially acceptable exhaust note from a nitro so I could rip up the local 'spinney' (grassy area with mounds where trees used to be) without annoying the neighbours?
tl;dr: Need to catch up on the last 5 years of RC development. Recommendations for alternatives (less expensive!) to my 2 linked-to choices are welcome!
Anyway, my dilemma is this.
This is the electric I am looking at (I haven't got any equipment for the purposes of this, I will need to buy the bundle pack, so it's going to cost me £460 basically).
This is the nitro version of the same truggy. It's £120 less expensive (though I will probably buy a bigger bottle of fuel, and a 5 cell Rx pack and charger for it, in reality... if I get it Say it's £80 less expensive!)
Well, that's... a significant price difference. If I get the nitro, I will have issues mainly with noise and... fiddling. The electric, I think, would solve most of these issues. However, I've not been 'in' RC for a few years now, and I remember battery life used to be pretty poor (but improving, almost 30 minutes on the first BL E-maxx apparently with a decent LiPo for the day!)...
So... is electric good enough to be worth the extra money? Is nitro less fiddly than I remember it was at one stage? Is it possible to get a socially acceptable exhaust note from a nitro so I could rip up the local 'spinney' (grassy area with mounds where trees used to be) without annoying the neighbours?
tl;dr: Need to catch up on the last 5 years of RC development. Recommendations for alternatives (less expensive!) to my 2 linked-to choices are welcome!
If you are considering racing in the future, the first thing you need to do is find your local club(s), and see what they run. No point in buying something, then finding out that there aren't any clubs in your area that run that class.
For general bashing, electric is best. As you say, it's quieter, cleaner, and less hassle. Battery life is pretty good these days - even at racing speeds, a 5000mAH LiPo pack will last for 15 minutes. The latest packs can be charged in less than 30 minutes, so 3 packs will keep you going all day if you can plug a charger into your car. Brushless motors and speed controllers are almost bullet-proof, unlike nitro engines.
For general bashing, electric is best. As you say, it's quieter, cleaner, and less hassle. Battery life is pretty good these days - even at racing speeds, a 5000mAH LiPo pack will last for 15 minutes. The latest packs can be charged in less than 30 minutes, so 3 packs will keep you going all day if you can plug a charger into your car. Brushless motors and speed controllers are almost bullet-proof, unlike nitro engines.
For that money I'd go for one of these. I've never read a bad review about them.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-slash-4x4-ulti...
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-slash-4x4-ulti...
My local race tracks are all electric, sadly there will be no messy nitro screaming for a bit.
And I'm going to save a few £... I think I'm going to start with a 2WD buggy. Massive leap from a 4wd truggy, eh? Looking at an Associated RC10B4.1 brushless RTR, which is a decent entry level thing apparently. I foresee future expense though...
And I'm going to save a few £... I think I'm going to start with a 2WD buggy. Massive leap from a 4wd truggy, eh? Looking at an Associated RC10B4.1 brushless RTR, which is a decent entry level thing apparently. I foresee future expense though...
The Associated B4 RTR is a good place to start. Plenty of upgrades available, so you can improve the car as you gain experience.
I'm still running my B4 Factory Team, and I can keep up with racers of similar ability running the latest Schumacher kit. Newer cars are undoubtedly "better", but they all seem to have bad points - weak steering or gearboxes. The B4 has been around a long time, and is very reliable and robust.
I'm still running my B4 Factory Team, and I can keep up with racers of similar ability running the latest Schumacher kit. Newer cars are undoubtedly "better", but they all seem to have bad points - weak steering or gearboxes. The B4 has been around a long time, and is very reliable and robust.
I'd go electric TBH, they can far outperform Nitro these days.
I bought one of these and it is insane... Endless power and wheelies the whole time.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/hpi-savage-flux-hp-2.4...
Nitro is nice for novelty but soon gets tired, and annoys others with the loud noise.
I also have a Traxxas nitro 4-tec which is awesome but sat for a year or two broken as it's so loud and not many places to use it etc.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-nitro-4-tec-3....
I bought one of these and it is insane... Endless power and wheelies the whole time.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/hpi-savage-flux-hp-2.4...
Nitro is nice for novelty but soon gets tired, and annoys others with the loud noise.
I also have a Traxxas nitro 4-tec which is awesome but sat for a year or two broken as it's so loud and not many places to use it etc.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/traxxas-nitro-4-tec-3....
If you are wanting a nitor truggy get yourself one of these almost good enough to race out of the box.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/losi-8ight-t-2.0-rtr-t...
Seriously quick and takes a beating very durable.
http://www.modelsport.co.uk/losi-8ight-t-2.0-rtr-t...
Seriously quick and takes a beating very durable.
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