It's more a matter of you being adequately informed so that you can select the type of rc car that best matches your interest in this hobby -- and the level of effort you're willing to put into it.
Electric RC Cars
• Use battery packs and electric motors for powering the vehicle. • Are quieter and easier to use than rc nitro cars, but don’t quite have the power or speed to match.
• Off road electric rc cars can achieve speeds of 15 to 30 mph, while on road versions will reach speeds between 20 to 40 mph.
• Have to be recharged about every 10 to 15 minutes. And it takes about 30 minutes to recharge them. So you'll have to decide if you want to purchase extra battery packs that you can charge beforehand and take with you.
• Because of their ease of use, these cars are recommended for beginners who may be trying to get an initial feel for this hobby. But if your heart is set on getting maximum speed, then by all means consider an rc nitro car.
There has been many technology changes to batteries in the last few years. These changes are a big advantage to us. Being able to greatly increase our run times and speed using all the different kinds of electric motors and better batteries. The RC car battery packs usually consist of a combination of batteries up to 6 individual cells.
You can purchase these packs preassembled or assemble them yourself. There are many different types of batteries that you can use for example NiCd (Nickel-Cadmium), NiMH (Nickel-Metal-Hydride), Li-ion (Lithium-Ion) or Li-Poly (Lithium-Polymer).
Each one of these batteries has it's own unique characteristics. The NiMH batteries are by far the most widely used battery in RC car battery packs.
NiCd
1. They contain cadmium, that can make them hard to dispose of.
2. They suffer from memory effects, which over time makes them lose their ability to hold a complete charge.
3. Can be rejuvenated easily with the correct charging system.
4. They are fairly easy to detect peak charge.
NiMH
1. They have a higher capacity (milliamps) compared to a NiCD battery.
2. They are not as susceptible to memory problems.
3. They do require a more sensitive peak detection method.
4. They are more environmentally friendly, making them easier to dispose of.
5. They are easy to damage if overcharged than NiCd's
6. They are easily damaged when charging unmatched cells.
Li-PO / Li-Ion
1. They are light weight and can be made in almost any shape and size.
2. They have large capacities, meaning they hold lots of power in a small package.
3. They have high discharge rates to provide high energy storage to weight ratios in an endless variety of shapes and sizes.
4. They are expensive compared to NiCad and NiMH.
5. They don’t last that long, perhaps only 300-400 charge cycles (much less if not cared for properly).
6. They can catch fire or explode.
7. They require unique and proper care if they are going to last for any length of time more so than any other battery technology. Charging, discharging, and storage all affect the lifespan.
RC Nitro Cars
• Run on specially formulated nitro fuel. It's not as combustible as gasoline, but it's still quite flammable. And you'll also smell the exhaust vapors produced by these powerful machines.
• RC nitro cars can run about 15 minutes on a full tank of fuel. But as long as you keep the nitro gas coming, they can run virtually forever.
• On road and off road rc nitro cars can reach speeds between 20 to 60 mph -- perhaps even higher as your knowledge and skill level increases.
• Require more tuning and maintenance than electric rc cars.
• Are recommended for serious or experienced hobbyists.
Rc Nitro Fuel is the combination of three components: Nitromethane, Methanol and Oil.
1- Nitromethane - commonly called "Nitro". Nitromethane is derived from propane. By it's self nitromethane is not extremely flammable. The most important factor of nitromethane is that it carries oxygen with each molecule. This helps to get more oxygen into the combustion chamber. This enables the rc nitro engine to burn more rc nitro fuel and produce more power. Nitromethane is kind of like a chemical supercharger. The percent of nitromethane in rc nitro fuel is how manufacturers rate the fuel. This can be any where from 5 to 60 percent nitro blend, but for rc truck and car applications it is between 10 to 40 percent. Do follow your engine manufacturer'recommendations on what percent nitro to use.
2 - Methanol. Methanol was originally derived from distilled wood products, but today it is commonly derived from natural gas. Methanol is the primary component of rc nitro fuel and also the most dominant. Methanol has a natural cooling ability that cools the air/fuel mixture entering the engine. With the air/fuel mixture being cooler causes the air to be denser, thus more oxygen. This adds more power potential to your rc nitro fuel. With methanol having a high evaporation rate it helps lower rc nitro engine operating temperatures. Methanol is the primary energy source of rc nitro fuel.
3 - Oil. To me the most interesting and confusing thing about rc nitro fuel is the oil blend. The oil blend can be made up of all castor oil, all synthetic oil or a combination of castor and synthetic. Some rc nitro fuel manufacturers think that their oil blend is a highly regarded secret, while others state it right on the bottle. Oil content can be easily checked through evaporation. Manufacturers today of rc nitro fuel most often use a combination of castor and synthetic oil. The reasons for using a combination of oils are: Castor oil at higher temperatures starts to break down. Normally this is a bad thing, but not with castor oil, it's properties change. When it starts to break down its lubricating properties increase forming a lubricating film at high temperature. This film actually protects the engine better. The downside to this film is that it can gum up your rc nitro engine. Synthetic oil's role in all this is that it lubricates very good at lower temperatures and high RPMs. As temps rise synthetic oil starts to burn off leaving little or no protection for your rc nitro engine. The oil blend in rc nitro fuel for trucks and cars will vary from 10 to 18 percent. Luckily for us the chemists with the fuel makers and the engineers of rc nitro engines have this all figured out for us.
Along with these three major components of rc nitro fuel there are some other additives in small amounts. These additives will be unique to each brand of rc nitro fuel. Some of these additives could be anti-foaming agents, anti-corrosion agents or a degumming agent. These additives are one of the areas the differentiates each brand of rc nitro fuel.
A few things to keep in mind about the rc nitro fuel you choose.
1. Increasing the percent of nitromethane you run will not assure you will get better or higher performance.
2. You should always breakin your rc nitro engine on the same nitromethane percentage you plan on running after breakin.
3. Too high a percentage of nitromethane can cause predetonation. If you are experiencing predetonation you may have to shim your head button.
4. If you run high percent nitro, you should remove your head button and check for pitting.
The electric RC relies on batteries or battery packs whereas the nitro RC uses nitro fuel. With electric RCs the runtime is dependent both on how long the battery lasts and how long it takes to recharge the battery pack. With nitro RCs the runtime is dependent on how much fuel the tank holds and how long it takes to refuel.
An Hour of Electric RC Runtime
Even with a high end battery (probably a good lipo) you still can't beat the runtime of a nitro because when the battery runs out of steam you have to charge it. With a fancy quick charger you still will have to wait at least 45 minutes to an hour for it to charge up that depleted battery. You could have two or more batteries charged already but with only 10-15 minutes of runtime per battery that means you would have to have at least 4-5 batteries already charged and ready to go before you start racing in order to get an hour or so of continuous use out of your electric RC.
An Hour of Nitro RC Runtime
On a nitro RC a tank full of fuel will typically get you 20-25 minutes of runtime depending on driving style and size of the tank. After the tank runs down all you have to do is refill the tank (which takes all of about 30-45 seconds) and you are off and running again. For an hour of use you'll need to fill up only 2 or 3 times.
The Cost of Batteries vs. Nitro Fuel
The last time lipo battery packs are about 20-40 dollars and a gallon of nitro fuel is about 20-30 dollars. You can get about 50-60 tanks out of 1 gallon of nitro fuel if you have a 2 to 2.5 oz. tank.
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