Nitro Vs. Gas R/C Buggys (For Racing)

[Tunedfrog]

Yes I have two Baja 5Bs but I only run one. I installed a shorty kit so it does wheelie pretty good.
It is a ton of fun out on the sand dunes and she likes to stretch her legs out there.

My other Baja 5B I built part my part. It was definitely a puzzle but it looks awesome.
It is far too heavy to take it out and run it but I built it for a shelf queen. "Too big for a shelf"
so she is a shed queen.

This one is a Rovan and I have zero complaints with Rovan. A ton of parts are available as mentioned above.
I run this because I don't care for nitro.

My custom built. All aluminum.

 

[Greywolf74]

Where does the diff in cost come from? Because the kits/cars are similar price, the engines are similar price (you can get a .21 nitro or ~30CC gas engine for ~$150), radio RX and TX are the same.

You'll need a more expensive steering servo for the bigger car, but - where else would you spend more?

Or do you mean for parts when stuff breaks?

Of course, there is the fact that gas costs 10% what nitro fuel does...
I am now seriously interested in this line:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/333843131582?epid=18031291112&hash=item4dba99ecbe:g:sToAAOSwbDtjtDvq&amdata=enc:AQAIAAAA8CJrShQZfvM7EDdnE0n2fFh1rOryHK7svs0bLKOXcYvDhg5EUYrAxSvboPJX0tQ1epdxdl4vIUE4SZtwxm6CKJgYHzApQIcw0j8mEFj7sczq5KYpiz+9rhgo8AX0J7aaCTcbkiKBoDrWg0K2R3NQopysNFOSlIPfSpmbzbPK68XDoxhVp3HxpG/9V66xld/gcXHnQgk0TbbSByAHESo14bGAr2+yC+9QiGO3sVBjvv9W98xgx5t9QjqFaIPhULSMXRyH1r1kyFY/qOtnl0zN2WF+uvsuHidMnnMjEKHdhVnH9WkJrcf7YycEBkltYSJfiA==|tkp:Bk9SR57sk92eYw

Price is really incredibly and all the reviews are great.

I doubt it's sturdy enough for huge jumps but probably we don't need to do that.

(No, it's not a kit - that's a negative, but, the cost...)

You don't have to buy a full-blown 1/8 scale race kit. There are cheaper 1/8 scale nitro rigs out there. Kyosho, Losi, Serpent, and LRP all have 1/8 scale nitro buggies in the $400-$500 price range.

If you do buy the Rovan, it's a 95%+ copy of the HPI Baja 5b so if you want to you can replace or hop up most parts with HPI Baja parts, or so I've read anyway.

 

[PaulFWI]

Yes I have two Baja 5Bs but I only run one. I installed a shorty kit so it does wheelie pretty good.
It is a ton of fun out on the sand dunes and she likes to stretch her legs out there.

My other Baja 5B I built part my part. It was definitely a puzzle but it looks awesome.
It is far too heavy to take it out and run it but I built it for a shelf queen. "Too big for a shelf"
so she is a shed queen.

This one is a Rovan and I have zero complaints with Rovan. A ton of parts are available as mentioned above.
I run this because I don't care for nitro.

View attachment 178798

That Rovan looks t*ts, as we used to say in the 90s.

Why don't you like nitro? I'm honestly curious. Smell? Fuel cost?

 

[Tunedfrog]

That Rovan looks t*ts, as we used to say in the 90s.

Why don't you like nitro? I'm honestly curious. Smell? Fuel cost?

Fair question with a easy answer. I just don't have the patients for nitro. I don't care for all the tuning.
My 1/5 gas is usually gas and go.
Honestly I prefer electric over anything.

 

[PaulFWI]

I've been following along with this. Not sure where to chime in. What exactly is your beef with RTR Rc's? I get that you like to tinker. We ALL do. Haven't left a single one stock in 30 years. Any name brand RC will have every replacement part available. If there's a weak spot an after market company will make a better part. Trust me. 1/8 scale has some rollers you can build yourself. But, if you've never done this before, you'll be asking us what to put in it. Can't guarantee someone will have an answer.

When you get into the larger scales, 1/6 or 1/5 gas, they're almost always RTR. Rovan has been around for years. Every piece is replaceable. Taylor Rc makes higher CC motors, expansion pipes and carb kits. For ALL of them. Refer to the first paragraph.

Take a breath. Buy a couple different RTR RC's. Build your track. Test them. You will need to tinker. Every track is different. Go from there.

NOT trying to be a jerk. Seriously. Just trying to help.

I assumed RTR cars would use proprietary parts, or stuff built right into the frame that you couldn't replace, etc. I was wrong about that - so not tied to kits so much.

But there are 1/5th scale gas kits, I've learned here, such as the "HPI Baja 5B Gas SBK 1/5 Off-Road Buggy Kit."

Lastly, I hope you're not trying to be a jerk. Because if you were this was a really lame attempt. I can be a bigger jerk in my sleep (ask my wife).

Fifth scale gas vehicles need expensive engines and upgrades to be able to match the speed and acceleration of 1/8th scale nitro. It’s not even a comparison. I have a Baja 5B, it’s just a big heavy vehicle and it needs a lot of space to open up.

Thank you. This is the impression I got from i) my understanding of nitro engines (they're theoretically capable of ~7x the HP of gas by displacement) ii) watching videos of the cars running (including racing).

But the disadvantages might be "advantages" for what I want to do. We have a lot of space, and the "realism" factor of large scale is good for the kids, but I don't necessarily want them zooming around at 40+mph pulling 6g's out of turns.

I don't think we'll ever be racing competitively cause I checked and none of the tracks/stores in the area do IC engines. 1/0th scale electric stuff.

 

[Chris Zautner]

I highly recommend Nitro Pro! Drew Singer will take care of you and give you killer deals on all your needs. He hooked me up with incredible components for really cheap! Check him out and give him a call!
I'm currently building a new Tekno nt48 2.0 I bought nitropro servos, a new O.S. Adam Drake edition AD3 manifold and silencer combo, and a new 4pm futaba transmitter with receiver from him. I was just recommended to nitropro from this forum so I went ahead message Drew through email with my Cell # with a few questions and within 15 mins he called me! This was after business hours too.

 

[donasdux]

So....
There's a company called 30 Degrees North. They make a "roller" buggy which comes assembled, but no motor or electronics, so I'd say 80% complete. The company makes some of the longest lasting (toughest) 1/5 scales out there, and many parts are compatible with Losi. The roller that I bought was $600usd out the door. Just spent $260 on a motor and $110 on a pair of servos. I already had the Tx/Rx, and mine can store up to 10 cars. Hope this helps.

 

[PaulFWI]

Ok, I've got a Rovan 1/5th 30.5cc Baja here now.

This thing is huge! You don't get a feel for the "size" (in three dimensions) until you *lift* one, I realized.

For $500, it looks like a heck of a lot of product.

The kids are amazed.

I just need to get a decent cas/mixer can (what's a good brand/retailer) and wait for some warm weather.

 

[Chubaka]

I like these gas cans. Other styles I've had spew gas mist on me. This one push the button and let the vapors out and then go to use it

https://www.googleadservices.com/pa...1-711o2EAxUhfjABHSLdAOsQwg8oAHoECAMQDA&adurl=

 

[PaulFWI]

Ok, I've got a Rovan 1/5th 30.5cc Baja here now.

This thing is huge! You don't get a feel for the "size" (in three dimensions) until you *lift* one, I realized.

For $500, it looks like a heck of a lot of product.

The kids are amazed.

I just need to get a decent cas/mixer can (what's a good brand/retailer) and wait for some warm weather.

@Chubaka I am curious, what is funny about that?

 

[Chubaka]

@Chubaka I am curious, what is funny about that?

This thing is huge! You don't get a feel for the "size" (in three dimensions) until you *lift* one, I realized.

 

[PaulFWI]

Yeah, it is kind of funny, I guess.