Tips When Using Your RC Car

RC hobbyists always want to have a great experience with their new RC car or truck. The following tips will make your experience more enjoyable.

You need to go through the owner’s manuals thoroughly in order to prevent any injury or damage to ones lovingly purchased, ultra high performance nitro vehicle,. Although it is more tempting to skip this step, this is probably the single most important thing that you can do.
It would be sad to damage to your expensive RC Car just because you did not go through the user’s manual. If you are making a significant investment in a finely engineered nitro RC vehicle the best way to protect it is by reading through the instructions.

Prepping and painting the body comes in next. If your RC car or truck comes with a body that needs to be painted, then prepping and painting is something that needs to be taken care of as well. Initial break in of the engine should be done with the body shell off anyway in order to insure maximum cooling to the engine. It is important to put the body aside such that it would not get oily or dirty. If body is kept clean then prepping will be easier later when it is getting ready to paint. The color or scheme you use to paint it can be as unique as ones individual choice. The body shell acts as armor to protect your expensive engine and radio gear during use.

Gluing the tires to the wheels is very important. Many RC nitro cars and trucks require the tires to be glued to the wheels. This is something that some people try to skip, but it is very highly recommended that this should be done while the tires and wheels are clean. Once they get dirty, it will be very hard to glue them properly.
This is a simple step to ensure that all of the power will be transmitted to the ground instead of resulting in slippage between the rubber tire and wheel. The tires should be glued to the wheels using hobby grade cyanoacrylate (CA) glue. Super Glue is a CA glue, but it is not usually recommended using this type of CA glue. Hobby grade CA glue works better and can be easily found at a local hobby or arts/crafts supply stores.

The foam air filter needs to be oiled properly before starting the engine, as it is usually shipped dry to keep everything clean. Oiling ensures that dirt will stick to the oil and be trapped in the foam filter element. Running without the oil will result in inefficient filtering of the air. Oiling can be done simply by just placing several drops of light oil on the foam filter element. Gently pressing it down several times to help distribute the oil evenly through out the foam element. If too much oil is accidentally spilled on the filter, it can be squeezed out by simply using a paper towel or rag. This will help squeeze out excess oil into the rag or paper towel. Using a thick oil or grease, will plug up the filter and restrict air flow to the engine, there by reducing power. It would probably be best to use an oil specifically designed for air filter use.

The engine should always be run with the air cleaner installed. The air filter prevents harmful dirt and foreign objects from getting into your engine and destroying it. At those astronomical engine speeds of 40,000 RPM, dirt quickly ruins the engine. Periodically, as the foam filter gets plugged with dirt you should remove it from the engine and clean it with household dish washing liquid, Simple Green degreaser, or some other degreaser. Do not use gasoline or other strong solvents as these could damage your filter.

All engine break-in recommendations should be followed as given in the owner’s manual. First time running of a nitro engine largely determines how long the engine will last and how much power the engine will produce. The engine should never be run full throttle during break in. Being extra gentle during break in will be rewarded with longer engine life and maximum power later. Lastly the limited slipdifferential(s) should be checked and adjusted if needed.