Nitro truggy costing me more than my beamer to run.

[Joeloliver]

Is it normal for a nitro truggy to require lots of new parts so soon? I ran the engine in to.

 

So far I have needed - 2 pullstarts, bearing , clutch shoes, complete new engine (broke conrod), 2 hump packs (one set on fire), about 4 glow plugs. ect...

 

I have only used 5 litres of fuel in it. HPI have been really good to me and replaced a lot of the parts under warranty.

 

Is this typical nitro ownership? or should I sell up and but another nitro car.

 

It's not even been bashed! Just used on football fields.

 

 

 

 

 

[Theodore Bagwell]

Get a crawler

[capri-boy]

Hpi for you in my opinion.  People rave about how easy it is to get spares.... but that's because you generally need em.  My Savages we're money pits to get sorted to the point where I didn't have to fix something after every run.

[Joeloliver]

Thanks people seem happy with Hyper 7's and Losi but I can't see many parts for Losi's

[Nitroholic]

Owned many Savages, and still do. Never found them a money pit when properly sorted. RTR cars are built to a price, and there is always scope for improvement to suit a particular driving style.

 

Pullstarts can go on a new engine if you don;t heat it up before you start it when it's very tight. Same goes for conrods..... but it's not common. Usually people break pullstarts because they pull them until they won't go any further...which you should never do.

Clutch shoes won't last, oddly, if you drive gently a lot. The clutch doesn't fully engage...and constant pulsing of the power will wear them out. I run HongNor red ally shoes in my heavier trucks...and they last ages.

 

Destroying hump-packs is either a result of faulty packs, shorted electrics or user error.

 

Just about all those things can just as easily happen on ANY make of car.

 

Glow plugs are consumables.....they do get used up...and suffer during break in. Once a motor is properly tuned, they should last OK....but they do wear out and I always carry a few spares.

[sean-vrs]

for me my hpi nitro stuff which is a savage and a buggy are the easiest to start and they hold a fanatastic tune

[Joeloliver]

It was the plastic case on the Hump pack that caught on fire. Charged at the correct amps. Bought from eBay so could have been dodgy supplier. 

 

I used a starter box after running in a lot to get it started so that may have contributed to the broken conrod. I am not sure as I am still new to the hobby.

 

HPI customer service have been brilliant, outstanding in fact.. Still love the truggy. But I keep hearing stories about hyper 7 an people having them for years without issues. Maybe I have just been unlucky. I am still unsure if i should sell the truggy and try a hyper. My son has an Firestorm but electric seems less manly. I love the noise and smoke of Nitro. Happy to trade up to a Losi XXL if there are plenty of parts and more reliable.

[Nitro_monkey]

Not true about hpi entirely, my savage xl 5.9 is fantastic, had it just over a year and the only thing I've had go wrong with it was the carb lock pin fell out during break in. Other than that it has been virtually bomb proof.