Nitro Thunder - how to run in?

[netsmithUK]

Got me one of these mighty nice buggies and want to make sure I get it running just right.

The run in procedure looks quite straight forward, one tank idling with wheels off the floor and then a few tanks at 50% throttle in 30m ovals.

It also mentions using 25% fuel - is this OK for the run in procedure or should I use something a little less?

Answer to this or any other tips would be great[]

cheers

Chris

[fury_dice(2)]

quote:

Originally posted by netsmithUK

It also mentions using 25% fuel - is this OK for the run in procedure or should I use something a little less?

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Not an expert on these, but did notice on the Time Tunnel site that the NDF-01 is designed for use with high octane synthetic fuel and that they are selling a 30% nitro fuel intended for that car. The Tamiya Japan site lists 20% and 30% fuel as a spare part, so I'm guessing that 25% would be OK but you should be careful going lower than that... HTH. David

[netsmithUK]

Thats what I thought, but the local hobby stores recommended QuikFire 16% for running in[?] for this specific model, a model which they sell.

Probably just got a big barrel of the stuff out back...

[smallman28]

Just my few pennies worth.

Personally I wouldn't use the Quikfire range of fuels,I used them in my HPI originally and I didnt like it,the car just didnt seem to go very well with it and it was very messy as there seemed to be a LOT of oil in it.

I switched to Blue Thunder and it worked a lot better,most LHS only seem to have stock of the Quikfire range of fuels,might be because it is a UK company and is the easiest/cheapest to get.

Best bet as far as fuels are concerened is go with what the makers recommend not just what the LHS has in stock!

[Live Steam Mad]

Let it run a bit on the rich side (more fuel, same amount of air) for running in, so the lubricant is in a slight excess. In particular, if you run it on the lean side when the engine is cold there are minimal clearances and the piston might slightly score the surface of the inside of the cylinder barrel.

Just my thoughts...

Cheers,

Alistair G.

[jayjay]

Yes 16% quickfire is the correct fuel for the Nitro Thunder and most other tamiya cars.

[SteveH(2)]

Hi Chris,

You can run in on any fuel, but i would recommend using the fuel that you’re intending to use after. Steer clear of Model Tech stuff, especially the Quick fire. Blue Thunder isn't much better. You should be able to get O’Donnell or Byrons (both in 25%), which is a proven good quality race fuel local to you.

After running in, it's advisable to change your plug and have some noisy, smelly fun!

[Wireless]

Don't use anything outside of the ranges specified in the manual. If the manual says 25-30% then that's what you should use. Going to a lower nitro content can really screw things up.

Have a look here for an explanation : http://www.rcnitro.com/rn/articles/nitro_fuel.asp

I agree in running the motor slightly more rich (perhaps half or a single turn of the needle) for a few tankfulls before leaning it off properly.

HTH,

Roop

[theshopkeeper]

Very quick answer to this.

If you use Model Technics Big Bang 30 your car will be OK. If you use Model Technics Duraglow 25 it'll also be OK but the power will be down. If you use 16%, the engine will end up knackered and the importer in the UK will not honour the warranty on the car.

This is why they put that bit of paper in the box saying you must use BigBang 30!

For reference, the recommended fuels for all Tamiya cars in the UK are:

XBG CARS: Duraglow 16 or Quickfire 16

Terra Crusher: Duraglow 25

TNX: BigBang 30 or Duraglow 25

Nitro Thunder: BigBang 30

(These are Hobby Company recommendations)

If you use these fuels, you won't have an argument with them if something goes wrong under warranty. Mention Blue Thunder though and you'll likely have to pay for the repairs yourself!

Neil

[netsmithUK]

Thanks for that. Guess that makes the choice easy

cheers

Chris

[cant_get_right2005]

im no pro either at motors....but fantom and team associated.has similar break in procedures.....

and fantom goes into deep details as to why you want to break a motor in like this

but basically you want to get the buggy up to operating temps fast

basically do quarter throttle runs for bout 6 sec..then stop....then repeat....do this for a tank

then next tank do half throttle.for same amount.about 6 sec then stop.then repeat over for the hole tank

every tank add more throttle.this is how i break in any nitro motor i get for now on.........this is how all the guys at unlimited enginerring break in there motors too....there is alot of racer over there.......to be honest i cant remember all the details on why to break your motor in this way.....but it has to do with the pinch or the seal your motor has when the piston is top of its stroke

for the first 5 tanks i make sure its spitting out plenty of fuel

if the motor is running ok.i normally dont start leaning it out untill about 5 tanks

i never got into using a temp gun either..they will make you paronoid if you let them..and you will find you will start messing with your adjustments trying to get the temp gun to read the right temp..... fantom also goes into detail on how temps arent all thatimportant its been over a year for me with nitro so i forgot things......but i think there tips would work for any nitro motor

also another good tip....find out when your piston is at the bottom of its stroke.and put a mark on the flywheel and engine casting....

this is where you want to put it after you run it..that way the piston cools at the bottom of its stroke.....and doesnt hurt your pinch......again im no pro....but i have read alot..[:I]

[Incredible_Serious]

Hey Vaughn... you run in that nitro buggy you got months ago yet???

lol...

[cant_get_right2005]

no alex.im a dummy and sold it before i could even run it

[fatboyslim]

quote:

Originally posted by theshopkeeper

For reference, the recommended fuels for all Tamiya cars in the UK are:

XBG CARS: Duraglow 16 or Quickfire 16

Terra Crusher: Duraglow 25

TNX: BigBang 30 or Duraglow 25

Nitro Thunder: BigBang 30

(These are Hobby Company recommendations)

If you use these fuels, you won't have an argument with them if something goes wrong under warranty. Mention Blue Thunder though and you'll likely have to pay for the repairs yourself!

Neil

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Hmmm perhaps someone should tell my LHS i went in asking for some fuel for my Mad Bison saying that I'd heard Tamiya recommend specific fuels and he basically said that's bol***ks mate shops say that to sell the Model Technics rubbish!! This what you want and sold me some Byron Race 16% which I will admit seems good but £15 for half a gallon!! and a US half-gallon at that!!

( For those of you who wondering a US gallon is approxx 3.78 litres whereas an Imperial/UK gallon is 4.52 litres, so half a US gallon is 1.89 litres and half a UK gallon is 2.26 litres so as you can see nearly over 0.370 of a litre less!!)

[DJTheo]

I also did the similar, according to manual, run in of my TNX, but wouldn't do it again, after reading many articles, like always too late []

Especially the first tank run on idle in the air may work in hot Cali, but definetely not here, the engine gets much too cold, nothing worse for wear. Also don't make it much too rich, better get a infra thermometer, mine costed less then 20P and don't let it run under 90°C.

Even OS which makes most Tamiyas engines sais this in http://www.osengines.com/faq/product-faq.html#q2 :

quote:The break in process of model engines, especially R/C car engines has been affected by a wide variety of myths and misconceptions. The main one is that the engine must be run at idle for several tanks' worth of fuel before the model is run. There is nothing farther from the truth! In fact, running the engine at idle for several tanks' worth of fuel will not only insure that your engine won't break in properly, but it could also reduce its overall life!

The purpose of the break-in process is to run the engine so that its moving parts will polish each other to a perfect fit. This requires that the engine be run at a variety of throttle settings so that the different parts will be affected by changing pressures and temperatures.

Typically, we start out with a moderately rich needle setting and start driving the car right away. We accelerate to a medium speed and then coast. Turn around and come back the same way. If the high-speed needle is so rich that the engine tends to hesitate a lot when throttle is applied, we'll lean it a bit to eliminate most of the hesitation.

After a few minutes of this, we start accelerating to a high speed and then coast. Turn around and come back the same way. We do this for the remainder of the first tank.

During the next two to three tanks' worth of running, we gradually lean the high-speed needle valve until the engine will run at full throttle at a setting just rich of peak RPM. One way to tell that the engine is on the rich side of peak RPM is to accelerate to full throttle and carefully listen to the engine. It should accelerate up and hold RPM, and not sag back down.

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Most experts nowadays reccomend the heat cycling method for break in, that is starting, running the car quarter or half throttle for ten minutes, then letting cool down for an hour or more and the same again, leaining it a bit by bit and giving a bit more throttle.

Congrats and enjoy your thunder! [8D]

[minijosh]

I was just reading the review of this car. The guys at RC Driver really like this new buggy. They compare it to the 1/8 buggies and to do that means it's a full blown buggy and not some QD toy.

[El Mexican]

Its true that the magazine gives a very positive review of the NT, but when was the last time you read something trully negative in one their articles?

[Virus]

i broke in my mt2 as the manual says this is 1 tank with all wheels of the ground at a nice idle throttle setting then a second tank the same .3rd,4th,5th tanks are with the car/truck on road with small burst up to full throttle then coast then throttle an coast. the 6th tank is the one u use to tune the car/truck up. i used 16% tornado fuel as recomended on the box and it does ok. i tuned it all up to 16% nitro but will have to retune if i go with a higher % fuel. the lhs guy did say to keep the temp at about 240/270 degrees anything under this could cause premature wear of the engine piston liner an crank,i am not sure of this myself but my engine is fine and sounds sweet. i would go with the info on the box chris this way if anything goes wrong they cant void the warenty saying you used a non recomended fuel.

Virus

[Yatty]

I got my Nitro Thunder from Neil down at time tunnel, when i asked him his advise was to run the car on a flat surface for the first 5-6 tanks, but dont take the car above half throttle. The reasoning behind running the car was that if you have the car on a stand for the running in then the 1st time that you actually run the car you will end up stripping the drive gear. Also as i use the 30% fuel he said dont play with the fuel setting, as the car is setup by tamiya to run a little rich. All i can is say that this has worked for me and my car runs great (well it did until i hit a metal bin in the dark).

[neo]

ALso, always remember to keep a check on the engine temp. use a temp gun every time you run, just to check it isn't getting to hot after you've tuned it for that day!

The thing is, you don't just tune it once and that's it! You need to tune it each time you run it as it's all down to Atmospheric pressure.

On a warm day the air is less dense! Which means you need less fuel going through, and on a cold day the air is more dense so you will need more fuel going through to compensate!

One thing i've got into the habit of doing is; when i have finished for the day i turn the High Speed Needle "out" one turn. This means that the next time i run my buggy it will be running Rich, and so i know to tune it ill need to turn the needle in!

This method also seems to make starting easier and also means the engine gets more lubrication whilst warming up from cold!

[nitrothunder]

i run mine in on tornado 25% havent had any problems with it

still goes well