Tamiya nitro cars which one to choose

[Doc Hollywood 160]

Hi All

I am considering getting a nitro Tamiya car as all of mine are electric and want to have a go with a nitro for something different also I think they are kind of cool as they have an actual engine. I don't know what cars Tamiya made in nitro/glow plug. As I want it to look like an actual car/truck. Any advice is much appreciated.

[Superluminal 3750]

Start cutting up some old shirts so you have an unlimited supply of rags and cleaning cloths

[MICHAELs TopForce17 586]

there is a new nitro tamiya car coming out in september. i am looking at it too but know nothing about nitro.

https://tamiyablog.com/2020/08/tamiya-upcoming-releases-september-2020/

[Doc Hollywood 160]

I am used to cutting up clothes to use as rag as do a lot of dirty work on vehicles.  The new Tamiya car looks good I now absolutely nothing about nitro too thank you for the link.

[TwistedxSlayer 1290]

Check out the nitro section. You wanting on road or off-road?

New or used?

Budget?

[JYCM3 236]

One thing is a must with nitro cars. Get box starter makes life so much easier than the pull start.

[burakol 462]

Someone is selling a TRF801x in the FS section. Might be worth if you are in the USA

[hedge 314]

Hey, I am pretty much a nitro fan, I have nitro cars, bikes and helis. For me it’s two hobbies the first is for the vehicle car, boat, plane etc the second is the engine. You need to understand and learn about them, this never stops and you will find years of experience later that you still find stuff you did not.know. 

A good nitro engine will start after being turned over between 1-5 times wether it’s start box, hand held starter or pull start. Nitro engines are pressure systems incorporating the engine and fuel tank and this all needs to be sealed. Nitro engine also wear out and parts need replacing. Lack of pressure and worn out parts are where the issues start but also where the experience and learning come in. Identifying where the issue is and resolving it is very rewarding. 

There is little substitute for the noise and smell.

As for which car, you decide if it’s on or off-road then look at the choices. But and this is big, second hand nitro engines are fraught with issues, I would recommend a new engine. This way you start to learn from a good known position. Simple stuff like opening a used nitro engine can be challenging for the most experienced Modeler. So the challenge is perhaps buy a new nitro car find your feet then go buy a second hand basket case and put all your new experience to the test. After all renovating the car is easy, it’s the engine that’s the challenge - Hence this is now two hobbies :-)

 

[Doc Hollywood 160]

 I have decided I think which Tamiya nitro car I like the best and it is the TNS chassis as it looks quite robust. Unless there are any other cars that are about the same  hopefully it can have a touring car shell on it. I am looking forward to working on a nitro car as it makes a change from electric cars.

[SuperChamp82 743]

Nitro cars are superb when running but often an utter pita to start / maintain 

Fuel / air intake - then compression - issues in simple small bore 1:1 engines generally magnify ... plus the tolerances set on even the best scale motors hardly ever hold true between runs

The glow plugs also easily get caked - with careful cleaning required + frequently burnt fingers ...

So they go like a rocket and are huge fun but be prepared for time before - and sometimes between runs - with the rags @Superluminal mentions fettling the carb 

An auto starter is also a good idea or you’ll have a right arm like Popeye 👍