FOFF: Why Not Nitro?

[M1tch]

Or give it a blast or two, then just run it round on the flat to let it cool a little.

[Dini]

Originally Posted by daign

as a brushless rig passes it covering it in dirt.

Nitro/Gas is old technology. Look at the gas Baja's. Even a TCS savage flux conversion will rip one to shreds all day without issue.

The biggest problem with nitro? you cannot run it in many issues due to neighbors, grumpy people etc. They're plain annoying.

Save your money and buy a dirt bike if you want to have fun and make noise, everyones selling their toys in this economy.

You guys did notice that he's from L.A. right? You can't fart without the E.P.A. trying to put a catalytic converter in your a$$, and your neighbors are all pissed 24/7.

[barrybelvedere]

Nitro engines suck!.... You will hafta get your FOFF from the bottom of the water hole when the nitro engine stalls. Brushless has a better power to weight ratio anyway.

[T I N Y]

Originally Posted by barrybelvedere

Nitro engines suck!.... You will hafta get your FOFF from the bottom of the water hole when the nitro engine stalls. Brushless has a better power to weight ratio anyway.

We're not saying nitro is better for foff.We're just exploring a different way to do it is all.Plus someone who knows a great deal about nitro engines is doing this.Because if you know how to tune your engine right. You won't have to worry about stalling out. But what if the shoes on the other foot? What if the lipo cut off kicks in?Down goes the brushless just like a stalled nitro would.

[Meatwad]

Usually lipo cutoff allows half throttle to be able to drive back.

[OTHGbronco82]

Originally Posted by Dini

You guys did notice that he's from L.A. right? You can't fart without the E.P.A. trying to put a catalytic converter in your a$$, and your neighbors are all pissed 24/7.

Fook the neighbors, it's L.A. And I fart all the time, the E.P.A. didn't stick anything to my a$$.

[Dini]

Originally Posted by barrybelvedere

Nitro engines suck!.... You will hafta get your FOFF from the bottom of the water hole when the nitro engine stalls. Brushless has a better power to weight ratio anyway.

No FOFFing in the water for me.

Originally Posted by Meatwad

Usually lipo cutoff allows half throttle to be able to drive back.

This would do you no good mid water crossing.

Originally Posted by OTHGbronco82

Fook the neighbors, it's L.A. And I fart all the time, the E.P.A. didn't stick anything to my a$$.

You're on notice. They know who you are and that you've been farting without a California emissions approved butt spark arresting catalytic converter

[Meatwad]

Originally Posted by Dini

No FOFFing in the water for me.

This would do you no good mid water crossing.

Better waterproofing helps

[SlickRockSpider]

Originally Posted by barrybelvedere

Nitro engines suck!.... You will hafta get your FOFF from the bottom of the water hole when the nitro engine stalls. Brushless has a better power to weight ratio anyway.

Kids

[daign]

Originally Posted by T I N Y

OK... I already have "toys".I don't need to say money..But I was talking about the old school cool factor of a nitro rig. Because your not going to be running it at your house where the neighbors are at. As for a brushless rig passing it? SO..and as for them being annoying..that's your opinion..but you know what I think is annoying people who jump all over someone's comment and try and tear it apart...I've been in this hobby for over 24 years. I've seen all types of racing, bashing and all around rigs over the years. And to me and a lot of other people it's not always about being the fastest or winning the little trophy to put on a shelf.It's about running your rig that you built by pouring your time and know how into getting it just the way you want it.That's why I would have a nitro rig.Because it's different.It's not the normal same old brushless foff that everyone else is running.This hobby is first and foremost about having fun.If your so rapped up in being the fastest or the best.You're losing sight of whats really important.

I've never raced a single lap at a race track. I run my cars mostly at the beaches around LA county.

Due to this being LA, the laws are so strict that even gardeners are restricted to elecric weed whackers/blowers.

Theres nothing normal/standard about FOFF. Every rig is different in some way, unless people are blatantly following the FOFF leaders rigs...

Here in CA Nitro/gas simply isn't a viable option here in los angeles or larger cities., whether it be plane, boat, car or buggy. I would assume wooded areas have similar laws with wilderness protection etc in other states but I could be completely wrong.

Personally I don't think nitro would be a viable option for FOFF because of the instant need for power to keep momentum. Nitro clutch allows a good 1-3 seconds before it grabs and starts making power.

That element alone I would thing would make it a poor power choice for FOFF.

[daign]

Originally Posted by OTHGbronco82

Fook the neighbors, it's L.A. And I fart all the time, the E.P.A. didn't stick anything to my a$$.

use a megahorn nex time ;)

[daign]

Originally Posted by T I N Y

OK... I already have "toys".I don't need to say money..But I was talking about the old school cool factor of a nitro rig. Because your not going to be running it at your house where the neighbors are at. As for a brushless rig passing it? SO..and as for them being annoying..that's your opinion..but you know what I think is annoying people who jump all over someone's comment and try and tear it apart...I've been in this hobby for over 24 years. I've seen all types of racing, bashing and all around rigs over the years. And to me and a lot of other people it's not always about being the fastest or winning the little trophy to put on a shelf.It's about running your rig that you built by pouring your time and know how into getting it just the way you want it.That's why I would have a nitro rig.Because it's different.It's not the normal same old brushless foff that everyone else is running.This hobby is first and foremost about having fun.If your so rapped up in being the fastest or the best.You're losing sight of whats really important.

Its not my opinion. I love the sound of a loud big block v8. I AM however aware that it annoys people that dont know the history behind it/the power/the fun. I've had people roll up their windows when I pull up to them at stop lights in my camaro. Gardeners are not allowed to use gas lawn tools before 8am in LA county. Every other car you see is a Prius.

Point being, if you're near any major city and dont have your own private land. You'll be limited where you can run.

It sucks, but its the times we live in.. I imagine in WV you wont have problems.

[T I N Y]

Originally Posted by daign

Its not my opinion. I love the sound of a loud big block v8. I AM however aware that it annoys people that dont know the history behind it/the power/the fun. I've had people roll up their windows when I pull up to them at stop lights in my camaro. Gardeners are not allowed to use gas lawn tools before 8am in LA county. Every other car you see is a Prius.

Point being, if you're near any major city and dont have your own private land. You'll be limited where you can run.

It sucks, but its the times we live in.. I imagine in WV you wont have problems.

Me living in WV has nothing to do with it....lol I live right out side of Charleston which is the capital and is surrounded by nothing but city. Every major city has parks and places where someone could run a nitro RC. I know when I traveled alot out west there were several cities that had huge parks where guys ran nitro planes. But when you said "They're plain annoying." that was saying everybody everywhere thinks this..No not everyone thinks this so yes it is an opinion.

[T I N Y]

Originally Posted by daign

I've never raced a single lap at a race track. I run my cars mostly at the beaches around LA county.

Due to this being LA, the laws are so strict that even gardeners are restricted to elecric weed whackers/blowers.

Theres nothing normal/standard about FOFF. Every rig is different in some way, unless people are blatantly following the FOFF leaders rigs...

Here in CA Nitro/gas simply isn't a viable option here in los angeles or larger cities., whether it be plane, boat, car or buggy. I would assume wooded areas have similar laws with wilderness protection etc in other states but I could be completely wrong.

Personally I don't think nitro would be a viable option for FOFF because of the instant need for power to keep momentum. Nitro clutch allows a good 1-3 seconds before it grabs and starts making power.

That element alone I would thing would make it a poor power choice for FOFF.

A lot of the bigger cities out west have several parks and areas where guys run nitro planes and other nitro RC's. But this is foff it's ran way away from people in sand pits or quarry like places.So no ones around to complain anyway. If you're referring to WV as a "wooded area". Yes we do have more trees and wide open beautiful wilderness then a lot of places but. There are a lot of parks and recreation areas where guys can run nitros. Plus DINI is from Portland. He can run nitros...And as for everybody talking about the clutch issue.....Every seen a nitro pull a wheelie?? That clutch kicks in a lot faster then ya think when you peg it full throttle all at once. So I feel a nitro foff would do ok if you could pick a good line and keep it in " the grove" of the track. Because some people were talking about having to back up and go again. Every foff GTG I've been to . there is no slowing down or backing up. It's wide open from the bottom to the top. Unless you don't make it then it's turn around and come back down, or you've flipped so you got to walk up and get your rig. Some buddies and I have a GTG planned for later today I'll mount up some paddles on my nitro rig and see how it does against all the brushless guys rigs. I'll do some sand drags, and some bottom to top runs to get my take on it.

[T I N Y]

Nitro may not be the "best" way to go for foffing...BUT it's by far the funnest...lol
I had a blast...the clutch didn't give me any problems at all.It would hook up right out of the gate and kept a nice 8 foot roost going all the way to the top of a 60 foot sand pit. Honestly the only trouble I had was keeping the other guys away from my radio. 7 guys and out of us 7 only one didn't like it. And that's because he's never ran a nitro before and didn't keep in the throttle and got stuck. Over all it was a blast. It took a couple runs to get used to. but once you learned when and where you could let off the throttle you were golden.We started with us 7 and by the end there were 6 more people just watching. So 3 of the 7 guys are now building a nitro foff rig. Just like the old saying goes..."Don't knock it until you've tried it"

[SlickRockSpider]

Originally Posted by T I N Y

Nitro may not be the "best" way to go for foffing...BUT it's by far the funnest...lol
I had a blast...the clutch didn't give me any problems at all.It would hook up right out of the gate and kept a nice 8 foot roost going all the way to the top of a 60 foot sand pit. Honestly the only trouble I had was keeping the other guys away from my radio. 7 guys and out of us 7 only one didn't like it. And that's because he's never ran a nitro before and didn't keep in the throttle and got stuck. Over all it was a blast. It took a couple runs to get used to. but once you learned when and where you could let off the throttle you were golden.We started with us 7 and by the end there were 6 more people just watching. So 3 of the 7 guys are now building a nitro foff rig. Just like the old saying goes..."Don't knock it until you've tried it"

x2 how about some pics. Sounds like a blast.

Evan

[T I N Y]

Originally Posted by SlickRockSpider

x2 how about some pics. Sounds like a blast.

Evan

Nope no pics unfortunatly..we were kind of in a place where they not necessarily wanted us to be..so we didn't push it....lol
We were at a stone, gravel,sand storage place where they stock pile stuff for where they sell that stuff. well it was closed and we couldn't ask permission to be there.But there were no gates....lol And it was a blast.I ran my slayer with paddles and then a revo with 2.2 paddles...lol the revo was off the hook.

[cummins driver]

I think a lot of the audience on this site are hardcore electric. Mainly because this is a crawling site first and foremost, and FOFF is 2nd to that on here. Crawling has also been around a lot longer in terms of popularity which is also why people are converting crawlers after they get bored with them.

One of the biggest issues with people dogging nitro's is the fact that MOST people cant tune one. They think its some sort of witch craft and that they are unreliable and dont make good bottom end power. I'm here to tell anyone that thinks electric is far superior in this situation that they simply havent seen a well setup nitro. Any budget .26-.28 nitro engine with a 2 speed geared for around 35-40mph will have pretty explosive power in a situation like this. Traction is limited in these cases anyway, and any extra power electrics have will not be noticed like it would on high traction surfaces.

For me, nitro has been more reliable than electric. I have killed one nitro engine in my time and it was from ingesting something through the carb. I have smoked a couple ESC's and motors in my time though. You just wont find many people that are pro nitro on here just because they dont have experience with them, or cant figure them out.

Watch this clip of my LST... Tell me if a brushless setup will be faster than this. Keep in mind it hits 2nd gear seamlessly (cant hear it shift because of the wheel spin) and will run 35-40mph in 2nd gear with no issues. If a brushless passes this on the hills, it will be because of a better setup, not the power output. Nitro's have more controllable power and better power at higher RPM in my opinion. Here is the clip of my LST with stock engine, pipe, and gearing.

Losi lst - YouTube

I also pulled two nitro MT's all last year in a local club. Tied in points for first place. I had over 25 hooks on a $12 aluminum 3 shoe clutch and it would probably go another whole season. FOFF will be much easier on the clutch than pulling, and with the right gearing and a 2 speed, you will get MANY runs out of a good clutch.

Here is a video of a test and tune pull. My truck is the red associated MGT with the white wheels. My wifes truck is the blue Losi LST2 with the chrome wheels. I was working on her setup (why it was hopping so bad at first), but we were pulling around 90 pounds total.

Central Ky Rc Pullers Monster Truck Class at Cecelia Ky 8-27-11 - YouTube

Now this is not to say im against electric at all. I have several electrics and run them plenty often. I just dont like it when people that cant tune or are running on hearsay downplay nitro engines. They make incredible power for their size...

Eric

[Meatwad]

Nitro can make power when tuned correctly.. the instant power of brushless can't be ignored though. In the past ercm drag modded picco's ran hard enough for me to spin old school shimmed savage diffs. Only a 6s brushless system could spin my 2spd trans though

It all takes tuning, nitro or electric. The repetitive tuning of nitro just got old after every small change in barometric pressure or humidity, along with dirty air filters every other run or so.

Here's a short vid on 4s, full throttle was saved for in air correction if needed

[SlickRockSpider]

Hey Dini

I hop all is good with you.

I just bought a nitro rig .Just a Traxxas slayer 1st gen and yes I know to build is better. I dont have the money and this rig will alow me to catch a ton of air with out destroying the car. Modifications will follow.

Let the scream begin. I have received the rig yet, but when I am ready we should take a trip down to florence.

I will start a thread soon.

Evan