New R/C Nitro-Engine Break-in and Other Useful Stuff.

You can follow the translation in your new car's manual or you can use this newer, tried and true method of new engine break-in followed by many of todays R/C car and truck engine professionals.

Let's start at the very beginning. READ the instructions that come with your vehicle. It contains MUCH useful information about your new toy. IF your seller sends you additional information about your product READ that too. For the most part they KNOW what they are talking about.

Plug in the glow plug starter overnight for the first charge or at least a few hours. Overnight is better, but I know you won't be able to wait that long before running your car. The glow plug starter heats up an element on the internal part of the glow plug. This is how the fuel is ignited during the starting procedure. Fill the fuel tank (20% Nitro mix is best for everyday running. Get the mix made for CARS, not planes, boats or choppers) and prime the fuel line. You can do this several ways. Put a finger over the exhaust and pull the starter cord a couple of times or take off the air filter and cover the carb with your finger, pull the starter cord slowly. The key is to watch the fuel line to see fuel going from the tank to the carb. Put a few drops 4-5 of fuel directly into the carb. Attach the glow plug starter and get ready to start the car. Place the car on a solid surface and hold the car steady with one hand and pull the starter with the other. You have to yank on the cord to get it going, but be careful not to pull TOO hard. Remember, this is a little engine, not your lawnmower. You CAN screw up the starter assembly by pulling it too far and/or too hard. The cord is about 18 inches long, so adjust your setup so you restrict your ability to pull the starter cord more than that. Once started you can remove the glow plug starter.

DON'T be in to big a rush to tune your engine. It will run just fine for a while at the factory settings. They know more about tuning than you do so leave the adjustments until a later time!

From the very first time you start your engine, place your car on the ground and begin running it -s l o w l y- in 3 to 5 minute intervals. It will be tuned slightly rich, the factory settings, with a goal of getting the engine temperatures up in the 180f degree to 200f degree range on a normal 60f degree day. Every 3-5 minutes, shut the engine down & let it cool to the touch and then fire it back up again. Continue this cycle until you run it 15 minutes or so, and then bump up to 6-7 minute intervals. Vary the RPM's and do not be afraid to get the temperatures in the low 200f range.What you want is heat cycling of the components without the incredible stress that comes with breaking an engine in when it is overly rich AND cold. After cycling the engine in this manner for about 20-25 total run time minutes, it will be ready for fairly normal run and some fine tuning. If the engine is running fairly well, wait on the fine tuning. It will be to your advantage to get someone to help you accomplish this task because if not adjusted properly the engine can cut out or be difficult to start. The LAST thing you want at this point is to become frustrated with your new toy because you are over anxious for perfection. Run 2 to 3 tanks of fuel through the engine while being kind to your engine and THEN you can let loose for some full speed action!

Understand that this goes against the old -idle on the box- routine, where you just let the engine idle continuously for 2 to 3 tanks of fuel. It WILL allow for gently breaking in your engine while YOU are getting used to your R/C controls, maneuvering, speed and breaking distances needed to safely operate your new car. NOTE TO NEW USERS- when the car is coming TOWARDS you, the controls for steering are oriented opposite from the way you steer when the car is going AWAY from you. NOT knowing this is the MAIN reason crashes occur and the reason I tell you to give yourself some wiggle room.

DO NOT run your car WIDE OPEN during the break-in period. There will be plenty of time for that later. You SHOULD run the engine at the factory settings for 2 to 3 tanks, as the factory settings are very rich, which adds oil to the mix and allows for good lubrication of ALL internal parts.

You just spent a bunch of money on your new car, so do not be a tight wad when it comes to using batteries in your car. If you allow batteries to get too weak, you CAN lose control of your car. The remote control -8 batteries- and the receiver -4 batteries- are equally important but the ones in the car wear out sooner than the transmitter. The receiver batteries run the motors in your servos and the radio, so replace them on a regular basis. Do not wait for your car to become unresponsive before you change them. You can still use the old batteries in a flashlight or a remote control for that VCR you never use.

Give yourself plenty of room to operate your vehicle, especially when you are learning to operate your car. As you get better you can run it in tighter places, but as a newbie, you are begging for trouble if you don't give yourself some wiggle room. I don't care how good you are at video games! This is different! Video games don't REALLY move and these cars move at up to 80mph. The acceleration rate is better than a real Indy racer and being hit, or worse, hitting someone else, will not only destroy your car, it can seriously injure someone due to the speed involved. Remember what it felt like too get hit by a baseball in little league? These cars are going up to TWICE that fast and have metal parts! Have FUN! But give respect where respect is due.

Do yourself a favor and check your car OFTEN! These little engines and the cars thay are attached to VIBRATE like crazy. Check the tightness of ALL screws, nuts, connectors, lugs, everything, after EVERY use. Especially those little "grub" screws, the tiny Allen type screws that hold on your car's drive shafts -6- and throttle-steering mechanism. They are a pain to replace because they're metric, not readily available and the car won't run without them.

Also, and this is REALLY important, check the mesh between the engine gears and the transmission gears. They CAN come from the factory a little on the loose side. Unless you make them SNUG, but not too tight, you WILL strip these gears the first time or two you use the car. They are easily replaced, but if you snug them up first, you won't have to replace them until much later in your car's lifetime.

I will tell you from personal experience that if you DON'T check your car, you can expect:

• Your wheels to fall off.
• The engine position can change causing you to strip your transmission gears.
• The drive shafts will fly off.
• Your brakes can malfunction causing a major crash.
• The throttle can stick in WIDE-OPEN. That was the sickest feeling of all. I watched in HORROR as my 1 week old buggy drove off into the sunset at 60+mph because my batteries were weak. I was VERY lucky to have a neighborhood kid find it 3 weeks later - undamaged, but a little rusty from the weather.

As you can tell I've done just about everything a person can do WRONG, but I've had MORE FUN doing it than anyone should. Don't feel stupid or be afraid to ask for help or guidance. Everyone in this hobby will be glad to help you. We love telling stories about our escapades. Everyone who uses R/C vehicles had to start as a rookie and you can learn a lot of stuff from other users.

When your friends ask you where THEY can get a car, please send them to me. We would very much appreciate the referral. We have the full line of Redcat Racing vehicles and a full line of parts for everything we sell. E-mail us at parts or sales at JEMSNC dot com. We think our customer service is second to none and offer service AFTER the sale too. So go check out our eBay store for the R/C vehicle that suits your fancy.

Enjoy the hobby, and take a kid, any kid, with you when you run your car! The kid will love you for it, you will get a bigger kick out of the experience and it gives YOU an excuse for acting like a kid again!

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