Petrol RC Cars
Archive for the ‘Nitro RC Cars’ CategoryWelcome. This is the first post on a site that will be dedicated to petrol RC cars. In fact it will go beyond the small boundary of petrol RC cars and encompass nitro RC cars as well as the more commonly known electric RC cars. When most people think of RC cars (RC being remote controlled or radio controlled, usually the latter) they think of the sort of small, battery powered toy that they probably got as a gift when they were a kid, or that they have given to their own children. They will likely remember these as fairly pathetic machines that had a slow top speed, designed exclusively for indoor use and breaking down or getting boring after a few days. This is because this is the sort of RC car that toy stores the world over commonly sell, as, like with many of their other products, they are cheap, the only criteria that many toy buyers seem to have in mind. The difference between these and the fully fledged models available at proper hobby shops is like night and day. There are three main types, electric RC cars, nitro RC cars and petrol RC cars. The electric RC cars available from hobby stores are a far cry from the ones found at most toy shops. They offer the best acceleration of the three types but lack the top end speed of the petrol RC cars or the nitro RC cars. In saying this however, they are by no means slow, with speeds getting up past 40mph in some of the top models. Another major advantage for electric RC cars is that they are able to be used indoors, being without the exhaust fumes necessitated by the other two types. They are also generally cheaper, being made of less complicated components, so offer a good starting point to the hobby. There is also the factor of noise. Electric RC cars, like all contraptions with an electric motor, elicit a high pitch whine when running. This is especially true when taking electric RC cars up to full throttle. Some may find this annoying and thus label it as a disadvantage, but it is darn sight less noisy than both nitro RC cars and petrol RC cars, some of which can be deafening when at speed. It is generally however a deeper sound, more akin to normal racing cars which to many, may be desirable. Nitro RC cars are the most common type among the serious RC car racing enthusiast. They offer much more power than electric models, some getting up past 80mph, but they take slightly longer to get there than said electric models due to a centrifugal clutch. In saying that the acceleration you can get from one of these is amazing. easily outstripping any conventional car. Many models can do 0-60mph in less than two seconds, and some can do it in just over one. The downside to nitro RC cars is the fuel, a mixture of methanol, oil and nitro methane. This can only be found in hobby stores, and is quite expensive. Every cloud has its silver lining though, and in this case it is the fact that unlike electric RC cars, where if the battery dies you either have to put another one in or wait hours for it to recharge, with Nitro RC cars (and obviously also with petrol RC cars), if the fuel runs out you can just put more in. The final type is of course petrol RC cars, also known as gas powered RC cars. These are more or less the same as nitro RC cars, sharing the same advantages and disadvantages but for a few exceptions. The first is that they run on ordinary petrol, the type that you fill your normal, passenger car up with. This means that they are much cheaper and convenient to run, and is the major reason why people choose petrol RC cars over nitro RC cars. They are also usually larger than the nitro models, with most being being 1:5 scale, the other two types generally 1:8 to 1:24 scale, making them almost a metre in length, and therefore are definitely not suitable for the learner driver. In saying that however, there is something immensely satisfying about driving something that large at speed in wide open areas, not having to care about health and safety, and then simply filling it up when more petrol (gas) is needed. So they are the three broad types of radio controlled cars; electric RC cars, nitro RC cars and petrol RC cars. Within each of these there are some fairly standard subclasses, such as on-road or off-road, trucks, buggies, rally, racing etc. The hobby encompasses so much, and has something to appeal to almost everyone. Once you try it, once you step up from the kids toys of your youth, up to hobby level, powerful machines, there really is no going back. It is addicting. A whole world of fun will open up before you. Some of you may have heard about the case of two boys in Newcastle, England who where playing with a RC car (albeit not in the usual way, snails were involved somehow), set it alight, and then poured petrol over it. The obvious outcome of doing this to those with any common sense is an explosion, a lesson the boys have now learnt, each suffering serious burns. This incident has prompted me to right this short post on the safety of petrol RC cars, especially in regard to children, a term used here to mean any persons under the age of 15. As much fun as petrol RC cars undoubtedly are, should parents buy their children, or allow their children, to play with them? There are a number of issues that must be considered to answer that question. The first is that petrol RC cars are fast and highly maneuverable. This is exactly what they are designed to be. It is also this that makes them potentially dangerous in the hands of a child, as quick and accurate judgements have to be made so as to avoid objects and people that may be about. This is one of the reasons why in most countries their are laws prohibiting people from driving until they are 17. Rapid fire judgements do not come naturally to children. Sure their reaction times are generally at least as good as most adults, but they lack the capacity to think through possible outcomes of their actions. This is why they cannot be held criminally responsible until the age of 14 in many countries. It is also why the two boys did not predict the outcome of their actions. Do you really want somebody who is incapable of planning ahead controlling a fairly large, swiftly moving object in an area where there are other people, or indeed any sort of obstacle? Think carefully about this, especially if the car in question cost a fair amount of dough and many hours of careful work. Another is the fact that the fuel is highly flammable. It has long been common wisdom to keep matches and lighters away from children, so why allow them to play with petrol? Assumably they had set the car alight in the first place with one of the former, which begs the question of how adept the parents were but nevertheless, petrol is a dangerous thing at the best of times, and anything which requires it should not be in the hands of children without adult supervision . I remember as a child by dad throwing petrol on a bonfire to bring it back from the brink, and the result was a sudden and huge burst of flames, far more than what I was expecting. And this was with less than a cup of the stuff! Children love to experiment, it is how they learn. It is best though that they learn certain things from others, instead of this experimental manner. In the ends it really comes down to how much supervision you are willing to provide, how old your children are and how responsible you believe your children to be. If they are under eight I wouldn’t recommend petrol RC cars under any circumstances. Instead get them learning the ropes on an electric model, something safe, not too expensive, but still nippy enough to let them get the feel for controlling a proper RC car. Something like this would do nicely. Above this age I would still generally recommend an electric model, but with proper supervision and proper warnings (i.e. talk to them about the differences between electric and nitro or petrol RC cars, why petrol is dangerous etc) they could be allowed to use your petrol model when you get it out. Over 12 would be my minimum safe age for use of a petrol RC car on their own, but only if they have gone through the previous steps I’ve just outlined (one of the boys that got badly burnt was 12). After they’ve gained sufficient experience, you could, as an extra special present buy them something like this. A ShengQi 1/5th Scale Petrol RC Monster Truck! |
|
