Nitro
vs. Electric: The Great Debate, part 1
Well whaddyaknow, finally I have a venue for venting my frustrations with the world without fear of reproach! Why didn't I think of this before? Posting on the forums can be a pain much of the time because I always run the risk of receiving replies, whereupon I'm prompted to reply in turn, usually either to defend or simply to repeat what I said in the first place. Talking into a mirror would leave me open to being marked clinically insane once & for all, so I try to avoid that, at least when my girlfriend is home. Conversing one-on-one with a friend or workmate carries all of the risks of forum posting, with the bonus possibility of physical altercation in the event of a particularly emotional rift of opinions.
Perhaps the real problem is my natural inclination towards controversy. Where everyone else turns left, I have to go straight, turn right, climb up or tunnel down. I refuse to mindlessly follow crowds. In my book, to surrender to the status quo without a long, stubborn fight is to fail the challenges of life by default. Life is short and I'll be damned if I'm going to waste time drifting with the tides. Maybe you disagree? Fine with me! Everyone's entitled to their opinions, yes? Ford vs. Chevy? Domestic vs. Import? How about Nitro vs. Electric? Aha!
When I first got into R/C, most folks at the club level were already chanting, "Ni...TRO! Ni... TRO!" Glow engine reliability was increasing year by year and there was a new phenomenon starting to take hold... the nitro RTR. Of course I, being stubborn & contrarian, immediately pledged my complete and utter devotion to the electric world, vowing to forever shame the evil nitros on the track. Nitro was the work of the Dark Side, but I stood proud as a true Jedi.
Believe it or not, there was some method to my madness and I had good reasons to favor electrics over nitros. For example, nitro R/C's are:
- Loud, and thus can't be driven just anywhere, any time
- Dirty, very dirty -- greasy, oily, yuck...
- Polluting -- testing them in the house the night before a race, not a good idea
- Difficult to start oftentimes, or so it certainly seemed at the races
- Difficult to keep tuned, or so it seemed with a number of popular engines
- Quite dangerous, especially when they have their little "runaway" fits
- Expensive -- $150-$400 for an engine alone, $25/gallon of fuel, etc.
In contrast, electrics are:
- Quiet, and thus can be driven in parking lots in quiet neighborhoods at 10pm
- Clean, very clean, yes
- Reliable -- charge a battery, plug it in, go
- Relatively inexpensive -- $30 motor, $40-$80 ESC, batteries start at $10/pack (and don't get expended like nitro fuel)
Sure a nitro truck will be faster than an electric one... that's running a 27-turn stock motor & 6-cell pack, but drop to a mod motor, or go brushless, and that situation changes with stunning rapidity ("stunning rapidity" -- add that to the list of all-time great catch phrases, right under Steve Jobs' "insanely great"). With nitro you can go non-stop until your fuel runs low, then refuel, and keep going. Okay, Mr. Devil's Advocate, that's why we electric folks buy multiple battery packs, and keep them charging in rotation.
Nobody dared to take me on in an electric vs. nitro debate for long. I had solid rebuttals for every pro-nitro argument, and I was absolutely confident in my views. Alas, cunning and devious, the Dark Side is. Nitro fiends began to lend me their best vehicles for "test drives" for a tank or two here or there. "So, how do you like it?" they would ask at the end of a run, flinching their eyebrows and rubbing their hands in evil anticipation. "It's cool" would be my reply, face as straight as a board, completely devoid of emotion, as I handed back the controller.
Gas truck... 1/8th scale buggy... T-Maxx... Nothing could steal me away to the world of nitro. Nothing at all. Nothing, until Kyosho released the Mad Force.
[to be continued...]
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