by Team RC Driver

When you were younger, why did your mom always ask if you had clean underwear on? You know you’ve heard this one—you need clean underwear just in case you get hit by a bus and wind up at the hospital. What sick, twisted parents we had that only cared if the doctor was cutting clean underwear off our half mangled body! Hey mom, how about a simple tip like, “Look both ways before crossing the road”?

With the increasing number of ready to run (RTR) nitro cars and trucks out there, there are more and more dirty vehicles getting tossed in the closet along with dirty underwear for storage. Hey, we’re here to play the parenting roll and give you some hints, tips and shortcuts to keep your nitro vehicle in tip top shape and running well. With these tips under your belt, all you’ll need to do is steer clear of school buses.

GET RID OF THE GOO!
The fuels we use in nitro cars and trucks contain a number of lubricants in their mixture. While these lubricants protect your engine, not all of them are burned off as your engine runs. The result is a chassis that’s coated with oil that exits from the pipe. The easiest way to remove this gunk is to use a degreaser such as Simple Green, or Nitro-specific cleaners like those offered by Megatech, Trinity and others. Before you start blasting your chassis, remove all your radio equipment and plug any inlets on your engine (or if you really want to do a good job, remove your engine). Lightly spray your chassis down, and with a firm-bristled brush start to knock that grime away. When your chassis is clean, dry it off with a shop towel and re-install any components you removed.

SHOW IT SOME OIL
The engine in your car or truck is a delicately tuned piece of hardware. To extend the time between piston and sleeve replacements due to corrosion, remove your glow plug when you are done running for the day. Rotate the crank by hand until the piston is at bottom dead center. At this point, squeeze a few drops of after run oil into the combustion chamber. To evenly spread the oil around, rotate your crankshaft a few times to make sure that the after run oil is evenly distributed. After run oil helps prevent leftover lubricants from any un-spent fuel from breaking down and gumming everything up. It also inhibits rust.

YOU LIGHT UP MY LIFE.
While often overlooked, both your glow plug and glow driver need relatively constant attention to ensure your engine will start promptly and your vehicle will run well. If your glow driver is a rechargeable unit without a voltmeter built into it (low voltage means you need to recharge the battery), you can place a fresh glow plug into the driver to see if it lights the coil up. If it doesn’t, recharge your glow driver’s battery. If you are using an alkaline battery and the coil doesn’t light up, it’s time to replace the battery.

Speaking of glow plugs, they don’t last forever. I make sure I have at least two extra plugs with me, as you never know when you might have a plug go bad. You can test the glow plug the same way you test your glow driver. Remove the plug from the head, load it into your driver, and if all of the coils light, you’re good to go.

CARE BEAR…
Most RTR’s come with some kind of electric starter unit or pull starter. The one-way bearings in the starters should be cleaned and oiled every few weeks or so. Carefully remove the starter unit from the engine. Use a screwdriver to keep pressure on the recoil mechanism as you pull the starter off the back plate, this way the spring won’t pop out and ruin your day. Use motor or engine cleaning spray to clean out the bearing, then oil it with a light oil like Marvel Mystery Oil to keep it spinning smooth. Reassemble the engine and the starter should work like new.

FRESH AIR
Don’t forget about your air filter. Wash the foam element in warm, soapy water and then rinse and dry it thoroughly. Add some air filter oil into a plastic bag, drop in your filter and scrunch the filter to work the fluid into the element.

MORE POWER CAPTAIN
Nitro cars typically have a 4 or 5-cell battery onboard to power servos and a receiver. While 4-cell alkaline batteries work, upgrade to a 5-cell rechargeable pack as your budget allows. The alkaline batteries may seem less expensive today, but they will cost you more in the long run. If your servo movement has begun to slow down, it’s time to recharge or replace your onboard pack.

PROPER STORAGE Store your fuel in a dry place away from small children, pets, and Uncle Fred who thinks it may be windshield washer fluid (yes it has happened). Don’t store a half-gallon of fuel for a year and think it will be as good as new—nitro fuel can absorb water vapor over time if the bottle is not perfectly sealed or if the bottle is half empty and there is humidity in the air with the fuel. Store your fuel bottle on cardboard, not directly on carpet or cement and make sure the seal is firmly tightened.

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