What type of nitro fuel should I use?

Nitromethane is the ingredient in the fuel that ignites inside the engine. A higher “nitro” content generally equates to better performance. Engines are designed to run best within a range of nitro percentages. For those who want to run higher nitro, 33% is the optimum nitro percentage for Traxxas engines.

What fuel does Adam Drake use?

With over 30 years experience racing remote control cars, Adam Drake has developed a blend of oil and a process for breaking-in all Brands like O.S. Speed, Reds, Novarossi, and beyond of nitro engines using the EBIS machine.

What’s the difference between nitroglycerin and nitromethane?

A “nitro-burning” engine and a “top fuel” engine are the same thing — engines designed to burn nitromethane rather than gasoline. This means that, compared to gasoline, you can pump about 8 times more nitromethane into a cylinder of a given volume and still get complete combustion.

What is the difference between methanol and nitromethane?

Nitromethane carries its own oxygen, so it needs much less atmospheric oxygen to burn. That means, 14.7 pounds of air are needed to burn 1 pound of gas. Methanol, which also carries oxygen, has a stoichiometric ratio of 6.45:1. But with 100 percent nitro, the ratio is 1.7:1!

Are nitro RC cars going away?

Yep nitro is going away for sure. The world is also coming to an end next friday so it doesn’t really matter much anyway.

Does nitro fuel expire?

Absolutely It does go bad. It gets gummy or watery, but it has a pretty long shelf life. You can tell when nitro gets bad when it gets thick and gummy sometimes looke like water condensing in the bottle. Rule of thumb never use it after 1 year of sitting around.

What is a nitro RC engine?

A nitro engine generally refers to an engine powered with a fuel that contains some portion (usually between 10% and 40%) of nitromethane mixed with methanol. These engines are actually fueled by methanol, but the fuel is often doped with nitromethane as a performance additive.

How much HP does nitromethane add?

Cars typically need about 15 pounds of air to burn one pound of gasoline. With nitromethane, you only need 1.7 pounds of air. Drag racing motors are big, with an average engine displacement of 8.9 liters. When supercharged, they can produce about 6,000 horsepower.

How much does nitromethane cost per gallon?

Nitromethane used to power the engines of NHRA Top Fuel dragsters and Funny Cars costs about $16 US per gallon!

Is brushless or nitro faster?

Brushless motors can also handle a lot higher voltage than brushed motors. With a high voltage supply, brushless motors can help a beginner RC race at blistering speeds. RCs equipped with brushless motors currently hold the fastest speed records for RC—yes, faster than nitro.

What’s the difference between nitro fuel and RC fuel?

There several schools of thought on whether or not the same nitro fuel is suitable for both RC cars and RC airplanes. The major difference is the type of oil and the amount of oil added to the fuel although the percentage of nitromethane can make a difference as well. Oil in the RC fuel helps reduce friction and helps the RC engine run cooler.

What kind of oil is in nitro fuel?

Nitro fuel normally has both castor and synthetic oils in a predefined mixture set by the company that makes it. The percentage of both that are mixed with the nitro fuel is not typically disclosed (although it might be–read the container label).

What’s the percentage of nitro fuel in a car?

Engines that are .21 – .26 or .27 generally use higher percentage nitro fuel in the ranges of 20 to 40 percent. Is it ok to switch nitro fuels?

Do you have to use the same nitro fuel every time?

Ideally, you should stick with the same brand of nitro fuel, even if the nitromethane percentage is different. Each brand may use different types or percentages of oil and other additives so you shouldn’t switch brands and nitromethane percentages at the same time. The bottom line is that switching nitro fuel is a matter of trial and error.