The roar of the crowd as the cars pass, the feeling of excitement in the air. Is it the Indy 500? No, they are RC racing! RC racing, or remote control racing, also known as radio control, is a rapidly growing hobby segment that attracts both young and old, and men and women.
RC cars are popular at the hobby level, for creating and assembling cars, or even taking it to the next level with professional tuning and racing. You can buy RC cars as an unassembled or fully assembled kit and rtr or ready to go.
What types of RC cars are there?
The selection of RC cars is huge and growing by the day. You can choose cars in almost any body type you want, in any color and style. However, there are a few main distinctions that you will need to make before choosing any car for the first time.
You can choose between:
1) Gas or electric
2) On road racing models or off-road models
3) Assembled or unassembled
4) Car or truck
These are the main options, however once you choose the type you are looking for, you will still have plenty of styling options as well as engine options.
Gas or electric?
The most important decision you will have to make when choosing an RC car is whether to run on nitro gasoline or an electric battery pack. There are pros and cons to both types and ultimately you have to decide which type of power is best for your needs and what you want your RC car to achieve.
RC electric cars
Remote controlled electric cars are a great option if you are just getting started in the world of RC cars. They are generally easier to care for and much easier to maintain than their gasoline counterparts. An electric car will make a great starter car because they are generally less expensive than a nitro car, so you can take the time to practice and hone your driving skills before putting down a large amount of money.
Electric cars run on batteries. Batteries are assembled into battery packs that generally have a recharge capacity. This is much more cost effective than cars that require new batteries. However, it can also take a long time to have to recharge the battery, so if you don’t like to wait, a replacement battery is probably a good investment.
You can buy electric RC cars for any budget, so you should choose a car that suits your needs. Electric cars generally go slower than a nitro car, however you can buy electric cars that will hit high speeds.
It is important to remember that when you buy a new electric car, you should start the engine slowly to extend the life of the engine and allow the engine to reach its full potential. When you cut the engine, you just start running the car at a slower speed and gradually rev it up. If you don’t want to take the time to prepare an engine, you can buy ready-to-run cars. In most cases, these cars are ready to go and the engines are already installed.
Nitro Gas Cars
Nitro gasoline powered RC cars are the fastest growing and most popular remote control car segment. With nitro vehicles, you can buy the popular trucks that will jump at high speeds and drive off-road. Alternatively, if speed is your thing, look for race cars that are designed to accelerate along pavement, tracks, or other prepared surfaces.
As with remote-controlled electric cars, you can purchase ready-to-run cars or kits in various states of assembly. Nitro RC vehicles typically run faster than EVs and you can find some that go 70 mph right away.
Gasoline powered RC vehicles run on a fuel specially formulated for RC cars. Most nitro vehicles have a lawnmower-like pull starter for easy starting. Because nitro cars are more complex than electric vehicles, it is important that you follow the instructions carefully. You can buy nitro starter kits that come with everything you need to get started. This is a great way to do it for beginners when they don’t want to skip anything.
As with electric cars, it is very important to break the motor unless, of course, you buy a ready-to-go kit, which should be ready to go right out of the box.
Where to go
It doesn’t matter if you choose the nitro gas version or the battery operated RC vehicles, you will have a great selection available to you and of course you will have a lot of fun. Why not try some of each? With so much variety on the market, it is almost impossible to settle for just one RC vehicle.
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