Ask Cub Reporter, Version 03.11.2010

“Hey Cubby,
My son wants to get into fuel powered r.c. cars. Is there anything i should know before jumping in? Are they worth it over electric? Thanks.
Dylan S.”

Hi Dylan, and thanks for submitting a question that we get about ten times a week here. First off, I hate nitro with a passion that borders on zeal. With that in mind, I do know of people who totally enjoy the sounds and smells of nitro rc cars. Personally, I think they are a pain in the rear and that nitro technology just isn’t quite here yet for a reliably running engine. Nitro engines simply take too much time and effort to tune correctly for a normal Joe Blow. I can’t tell you how many hundreds of nitro noobs I’ve seen down at the track only ONCE. Those noobs certainly get frustrated and just pitch their gear in a closet when they get home. But to each their own, if nitro floats your boat, go for it. If it’s too much of a pain for you, sell it and get into electric.
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“I want to get into racing, whats the big class rite now?” (name and address withheld by request)

That’s actually a hard question, as that really varies on what part of the country you live in. But in general, if you are into on-road cars, I’d have to say the VTA Class (Vintage Trans-Am) is one of the most popular at many tracks. The VTA class features very realistic looking car bodies, and the racing is set up to be fairly economical. Most other on road classes are a real mess right now, and very little fun to race in. If you are into off road (like the majority of racers are) then I’d say the Stock/Spec Short Course Class is the biggest class at the moment. Stock Short Course racing also features very scale appearance, and when a local track does the rules correctly, it’s also very economical. 8th scale nitro buggies are also huge in most parts of the country, but the cost to compete in that class is easily ten fold that of Stock Short Course.

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