You want to enjoy a new hobby, you saw these lightning fast remote-controlled racers speeding over the rubble or between the dunes at your beach and want one of these for yourself or for your kids. However, how to decide what is the right RC car for you?
There are 7 questions you should actually answer to narrow down your search.
1. For whom is it?
The most simple comes first, of course. Is it a toy remote rolling code for your child or is it a sophisticated piece of technology for you. The differences between them are in durability, power/speed, size, reach of the remote, complexity and of course price. As a clear differentiation, the toy versions are usually powered by your standard household AA batteries and come in a scale of 1:32 to 1:16, whilst the grown up version comes in a size of up to 1:5 powered by a much stronger energy source.
2. What is the power source?
There are three options to choose from a Petrol Remote Control Car, a Nitro Remote Control Car or an Electric Remote Control Car.
These three power sources create differences in cost, accessibility of power, maintenance and power output.
Your Petrol Remote Control Car runs on a mix of regular unleaded petrol and 2-stroke oil will create a considerable higher amount of power. You can buy its fuel in the gas station next to you and therefore keep the fuel cost low. Adding to that point are their low fuel consumption and low maintenance requirements. Petrol powered RC Cars are usually larger than their nitro and electric counterparts and come often in the scale of 1:5. On the downsize you have often your larger initial cost for these type of cars.
The Nitro RC Car is powered by Nitromethane, a fuel, which is expensive and only available in specialty stores. The fuel leaves often a residue on the chassis of your remote-controlled racer and therefore requires high maintenance. Furthermore you will see a higher fuel consumption that with the petrol run machine. So than, why to buy these Nitro remote control cars? Because the stuff is powerful. These are usually the fastest racers on the block, their size is normally it the range of 1:16 to 1:8, seldom bigger. This makes a lot of fun to race. Also they are usually lower in price than their petrol counterparts.
Finally, the Electric driven Remote Control Car, runs on a powerful rechargeable Li-Po Battery pack. These Cars are normally the next step from child’s toy to adult’s hobby. They are usually cheaper than the fuel powered version but normally not so powerful and aggressive. Whilst they have a strong from the start acceleration, in the long run they have usually problems to compete with the other two engines. Due to their clean power source, they require the least of maintenance and can be operated indoors. They are usually the smallest version and but can also come in the large size versions of petrol and nitro fueled racers but with much less power.