NEW OWNER TIPS

EXTREME RC MOTORSPORTS wants our customers to have a great experience with their new RC car or truck.  That's why we have created this special "TIPS" page to help out our customers.  Those customers with lots of experience will already know most of this, but it doesn't hurt to review once and awhile - even for the experts.    

1)  READ THROUGH THE OWNER'S MANUALS!  Be sure to read through the manual(s) that come with your RC car or truck.  We can not emphasize this enough!  We understand that it is tempting to skip this step, but this is probably the single most important thing that you can do.  You have purchased a ultra high performance nitro vehicle, and you do not want to have injury or expensive damage result because... "Oops!  I wish I had known that!"  You are making a significant investment in a finely engineered nitro RC vehicle.  Protect your investment by reading through the instructions. 

2)  PREP AND PAINT THE BODY.  If your RC car or truck comes with a body that needs to be painted, then you will want to be aware of a few things.  Prepping and painting is something that you can do later, since initial break in of the engine should be done with the body shell off anyway (to insure maximum cooling to the engine).  We mention this step here because you should put the body aside right away - where it will not get oily or dirty.  You want to keep the body clean, so prepping will be easier later when you are getting ready to paint.  The color or scheme you use to paint it can be as unique as your own tastes.  However you choose to paint it, after following the engine break in procedures outlined in the owner's manual (with the body off), you will want to be sure to run the car with the body on afterwards.  The body shell acts as armor to protect your expensive engine and radio gear during use.  Again, if you plan to paint the body, then be sure to keep it clean and free from dirt and oil!  Click here for an article with some excellent tips on prepping and painting your body.  There are also some more tips available...  Click here for another article with some good tips on body prep.  

3)  GLUE THE TIRES TO THE WHEELS.  Many RC nitro cars and trucks require the tires to be glued to the wheels.  This is something that some people may try to skip, but it is very highly recommended that you do this now while your tires and wheels are clean.  Once they get dirty, it will be very hard to glue them properly later. This is a simple step to ensure that all of the power will be transmitted to the ground instead of resulting in slippage between the rubber tire and wheel.  The tires should be glued to the wheels using a hobby grade cyanoacrylate (CA) glue.  Super Glue is a CA glue, but we do not recommend using this type of CA glue.  A hobby grade CA glue will work better, and should be able to be easily found at a local hobby or arts/crafts supply store.  Click here to see a helpful article from Pro-Line showing how to glue tires.  Please note that the article from Pro-Line talks about foam tire inserts.  In the case of some tires (like on some Schumacher kits), these foam inserts are not needed nor recommended.  If your vehicle didn't come with foam inserts from the factory, then you shouldn't need to use them with stock tires.  Some stock tires, such as is found in some Schumacher kits, have a thicker carcass and do not need the foam insert.  In some cases, the car or truck will often handle better without the foam inserts - if the tire was not originally designed to use them.  In those cases, just skip over the steps in the above article related to the foam inserts.

 4)  OIL THE FOAM AIR FILTER BEFORE STARTING ENGINE.  The foam air filter is usually shipped dry to keep everything clean.  Just like the foam air filters for many lawn mowers, weed eaters, chain saws, and other small engine applications, it is necessary to oil the foam to ensure that dirt will stick to the oil and be trapped in the foam filter element.  This is where it belongs... NOT in your engine!  Running without the oil will result in inefficient filtering of the air.  It's simple to oil the filter.  Just place several drops of LIGHT oil on the foam filter element.  After placing several drops on the foam, gently press it down several times to help distribute the oil evenly through out the foam element.  If there is not enough oil to lightly saturate the entire foam element, then just add a few more drops and press down again.  DO NOT SOAK the air filter with too much oil so that it is leaking everywhere.  If you accidently place too much oil on the filter, simply grab a paper towel or rag and wrap the foam filter element and squeeze it.  This will help squeeze out excess oil into the rag or paper towel.  The following types of oil are recommended for the air filter: Air Filter Oil (specifically designed for RC engines), automotive Automatic Transmission Fluid (ATF), Marvel's Mystery Oil, Light 3-in-1 household oil, even a little light viscosity automotive Engine oil (like 5W-30) could be used as a last resort.  Do not use a THICK oil or grease, as this will simply plug up your filter and restrict air flow to your engine (and reduce power).  It would probably be best to use a oil specifically designed for air filter use.  

5)  ALWAYS RUN THE ENGINE WITH THE AIR CLEANER INSTALLED!  This is VERY important!  The air filter prevents harmful dirt and foreign objects from getting into your engine and destroying it.  A nitro engine is precision made and you don't want dirt and grit to get in their while it's running at 40,000 RPM!  At those astronomical engine speeds, dirt will quickly ruin your expensive engine.  Periodically, as the foam filter gets plugged with dirt (reducing power), you should remove it from the engine and clean it with household dish washing liquid, Simple Green degreaser, or some other degreaser.  Don't use gasoline or other strong solvents as these could damage your filter.  In a pinch, you could also rinse the filter clean with Rubbing Alcohol or even nitro fuel.  Just make sure the filter element is dry before re-oiling the filter (as described in #4 above).  And be sure to use a small cable tie to secure the filter to the carburetor (as was done from the factory).  You don't want your air filter falling off!

6)  FOLLOW ALL ENGINE BREAK IN RECOMMENDATIONS IN THE OWNER'S MANUAL.  The first time a nitro engine is run can be the most important.  It will largely determine how long the engine will last and how much power the engine will produce.  Basically you want to run the engine rich (lots of extra smoke coming from exhaust) and only run it at less than 1/2 throttle and at lower speeds.  Do this for at least the first 3 tanks fulls.  DO NOT RUN THE ENGINE FULL THROTTLE DURING BREAK IN.  Be extra gentle during break in and you will be rewarded with longer engine life and maximum power later.  Good things come to those who wait (to use full throttle)!  Be sure to follow the specific recommendations in the owner's manual for your kit.  You did read the owner's manual, didn't you?!?! 

7)  PERIODICALLY CHECK THE LIMITED SLIP DIFFERENTIAL(S) AND ADJUST IF NEEDED.  If your RC car or truck came with one or two limited slip ball differentials, such as those found on Schumacher kits, then be sure to check them and adjust as necessary - as outlined in your owner's manual.  You will usually find it in the owner's manual under the sections that describe "Differential Service" or "Differential Check".       

8)  BE VERY CAREFUL DRIVING THE VEHICLE UNTIL YOU BECOME FAMILIAR WITH IT.  After you've done the engine break in procedure, don't try to break any land speed records!  Drive it carefully and slowly until you get familiar with the way the vehicle handles and the radio control functions.  Gradually increase speeds after you become familiar.  BE CAREFUL!  Your ultra high performance RC vehicle is EXTREMELY fast and result in serious injury or damage.  As stated in our Company Policy...  EXTREME RC MOTORSPORTS ASSUMES NO LIABILITY OR RESPONSIBILITY FOR ANY DAMAGES OR INJURIES CAUSED BY CUSTOMER'S USE OF ANY HIGH PERFORMANCE RC CAR OR TRUCK.  THE PRODUCTS WE SELL ARE NOT TOYS!  OPERATION OF THESE ULTRA-HIGH PERFORMANCE RC CARS AND TRUCKS IS NOT RECOMMENDED BY ANYONE UNDER THE AGE OF 14 YEARS OLD UNLESS CLOSELY SUPERVISED BY AN EXPERIENCED ADULT.  PLEASE DRIVE RESPONSIBLY... Click here to review the rest of our Company Policy.  

9)  AND MOST OF ALL.... HAVE FUN!!

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