| Preparing your Nitro RC Engine only takes a few | | | | cools, or else the shrinking sleeve could cause a |
| hours, but the benefits are worth the investment in | | | | problem if the piston is also there. |
| time. In a nut shell RC 2-stroke engine use a tapered | | | | Fuel Tank #2 |
| sleeve to create compression, while most full scale | | | | After the initial idle stage I'll run the car with as little |
| cars use piston rings. The process of breaking the | | | | throttle as possible, but keep the car moving, I make |
| engine in is to make sure that the piston and the | | | | sure when I accelerate (not more than 25%) I'll do it |
| sleeve have the best fit possible. Like all things RC it | | | | smoothly and consistently. It's important to start putting |
| just depends on who you ask about breaking-in an | | | | some load on the engine, because when you race |
| engine. | | | | your RC Car there will be load on the engine. Try to |
| From experience I can tell you that all the methods | | | | match your break in conditions to your expected |
| work well, when in doubt refer to the manual, they will | | | | running conditions as closely as possible. The idea is to |
| have break-in procedures specific to your engine. the | | | | slowly build up the revs of your engine until your able |
| only important thing to remember is not to be too | | | | to hit max speed by the end of the 7 th tank. Run your |
| harsh on the engine, break it in slowly taking your time. | | | | car in a figure-8, as turning makes the engine work |
| Remember your not racing yet... | | | | slightly harder. After the 2nd Tank you can start to |
| The 7 Step Break in Procedure | | | | lean your motor out a little. |
| While most people recommend running about 5 tanks | | | | Fuel Tank #3 -#5 |
| of fuel through the engine I generally like to run 7, I just | | | | Now we're ready to start getting some speed out of |
| like to make sure that I get the engine broken-in | | | | your RC Nitro Car. What I do is start to run the car up |
| correctly. If you look at the oil that comes out the | | | | and down a long straight, with figure-8 patterns at a |
| exhaust you'll see that by the 5th or sixth run the tiny | | | | low idle between them. I will run at max 25% throttle |
| bits of metal will be gone from the flow, initially you can | | | | for about a minute, then rev the RC car flat out for at |
| see the engine breaking-in from the oil and unburnt fuel. | | | | most 2 seconds. then return to a the standard max |
| Needle Settings | | | | 25% throttle. Make sure you get your car to rev right |
| Refer to your manual for the specific settings for your | | | | through it's range, but don't keep it at full throttle for too |
| engine. The problem is that because each RC Nitro | | | | long. |
| Engine is different you can't just copy your buddies | | | | Fuel Tank #5 - #7 |
| settings, you have to work these out. Break in settings | | | | I continue as above, but shortening the periods |
| must be as rich as possible, this keep the engine cool | | | | between the bursts of full throttle. I also start to work |
| and the excess fuel and oil will help flush out the tiny | | | | out the tune of my car, I only change the air / fuel |
| metal bits that come off during the break-in. | | | | mixture before the 5th tank if I'm struggling to keep the |
| Fuel Tank #1 | | | | engine running. After the 5th tank I start to lean the |
| I'll idle the engine for the entire tank, you often need to | | | | mixture by 1/8th turn. I still like to run it until there are no |
| keep the throttle open about 10% during the first few | | | | small metal bits in the exhaust discharge. |
| minutes, at least while the engine warms up. Keep the | | | | Once your done with the above break-in procedure I |
| revs as low as possible, but don't change the mixture | | | | would still run my RC Car gently for the first couple of |
| needle settings just yet. Once the tank is complete let | | | | times on the track, this will ensure that you get the |
| the engine cool down for about 5 - 15 minutes. Be sure | | | | most life our of your brand new RC Nitro Engine. |
| to leave the piston at dead bottom center while it | | | | |