Quote:
Originally posted by nbcaznmaster
electric is more expensive, it has a higher upfrotn cost. Not many peole are willing to get into it.
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Quote:
Originally posted by crazyjr
That is a misconception NBCAZN. Out of the box the nitro is a lot faster, but if you look at total cost on upgrades and have similar budgetsyou can get more bang for the buck with an electric than nitro. I raced a AE rc10t3 against both electric and nitro and had great successwith less money than at least 3/4 of the nitro people.
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Ultimately the cost of electric or gas is very similar but I believe electric *is* a little more expensive in the beginning. Over the long haul recharging batteries is slightly less expensive.
1 gallon (=3800 cc's?) of nitro is approximately $100US. Roughly 10 minutes of runtime is 150cc's. So, you get (approx.) 25 runs w/ 1 gallon.
promatch gp3300's are $100 for 14 cells. I'm not sure how many times I'll be able to run my gp's, but I'm pretty certain its more than 25 times. Also gotta factor in the one time cost of charger(s), the cost of chargers vary significantly so I'll just pick an AstroFlight 110D. $120 for charger and $60 for power supply (averaging power supply cost). You're looking at $280 for your electric "fuel" upfront.
We'll use 100 runs to compare the cost. Nitro is $400 in fuel costs electric is $280 (assuming you can get 100 runs out of a single set of batteries).
I didn't factor in motor wear and tear. I think a nitro engine will need a rebuild before 100 runs (don't quote me) whereas a brushless theoretically shouldn't need anything (should it?).
Finally each has its own set of pro's and con's, but these factors shouldn't influence the TCO.
Overall I believe we may conclude the cost of operating either nitro or electric are very similar.
I would love to eventuall see electric off-road racing blossom w/ manufacturers creating kits or RTR w/ brushless and/or NiMH/LiPo options.