[Finnster]

I've had all BL cars for several years now, but got my 1st nitro in a Savage XL. First I intended to convert it, but had a spare 427 motor, so threw it in and ran it for a bit. Way slower than a BL, so much less TQ, and a pain in a lot of ways (as described.) The biggest pain was having to carry so much crap around, starter, wrench, temp gun, screwdriver and glow starter. Plus the fuel is fookin expensive and goes fast. $40 of nitro goes way faster than you would guess. Plus the radio batts runs down fast w/ big servos.

But... it was still a lot of fun. So much I got a LRP .28 for it.
Faster, but still not as much as BL. Break-in sucks, and its a bit messy, but the savvy TVPs keeps it pretty clean. (pan chassis are a disaster tho.) Its a pull start, usually starts in a couple pulls.

Why did I get a nitro motor for it?
1.) for something different. Plus should learn about nitros to really appreciate how better BL is.
2.) It still is a lot of fun. Yes its slower, but for a huge MT like the XL, is still fast enough.
The nice thing about nitro is that its a bit easier to just grab and go out if you haven't driven in a while. You got to keep lipos stored @ 50% charge, so in my busy house, if I get a few mins to go play, it get wrecked by having to wait for batts.
IDK about realism, but it is fun making racket w/ the XL while trashing thru the grass and bushes.

Now, I would never ever race a nitro! They are a freaking pain, and need so much attention to get them running right. W/ a basher, as long as it runs decently its fine. I don't get too hung up on the tune (as long as its not too hot) and pipes and all that crap. Whatever, it just works.
So much of nitro racing seems on just tuning the motor. BL frees you from this to focus on tuning the rest of the car. The races tend be less about who stalls out first to lose.