About Gas Powered Remote Control Vehicles

Now, you will learn about the gas powered vehicle. The main point here will be how the glow engine works so you can become familiar with it.

 

·        Glow engines: As was stated above, gas powered remote control vehicles use glow engines to run. These coming in 2- and 4-stroke engines and run on special type of gas called nitro or glow fuel. Here is a break down of the glow engine:

o       Two-stroke – This only means the engine ignites the fuel in the combustion chamber with every turn of the piston. These engines are easier to operate and are less likely to cause problems.

o       Four-stroke – These engines ignite the fuel with every two turns of the piston instead of one. The advantages to these engines are they use less fuel, have a more realistic sound to them, and give more torque. Unfortunately, they also cost more, are harder to adjust, and require more maintenance than two-stroke engines do.

·        How Glow Engines Work: The common glow engine does not use a spark plug. Instead they use a glow plug. There is no coil or points to fool with. The glow plug gets its heat from a battery-operated glow starter. In most RC vehicles, the starter is either a recoil starter, electric 12V starter, or a starter box. The engine ignites the fuel by means of the glow plug. The carburetor supplies the fuel as a regular carburetor on a car does. The only thing is the carburetor on the RC has many adjustments. It has a rotating throttle arm which when set controls the amount of fuel and air to enter the combustion chamber. There is also a high-speed needle valve that controls the mix at high speeds so there is no disruption in performance. The carburetor also has an idle mixture screw that controls the amount of fuel entering the carburetor at idle. 

·        Caring for Glow Engines: The best way to care for glow engines is to keep them clean and dry. Always use after-run engine oil. When buying fuel for the engine, make sure to get a band-name fuel that contains the exact amount of oil that the engine manufacturer’s recommends. Also use a fuel that has the proper percentage of nitromethane.

·        Accessories Required: In many situations, you may need to purchase a muffler or some kind of tuned pipe to quiet the engine. You may also need an engine mount, this depends on what type of vehicle you purchase.