Today the kids and adults are alike in terms of their past time. Both are engaged in radio controlled cars. They purchase these cars at the toy stores. RC cars provide an endless amount of thrill and excitement and serve as their leisure.

Radio controlled cars are consist of two units which is the car itself and the radio controller. Some radio controlled cars are powered by rechargeable batteries and some were powered by batteries with actual gas-powered engines. Gas powered engines are more expensive than electric powered engines.

RC cars are of different types. There’s the off-road and on-road vehicles, touring and racing cars, trucks and buggies. Aside from this, you can also choose on the size, color, type of car like Lamborghinis, Ferraris and Porsches. You also have an option to choose from gas powered or electric engine and if it’s a car or truck type.

The four main parts of radio controlled vehicles are the motor(s), transmitter, receiver and the power source.

Transmitter is the radio controller that you hold in your hand and usually powered by battery. The radio frequency let’s the transmitter relays the steering and controls the command you give to the receiver. Its receiver has two parts, the antenna and a circuit board inside the car. It receives the radio frequencies sent by the transmitter and relayed to the appropriate part of the vehicle.

Radio controlled vehicles features different type of engines. The motor is said to be the heart of the cars and is the most complex part of assembling your own RC car.

The nitro powered radio controlled motors has a 2-stroke or the less conventional 4-stroke version. The most popular is the 2-stroke motor because of its amazing 2.5 hp of output it produces. RC racers love the high speed and acceleration of this 2-stroke motor.

The 2-stroke motor is the 23cc displacement engine and it requires a fuel oil mixture. It is more suitable in car racing and has the advantage of producing higher rpm’s. On the other hand, 4-stroke motor can run on straight fuel and has an oil reservoir on it. It is better for off-road use and has more power and torque. It is more applicable in a truck that runs on dirt or rough tracks.

The electric car runs quietly and is better suited in your neighborhood while the nitro powered motors lets you feel the real car on racetracks. Electric radio controlled cars and trucks uses rechargeable batteries to run or power the motor and steering, which is usually runs for about 5-10 minutes. In terms of speed, electric motor vehicles have a great deal of pickup though not as much as nitro powered motors.

At first, electric RC cars can be much less expensive than a nitro powered vehicle. But there are other costs like additional battery packs, battery charger and other accessory the will add to the cost. Still, it depends on the kind of car you purchase and the battery pack that it requires. Of course for a good performance, you will purchase the good battery packs and good charger to save replacing cheaper batteries.

The good thing in electric motors is it doesn’t need much maintenance and tuning of its engine compare to nitro powered motor. It is more suitable for beginners because it only needs proper conditioning and proper storage of battery packs that will keep your RC cars running smoothly for years. 

In addition, the motors come with or without a pull start. Those with pull start are cheaper, but you still need a starter box.