After learning his story, I love it. I'm doing my own thing as a business owner and it's a struggle, but worth it once you find that niche you actually enjoy and can earn a living off of it.
This hobby needs more support. Kids these days are just staying inside, playing on their tablets and phones. It is a shame that our communities and local governments don't support more outdoor or other activities geared toward the engineering, technical and mechanical minds. Instead they restrict our ability to run RC Cars, RC Planes, RC Drones, dirt bikes, go karts, snowmobiles, ATVs, etc, by limiting when, where and how we can do it. So if you don't own a huge private property, you can't do these things easily. It was always a big disappointment to me that I couldn't have a dirt bike because there was no place for me to drive it.
Like get a four wheeler for a GenZ kid or a kid like that doesn’t go outside and they will probably like it and if they probably use that if they keep using their phone, just get them RC car if it doesn’t work, I would just send them to the adoption center
There is hardly anything more frustrating than seemingly being the one person in the group that spends the majority of the time with your back to the action, while you attempt to repair or bodge your RC back to life! (Been there, done that.)
Know exactly what you mean and that's why I went away from the nitro ones. Don't get me wrong still love them just always messing with them made me go nuts. With electric it's a lot less headache most of the time.
I would replace the rest of the o rings on the carb and also the o ring on the fuel tank lid. They do seem to shrink with age and you can't get a consistent tune with air getting in everywhere.
Yep... Also, tear off all those old fuel lines and replace them, just for good measure. I would check, and re-seal the back plate assembly also. It's a common place for old glow engines to develop air leaks. I'm sure the carb probably needs to be disassembled and given a thorough cleaning also.
If you have plenty of smoke coming out the exhaust she's nowhere near too lean, try and see if you can find a factory setting online for both low and high end needles.
It's one of those RCs that looks cool, so you really want to make it work properly, even though you know it's going to be a frustrating money pit. We've all been there.
When you see adjusting your needle settings you have to move it in tiny amounts like tiny you can't turn it a quarter turn its in incriments basically and you will be better at tuning nitros just a tip 👍
Smoke tells alot about the tune and also the sound. If it's smoking it's some what near. Your low needle controls low responses like moving from a dead start, it's your low needle tune causing the cut out when you brake and give it rev.
I had a pull start rc10gt with the dynamite engine when I was a kid. That thing tested the sanity of anyone who wanted to pilot a nitro RC car. I got the car for my bday in the summer and got an OS engine and slide carb for Xmas with a bump box starter. It was night and day. 😂 I remember those blisters that pull starter gave me washed in nitro like it was yesterday.
I had the same truck. I never had much of tuning issues with it, but it was brand new and didn't have to worry about the seals going bad. Mine used to wheelie like crazy and actually had a hard time trying to keep it down. Can't wait to see some more videos with this truck.
10 years ago I bought a nitro Thunder Tiger RC motorcycle. It caught on fire and I didn't even know cause it was an invisible flame. All of a sudden I see pops and plastic melting and the receiver lipo exploded. By then it was too late, lol.
Dude it's so easy to tune the low speed needle, as I've said before, the engine should stall after five seconds of pinching the fuel line. If it stalls under 5 secs it's too lean and if it takes longer than 5 secs to stall it's too rich. Make each adjustments in 1/8th turn increments on the screw! I'm liking the these nitro revival vids btw, keep em coming 👍
Kev...Big Block Nitro engine take a while to warm up and start operating property...this huge engine takes even longer to warm up (more metal)...and therefor it takes a few minutes of idling time to get really warmed up before you start tuning it...good luck!
Lovem! Apprenticing machinist, built a custom 6 shoe clutch using losi LST clutches. Wheeling bad boy axle snapper, run on heli 30%. Never ate a different but put alum cases on one for fun.
And this is exactly why I watch your channel. I’ve saved up so many times for different RC’s and they’ve been crap, honest reviews are rare. Just got a new traxxas and it’s awesome
@@BPatches701 great truck! I've got one with a bunch of durability upgrades but still on stock power. Super solid lil thing. That's the truck that got me to buy a e-revo and then an xmaxx 😂😂😂
It needs a better fuel tank, for starvation and a different carb, mine wouldn’t start when I got it, plus the pipe tank bleed isn’t in the right place, you need a boat pipe, they work better for bigger motors. Not enough development before release, when this was released.. it’s actually a monster, try it, you need content, what do you have to loose
This is exactly why I truly hate Nitro RC Cars…I had many of them and all showed the same nasty behavior- untuneable Engines😡 One day they were running good, the other 5 Days they don’t. Most of the time I drove without Body because of the permanent restarts🤦🏻♂️ Never ever in my entire Life…
I remember those back in the day. A buddy of mine worked at the local hobby shop and always had the latest and greatest trucks. Those came with the ringed .70 TT heli motors. They were very different to tune and typically took a gallon to properly break the ring in. Most never broke them in correctly that is why many were junk.
In a full size car, I would guess the problem to be the fuel pump. Seems to me the carb is supplied so unevenly, that sometimes at acceleration or braking, it doesn’t carb all the fuel but some is just injected in liquid form and swamps the engine. So at scale, perhaps the design of the tank? Maybe a more powerful carb?
Nitro's don't have a pump (usually). Fuel is forced through the lines under air pressure in the head of the tank which is maintained from a bleeder line from the exhaust. Miniature 2-stroke nitro engines are a different beast to a full-sized petrol engine. Fuel pressure is almost never the problem and it's not the problem here - It's making plenty of smoke. Every little nitro engine is different. Even two of the same model engine can have different personalities, and when they get flogged-out like this one, they often get very picky about things. The nitro content in his fuel and what glow plug he's running are two things besides the needle valves he should change. And you sometimes just can't get such an engine tuned what you consider 'well'. The trick is to just find the spot where it runs - Rich or lean it doesn't matter - And leave it where it's happy. These engines also do not have piston rings: The cylinder seal is an interference fit between the piston and jacket - So, this means that they will get worn-in in a certain way with certain parameters and don't like it when you change those running params. If it were my engine, I'd step up the nitro content in the fuel a few percent. Set the needles to a standard tune position and very gently start working the needles from there. If it's still not running, swap in a hotter glowplug. You could even try _lower_ nitro content. They can be very sensitive to the needle positions sometimes, and other engines just don't care and will run wherever you put them almost. He should also let it idle and get good heat soak which will change the fit of the tolerenced parts and likely his tune. I honestly would have taken the engine out of the chassis and opened the backplate to the crankcase to give it a visual inspection and good clean before trying to run it the first time. But I understand he doesn't really care that much about this one. Miniature 2-stroke nitros need one thing and one thing only to be able to work on them: Experience
I had an ek4 also and i can confirm it never worked well. Used it for spare parts and hardware instead of selling it to someone and giving them the same headaches. I still have the engine somewhere and always wanted to put it in something like a truggy or maybe a boat. I have also stayed away from thunder tiger brand but they do have some good stuff now as the aquired team associated rc a few years back. Gotta question the rtrs these days though as they have takin a step back in quality on them with the apex series. Still good performers though.
Its been many many years but I seem to remember those rich running engines needed the plugs with the bar across them to stop the fuel splashing up there and nuking the glow.
Pretty much my experience of nitro cars... I could never get it running right! The best I got it would be running for about 15 minutes until it overheated and seized up. I had to then wait for it to cool back down.
It may suck but I love the old vintage stuff. I bought an old losi xxxnt and the high speed needle kept spinning itself closed. The orings were hardened. Replaced the orings on the needle and fixed the problem. Ive since put a brand new engine in it.
Ive had the same truck sitting on a shelf in my shop for years. I never had any real tuning issues, but it did break driveline parts almost every time I drove it. Luckily, I had almost no money in the truck to begin with, but I spent more than the cost of a tmaxx, the truck I really wanted at the time, in replacement parts.
I bought one of these off of eBay recently, took about a quart and a half of fuel to get the tune dialed in. To side with Kevin here, these engines are indeed very difficult to tune. If you don’t understand low/high speed adjustments, this thing will make you want to pull your hair out. To add more problems to the tuning, there is a mid speed screw on top of it, and that one is the most difficult to set because it will throw off your low/high speeds, so if you adjust that, you’ll have to tune the engine all over again, but as soon as you find the sweet spot, the thing runs like a clock in most ideal conditions needing minor adjustments like any nitro car. The good: EXPLOSIVE TORQUE. You cannot keep the front wheels on the ground, this thing is wheelie happy. The steering radius is rather impressive for an 1/8 scale MT, and if you have the right servo, the steering input is incredible. With the tight steering and crazy acceleration, this truck is extremely agile. The suspension is great, and can handle the weight of the truck rather well. The bad: Difficult tuning. “Quits for no reason” is no joke. Right when you think you have it, the tune is still wrong. On this engine, I’ve learned to adjust the carb in the following sequence. Mid, idle, low, high, and then idle again. You MUST run this engine on RC helicopter fuel. 15-20% oil content. This alone makes cleaning the truck much more fastidious after you run it because more oil = more cleanup. If you tried running this engine on normal nitro RC fuel with a 9-10% oil content, it won’t run right, and you’ll chew the engine up. Low top speed. This truck will maybe go 30-35 mph max, it gets there instantly, but the top end of the engine is underwhelming due to much lower rpms compared to traditional nitro engines which are much smaller, and can make the same amount of horsepower. The differentials are horrible. From what I’ve researched, the differentials in the EK4 are the same as the EB4 1/8 scale buggy which is probably half the weight, and almost 1/4 of the displacement, so this thing will chew through diffs like a fat kid in a cookie store. To compensate for that, I adjusted my brakes lightly. Parts are next to impossible to come by. So if you want one of these, keep all of that in mind. Mine runs best on Torco 30% heli fuel, O.S. 8 glow plug with the mid speed set just a tad outside being flush with the carb, with a rich low speed, and a very rich high speed. If I were to guess what was up with Kev’s tune here, the engine was running lean the entire time and I’d guess the tuning issue was with the mid speed. I ran into similar problems with my mid speed being out of adjustment.
I had an old t max that I put a 21 on and wouldnt run right, kept overheating. Come to find out that the engine was vibrating the gas tank putting air in the line causing the overheat! Solution: put mesh in the tank to stop the bubbles! I tested then used a lufa, like the old weedeaters had foam in them.
Too much power for the old metals and plastics. Used to strip diffs like crazy in a revo,turned out it was too much rotational mass from the steel driveshafts I had on it,went back to plastic shafts and no more issues.
Carb orings Kev. The older and cheaper rings don't last. The fuel even eats them up. I usually just put newer carb on if possible and don't waste my time. Once you get that thing right it will rip it up.
The Thunder Tiger Pro .70 is somewhat finicky to get running right, but once they're set-up and tuned right, they rip. Send that engine to me, and I'll rebuild it, break it in properly, tune it to perfection, and send it back to you... Free of charge, you just pay for parts and postage. I love working on Nitro R/C engines, I've been doing it for 25 years. If you wanted to, I would even do a mild port and polish job on it also... Nothing too radical though, or else the engine gets too finicky to tune, and isn't enjoyable for bashing around with anymore.
I like switching to airplane highspeed needle valves in all surface nitro rc's. The click style has a mechanical interference to keep the tune indexed.
I was actually just looking at one of these on eBay last night and thinking about buying it, just for that big ass engine. I was thinking it would be funny to fit that big thing on one of my 2wd rustlers as a wheelie monster. All I own is nitro, and I'm no pro at tuning so I feel your pain Kev. They can be such a damn pain. They fire up at the house and die/ won't start when I get to the track or bashing spot🤦🏽♂️
Great Videos Kev😃. I nearly bought one of these EK4 Thunder Tiger’s because they look so cool But a vintage kyosho usa1 nitro crusher came up for sale and i bought that instead. Does shimming the the front and rear diffs really make any difference on these 1/8 scale trucks.
had one of these also when they came out they had a awesome look and that huge engine, they stripped gear very easy but I think you have something slipping on your because they were wheelie monsters. Ya have to remember back then when they came out there was nothing like it.
Oh man, I just noticed how obscenely long the header is off that engine. Thar might be part of the issue, it's kinda a balancing act to get the pulse waves timed correctly to benifit the engine. When wrong it will just not run right. Some design issues to contend with. But amazing that it ran all be it terrible. Haha. I remember drooling over this when I was kid and they first came out. Glad I stuck with my Savage. They were cool that's for sure but had their nuances.
Watching this video reminds me when I pre ordered the XTM X-factor back in the day and my first run a simple wheelie broke it. Fixed that and it just kept breaking.... so disappointed in it!
I do have fond memories of the thunder tiger mta4. i beat the hell out of the thing and only ever broke the bumpers. even drowned it once and it started back up after clearing out the water.
Saved for so long and bought an ofna monster blazer and wow this video reminds me of that car! Spent more time trying to get it to stay running than actually driving it.
Wonder if that truck would've been better/more successful with a .21 engine? I know the .70 was a marketing thing, but it seems like it was also its downfall.
When you have an old flogged-out motor that you just wanna flog some more, don't try to tune it based on how it sounds or any of your tuning rules... Just put the needles where it runs. Rich, lean, doesn't matter. Where it runs is where it's happy.
Have a few Thunder Tiger Tomahawk nitros crap fossil powered but pretty cool converted to brushless! If you can keep all the grub screws in. They come loose no matter how much loctite you use!
You want a Thunder Tiger EB4 with the .28 engine. I've had mine for 20+ years. Never run it in and its had nothing but abuse. Still runs great and easy to tune
the MAMMOTH was worse, at least the EK4 would drive for a few minutes before only cutting out, it was still in one piece.... the MAMMOTH just exploded the second it touched the ground lol
I had an OFNA similar to this. Feels like I was replacing diff gears more than running it. Actually, I worked on it more than I ran it 😂. Working on getting me an XMAXX 8s now
Hi Kev Just a thought I’ve had for a while now but would the black stuff they use in the tire places that they use to apply the puncture patch work for high speed runs????🤔💁🏻
There's just something about nitro cars. Yeah these modern brushless setups have insane power and they just work but it's so much fun to run a nitro car.
Kevin's the only guy I know who can have a great time having a bad time.
😂
Facts
That's why we love him
That's just the way to be though no point stressing there toys
I know it’s awesome
All ways appreciate your honesty, And having content for family viewing.
Thanks for the nostalgic trip down memory lane Kev! Old nitro RC cars were 1 part driving 2 parts wrenching, and 10 parts tuning! And I miss it all!
Kev disliked the Thunder Tiger so much, he bought it twice.
If you want to make room in your shop ,I will be glad to take the thunder tiger off yo hands.
I like how the old air filter totally disintegrated at 1:26 😆
Yep. Very common for an old engine.
Abrasive solvents don't help
Kev goin through all his magazines gettin his wish lists from childhood ...... I like that idea
Yep, fair play to the man. He knows what he wants and he's working to achieve it. Can only applaud that
After learning his story, I love it. I'm doing my own thing as a business owner and it's a struggle, but worth it once you find that niche you actually enjoy and can earn a living off of it.
This hobby needs more support. Kids these days are just staying inside, playing on their tablets and phones. It is a shame that our communities and local governments don't support more outdoor or other activities geared toward the engineering, technical and mechanical minds. Instead they restrict our ability to run RC Cars, RC Planes, RC Drones, dirt bikes, go karts, snowmobiles, ATVs, etc, by limiting when, where and how we can do it. So if you don't own a huge private property, you can't do these things easily.
It was always a big disappointment to me that I couldn't have a dirt bike because there was no place for me to drive it.
Absolutely Agree!
I'm about to buy my 2nd rc car and I am so excited
Like get a four wheeler for a GenZ kid or a kid like that doesn’t go outside and they will probably like it and if they probably use that if they keep using their phone, just get them RC car if it doesn’t work, I would just send them to the adoption center
There is hardly anything more frustrating than seemingly being the one person in the group that spends the majority of the time with your back to the action, while you attempt to repair or bodge your RC back to life! (Been there, done that.)
Know exactly what you mean and that's why I went away from the nitro ones. Don't get me wrong still love them just always messing with them made me go nuts. With electric it's a lot less headache most of the time.
Do you know how to get the ticket for his raffle
EVERYONE has been there a time or two...
Some days it just isn't your day.
I would replace the rest of the o rings on the carb and also the o ring on the fuel tank lid. They do seem to shrink with age and you can't get a consistent tune with air getting in everywhere.
Good shout !
Yep... Also, tear off all those old fuel lines and replace them, just for good measure.
I would check, and re-seal the back plate assembly also. It's a common place for old glow engines to develop air leaks.
I'm sure the carb probably needs to be disassembled and given a thorough cleaning also.
If you have plenty of smoke coming out the exhaust she's nowhere near too lean, try and see if you can find a factory setting online for both low and high end needles.
He was probably running it way rich intentionally.
It's one of those RCs that looks cool, so you really want to make it work properly, even though you know it's going to be a frustrating money pit.
We've all been there.
Just like the CEN monster truck i wish id never spent the money on.
@@andyturnbull2271 Which monster truck?
started this thing one time (with the correct fuel), it ren for a few seconds, shut off and had no compression anymore. Never started it again......
My Duratrax Delphi Indy Car!
When you see adjusting your needle settings you have to move it in tiny amounts like tiny you can't turn it a quarter turn its in incriments basically and you will be better at tuning nitros just a tip 👍
Smoke tells alot about the tune and also the sound. If it's smoking it's some what near. Your low needle controls low responses like moving from a dead start, it's your low needle tune causing the cut out when you brake and give it rev.
The days when a 10 lb 20 inch truck was truly a monster..
Just getting it started was a victory
nuts huh
I had a pull start rc10gt with the dynamite engine when I was a kid. That thing tested the sanity of anyone who wanted to pilot a nitro RC car. I got the car for my bday in the summer and got an OS engine and slide carb for Xmas with a bump box starter. It was night and day. 😂 I remember those blisters that pull starter gave me washed in nitro like it was yesterday.
I had the same truck. I never had much of tuning issues with it, but it was brand new and didn't have to worry about the seals going bad. Mine used to wheelie like crazy and actually had a hard time trying to keep it down. Can't wait to see some more videos with this truck.
heli fuel better ?
Idle gap 1mm then both needles flush lower hsn once revs correct lsn controls idle.
Fuel pinch test also good for lsn
10 years ago I bought a nitro Thunder Tiger RC motorcycle. It caught on fire and I didn't even know cause it was an invisible flame. All of a sudden I see pops and plastic melting and the receiver lipo exploded. By then it was too late, lol.
When fuel mixture is lean, engine revs up and stalls. When the fuel mixture is rich, the engine chokes and stalls
This is exactly I switched back to electric.
Turn it into yard art. Tie it upside down on the ceiling of your shop.
Dude it's so easy to tune the low speed needle, as I've said before, the engine should stall after five seconds of pinching the fuel line. If it stalls under 5 secs it's too lean and if it takes longer than 5 secs to stall it's too rich. Make each adjustments in 1/8th turn increments on the screw!
I'm liking the these nitro revival vids btw, keep em coming 👍
Kev...Big Block Nitro engine take a while to warm up and start operating property...this huge engine takes even longer to warm up (more metal)...and therefor it takes a few minutes of idling time to get really warmed up before you start tuning it...good luck!
😁👍The tires looked nice! LOL!!
I know what RC i want now. I love older nitros and I vaguely remember this one. Time to scan EBAY.
That's a great project ! I'm gunna get my team associated mg 46 out , it's 22 years old , thanks for the enthusiasm !!!
Lovem! Apprenticing machinist, built a custom 6 shoe clutch using losi LST clutches. Wheeling bad boy axle snapper, run on heli 30%. Never ate a different but put alum cases on one for fun.
I just bought More Tickets again Kevin...
Well Kevin sometimes the old RC's are the best RC's to have and wrench on. Great video.
And this is exactly why I watch your channel. I’ve saved up so many times for different RC’s and they’ve been crap, honest reviews are rare. Just got a new traxxas and it’s awesome
Traxxas, losi, associated, hard to go too wrong with those.
Es el motor
What Traxxas model did you get?
@@doctajuice Rustler xl-5
@@BPatches701 great truck! I've got one with a bunch of durability upgrades but still on stock power. Super solid lil thing. That's the truck that got me to buy a e-revo and then an xmaxx 😂😂😂
I love how he just kicks the xmaxx while in a time lapse😂
Ya😂
Fr😂
This comment is so funnyyyy😂
I love Logan Ballard❤
It needs a better fuel tank, for starvation and a different carb, mine wouldn’t start when I got it, plus the pipe tank bleed isn’t in the right place, you need a boat pipe, they work better for bigger motors. Not enough development before release, when this was released..
it’s actually a monster, try it, you need content, what do you have to loose
The rims and tires are nice. Perfect for someone just getting into the hobby. ha ha
This is exactly why I truly hate Nitro RC Cars…I had many of them and all showed the same nasty behavior- untuneable Engines😡 One day they were running good, the other 5 Days they don’t. Most of the time I drove without Body because of the permanent restarts🤦🏻♂️ Never ever in my entire Life…
Nice oldie RC Kevin alot of work ahead but you will get it back in great working order man...Thanks for the great videos man...much respect!!
I remember those back in the day. A buddy of mine worked at the local hobby shop and always had the latest and greatest trucks. Those came with the ringed .70 TT heli motors. They were very different to tune and typically took a gallon to properly break the ring in. Most never broke them in correctly that is why many were junk.
In a full size car, I would guess the problem to be the fuel pump. Seems to me the carb is supplied so unevenly, that sometimes at acceleration or braking, it doesn’t carb all the fuel but some is just injected in liquid form and swamps the engine. So at scale, perhaps the design of the tank? Maybe a more powerful carb?
Nitro's don't have a pump (usually). Fuel is forced through the lines under air pressure in the head of the tank which is maintained from a bleeder line from the exhaust. Miniature 2-stroke nitro engines are a different beast to a full-sized petrol engine. Fuel pressure is almost never the problem and it's not the problem here - It's making plenty of smoke.
Every little nitro engine is different. Even two of the same model engine can have different personalities, and when they get flogged-out like this one, they often get very picky about things. The nitro content in his fuel and what glow plug he's running are two things besides the needle valves he should change. And you sometimes just can't get such an engine tuned what you consider 'well'. The trick is to just find the spot where it runs - Rich or lean it doesn't matter - And leave it where it's happy. These engines also do not have piston rings: The cylinder seal is an interference fit between the piston and jacket - So, this means that they will get worn-in in a certain way with certain parameters and don't like it when you change those running params.
If it were my engine, I'd step up the nitro content in the fuel a few percent. Set the needles to a standard tune position and very gently start working the needles from there. If it's still not running, swap in a hotter glowplug. You could even try _lower_ nitro content. They can be very sensitive to the needle positions sometimes, and other engines just don't care and will run wherever you put them almost. He should also let it idle and get good heat soak which will change the fit of the tolerenced parts and likely his tune.
I honestly would have taken the engine out of the chassis and opened the backplate to the crankcase to give it a visual inspection and good clean before trying to run it the first time. But I understand he doesn't really care that much about this one.
Miniature 2-stroke nitros need one thing and one thing only to be able to work on them: Experience
I had an ek4 also and i can confirm it never worked well. Used it for spare parts and hardware instead of selling it to someone and giving them the same headaches. I still have the engine somewhere and always wanted to put it in something like a truggy or maybe a boat. I have also stayed away from thunder tiger brand but they do have some good stuff now as the aquired team associated rc a few years back. Gotta question the rtrs these days though as they have takin a step back in quality on them with the apex series. Still good performers though.
Its been many many years but I seem to remember those rich running engines needed the plugs with the bar across them to stop the fuel splashing up there and nuking the glow.
It wheelied twice Kev give it credit 😂
Pretty much my experience of nitro cars... I could never get it running right! The best I got it would be running for about 15 minutes until it overheated and seized up. I had to then wait for it to cool back down.
2:51 sounds like a pressure washer lol
It may suck but I love the old vintage stuff. I bought an old losi xxxnt and the high speed needle kept spinning itself closed. The orings were hardened. Replaced the orings on the needle and fixed the problem. Ive since put a brand new engine in it.
7:12 this is why I love Kevin’s channel
Ive had the same truck sitting on a shelf in my shop for years. I never had any real tuning issues, but it did break driveline parts almost every time I drove it. Luckily, I had almost no money in the truck to begin with, but I spent more than the cost of a tmaxx, the truck I really wanted at the time, in replacement parts.
You were not kidding when you said that this car sucked but still epic sounding looking
I bought one of these off of eBay recently, took about a quart and a half of fuel to get the tune dialed in. To side with Kevin here, these engines are indeed very difficult to tune. If you don’t understand low/high speed adjustments, this thing will make you want to pull your hair out. To add more problems to the tuning, there is a mid speed screw on top of it, and that one is the most difficult to set because it will throw off your low/high speeds, so if you adjust that, you’ll have to tune the engine all over again, but as soon as you find the sweet spot, the thing runs like a clock in most ideal conditions needing minor adjustments like any nitro car.
The good: EXPLOSIVE TORQUE. You cannot keep the front wheels on the ground, this thing is wheelie happy. The steering radius is rather impressive for an 1/8 scale MT, and if you have the right servo, the steering input is incredible. With the tight steering and crazy acceleration, this truck is extremely agile. The suspension is great, and can handle the weight of the truck rather well.
The bad: Difficult tuning. “Quits for no reason” is no joke. Right when you think you have it, the tune is still wrong. On this engine, I’ve learned to adjust the carb in the following sequence. Mid, idle, low, high, and then idle again. You MUST run this engine on RC helicopter fuel. 15-20% oil content. This alone makes cleaning the truck much more fastidious after you run it because more oil = more cleanup. If you tried running this engine on normal nitro RC fuel with a 9-10% oil content, it won’t run right, and you’ll chew the engine up. Low top speed. This truck will maybe go 30-35 mph max, it gets there instantly, but the top end of the engine is underwhelming due to much lower rpms compared to traditional nitro engines which are much smaller, and can make the same amount of horsepower. The differentials are horrible. From what I’ve researched, the differentials in the EK4 are the same as the EB4 1/8 scale buggy which is probably half the weight, and almost 1/4 of the displacement, so this thing will chew through diffs like a fat kid in a cookie store. To compensate for that, I adjusted my brakes lightly. Parts are next to impossible to come by. So if you want one of these, keep all of that in mind.
Mine runs best on Torco 30% heli fuel, O.S. 8 glow plug with the mid speed set just a tad outside being flush with the carb, with a rich low speed, and a very rich high speed. If I were to guess what was up with Kev’s tune here, the engine was running lean the entire time and I’d guess the tuning issue was with the mid speed. I ran into similar problems with my mid speed being out of adjustment.
I had an old t max that I put a 21 on and wouldnt run right, kept overheating. Come to find out that the engine was vibrating the gas tank putting air in the line causing the overheat! Solution: put mesh in the tank to stop the bubbles! I tested then used a lufa, like the old weedeaters had foam in them.
I had the same kind of experience with a Carson buggy. I never had a full topspeed run with it because it ate spurgears and driveshafts all the time.
Nice to see that I’m not alone when it comes to nitro frustrations
“Said it was raising the bar so I tested it, and it didn’t” 😂😂 probably laughed harder then I should have XD
I know how you feel Kev! Had one of these quite a number of years ago and same issue! Just could not get the stupid thing to run!
I laughed when you blew the air filter apart lmao
I love your honesty Kevin
Too much power for the old metals and plastics. Used to strip diffs like crazy in a revo,turned out it was too much rotational mass from the steel driveshafts I had on it,went back to plastic shafts and no more issues.
I used to use Heli fuel in mine! it has WAY more oil for the ringed motor but if I remember, it uses a shorter glow plug than standard.
7:13 😂 that car asked for it 😂😂
that thing reminds me of my tmaxx 2.5. It was undriveable, swapped out the motor with an OSTM and loved it.
Carb orings Kev. The older and cheaper rings don't last. The fuel even eats them up. I usually just put newer carb on if possible and don't waste my time. Once you get that thing right it will rip it up.
That thing did almost as well as my Team C Wambo 😂
The Thunder Tiger Pro .70 is somewhat finicky to get running right, but once they're set-up and tuned right, they rip.
Send that engine to me, and I'll rebuild it, break it in properly, tune it to perfection, and send it back to you... Free of charge, you just pay for parts and postage.
I love working on Nitro R/C engines, I've been doing it for 25 years. If you wanted to, I would even do a mild port and polish job on it also... Nothing too radical though, or else the engine gets too finicky to tune, and isn't enjoyable for bashing around with anymore.
I like this Bad Ass Classic...But you Need to Go Bigger...Like Mini Go-Cart size...
Yeah been there done that-only thing you missed out was people complaining about the noise
I like switching to airplane highspeed needle valves in all surface nitro rc's. The click style has a mechanical interference to keep the tune indexed.
I still have mine.....also have MTA-4 from the same eara. They where great at the time for the low price they had compared to the competition.
I was actually just looking at one of these on eBay last night and thinking about buying it, just for that big ass engine. I was thinking it would be funny to fit that big thing on one of my 2wd rustlers as a wheelie monster.
All I own is nitro, and I'm no pro at tuning so I feel your pain Kev. They can be such a damn pain. They fire up at the house and die/ won't start when I get to the track or bashing spot🤦🏽♂️
Great Videos Kev😃. I nearly bought one of these EK4 Thunder Tiger’s because they look so cool But a vintage kyosho usa1 nitro crusher came up for sale and i bought that instead. Does shimming the the front and rear diffs really make any difference on these 1/8 scale trucks.
Vinny's channel was obviously having a lot of fun :D
😂😂 always Bro!
The tuning needle only goes 2 ways, if turn in one direction and it doesn’t work or gets worse. Turn it the other way 👍🏻
had one of these also when they came out they had a awesome look and that huge engine, they stripped gear very easy but I think you have something slipping on your because they were wheelie monsters. Ya have to remember back then when they came out there was nothing like it.
Oh man, I just noticed how obscenely long the header is off that engine. Thar might be part of the issue, it's kinda a balancing act to get the pulse waves timed correctly to benifit the engine. When wrong it will just not run right. Some design issues to contend with. But amazing that it ran all be it terrible. Haha. I remember drooling over this when I was kid and they first came out. Glad I stuck with my Savage. They were cool that's for sure but had their nuances.
Watching this video reminds me when I pre ordered the XTM X-factor back in the day and my first run a simple wheelie broke it. Fixed that and it just kept breaking.... so disappointed in it!
Really cool truck I don’t care how many problems it has still worth it to me
Nitro gives you a feeling that elektro never give you. The smell, the sound, just nice
It sounds fine, smokes fine. Run the idle up a bit.
I just rebuilt my Traxxas Tmaxx that I bought in 1999. Still has the original motor and transmission. Fun old nitro truck
I do have fond memories of the thunder tiger mta4. i beat the hell out of the thing and only ever broke the bumpers. even drowned it once and it started back up after clearing out the water.
Absolutely Kevin keeps it real. Thank you buddy
Saved for so long and bought an ofna monster blazer and wow this video reminds me of that car! Spent more time trying to get it to stay running than actually driving it.
Could have a bad o ring or gasket on the carb aswell .
lean idle, rich top end
Bought one of those new in 2000 or so…. Tuning NIGHTMARE… was a complete monster when it DID run decently, which wasn’t very often.
Wonder if that truck would've been better/more successful with a .21 engine? I know the .70 was a marketing thing, but it seems like it was also its downfall.
I would love to see you completely upgrade that truck. It looks cool, and I would love to see a modified version of it
I’d throw it in the woods mate, that brings back so many frustrating memories!!😂😂😂
When you have an old flogged-out motor that you just wanna flog some more, don't try to tune it based on how it sounds or any of your tuning rules... Just put the needles where it runs. Rich, lean, doesn't matter. Where it runs is where it's happy.
Kev I have a 101 tutorial so basically for the fuel dilivery the gold screw is for high speed and the screw on the throttle is for idle
Have a few Thunder Tiger Tomahawk nitros crap fossil powered but pretty cool converted to brushless! If you can keep all the grub screws in. They come loose no matter how much loctite you use!
You want a Thunder Tiger EB4 with the .28 engine. I've had mine for 20+ years. Never run it in and its had nothing but abuse. Still runs great and easy to tune
the MAMMOTH was worse, at least the EK4 would drive for a few minutes before only cutting out, it was still in one piece.... the MAMMOTH just exploded the second it touched the ground lol
1:26 "best air filter removal of 2016"
Best part of that was the Benny hill music...that's funny
Well its nice you get these rc vehicles and tell viewers their good and bad points
Your tuning problem sounds like a bad bearing in the engine. The tuning side of it sounds like front bearing and the rough sound rear bearing
I had an OFNA similar to this. Feels like I was replacing diff gears more than running it. Actually, I worked on it more than I ran it 😂. Working on getting me an XMAXX 8s now
Dewalt or Milwaukee needs to sign a deal
Nearly bought one of these years ago. Settled on a Schumacher menace. Man that thing was brutal!!
Hi Kev
Just a thought I’ve had for a while now but would the black stuff they use in the tire places that they use to apply the puncture patch work for high speed runs????🤔💁🏻
There's just something about nitro cars. Yeah these modern brushless setups have insane power and they just work but it's so much fun to run a nitro car.
I think its lean but at low rpm , try with the low speed needle.
Cool video. The truck didn’t seem to bad you got it running 😅 I enjoyed watching. See you next time.