Starting your nitro car for the first time

Okay, now if you are interested enough to buy one of these, I will explain what you need to do when you first get the car. The first thing you need to do is open up the starter kit, and charge up the glow plug igniter. You need to charge it for at least 8 hours or so the first time. Without it, you will not be able to even start the car. Once that is on charge, take out the glow plug from the engine and add 2-3 drops of after run oil into the piston. Pull on the pull starter cord a few times to get the oil all over the engine. This puts an initial film of lubrication into the engine so it will not wear out quickly when you go to start it. Replace the glow plug now. The next thing you have to do is go over the entire car and tighten any screws that happen to be loose. Not too tight, just snug. Only tighten the screws that hold stuff together, not the needle adjustment screws on the carb.

Next you can put batteries into the transmitter and receiver. There will most likely be a door you have to unscrew on the car to get to the battery pack. Once the batteries are in, first turn on the transmitter, then the receiver. If you ever turn on the receiver on the car first, it won't have a signal from the transmitter to follow, and may go out of control. The two units should already be synced from the factory, but if they are not, there will be instructions on how to sync them. Usually you just have to press a button.

The next thing you can do is program the failsafe, if there is one. I know the buggy I ordered has it, but I'm not sure about any other ones. If it has a failsafe, start by pressing the "F/S set" button on the receiver, while doing nothing with the transmitter. Now, while the LED is flashing, engage the brakes all the way with the remote. Then push the button again. What this does is if the car goes out of range, or if the battery power drops too low, it will automatically put the brakes on so your car doesn't go flying down the street and smash into anything in its way.

2.4 GHz receiver with failsafe

Once the glow igniter is all charged up, you are ready to start your car for the first time. Begin by going outside, and pouring some fuel into the starter kit's fuel bottle. Fill up the fuel tank with nitro, and make sure all fuel lines are connected to their ports. Now you have to prime the engine. This is simple, just put your finger over the exhaust port and pull the chord a few times until you see the fuel go through the line and into the carb. Once the fuel reaches the carb, stop or you will flood the engine. You also need to oil the air filter. Simply pull the whole thing off the car, and pull the foam pieces out of their rubber housing.    
Then take some basic vegetable oil found in your kitchen, and put a few drops on the foams and rub it in to spread it around. Don't make it dripping wet, but make sure it is oily. The oil particles trap dirt and dust from reaching the engine, which will break it if they enter.

Now that it is primed, its ready to run. Clip the igniter onto the glow plug and pull on the cord. Make sure you do short, quick pulls, as the chord isn't very long. The first time you start it, chances are it will not stay running. I will explain how to tune it to run in the next post. Also, for the first 3-5 tanks of fuel, you can not run it like you want to. You have to "break it in", which makes the engine last longer. That will also be explained in the upcoming post(s).