Being the mother of two boys I have seen my share of remote controlled vehicles. Some require your regular replaceable batteries, others have those rechargeable ones. While these are fun and great for younger kids, we have gotten into an exciting new hobby. Nitro powered remote controlled trucks and cars. I say hobby because that is exactly what it is. These vehicles run on fuel that is a mixture of nitro and oil, and boy do they go fast. All parts on these things are replaceable making it easy for you to repair them when you crash. Yes, you will crash them, that is actually part of the fun of these vehicles.

Nitro cars and trucks can be found at most hobby stores or on eBay. Parts and accessories can be found in those places as well. Don’t look for these in toy stores because you won’t find them there. These are meant for anyone over the age of sixteen who has some experience in driving remote control cars. My kids are 8 and 10 and we do allow them to drive them under strict supervision only. There are several companies that make these cars, Traxxas, Team Associated, and Team Losi are just a few.

Traxxas makes a wide variety of nitro vehicles from the 4×4 trucks, Revo and T-Maxx to stadium trucks like the Slayer, Rustler, Jato, and Sport. They also make cars, Nitro 4-Tec. These things can go as fast as 70 MPH! The T-Maxx and Rustler max out at around 45 MPH. The biggest motor that Traxxas makes for their trucks is 3.3 cc. These things get up and go. My cousin just got the 3.3 T-Maxx and they do wheelies the full length of our driveway which is over 100 feet long! They come with a wheelie bar so you don’t flip them over backwards when you take off full throttle. After jumping a hill and hitting a large boulder theirs is currently out of commission while they get new parts and repair it. The new Revo is even more fun because it has better suspension and most of the time when you flip it, it goes back on its wheels and keeps going where the T-Maxx you have to go flip it over yourself half the time.

Team Associated is another company that makes these awesome toys. They have both ready to run and kits that you put together yourself. Their biggest motor is 8.0cc. Their starters are different than Traxxas and they sometimes take a little longer to get started and tuned in but once the break-in is done they leave the T-Maxx in the dust!

Team Losi’s nitro Aftershock is seen below in mid jump.

Keep in mind that these are not inexpensive toys. If you are going to get one of these be prepared to spend upwards of three-hundred dollars just for the vehicle. Then you will need the fuel, extra parts ( Best to buy some ahead of time because you will need them), a charger for the starter, etc. The cheapest place to find the vehicles and parts is eBay but in a pinch they are not the fastest. My husband was playing with his in front of the house a couple weeks ago and crashed it into the curb. He broke the bulkheads and the a-arms in the front and had to run to Hobbytown to get replacements. These vehicles are made with plastic parts and you can replace them as you break them with aluminum which isn’t as easy to break. I say replace as you break because the aluminum is considerably more expensive than plastic. The bulkheads were $3.00 for a set of two in plastic compared to $30.00 in aluminum. Everything on these can be replaced and they are easy to fix on your own. If you are not comfortable with that many of the hobby stores that sell them will fix them for you for a fee. Check out your local hobby store, many of them have tracks set up somewhere local for their customers to run their cars and trucks. Some stores even offer days in a local park or track to help cusomers break in their engines and learn to drive them. We go to an open field, big park, or campground to run ours most of the time.

One great thing about these is that they always attract a crowd. You should always be aware of spectators though. At top speed one of these could easily break an ankle if you hit someone. The exhaust is pretty strong as well.

With all that power and speed you can see why they are so much fun. These aren’t your battery powered RC cars that’s for sure! These make great Christmas presents for someone who enjoys RC cars and has time for a new hobby.