Arts Entertainments

Choosing the right glow plug for your Nitro RC car

The glow plug is an amazing piece of engineering, the closest anyone has ever come to a true perpetual motion machine, your radio controlled car engine will run on nothing but fuel, no spark plugs or electric ignition, these babies run on the glow.

Selecting the correct glow plug is not that difficult, you just have to understand how they work. Truth be told, they are not exactly a perpetual motion machine, they still require a little kick with a 1.5V battery to turn on the glow, after that they will continue to glow as long as the motor is running.

Turbo or standard

A turbo plug will only work on a turbo engine, these do not have small 1:10 scale fans that blow air into the engine like full size counterparts, the turbo plug is tapered at the end to create a tighter fit to the head engine, this in turn slightly increases horsepower, you cannot use a turbo on a standard engine, these require standard plugs.

The temperature rating of the glow plug

You need to find the right temperature glow plug for your engine, a hotter plug will work better when the engine is slightly hot, while you should use a cooler glow plug if you have a large engine that produces a lot of heat. Warmer glow plugs also make starting the engine easier, while cooler glow plugs will give you slightly better performance during the race.

There is no right or wrong setting, everything must be taken into account, from air temperature to height above sea level, all of this affects how the glow plug will work.

Quality over quantity.

When buying a radio controlled glow plug it is always, like so many things in the stock, worth buying the slightly more expensive glow plug, these generally have more consistent tuning and heat and will often last longer than spark plugs Cheaper over multiple runs, which makes up for the additional cost.

Reading your glow plug

Using a few simple methods it is easy to find out how close you are to a perfect tune by inspecting the glow plug, if there is excess oil in the head then it is getting too rich and you need to tilt your mix, if your glow plug is of a gray color with a small amount of oil, then its place with your tune, in the same way if there is little or no oil and the filament of the glow plug is bent or thinned where it connects to the base of the glow plug, then it is too lean and needs to enrich its mix.

Some general points about glow plugs

  • Never touch the filament, this is very fragile and doing so can break the filament and ruin a plug.
  • Protect your engine by buying only good glow plugs from decent hobby stores
  • Keep your glow plugs in a cool and dry place, they don’t like humidity
  • Always select the correct glow plug
  • Follow the recommended break-in procedures for your engine.
  • When a motor breaks, the plug you use will most likely be damaged.
  • Keep your engine tuned
  • Never overtighten a glow plug, it does not need to be as tight as you think
  • Be careful of nitro detonation, this means you are using the wrong plug or your tone is very bad.
  • Use the right light starter
  • Ask other riders for help, the RC community is amazing and there will always be someone there to help you.

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