Electric vs. Nitro

Top: Front axles on electric RC. Middle: Front axles on nitro RC. Bottom Left: Slipper and pinion gears on electric RC. Bottom Right: Slipper and clutch bell gears on nitro RC.

© M. JamesThe gears, wheels, and axles of a radio controlled vehicle are known collectively as the drivetrain. Similar to the transmission and rear-end in a real car, the drivetrain is what gives the RC car motion when power (from the motor or engine) is applied.

Plastic Drivetrain
Toy-grade electric RC drivetrains mostly consist of plastic and the only metal part of the drivetrain is the pinion gear which is also somtimes made of plastic as well. The differential (a set of gears within the drivetrain) on a electric hobby-grade RC has both metal and plastic but can be upgraded to metal to give the electric hobby-grade RC drivetrain an overall boost in strength and longevity.

Metal Drivetrain
The drivetrain on nitro RCs contain primarily all metal differentials and other all metal gears that make up the drivetrain. These metal gears are necessary because the high torque of the powerful nitro engines can put too much stress on plastic parts. Some lesser hobby-grade nitro RCs may have some plastic parts in their drivetrains which can be less durable than the metal parts.