Hi Guys!!
I usually drive my HPI car in a park near my place. Most grounds in India have more dust and very little grass. The high dust content is as good as driving on a beach. What worries me is the air filter oil. I am currently using the thunder tiger filter oil. I wnna know if i need to take any other precautions or will this setup be sufficient to protect the engine.

Cheers!!

The air needed for combustion in a model engine is the same as the
air for car and truck engines - use any air filter oil or better still ask your
neighbourhood garage - they will probably give you free

no need to buy special thunder tiger oil - which i'm sure is a rebranded
motor industry product, and probably costs several orders of magnitude more.

I feel strongly about hobby marketing tactics which take a common product
repackage and rebrand , and then sell it to the rc/modelling community for a substantial
markup.

This is a slight deviation from topic but I agree with Saikat. There are many products, especially for us car guys which are re- branded and sold at two or three times the actual price. Greases are a good example.

Like Saikat said, try asking the neighbourhood garage..

Agree with the above point on expensive oils...

still looking to know if i need to take any further steps to save the engine from the high dust environment. Also is it advisable to drive a nitro rc car on the beach--- are there any chances of the sand causing damage & is it easy to clean off??

Easy to clean off? No. You'll need a de- greaser.

Can u suggest me a good de- greaser

Non- chlorinated brake cleaner fluid works well...

Use it in a well ventilated place and avoid inhalation. Use gloves if possible. And if possible, read the MSDS before you use it.

Avoid beach runs as much as possible. Very hard to get off and it sticks to the drives etc. Any air filter oil is good enough. Just clean and oil the filter often.

Best way to clean nitros are to strip electronics and engine and water wash. But use compressed air and dry before storing. I had tried everything and trust me, this works best. I do this after a major race or maybe after 10 runs.

2-3...lol..I would say by a factor of 20 times.
I get the Tornado oils @ 400 for around 150ml, and i can get the same oil for filter for Rs 80 for 400-600ml...Thats a huge difference, and a god way to save money that i lately realised...

Where can we get these oils locally?

if you want to buy the thunder tiger air filter oil its available on ebay.in for Rs 400/- inclusive of shipping.
But as you read above thats really high a price for castor oil. So just go ahead and buy some castor oil from your local chemist it should work just as fine.
Cheers

Ask a local mechanic for substitutes.
Castor oil sold for medical purpose is a good alternative as suggested by  my friend 'Jester'

Yes. I did my research on this local options. But you really can't say how it will work and side effects if any. I was told that afterrun oil is technically same as the sewing machine lubricant.

Issue is that when your high performance engine cost 11K and the fuel costs Rs 560/litre, this Rs 400 oil doesn't really matter. I rather buy something proven rather than research for small savings.

after run oils cannot be used in some engines(high end ones) with silicone filled crank as ARO removes the filling in the crank .. so sewing machine oil it is ..


yes ajo .. swinger sewing machine oil works well .. i used it many times..

lol...true,sewing machines oil serves same purpose, protecting the metal no matter whether its engine or machine..but to be on safer side you can still stick to RC oils.

I also have been using sewing machine oil only since the beginning and have not had issues yet.

Starting becomes a bit trouble some times though incase I drop a but extra. Else it is sufficient for me at lease.

What the heck is filter oil, why is it needed and how does one use it ? 

Anwar ji,

Air filter oil is used majorly for cars as they run on the land. Because there is too much dust when running on land, the air filter is attached on the carb.

The air filter is basically a sponge (in a layman's word) and sponge has pores in it.

The very minute dust particles tend to escape through the sponge pores and find their way into the carb and to the piston/engine which would cause severe damage to the inner walls of the engine and other components running on high RPM's (30,000 + RPM).

When you apply the air filter oil on this sponge (air filter), it will attract and holds all the minute dust particles trying to pass through the pores to a very high extend and let only the air pass through the carb thus giving great life to the engine.

Using air filter oil is very easy, you simply remove the air filter and put it in a small plastic bag and put some air filter oil on it and then rub the filter inside the plastic bag.

This is a recommended way to apply the oil so that:
1. you do not waste the oil that get's washed off when you do this in you hand and the oil left on your hand,
2. The dust particles on your hand do not stick to the filter while applying the oil to the filter,
3. The outside dust also does not get attached to the filter during this process.

Hope this explains.

Friends, please correct me if I am wrong somewhere or if there is a better explanation or process to apply the oil.

Also do rep me if you like my post.... 

after a run dust and mud is all over the car.  If the servos and receiver box are water proof is it a good ides to wash the car by watering it under the garden hose pipe. does it harm the engine in any way ( i do make sure no water enters i through the carb.)

No, it dosent,all you need to d is spray WD40 after you are done.

I wouldnt risk the engine with water. I remove engine and electronics and wash. I immediately heat blow dry the car since water can get into diff, bearings etc.

Friends..this dust problem can be eliminated easily, by adding a PVC tube to induction port, and extending to a little off..can tune in harmony with resonation..by increasing the length of the tuned tube..can use any mineral oil, to soak the filter element, and 2T oil also works..and can also make a super micro filter from real car paper element type filters..high performance..long life..

I use a bosch blower,having a high watt blower is a must, otherwise your metals are stake..