What’s better than an RC car? RC car with real internal combustion engine and transmission.
January 20, 2024 in 3pm ET
There’s something about tiny internal combustion engines that we love. They are always powerful relative to their size and produce a sound similar to their much larger cousins. It’s not often you see so much packed into a similarly impressive small car. Thankfully, that is changing.
youtuber Johnny Q90 He recently replaced the V-twin in his old RC 4×4 with a 17.5cc four-cylinder unit with a three-speed manual transmission. However, it was much more difficult than simply putting a new engine in and deciding it was good. He had to reconfigure the car’s small cooling system, wire in a new exhaust pipe, and wire everything up. After all the hard work, the results were great.
The engine itself is made by a company called Cison and costs about $1,000 without the transmission. The 3-speed (+ reverse) gearbox is also made by the company and costs about $450. Interestingly, the transmission features a 3D printed aluminum case, and is a great example of how this material is becoming cheaper and cheaper until it makes sense for applications such as small engines and other similar mechanical assemblies.
The transmission and throttle are both servo-controlled and remote-controlled. As with other small off-road vehicles, the results are small-scale and therefore not very impressive. A small four-wheel drive vehicle scales the curb and gets over it completely unscathed. I am awed by the way they conquer napkins thrown away on the roadside. No matter what this R/C car is doing, it’s great to hear the 4-cylinder’s rumbling soundtrack compared to the usual whine of an electric motor.
After all, this little truck is just a cool novelty. Like gruesome supercars, small vehicles with real engines don’t have much practicality. But they’re very interesting and that’s why they’re worth existing.
