Speeding bullet
Wednesday, January 16th, 2008
ON FSR’s new Nitro Bullet, you’ll find a smooth, three-belt drive system, suspension components derived form 1/8-scale on-road technology and weight where it counts - in the center. Yes, just like its electric sibling, the Nitro Bullet is bulit to work. But is it aws tunable and does it perform well? After a little building, speculating and tunign and a lot of driving, I’ve come up with the answer, but I won’t tell you just yet. Read on; check out what the Nitro Bullet has to offer and see how it fared during my track tests. It might be the gas sedan to beat.
PERFORMANCE
The long-awaited time had come: I headed to the asphalt roadcourse. With just three pulls on the pull-start, I had the V12 running-not bad for a new engine. I broke the engine in, set the car on the pavement (without the body) and gave it a couple of quick squirts of the throttleand watched as the front universal was ejected from the car! I found this unusual, since the universals in my electric Bullet have held up well. I yanked a universal from the aforementioned car to fix the Nitro Bullet, and headed back to the track. Again, the reliable engine fired within a few pulls and I was off and running.
After a few hot laps to scuff the tires and warm up the engine, I leaned it out and let it rip. The Nitro Bullet’s acceleration was pretty impressive, but as I entered the corner, I experienced a slight push. This made the car very forgiving, but I knew it was eroding my lap times.
After a few laps to see just how quick the setup could be, I pulled it off the course and headed to the workbench to make a few minor tweaks (see “Building and Setup Tips”). My efforts paid off: the Bullet hooked up through the corners and surefootedly exited the turns-definitely a faster ride. This is by far the best running gas car I have driven, and with only a few slight tweaks from its box-stock form, it was hooked-impressive.
The ejected universal was my only problem, and it was easy to replace. The tires played a major role in getting the car to stick. I chose Pro-Line’s mounted slicks because I knew they worked well on my track. To get the Bullet hooked up on your home track, start with tire swaps, then tune the suspension.
FINAL THOUGHTS
I’m sure that you are just as excited about the Nitro Bullet as I was when I received the kit. If you’re a little disappointed by the plastic shocks and fiberglass parts, don’t be. Yes, metal and graphite parts would be nice to have, but at a club event, not having them won’t put you in the B-main instead of the A-main.
The car’s superior tunability is all you need to get it dialed in, but this tunability is also why I don’t recommend this kit for beginners; they might find it frustrating to have to adjust the components, and may easily tune themselves into a no-fun setup.