HPI Nitro MT2 Nitro R/C 1/10th Stadium Truck Review

Overall Rating

Brilliant Fun!
VERY VERY Fast
Can handle any jump you throw it at. I've even seen a video of one 1/8th truck jump 50ft in the air, land and survive without breaking anything!
There is also alot of scope for high tuning and modifications of any size truck.

So fast it must break if you hit something/someone at high speed, and if you hit someone it will cause them alot of damage too.

Nitro trucks and cars are the next step up from electric and also the next step up in price. A semi-decent one with just rear wheel drive will set you back about £180, and some of the bigger 1/8th four wheel drive trucks can set yuo back upto £500. But my god is it worth it! The fun you can get from hearing the engine scream its way through a none stop power band all the way to a double figure rpm is immense! Typically an engine will range in size from 2cc-6cc and can rev to speeds of 50,000rpm for the smaller race engines! The noise is incredible to listen to and they are so much fun to drive! They run on a fuel called nitro-methalane with a mixture of oils and its a relativily safe fuel as long as you dont manage to get it in you eyes and all the normal stuff that comes with chemicals. Anyway back to the review in hand. My HPI MT2 is a mid range truck and cost me £275 when it was first released. It has a 2.3cc engine and produces 1.2bhp, this is all from a car which wieghs about 3kg! An awesome power to weight ratio as you can probably guess. This propells it to 40mph and that's completely stock. All this power and speed is sent through a constant four wheel drive system which has to stand up to alot of punisment from me as i regualarily take it to the local quarry and drive it until i run out of fuel, or the car inevitably breaks from one too many bad landings. The truck also has a brilliant suspension system which will soak up all bumps and take alot of the brunt out of the jumps. Along with the suspension is a set of huge wheels and tyres which also suck up the smaller bumps and provides the traction to get that 1.2bhp to hit the deck. They also have a habit of 'ballooning' at high speed due to the huge amount of centrifugal force acting on them, this can be quite entertaining to watch though. The electrics are all powered by a set of four 1.5V AA batteries which will last a good few hours powering the steering and throttle of the car. The electrics and servos are also waterproof, well to a certain degree, so there is no danger of them stopping working in the wet mud or through puddles. Although i do recommend anyone who buys one of these trucks to also buy something called a failsafe. This handy little piece of electronic wizardry stops the car from deciding to do its own thing when there is a fluctuation in power or the radio signal fails. It automatically applies the brakes and brings the car to a halt for your inspection. My MT2 is fitted with one and it has saved me from a range of what could have been quite expensive crashes. Thats pretty much all i can say about the car itself. But of course there is always the fun of driving it. The four wheel drive trucks are alot easier to drive than the rear wheel drive ones, but of course are more expensive. You can have alot of fun either way and when it runs out of fuel you just top it up and you're off again! No waiting for batteries to recharge! These things are best run in open areas to get the full potential out of them. You could even build a ramp for them to jump over, which is always fun! These trucks are a barrel of laughs and whenever it does break you can find out how the different parts work when you repair it. I would recommend these R/C vehicles to anyone over the age of 12 or so as they can be quite dangerous when in the wrong hands. Im not saying younger children cant play with them, its just they are designed for those who have had experience with electric R/C vehicles and want to move up a stage, basically those who are really into the hobby of R/C vehicles. Overall the best fun you can have in small scale and a purchase you will never regret!