How much nitro RC fuel to buy
When starting out, buy a quart or gallon of fuel. A quart is only ~950cc of fuel which is about 8 tanks for a Traxxas T-Maxx or 1.5-2 hours of run time. A quart is the smallest quantity available and is the most expensive per ounce. For these reasons, I suggest buying a gallon which will be 50-70% cheaper by volume. For example, last summer I bought a gallon of fuel for $48 and they had quarts for $18. If I bought by the quart, I would have spent $72/gallon!
Best places to buy nitro RC fuel
As of today, there are two economical places to buy a gallon of fuel: your local hobby shop and Bones Motorsports.
The problem with buying a full gallon jug is that it only makes sense if you buy it locally. Unfortunately there are hazmat fees added to nitro fuel if it is shipped in quantities greater than a quart which make it prohibitively expensive to buy a single gallon online. If buying locally isn’t an option, consider the options below.
Bones Motorsports sells quarts in 4-packs (1 gallon total) for about the same price as you’ll find gallons at your local hobby shop, depending on your location. Check out their nitro RC car fuel options here.
Amain Hobbies sells nitro RC fuel by the quart or by the 4+ gallon package. If you just want to buy a single quart or want a very large quantity of fuel, Amain might be your best option. NOTE that if you buy a 4+ gallon package from Amain, hazmat fees will be applied at checkout inflating the price. This goes for any shipment of nitro fuel in a 1-gallon container.
Amazon sells nitro RC fuel by the quart and some options are shipped Prime, so they’ll probably arrive faster than any other online option.
Best nitro RC fuel brands
The three main options for nitro RC fuel that is widely available are:
I’ve never seen anything but praise for VP Racing Fuel and I’ve never seen anything but hate for Traxxas Top Fuel. Sidewinder has generally good reviews, but it’s not as widely available as VP or Traxxas fuel.
I would buy VP fuel if you can and avoid Traxxas fuel if possible. I wouldn’t hesitate to put Sidewinder fuel in any of my nitro RCs.
Best percentage of nitro to buy
The amount of nitromethane in the fuel is generally described as the “percentage” of the nitro RC fuel. Nitro RC fuel can come in pretty much any percentage (including 0%), but is generally available in 20%, 25%, 30%, and 33%. In some countries the nitro percentage is limited to 16% by law so you might see that for sale as well.
In general, get the highest nitro percentage you can afford up to 30%. Only Traxxas sells 33% nitro fuel and it’s not the greatest. That said if your only option is Traxxas fuel, get the 33% over the 20%.
The nitromethane in the fuel basically adds oxygen to the fuel. This added oxygen needs additional methanol to combust properly, which means you get more fuel in the engine and more performance. Not only does it make your engine perform better, it makes it easier to tune. More fuel in the combustion chamber means small changes to the tune won’t be as noticeable.
Some argue that 30% nitro is harder on engines than 20%, which makes sense because it’s literally creating more powerful combustion inside the engine. Others argue that 30% nitro runs cooler than 20% and therefore is easier on engines in that respect. Overall, I see no reason to not run 30% nitro fuel unless you find the cost of it prohibitive.
Oil Percentage
Every nitro RC fuel also has an oil percentage which is sometimes advertised. VP always includes an oil percentage on the label which typically varies between 9% and 14%. Traxxas fuel does not indicate an oil percentage, but rumors online say it is as high as 16% which is one of the reasons people don’t like Traxxas fuel.
In general, most nitro enthusiasts recommend a fuel percentage between 9% and 12%. More oil provides more lubrication to the engine and possibly some added protection if the engine is run lean, but it also makes the engine run hotter and harder to tune. Tune your engine properly and you’ll have no problem running a 9% or 12% oil percentage fuel.
Mixing your own fuel
I do not recommend mixing your own fuel as it’s not any cheaper than buying pre-mixed fuel unless you are mixing very large quantities. The only reason to mix your own would be if you were not able to purchase nitro RC fuel due to local laws or distribution issues. If you are interested in mixing your own fuel, I covered this topic in the Beginner’s Guide here.