An Hour of Electric RC Runtime
Even with a high end battery (probably a good lipo) you still can't beat the runtime of a nitro because when the battery runs out of steam you have to charge it. With a fancy quick charger you still will have to wait at least 45 minutes to an hour for it to charge up that depleted battery. You could have two or more batteries charged already but with only 10-15 minutes of runtime per battery that means you would have to have at least 4-5 batteries already charged and ready to go before you start racing in order to get an hour or so of continuous use out of your electric RC.
An Hour of Nitro RC Runtime
On a nitro RC a tank full of fuel will typically get you 20-25 minutes of runtime -- depending on driving style and size of the tank. After the tank runs down all you have to do is refill the tank (which takes all of about 30-45 seconds) and you are off and running again. For an hour of use you'll need to fill up only 2 or 3 times.
The Cost of Batteries vs. Nitro Fuel
The last time I checked lipo battery packs are about 30-40 dollars and and a gallon of nitro fuel is about 20-30 dollars. You can get about 50-60 tanks out of 1 gallon of nitro fuel if you have a 2 to 2.5 oz. tank. Now I'm no math genius but if you try to match that with lipo battery packs it's enough to make anybody's wallet cry for mercy.
