Clearly, I am not surprised by the mistakes that newbies make. That is what helps them learn. Sometimes, the lesson is costly (ie they have to replace the engine).
Point of fact, richening the LSN will not give any added cooling. Richening the HSN will.
Point of fact, while ventilation holes in any body are not required, they ARE and excellent way to make the engine happy. Keep the airflow over the cooling head, and the engine will run cooler. The holes do not have to be huge, they just have to be large enough to allow air to circulate under the shell.
Point of fact, engines rarely like pre-heated air. They actually prefer to injest cooler air. One more reason to ventilate the body, and perhaps use a cold air intake modification (not a huge gain in performance for these little engines, but every bit helps).
Finally, point of fact, TRAXXAS engines (all of them) run on the hot side. They just do. No matter what the books say, the engines always run hot and inconsistantly so. I have never heard of a group of engines from one company that run so poorly. They either run way too hot, or they just don't run. Yes, the new engine is an improvement over the old, BUT...ask the LHS around the world how many they have had to return or service or both, and you will find the number to be quite surprising and large.
On the topic of newbies in the hobby...help them. They will need it, and one day they may return the favor. Trust me, I've been there.
