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20% Nitro or 30% nitro,?

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Sgt Blamo

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I've always run Premium pump gas in my stock 4-wheelers and ski's and 110 in my modded machines. In a nitro motor, such as a Novarossi .28,8 port, what will run the best? I'm told the hi-end, hi compression motors need the 30%. Is this true? Furthermore, I've been told that my motor will run hotter and wear out sooner with 30%, as opposed to 20%, is this true? It seems there are a lot of oppinions and I need to sort fact from fiction.
 
20% will work just fine... And running 30% will not make your mill run hotter it will run cooler but it will indeed were your mill out faster by how much ??? maybe a gallon maybe less.. Any way you will be fine running 20%.. thats what I run in my WS711 with no problems..
 
Thanks for the info,
What brand are you runing? I've been using 20% Fantom, but my motor seems to be acting up with it. My friends tried a gallon of Fantom I gave them and had a similar experiance. Do you think it could be the brand of fuel? It has 12% oil.
 
I use nothing but byrons race fuel 20% 16 oil and have never had problems with a tune on any of my mills..
 
I used a gallon of Trinity Platinum Blend (30%) in one of my Novarossi P5s without a problem.....I switched to O'Donnell 30% because that is what I had in my garage.....Trin. ran great for me.
 
your motor will not run hotter, it will not wear any faster, it will make more power, it will idle better.

it will be more sensitive to tune. if you screw up with 20% the results will not be as drastic as a screwup with 30%. you will need to make sure that with the 30% your engine is not detonating, you can hear this, and see pit marks on the inside of the head/button. most engines are shimmed to handle 30% from the factory anyway.

basically if you feel confidant in your ability to tune an engine, go for the 30%. if your unsure, stay with 20% its more forgiving.
 
I'm still learning how to tune. I did notice that the idle tends to rev up after I hit the throttle. Unfortunately the truck came without a fuel filter and I haven't been running one. I will be installing a filter today. I'm trying to figure out wether it's the fuel or possibly some dirt stuck in the needle/seat.
 
its your needle settings. an idle that remains high for a little bit, then comes down. indicates that your HSN is lean, and your LSN is rich. id imagine that if you let the car sit and idle for a few minutes it would bog down and die.
 
Man, you're right on the money! So I need to slowly lean my LSN and richen my HSN. What is the best way to test the LSN to determine if it's set right? I usually determine my HSN by how it runs and temp, am I wrong in this approach?
 
CorradoPsi said:
its your needle settings. an idle that remains high for a little bit, then comes down. indicates that your HSN is lean, and your LSN is rich. id imagine that if you let the car sit and idle for a few minutes it would bog down and die.
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Just curiuos on how you figure there is no more weare on the engine when switching to 20 to 30%?I have spoken to all my LHS,5 of them and they all say that 30% will cause more wear. It causes your engine to work harder, I just don't see how it would not make it wear faster.
 
It also has less oil in the fuel, causing more wear. Someone in this thread said the difference will be within a gallon. That is correct.
30% is leaner then 20%. Once adjusted to the higher % fuel, It should be good.

I only run Trinity 30% horse power. I had 6 gallons through my Hyper 21, and it was still running well when I pulled it out, And 5 gallons in my MGT which was running fine when I pulled it.
 
So, is it worth the cost and the hassle of having two blends of fuel for my .28 REX 8 port? Will it not only make it run better, but will it hold a tune better? I'm still learning how to tune.
 
jon2 said:
Just curiuos on how you figure there is no more weare on the engine when switching to 20 to 30%?I have spoken to all my LHS,5 of them and they all say that 30% will cause more wear. It causes your engine to work harder, I just don't see how it would not make it wear faster.
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well when fuel is blended there is a set amount of nitro, and a set amount of oil added, everything remaining is made up for the methanol/alcohol. so if your using a 30% blend with the proper amount of oil. your engine will still be recieving proper lubrication. the only extra wear you might see, is at around 6-8 gallons you will start to go through glow plugs more often, this is because the rod is wearing. if you replace it the engine will run fine until the P/S is finally shot.

some people find that thier engines last longer with 30% because to achieve the same power as 20% they dont need to run anywhere near as lean. while some burn up engines with 20% because they lean them out too far in search of more power.

basically it all still comes down to tuning ability as the predominant factor for engine life.
 
Sgt Blamo said:
Man, you're right on the money! So I need to slowly lean my LSN and richen my HSN. What is the best way to test the LSN to determine if it's set right? I usually determine my HSN by how it runs and temp, am I wrong in this approach?
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i would richen the HSN by a half turn right off the bat. tune the LSN first. get the engine up to full temp, and make sure the chassis is heat soaked. support the car with the wheels off the ground. rev it up to clear out the engine, let off the gas, and then grab fuel line to cut off fuel flow. it should take about 4-5 second for the engine to die. it it takes longer, lean it out a little. repeat this until you get it to die within 4-5 seconds. this will get you really close to a perfect setting. next tune the HSN looking for good smoke at top speed, and you should hear the engine "clear out". this will get you a very good basic tune, but you will have to fine tune it yourself for whatever track you race on. if you just bash, these settings will be fine.
 
btw i also have a Top .28 and i run trinity platinum 30 in it. it runs very well with a #6 plug.
 
With platinum, you HAVE to know how to tune!! LOL
 
temps are relative to outside temp, humidity, altitude, etc. keep it between 200-260 and you will be fine. good smoke, is more important.
 
Yeah, i found that the platinum kinda goobered my engine up in the tuning area... switched right back to odonnell and it was fine... threw the platinum in the fire...
 

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