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Engine bearings gone again!

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J

jschleer

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Location
central TEXAS
RC Driving Style
  1. Bashing
  2. Racing
So I was racing last weekend, the picco 26 was tuned to about 220 degrees and it was running great in the last two races. went to warm up for the main and flying down the front straight and it just shut off! Then, it would only start if i held the throttle about 1/2 open. I knew some thing was wrong, so I packed up and watched the main and gave someone else a chance to win! HAHAHA!

Anyways, I took the engine apart and found that my 4 month old ceramic bearings where shot!

I was told by Boca bearings that I should step down to 20% nitro if I want to make my bearings last longer. would a drop of 10% make that much difference to the bearings? He told me they would last years instead of months.

For the RCNT vets, I ordered new bearings, piston and sleeve, but what should I look for on the crankshaft and rod as far as wear?

Thanks, Jeremy
 
The guy at Boca doesn't know what most racing is about. Most of the racers I know run 30% nitro in their rigs. They also tend to change their bearings out frequently. Most do it about once a month. One guy changes his every week.
 
Well, not that serious about the racing yet and don't really want to change my bearings every 6 months if I can help it. so, what do yall think about stepping down to 20% and take one of the 3 head shims out? (the thinnest one) maybe that will make up for the loss.
 
Shims are there for proper compression and fuel burn. Too few will cause too much compression which will blow plugs and cause early detonation. Maybe drop down to 25% and see how it does. I've been running 25% in my rigs for 2-3 years and have yet really to replace a bearing... 5+ gallons through one of my LRP's. Still tight as a drum. I don't really see how more/less nitro affects bearings... if it does affect it, then either I'm lucky or 25% is a safer mix to run.

I mean if you were running 50% nitro, then that would be a hell of a bang that the bearings would have to deal with, but 10% more than "standard" (20%) I wouldn't think would add that much extra pop to it.
 
olds97_lss said:
Shims are there for proper compression and fuel burn. Too few will cause too much compression which will blow plugs and cause early detonation. Maybe drop down to 25% and see how it does. I've been running 25% in my rigs for 2-3 years and have yet really to replace a bearing... 5+ gallons through one of my LRP's. Still tight as a drum. I don't really see how more/less nitro affects bearings... if it does affect it, then either I'm lucky or 25% is a safer mix to run.

I mean if you were running 50% nitro, then that would be a hell of a bang that the bearings would have to deal with, but 10% more than "standard" (20%) I wouldn't think would add that much extra pop to it.
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what brand fuel are u running? I've been running O'donnells 30% and it seemed like a high oil %, But that's what I've been running! I've heard from a few that O'donnel's is no good. I'm going to try a fuel that the LHS just got in called Rich's Brew(12% amsoil). Ever heard of it?
 
olds97_lss said:
I run Byrons, odonnel's is too oily for me.

Never heard of "Rich's brew".
Click to expand...

I'm doing some research Rich's Brew right now, and so far I'm seeing a lot of good things about it. I was wrong about the amsoil though, Not sure what synthetic they use, but it is a blend. It's been made in houston TX for over 30 years! and it's only $16.00 a gallon!
 

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