Figured out why the HPI .15FE is a bit of a dog..

[Candyman]

The light finally clicked on above my head. I was stripping down my RS4 when I decided to take out the engine and clean it. Took the head off. Pulled the piston and sleeve. First off, I'm looking at the sleeve and I realized it could really use a port matching. The ports are really squared. No real flow profile. So I slipped the sleeve back in the block to see how the sleeve ports matched the crankase ports...

BANG!!!

The sleeve is a 3 port design. There are 3 intake and 1 exhaust port. Looked good to me. Much like every other budget engine I have run. BUT...the crankcase only has 2 intake ports milled into it! 1 of the ports in the sleeve is completely closed off when the engine is assembled! So seeing as I had previously ported my TRX .15, I am now fighting the itch to grab my dremel and dredge a new port in the crankcase. I am going to portmatch the sleeve. And I think I can open up enough space that way to get the 3rd port adding a bit of fuel to the mix. That should bump up the power a bit. Luckily it's still below freezing here and I have nothing better to do with my time!

 

[GilBeQuick]

Well damn. Hook that biotch up and see how she does!

 

[Team 17]

Let me know if it makes the performance any better. If so, then I'll do it to mine.

 

[Candyman]

No guts, no glory, right? I didn't screw up my TRX, I think I can pull this off. Boy, wouldn't that be a surprise! My brother keeps giving me crap because he has an Evo2 in his car and can run circles around the FE. He'll piss when I give him a run with an FE!!!!

On second thought, here is my plan. I am going to buy a Venom Speed Meter. They're quite affordable at Ace Hardware Hobbies. I am going to run my RS4 with the stock FE and 2 speed tranny. I'll tune it for top speed and see what i come up with. Then I'll port just the sleeve and see what difference that makes. Then I'll port the case and see how much more. I guess this will have to be a bit of an in-depth project that I won't be able to do anything about for a few months, but it sounds like fun...

 

[newnitrofan]

All of that porting should help a bunch but if you are still running the stock single needle carb you will not come anywhere close to that new motor. That T-15 I think is rated at nearly 1.5 HP. It will be interesting to see though. Later

 

[Candyman]

Yeah, I know that's still the weak link. I'm thinking of upgrading to the 6mm 2-needle SS carb. That should make a huge difference..

 

[Krusty]

CandyMan,
I ported a .15 Fe. When you install the sleeve, make sure the sleeve notch is aligned with the casting seam in the rear of the cylinder. I opened the "hole" in the piston to match the boost port. Don't change anything to the boost port in the case. If you do, it may reduce the boost pressure and actually reduce engine performance. I chamfered the bottom of the sleeve and ground channels in the sleeve and angled them to feed the intake ports. I also matched the exhaust casting port to the sleeve. In addition I changed the timing (duration) of the crank opening and drilled a small oil hole in the crank connecting rod bearing. I also installed the large two needle carb and the HP performance pipe and manifold of which I also ported (matched to the exhaust port). The engine runs real well!!! The best part is that is looks completely stock!!!

 

[Candyman]

Alot of that was my thoughts. Well, except for screwing with the timing. I'm not good enough to do that. But I was going to do most all the work on the sleeve itself. I don't know how inclined I am to work on the case. I am interested in seeing how much performance I can gain just by that..

 

[Waste Land]

.15fe's are extemely underpowered motor that have the ability to be alot better. People dog them all the time but if your looking it is one of the most reliable motors ever made. I'd love to see get some more perormance from it

 

[Razor]

i suggest not porting the "boost" port, the port that is closed off liek you said. the ONLY way i would port that is by porting the INSIDE of the slevve just as you would the outside, BUT since we can't re polish it without the right tools, it will flake / mess up bad.


anyways, gotta get the horse in :

 

[NCNitro]

Originally posted by Waste Land
.15fe's are extemely underpowered motor that have the ability to be alot better. People dog them all the time but if your looking it is one of the most reliable motors ever made. I'd love to see get some more perormance from it

Your absolutely right. I have beat the piss out of my FE for two years now, and it still won't die. Not the fastest mill around, but starts with no problems even with sitting several weeks at a time without use. Since I just bash the crap out of it in parking lots I figured I would run it till it was toast then put a new mill in it, well it still has not died, this engine owes me nothing. An OS 10 e carb, THS tuned pipe, and two speed tranny helped the performance of this mill quite a bit.