Finished the break in now what...

[redhatman]

ok, ... finished the break in process and all... My engines voice is deeper now, I dont know why. I think it is lack of lubrication, so in between runs, I put a drop of ARO in and it cured the problem. Or is this deeper voice just a normal change after breaking in engine (engine pueberty?) LOL, thanks.
-Pat (redhatman)

 

[Revo Rancher]

When it is broken in and tuned properly, it will be a little deeper, but the main thing you want to listen for is it will sound real crisp and clear. Each motor and motor size has it's "sound", but all of them have a tuned sound that once you know it, there is no mistaking it.

 

[redhatman]

ok, ... well I have got the motor to pretty much stay at a steady temp with medium smoke. I am going around 200 degrees right now, isnt a good temp range like 200-260?

 

[Revo Rancher]

You might want to get the head temp up a little, but you are getting close. Main thing to learn is the "sound". That will tell you a lot. If your temp is 220 - 260 and runs great, listen for the sound it is making at that point, commit it to memory and tune in the future by that.

 

[Pinblaster]

If you have it broken in and only running at 200 deg. then you still have a lot of room to play with on your tuning. My advice would be to lean it out some more, (about an 1/8th turn at a time) to see where you get the best power out of it. Once you find the best power range for the engine while staying below 290 deg. then you can richen it up a tad to find the best power and temp range for the engine. Each engine is unique in its power and temp ranges, so you have to find the right range for your engine. Mine seems to run best around 250 while others at my track seem to run better around 230 or less and other running even higher than 260. Keep tuning til you find the sweet spot. :hammer:

 

[Plaidfish]

290 would be a very rare case in my experience.....I shut mine down if I see 260...and I mean shut it down NOW and bring the piston to BDC (remember to do that).....pinblaster what Engine have you run at 290 for any amount of time and not seen it fade.....the only one I've ever seen able to do that was the red head Fantom .18 for the maxx.....but that had a special P/S that was designed to actually run around 350*.....yes 350.....

 

[Pinblaster]

Oh I was just mentioning what some of the hard corr racers run, (290 -300+) but not me. Thats for the folks that like to replace motors every few months or can afford it. Mine shuts down if it gets to 270 then I tune it back down to 250. But it runs like crap at 230.

 

[Plaidfish]

pretty much every .21 I've had likes to be around 220-240 while racing....if I see 245-250 when I run it bone dry I'm ok w/ that.....but if it's 250 while I'm running it I better be getting some A$$ Whooping performance from it......when you're at 230 is it dogging out on the bottom or what is it doing? sounds like you might be too rich on the bottom and your leaning out the top to compensate.....how long do your plugs last and what do they look like when they die?
as far as the Hardcore racers you know...they really need to richen those mills up......ALOT!!!...290 would be fading all over the place......

 

[low10s]

i try to keep my temps down also. i try to run mine between 200-230 also, i run RB engines and even Rody does not recommend those high temps you talked about. it does shorten the life.

 

[redhatman]

OK, I am going to experiment with all of this wonderful information tomorrow to see where my engine runs best.

when you're at 230 is it dogging out on the bottom or what is it doing? sounds like you might be too rich on the bottom and your leaning out the top to compensate.....

^ that is what I am doing. When I dont see enough exhaust, I richen up the LSN and then adjust the HSN accordingly, and vise versa. Is this not a good way to do it?

 

[Pinblaster]

I guess I should add...A couple of things everyone should keep in mind before we all start telling these new guys what temps they should be running on their engines, All engines are not created equal nor is any of the fuels on the market. Now I have read just about everything I could find on engine tuning and temps. From the tech manuals that come with the engines to several sites on the web and have been all over this site to find everything I could about it when I got into Nitro R/C. Some say to run between 200 to 300, some say between 230 to 270, others have said as low as 190 to as high as 320.

Fuel plays a major roll in the operating temp you will be running at. One brand of fuel on an engine may run best at 230 deg. while another brand may run better 250 and another at 270 on the same engine. Different manufacturers use different formulas and additive to aid in cooling, lubrication and burn ability of their fuels. So each is unique and has different effects over all.

What you (the owner) should do is follow the engine manufacturer’s guidelines for the temp ranges you need be running within. Then tune your rig for performance while staying in those ranges. No one can tell you what temp you should be running at with out actually having the rig in front of them, watching, listening and temping the rig to get it tuned to the best performance/temp range. Once you have it tweaked for best performance within the temp range you feel safe to run in, then you will have a base operating temp to work with to keep your engine running smooth.

You may go through several glow plugs before you find the sweet spot, but its better to waste a few plugs than ruin a piston and sleeve. Too hot (lean) and you burn out the plug, too cold (rich) and the element breaks from the wash of fuel and cooling too fast.

Change brands or formulas of fuel or brand or number of glow plug and you may have to start all over again to find that sweet spot and temps to run at.

 

[4u2nv]

What fuel and what % of nitro ya using while ya break it in?

 

[Pinblaster]

What fuel and what % of nitro ya using while ya break it in?

that all depends on what you are running and whats available at you LHS.
Most 1/10th trucks recommend 20% nitro while some MT's and 1/8th buggies run better on 30% nitro. But you should break your motor in with the same fuel you plan to run. 20% is a safe all around fuel for break in and running. As far as brand... see your LHS and get what they have available locally. Ordering fuel over the internet can get expensive when you start paying HazMat fees for shipping.

 

[4u2nv]

no I was wondering what Redhat was usin..my bad..I was just curious

 

[Pinblaster]

oh, sorry dude :write:

 

[redhatman]

What fuel and what % of nitro ya using while ya break it in?

well, for break in.. I ran 20% blue thunder. Now that I'm done with that, I opened up some %20 traxxas top fuel.

 

[SkyMaxx]

You probably should have stuck with the Blue Thunder. It runs a bit cooler than the TRAXXAS top fuel. Just my two cents...

 

[aj200415]

You probably should have stuck with the Blue Thunder. It runs a bit cooler than the TRAXXAS top fuel. Just my two cents...

very true. when i ran traxxas top fuel in both my buggy and my car they both ran HOT.

 

[Pinblaster]

:whack: I could have sworn I explaned all of this changing fuels in my last post here...see bottem of page 1

 

[Diver6127]

:whack: I could have sworn I explaned all of this changing fuels in my last post here...see bottem of page 1

The fat between the ears probably caused a glitch in the part of the brain that controls comprehension.