modding stock ports

[rak12]

I was at my LHS a few weeks back and got to talking to thier Traxxas specialist about my Tmaxx 3.3. One of the topics that came up was his skills/abililites to "machine " the intake and exhaust ports on the sleeve. He showed me an example and essentially it looked like he cut grooves in to the sleeve so as to allow the conbustion chamber to begin to fill/empty a little before the port was fully open. Has anyone heard of this? Do the pros outweigh any cons? And if so it it worth a hundred bucks?

 

[Racer 1966]

It's called porting and yes it's a popular mod for these engines. If done properly on a good engine it is well worth it and will really wake it up. It's a fine line between great and garbage though.

 

[rak12]

It's called porting and yes it's a popular mod for these engines. If done properly on a good engine it is well worth it and will really wake it up. It's a fine line between great and garbage though.

thanks for the response, I'll consider it if/when I get bored with it's current performance. In a worst case scenario aka garbage, what usually occurs? more difficulty tuning or just less or no power?

 

[Racer 1966]

Both :yes:

 

[alpinehyperlite]

paperweight, or a nice keychain.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

You should ask if he actually changes the "timing numbers" which requires cutting through the chrome on the inside of the ports. Simply grinding flow grooves into the outside face of the ports is not worth $100 as there will be very little performance gain if any. Cutting chrome is something that requires a lot of practice and knowledge, when done with the right combination of timing numbers can yield pretty big gains in power and RPM. Without the right combination you have a paper weight like has been mentioned.

 

[rak12]

It all seems pretty risky considering this is my only engine at the moment. Although the LHS is avery reputable shop, it does not neccessarily mena he will do a great job. I think I would be better off saving the $100 and putting it towards a Picco or Ofna for the added power gains, that way I will have a spare engine that I could "play" with.

 

[Extreme RC Mods]

That's probably a good idea if it's your only engine, I've done a few 3.3's and they do require some special attention or they start eating bearings with the additional RPM's. I would go with the Picco as your next choice, twice the engine as the onfa's.

 

[rak12]

thanks for the info, Iwas kinda leaning toward the Picco I've heard many good things from many happy owners of the Picco!