Yesterday I ran a full tank through my brand new SS at low RPM on a stand and today I took the truck out for its first real drive. I had no trouble starting the motor today (at least after I recharged my igniter) 
. I also had no issues with the pullstarter today (glow plug loosened when starting). I adjusted the carb idle to a point where it would run without engaging the clutch. The idle may still be a bit high but it does not stall and it does not move with my radio in neutral. I will probably lower it a bit in the near future.
Early in the day I ran two consecutive tanks of nitro through it. Everything seemed to work great. The Futaba 3PM works great, the dual disc brakes work well, the 3-shoe clutch is perfect, reverse works, and the MP steering posts/servo saver works great. I guess my optional primerless tank (from the Savage 25 RTR) is better than the stock SS tank because I did not have any issues with the truck running differently based on the amount of fuel in the tank. My OFNA failsafe also works very well and it makes a great parking brake when pulling in the pits for a splash of fuel. I pulled up the truck, turned off my radio, and the failsafe locked the brakes. This parking break mode makes it safe to top off the tank. My alignment is perfect, the truck tracks perfectly straight, and the handling is very good with no steering slop at all. I tried my best to avoid WOT, I just kept hitting it about half throttle and backing off in a very large parking lot. Temps stayed around 205-225 degrees depending on how long I stayed on the gas. The transmission shifted to second a few times even though I was only accelerating at half throttle for about 5 seconds or so. I did hit it WOT a few times for very brief moments (about 1 second at a time) and it seemed to accelerate very well. I was expecting to see it the truck do a rich bog but that did not happen. Maybe because I did not stay at WOT long enough, I do not know. The truck does belch smoke when I hit it. I have been running the Motorsaver filter during my break in and I hope the filter has not been leaning me out (I am still at the factory break-in needle settings). Could the Motorsaver be causing me to run too lean for break-in?
As soon as I ran out of fuel during the morning session (two tanks) I put the piston at the bottom of its stroke and let the truck fully cool. I then put some after run oil in it, pulled the starter a few times, and put the piston back at the bottom. Five hours later I took it out again and it started pretty easily. I ran another 2 tanks through it and it was still running great. Temps still stayed in the 205-225 range and again I avoided WOT as much as possible. I was just hitting it ½ throttle and letting off. After two tanks of this I let it run out of fuel and immediately put the piston at the bottom of its stroke. When it cooled I circulated some after run oil in it and put the piston back at the bottom.
While I was wrapping things up for the day I was playing with the radio and I noticed that my throttle servo was locked in the full brake position and it was not responding to my radio. I pulled out my multimedia and took a reading off the charging leads on my NiMH hump pack and the battery pack was down to 3.8V. The OFNA failsafe was locking the brakes because my receiver pack had a low charge, very cool.
So far I am enjoying this truck. Is it possible that my Motorsaver filter is leaning out my motor to the point where my break-in could be too lean? It belches smoke when I gas it and it seems to run very good. So far I’ve run 5 tanks through it, which is almost an entire quart of O’Donnell racing fuel. I guess I am ready to go WOT and tune it?
. I also had no issues with the pullstarter today (glow plug loosened when starting). I adjusted the carb idle to a point where it would run without engaging the clutch. The idle may still be a bit high but it does not stall and it does not move with my radio in neutral. I will probably lower it a bit in the near future.Early in the day I ran two consecutive tanks of nitro through it. Everything seemed to work great. The Futaba 3PM works great, the dual disc brakes work well, the 3-shoe clutch is perfect, reverse works, and the MP steering posts/servo saver works great. I guess my optional primerless tank (from the Savage 25 RTR) is better than the stock SS tank because I did not have any issues with the truck running differently based on the amount of fuel in the tank. My OFNA failsafe also works very well and it makes a great parking brake when pulling in the pits for a splash of fuel. I pulled up the truck, turned off my radio, and the failsafe locked the brakes. This parking break mode makes it safe to top off the tank. My alignment is perfect, the truck tracks perfectly straight, and the handling is very good with no steering slop at all. I tried my best to avoid WOT, I just kept hitting it about half throttle and backing off in a very large parking lot. Temps stayed around 205-225 degrees depending on how long I stayed on the gas. The transmission shifted to second a few times even though I was only accelerating at half throttle for about 5 seconds or so. I did hit it WOT a few times for very brief moments (about 1 second at a time) and it seemed to accelerate very well. I was expecting to see it the truck do a rich bog but that did not happen. Maybe because I did not stay at WOT long enough, I do not know. The truck does belch smoke when I hit it. I have been running the Motorsaver filter during my break in and I hope the filter has not been leaning me out (I am still at the factory break-in needle settings). Could the Motorsaver be causing me to run too lean for break-in?
As soon as I ran out of fuel during the morning session (two tanks) I put the piston at the bottom of its stroke and let the truck fully cool. I then put some after run oil in it, pulled the starter a few times, and put the piston back at the bottom. Five hours later I took it out again and it started pretty easily. I ran another 2 tanks through it and it was still running great. Temps still stayed in the 205-225 range and again I avoided WOT as much as possible. I was just hitting it ½ throttle and letting off. After two tanks of this I let it run out of fuel and immediately put the piston at the bottom of its stroke. When it cooled I circulated some after run oil in it and put the piston back at the bottom.
While I was wrapping things up for the day I was playing with the radio and I noticed that my throttle servo was locked in the full brake position and it was not responding to my radio. I pulled out my multimedia and took a reading off the charging leads on my NiMH hump pack and the battery pack was down to 3.8V. The OFNA failsafe was locking the brakes because my receiver pack had a low charge, very cool.
So far I am enjoying this truck. Is it possible that my Motorsaver filter is leaning out my motor to the point where my break-in could be too lean? It belches smoke when I gas it and it seems to run very good. So far I’ve run 5 tanks through it, which is almost an entire quart of O’Donnell racing fuel. I guess I am ready to go WOT and tune it?
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