Tips on Nitro engine

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
W

Wayne!!

Member
Messages
7
Location
Dublin, Ireland
Hi All,

I have a Savage XL and its running fine. I was just wondering how tuff are the engines in general ? Like are they meant for using them in a car park giving it full throttle all the time or are they just meant for doing jumps ect. I don't want to be dogging it and risking the engine to blow. Any advice would be great,

Thanks in advance,

Wayne.
 
Alot of varibles involved keeping a good tune not to rich and not to lean. Keeping junk out of the motor like dirt. Don't over heat the engine... i have the Same motor and have three gallons of fuel through it, i run it full throttle quite a bit, it is still running good....
 
They are tuff as nails, John from HPI ran one at the World Finals 2 weeks ago in the Battle Royal. The unit got hung up and he ran it full thottle through the entire tank, trying to blow it, and it never got over 300 deg before it ran out of fuel. Thats a testimony if I've ever seen one.

:resp:
 
I am still a nitro noob, but I'll try to toss some things out that stuck out to me as good general tips...

1. Lean towards rich - If you're bashing (not racing) and you don't need every bit of power you can muster, it's better to run a little too rich (higher fuel/air) instead of a little too lean (lower fuel/air). You get less power running rich but you'll be less likely to damage your engine.

2. Blue smoke = good - Your exhaust should give out a trail of blue smoke at WOT (Wide Open Throttle). If you don't have smoke, richen it up.

3. Keep your air filter clean - If you let dirt and debris get into your engine, at 30k RPM, even small dirt particles can cause damage.

4. ARO (After Run Oil) is your friend - After you run your truck, especially if you will be storing it un-run for any extended period of time, use ARO. Make sure you clean around the opening (either carb or glow plug hole) before you go to use your ARO. You don't want to open it up to take care of the engine and then let in that harmful debris!

5. Store your engine at BDC (Bottom Dead Center) - When you are finished running your truck, make sure the piston on your engine is at BDC, which basically means that the piston is at the BOTTOM of its stroke - leaving it at the top (where the sleeve pinches it) can cause problems due to thermal stresses, etc.

6. Use a Fuel Filter - Again, any bit of debris in your engine is bad, and through the fuel is another way that dirt and such can get into your engine. A fuel filter is a cheap way to help keep that engine clean.

Of course, I am sure there are a million more, and if any of these seem incorrect, I am sure someone with more experience can correct me, I just thought I'd toss a few out there.

As for Full Throttle all the time - I can't say, I've never been someplace where it was an option.
 
These engines are tough as long as you don't run them to hot. You can run them full throttle all the time but will take a tole on how long the engine will last. I would say they can safely handle 75% full throttle, this happens very little as you are always blurpong the throttle don't matter if your racing or bashing. You will not blow the engine up by dogging it, you will harm the engine by running it to lean however Lean is MEAN but Rich is safe. There is a line where they run best between these. If you are a little Leary on tuning you are better off running it a bit rich. Don't concentrate on temps concentrate on sound and smoke, you will know when you are running lean or rich. It takes time to learn this but you will get it down. Now when I say don't concentrate on temps I don't mean avoid checking them, however temps are important upon break in.
 
It's a very simple two stroke engine. It's only real factor to be concerned about (other then clean air filters and no dirt inside) is the mixture. Run it rich enough, and it'll last longer. This doesn't matter if you baby it, or run the snot out of it. Just remember this, the more time spent at high RPM, the quicker the motor gets wore out. Every time that piston goes up and down the cylinder it's causing wear, so high RPM is just quicker wear. Run it rich enough, and give it some juice! It'll make ya proud.

BTW, just for good though.. I've had my F4.6 motor for five gallons, and not a single tank got babied after breakin. If she isn't wide open, she will be. LOL
 
You got all the advice you need in this thread. YeahYeah got the list pretty much complete. If you live by 1, 4, and 5. You will increase your engines life about 2 or 3 gallons.

One more thing that has not been said. I would add


7. Don't over revv your engine. That means your engine has no load (Wheels off the ground, or clutch bell not contacting the spur gear), and you are at WOT. This is a killer. Do to much of this, you can break the engine, and/or really decrease it's life.
 
On a different kind of "toughness" level, I had my Savy stored in a plastic box for 5 years, with fuel still in the gas tank (not recommended). The 21 engine is about 8 years old. Two weeks ago, I decided to fire her up and could not believe it fired up on the first turn. Runs great.
 
I do a lot of climbing with mine. as long as its a little rich on the top end than WOT doesn't seem to hurt them IMHO.
I am a firm believer in after run oil too. The more the better in my book. In the carb and through the plug hole every time the truck is going to sit for more than a couple days without being ran.
Otherwise, just watch the temps and make sure the air filter is well oiled and installed properly. If they come off or aren't filtering the air due to the foam being broken, or on wrong, than it will decrease the life of your engine.
 
xl

What is a good place to start needle turns on high speed after break in just got a new xl and find it takes too long to shift and runs rich but if i lean it out it takes longer to shift.:duh:
 
little t said:
What is a good place to start needle turns on high speed after break in just got a new xl and find it takes too long to shift and runs rich but if i lean it out it takes longer to shift.:duh:
Click to expand...

From factory settings I tune using 1/8 turns, once the truck is running well (and a nice trail of smoke from the exhaust) I turn back 1/16 just to be sure the engine is not running lean..

I used to tune everytime I took the savage out but now I have the New Era tank I don't need to tune much, other than when it is realy hot outside (very rare where I live)

Hope this helps 😱)
 
tune for 5.9

The factory says 2 1\2 is this working for you or are you at a different setting
and does you savi take along time to shift.
 
look needle settings are a reference. you need to run the truck and check temps. 230F is max for bashing. turn needle in 1/8th turns after say 3 high speed passes. altitude, outside temps and other things need to be taken into account when tuning. that is why the manual is a reference. 230F and a nice little bit of smoke and your good. tune the motor than worry about the tranny shifting.
 
savi

HI guys
Got the tranny all sorted out and it finally changes gears normially now
started to lean it out as well and i can't keep the wheels on the ground!!!Awsome!!! I ordered the battery idicator lites and a wheelie bar for this bad boy. Thanks For all your help:FarleyParty: 😀Jjam:
 
my XL is running great. i don't have any previous nitro experience but last week my air filter fell off unknown to me. after a couple of flips she finally fell out. i tore the motor down cleaned it out ( surprisingly no seen damage ). reassembled with some of that ultra copper silicone to make it air tight. it appears to run better now that i sealed it.
 
air filter

wow you are lucky that nothing went into the motor and its all good. I just change my fuel from to morgan racing 12% oil and 20%nitro I broke in the motor with the basher !6% oil and 20% nitro but it ran about 265 and smoked bad. but not its runnin 215 and smokes like normal a little out the pipe .Let me know if you got any new ideas.
 
Last edited by a moderator:
my truck seems to like running around 230. i use byrons 20%, just finished off my gen 1 bottle LHS said the new Gen 2 will run cooler than gen 1, so i'll see how that goes once my diff shims and ofna linkage show up.

BTW, check your tvp screws i had 2 of then disappear on me about 3/4 through my gallon.
 
little t said:
wow you are lucky that nothing went into the motor and its all good. I just change my fuel from to morgan racing 12% oil and 20%nitro I broke in the motor with the basher !6% oil and 20% nitro but it ran about 265 and smoked bad. but not its runnin 215 and smokes like normal a little out the pipe .Let me know if you got any new ideas.
Click to expand...

You should run fuel with 10% to 12% oil, its better for the engine, thats what heaps of people told me on other forums when i was thinking of making my own fuel.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Latest posts

Members online

Total: 681 (members: 1, guests: 680)
Back
Top