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4x4

Well-Known Member
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811
Location
england
ive heared good and bad things about the sts engines is it a good engine? what could go wrong with it? how is it compared to an axail? wich engine should i get?
thanks 4x4
 
personally i would say get an axial.

from experience ive only seen 1 sts which ran well at my race club, all the other have various problems (about 6 or 7 different engines) and never seem to be running correctly or running at all. problems ranging from not holding a tune, hard to tune, bad bearings, not starting, cracked piston, etc, oh and the pull start has broke everybodies engine. they always change over to the rotostart backplate

not had my axial running yet so i cant compare yet, but when i had my k4.6 which is similar (not the same) as an axial it was a beast of an engine and did my savage proud
 
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I talked to a guy at my local track this past weekend who's sponsored by STS and even he said they were hard to tune. If you get one the STS .30 has a lot of power but just remember it is hard to tune.

I'm with Polly on this one, get the Axial.
 
I,ve got the axial .28. Love the power I'ts awsome. It has the three needle carb which I have a problem tuning but when I get it it rocks. I've heard they went back to a two needle, but I'm not sure If I could get a two needle I'd have no problem buying another one.
 
I've never owned an STS, but all of the things previously mentioned I have heard as well. They are pretty tough to tune being the biggest common denominator. We run 4 Axials with not a single problem with any of them. They tune easy and make serious power. I wouldnt mind trying an STS just to see for myself, but if you have trouble tuning engines, I would go with the Ax.
 
I have the STS .28 and in the beginning it was hard to tune and wouldn't run for anything and then we found a bunch of airleaks and since then it has ran like a champ and we don't have a problem with tuning it.
 
Hey Memnoch how far are you waay from S.C? I live in GA also and am ALWAYS looking for people to bash with.
 
I have 2 gallons on mine now and the last 5 tanks I didn't even touch the needles, its becomeing easier to tune and rips hard man !!!!!
oooohh yea still no problem w/ my pull start and bearings are fine no problem WHATSOEVER!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
well i think I'm going to have to go for the axail! but ive got to wate untill my birthday (which is in june) I'm just doing my research early.
thanks for all the help
4x4
 
Get an Sts & be patient with it!

Sts.28 had problems with pullstart failure due to a tight pinch.

Loosen the glow & use short pulls.It also helps if you can warm the
engine with a hairdryer or heat gun.

After approx 2 gallons it will come alive.

Sts.30 has extra shims to try & eliminate pullstart failure.

Once the breakin procedure has been completed,remove a couple of
shims & start to tune.

My friends running one silver shim with Model Technics 30% big bang
& temps are between 240 & 260 degs after long full throttle runs.
 
IDK, it sounds like an awful lot of tinkering and playing just to get a tune and not break anything. Just curious, why go through all of that? Theres alot of other motors out there that are plug and play, and the STS really doesnt have enough of a power advantage (if any, it depends who's dyno sheets you look at) to justify all of that.

Not trying to stir anything up or make anybody mad, just wondering what the big deal is. I am not convinced they are any more powerful than the other big hitters out there. I've seen vids of them running, and don't seem any nastier than an axial.

Please don't reply with "I eat axials all day" or "my friend has an OS .30 and I pwn him all the time" Solid reasons only.
 
i would rather have an engine with some real punch from the get go and easy to tune from run in that have to run 2 gallons through it before it opens up and tunes. by that time its missed the best part of its compression and life
 
IDK, it sounds like an awful lot of tinkering and playing just to get a tune and not break anything. Just curious, why go through all of that? Theres alot of other motors out there that are plug and play, and the STS really doesnt have enough of a power advantage (if any, it depends who's dyno sheets you look at) to justify all of that.

Not trying to stir anything up or make anybody mad, just wondering what the big deal is. I am not convinced they are any more powerful than the other big hitters out there. I've seen vids of them running, and don't seem any nastier than an axial.

Please don't reply with "I eat axials all day" or "my friend has an OS .30 and I pwn him all the time" Solid reasons only.

I run all of the mills, I have extensive experience tuning and modding both Axial and STS engines..... There is a giant difference in power and speed, especialy speed... a STS 28 will outclass an Axial 28 or 32, the STS 30 is in a whole different league.....

STS mills are not hard to tune in anay way, but they do have a few common issues that can cause major headache's if people aren't aware of them.... ALl of these issues are super easy to fix though..... One major common issue with these mills is that STS has a habbit of using the wrong sized O-Rings on the LSN needle, and i have seen dozens of STS mills with a loose LSN.. the O-rings are so loose that the needle will not only leak, but it will also vibrate around and change positions...... This alone can make the motor a nightmare to tune, not only does it have a airleak, but the the needle will also move onots own, so you will be chasing a tune all day..

I have 2 simple fixxes... the easy fix is wrap your LSN threads with Teflon tape, it works like a charm and is super easy to do.... the second fix is to use slightly bigger O-Rings on the needle... the O-Rings from a HPI S-25 carb rebuild work great..


But once you have a STS mill dialed, they hold a tune amazingly well and ire insanely fast.... There is nothing that will run with a dialed STS 30. And the STS 28 is also a total screamer of a mill !
 
a STS 28 will outclass an Axial 28 or 32, the STS 30 is in a whole different league.....

Well, that is a matter of opinion. I see class as not only power, but also out of the box ease of use and maintenance. From what I have seen in the vids, stock for stock, I really don't see a big difference between a STS 28 and a Ax 28. I may try one someday just to see for myself, but I just don't see it in the vids. There is also the issue of longevity. Once again, just stating my opinion, not trying to start a war.

Most of the people who I have seen using the StS engines love them, but are always talking about problems with them. That is what my opinion is based on. I may order one sometime and do a comparison test and see what is up, and I will be sure to change the O ring before break in. Thanks for the tip.
 
Well, that is a matter of opinion. I see class as not only power, but also out of the box ease of use and maintenance. From what I have seen in the vids, stock for stock, I really don't see a big difference between a STS 28 and a Ax 28. I may try one someday just to see for myself, but I just don't see it in the vids. There is also the issue of longevity. Once again, just stating my opinion, not trying to start a war.

Most of the people who I have seen using the StS engines love them, but are always talking about problems with them. That is what my opinion is based on. I may order one sometime and do a comparison test and see what is up, and I will be sure to change the O ring before break in. Thanks for the tip.

I am talking from first hand experience with both engines...Being that i mod these engines, I usualy spend alot of time correcting every engines issues before i run them... Axials have major leakage issues right from the box as well...the MSN is notorious for leaking, and so are the front bearings and one way bushing.. I have repaired many Axial carbs withthe same tricks I use on STS carbs...... Both the Axials and STS are Taiwanese engines, and are both budget engines... the differences are is that Axials are sport motors, STS are race engines... The overall port timing on the STS mills is much more advanced then the Axials, which makes them more sensitive to leaks , fuel and setup..... But the overall machining, design, and core materials is much better on the STS mills... As i say get both mills running 100% and then you'll see the STS mills will run circles around the Axials...They truly are in a different league as far as performance goes..

Watch an STS 28 on the track with an Axial 32, and you will see what I mean !!

But unfortunately STS mills do have a weaker pullstart and rotostart then the Axials...as well some of the STS mills have race engine type pinch ( truly meant for a bump box only) and people have massive usues right off the bat... especialy if they don't realise how the pinch on these motors work...The Axials are pretty much idiot proof !!!
 
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There is nothing that will run with a dialed STS 30. And the STS 28 is also a total screamer of a mill !

I'm pretty sure ANY top spec racing engine will outrun the sts easy. theyre a whole other league.

i know this topic is talking about budget engines, but to say nothing will outrun a dialed sts .30 is rediculus. I'm sure an rb 928m, novarossi 528x or a sirio .28 STI will nail the pants off the sts anyday.

again from experience as said before most people i know who run the sts also swear by them, but always seem to be talking about the problems they have running them and not how good they actually are. If i started to hear and see better things from them i would be more impressed
 
I will make sure to add my 2 cents when my Axial .28 arrives. That is if this doesn't get closed by then!
 
I'm pretty sure ANY top spec racing engine will outrun the sts easy. theyre a whole other league.

i know this topic is talking about budget engines, but to say nothing will outrun a dialed sts .30 is rediculus. I'm sure an rb 928m, novarossi 528x or a sirio .28 STI will nail the pants off the sts anyday.

again from experience as said before most people i know who run the sts also swear by them, but always seem to be talking about the problems they have running them and not how good they actually are. If i started to hear and see better things from them i would be more impressed

actualy nothing will outrun a dialed STS 30.. We just came back from the Canadian Winter Nationals...running against Chad Bradly, Jammin jay, Gary Guest ETC.... we were running a modded STS 30 in the CRT and it was pulling everything ont he track... Jammin jay actualy drove my Truggy ( video coming) and was very impressed withthe STS 30... we also ran against tons of modded Nova, RB and Picco 28's... and the STS 30 was able to outpower everything.

So i have a bunch of video in precessing from the races, and you will see what i am saying dude.
 
Hey guys Instead of posting another thread for this, how many shims does it need for %30 nitro? It was running %20 thn I went to %30 and I am wondering if I need to add/remove shims. Thanks
 
I just want to say I am very impressed with how you guys are running a clean debate without it getting out of hand. This has been a very bad topic in this forum and I appreciate you guys keeping it clean.

Everybody is going to have their favorites, I am very partial to Axial and OS, some to STS, and theres nothing wrong with that. I havn't experienced a leak with any of the 4 Ax's, but we will see how many gallons we get out of them. Like I said, I would love to see how an STS runs, so maybe I will pick one up and see for myself, but until then, I am very impressed with what we run now.
 
Hey guys Instead of posting another thread for this, how many shims does it need for %30 nitro? It was running %20 thn I went to %30 and I am wondering if I need to add/remove shims. Thanks

I was told to use the silver shim. It's the thickest one when running 30%.
 
]-[0pa]0ng;17145 said:
I was told to use the silver shim. It's the thickest one when running 30%.

Well my motor didn't come with any extra shims...........I'll leave it for now
 
Was that your truck? I like the way it took the jumps. You have that suspension set well for that track. Kinda weird butt footage at the end though lol.
 
Was that your truck? I like the way it took the jumps. You have that suspension set well for that track. Kinda weird butt footage at the end though lol.

That is Jammin jay driving our CRT.... the motor was rich and untuned...but thats an STS mill in a Jammin CRT being driven by Jammin jay himself.. we just returned from the Canadian Winter Nationals.... We qqualified 16th out of 66, and there were 15 pro's in attendance... the likes of Chad Bradly, Jammin Jay, Gary Guest, marcus neuspeed etc...
 
I just wanted to throw my $.02 worth in here. I agree with Xjeepguy, this is the way you are supposed to have a discussion about engines(or anything for that matter), no flaming, just good open discussion. The STS sponsored guy at my local track(wish I had could remember his name now) swore by those motors. After seeing him run his 8ight Truggy with the STS .28 in it I was rather impressed with it.

HPI_Savage25, I'm in Loganville Ga. Between Atlanta and Athens. We have a local track that's getting better by the week. No races there this weekend, but there is a very large one happening the following weekend on St. Patty's day. http://www.loganvillerc.com/
 

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