Competitive Engine Tips

Have you ever wonder why some racers have such powerful and fast engines while others struggled to keep up in the speed chart even though all engines came from the same respected manufactures?

It has to do with many variables and some engine basic knowledge, but cheating is NOT one of them as some may lead you to think otherwise.

In the form of RC Pylon racing, top engine performance is a MUST have in order to be competitive in this sport. Having engine performed under average condition will not allow you a chance to be among the top competitors. Regardless how good your thumbs maybe, you’re still competing in a handicap mode. Unless you’re just out there to have some fun and fill in the matrix, you need to do your home works if you want to go fast among the 10% fast guys.
 

Many of us, including myself, got our butts spanked and handed to us from the top pilots across the country. Why is that when we all can purchase the same brand of engines from these manufacturers, but get different performances from engine to engine? Well, some of you may assume cheating or top pilots always get top engines from certain manufacturers. Although some of it maybe true or maybe not, we’re not here to discuss or complain something beyond our controls and unrelated in this Competitive Engine Tips topic.

Complaining is poor sportsmanship, period. What you should do is, do your home works! Most engines, if not all engines are set up the same from their respected manufactures. The manufacturer’s interest is to provide all their customers with equal engines performances that are competitive against their rival brands. Although the philosophy is to provide equal performances, but not all engines will perform the same due to variables such as fit, finish and machine tolerance from engine to engine. From there is where you, as a competitor comes into play and do your part to get the most out of each engine with proper break-in. If you’re expecting the engine to perform top-notch right out of the box with just basic break-in process, you need to look in the mirror and point your finger and lay blame on that person there.

Pylon racing is a technical sport, and to do well, you need to learn every aspect of the requirements and master as best as you can in these certain areas. The same principle applied to every sport in general in order to be among the top competitors. However, this topic is about Competitive Engine Tips so we’ll keep it related to this topic.

Here’s some basic information that you need to know regarding getting the most out of your engines. This information is no secret as the manufacturer already list it in the instructions when you purchased one. However, not everyone really understands the importance of engine break-in and just do the basic and called it good. That’s fine if you want to stay among the average 90% out there, but if you want to be among the 10% fast guys, you’ll need to learn how to break-in your engine to its maximum potential. And with that being said, there are many theories on engine break-in, but use the time honored system with proven performance results to get you started.

I’ve been very competitive these past two seasons in the speed chart with engine performances and it all comes down to proper break-in and good port alignment of my engine that I set up according to my personal preference. I’m no engine expert and don’t claim to be one, but what I’ve learned through my research, asking many dumb questions and do trial and error testing, it gave me the knowledge and understanding of what work and what not and what I need to know to make these engines run at its top level. You can do the same too by understanding these basics knowledge.

I’ve run both Jett and Nelson engines and have gone really fast with either of them. Its all comes down to proper engine break-in. It’s no secret knowledge or secret information. Just the right break-in procedures are the main gained in engine performances. You don’t have to be an engine expert to get your new engine to runs like a stallion. Just proper break-in with the engine you have and make the best of it. There are some minor area of improvements with engine preparation and setup, but I’ll keep it simple here and that’s for another topic at a later time.