*Adapter not required for all
installations, see text.
Muffler
Right angle adapter
Adapter and Muffler
RC
Specialties, of Zachary, Louisiana was founded for the purpose of
providing high quality after market mufflers for Saito and other
four stroke model aircraft engines. The company currently
offers their TurboHeader for most of the Saito for strokes along
with models that fit some OS, Magnum, ASP, and Thunder Tiger four
stroke motors.
The
mufflers are machined out of billet aluminum and polished to an
attractive finish. RC Specialties uses OEM jam nuts and Dubro
pressure fittings to maintain the high overall quality of
their turbo headers. The relatively short mufflers are
supposed to have a unique exhaust note, increase RPM, and fit inside
most cowls. Sounds like a win-win-win situation to me so lets
see how it worked out.
My
friend Ashley, who appears holding many of the models in my reviews
isn't just a pretty face, she's an active member of our club. Her
Saito 180 equipped Extra 300 had a rather motley looking stock
muffler that aside from being an eyesore, had a habit of allowing
her exhaust deflector to fall off in flight due to the short flange.
So when I needed a volunteer plane with a 4 stroke engine I looked
on the RC Specialties web site, scoped out her plane, and her
mechanic (dad) and I settled on the TH14X1A TurboHeader along with a
machined right angle adapter.
Unpacked
Ashley Smith with her Extra
Sorry looking stock muffler
I
unpacked the muffler and adapter when it arrived and gave it a
good inspection. The instructions say (several times) to
install the muffler with silicon plumbers tape with three wraps
around the threads. A visual inspection of the parts
confirmed what I saw on the web site: first class machine work
and a muffler that I was almost ashamed to hide inside a cowl.
Under the category of "nothing is ever easy" we did have to
remove the motor from the plane to get the old muffler off and
the new one installed. When we were done two things stood
out. The old muffler had the possibility of rubbing on the
firewall, the new muffler had good clearance between the header
and the firewall. The other thing, and one that they
really appreciated was the longer exhaust outlet allowed two tie
wraps to be installed on the exhaust deflector and it has
remained securely in place ever since.
After we made sure everything was securely assembled we went
ahead and ran up the motor and put a tach on it. Ashley is
a sport flyer and is beginning to learn a little IMAC so the
Saito is equipped with an APC 16x8 composite prop. Before
and after tach testing confirmed the manufacturers claim of a
200 to 300 RPM increase. We actually measured a 250 RPM
difference. I also liked the throaty rumble that the
TurboHeader gave while idling. Once up to flying RPM the
motor does sound a bit different than a stock four stroke motor
but you really have to hear them back to back to notice a
difference.
If
you're looking for an alternative to the stock muffler for your
four stroke motor you really should check out RC Specialties.
The short profile makes it great for in-cowl installations.
The right angle adapter is a well thought out option that makes
mounting the TurboHeader so flexible that it should fit nearly
any installation.
In
the unlikely event that they don?t have something in their
online store that fits your needs you are welcome to call or
email them with any questions or specific requirements and they
will be happy to help you out. They are also planning
on introducing other new products to check the website for announcements.
Comments on RCU Review: RC Specialties Turbo Header Muffler and right angle
Good review. If you know SAITOs, you can tell the difference on the ground in your video, but I agree that in the air, it would be difficult. I had already corresponded with someone who is using this on his SAITO 100 and is getting around 270 RPMs higher with a APC 14x8. Thanks for the review and video.
The comments, observations and conclusions made in this review are solely with respect to the particular item the editor reviewed and may not apply generally to similar products by the manufacturer. We cannot be responsible for any manufacturer defects in workmanship or other deficiencies in products like the one featured in the review.
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