ORIGINAL: rebel1956
Wanting to know what the best engine for a Pilot 37.5% Yak would be as far as power 3D wise. Want to make sure I have the power to pull off any 3D manuever with authority. Just a couple specs from what I have seen so far.
DLE 170 is the best bargain with 17.5hp
Desert Aircraft 170 has 18 hp
3W competition series has 19.5 hp
Would it be worth the money to have 2 more hp any thoughts and opinions.
HP between the DA/DLE is pretty close; DA is the acknowleged customer service king. I fly a DLE170 in a 42% Pilot Edge(similar weight/size to your Yak), and even at 5000' elevation, awesome power! The 3W Competition Series have higher compression and maybe a little more aggressive port timing; they are not a "beginner" engine, in that they can be a little more finicky to tune.
I DID have a few issues with my DLE: a missing reed stop led to a cracked reed and running/tuning issues. If you buy a DLE, it would be best to pull the reed cage and do the "reed mod" that has been talked about
: surface the plastic reed block on a piece of glass/fine sandpaper to true up the surface the reeds seal against. Valley View warrantied my reed cage, as it was just a Q/C issue from the factory that the metal reed stop was missing. Overall, I'm still happy with my DLE, with the $600+ savings over the DA...