Gar - The best trick mod for any OS LA engine is to sell it and get a better engine to start with. The LS are great engines for beginners becaue they are darn near idiot proof and they are cheap, but monster power they don't produce. I suppose you could grind ports to gain some power, but it probably isn't worth the effort.

As for calculating HP@RPM vs $ to find the best engine... don't bother. The HP numbers are meaningless the way the manufactures test the engines. Don't feel bad, we all did the HP/RPM/Price thing when we first started, but believe me, it means nothing. My suggestion for a user friendly small glow with more umph than the LAs would be to get one of the hot BB OS engines and feed it 15%-20% fuel. If you want a hotter plant at the expense of a slighly more difficult setup, look at a YS45 with tuned pipe and feed it 30%. I ran that combo a few years ago.... smokin! Not as much power as an all out racing engine, but it was impressive for a 45. Don't bother looking for HP/RPM ratings on the YS... they don't even bother to publish them, but it will out turn a OSFX/AX anyday.