a lot of manufacturers are going from ABC to ABN (nickel plated instead of chrome plated) because of the massive costs associated with the chemical (read EPA and environmental protection) disposal costs and general safety, I forgot offhand what particular chemical is the problem, but he costs will always grow faster in the more !QUOT!green!QUOT! nations. If I remember correctly Japan is very tight on these rules, hence OS is ABN now. and some American manufacturers are feeling the extra costs as well. and the Chinese made motors are still ABC (less environmental rules)


As with all manufacturing there are quality control issues, the best way to judge any manufacturer is to compile a lot of opinions from a lot of folks. some people may get a !QUOT!flyer!QUOT! as it's called. then it becomes a service issue, how quick can they fix the problem, nothing is perfect. ever get the wrong meal delivered to your table? how quick the waitstaff fixes that can make or break your decision to come back..

the biggest area to avoid is the mega high performance motors made solely for racing and power, these are always going to be harder to tune.

European motors tend to like lower nitro. (it's silly expensive there) and run well on lower nitro (higher compression), the will run as well but with a broader needle range with a head shim and higher nitro fuel. (Rossi and MVVS are very well made) but are probably not going to be as easy to use as a lower compression motor running higher nitro (not loads, just more than 0-5%).. in general a little De-tuning makes a motor a little more reliable..


now the big one: over half of all engine problems are fuel system related. that includes tank, tank padding (or lack thereof), fuel lines, muffler back pressure, tank location, prop balance (Big one), spinner balance, plane construction (vibration), motor balance (a problem with the LA motors). etc.. if it could cause a leak, a vibration, or a inconsistent fuel feed you are going to have problems no matter what the motor. the best motor in the world will run poor on a leaky tank.

my.002