well, the so called side by side thing doesn't work, because when the engines are breaking in, the rpm numbers are meaningless. with a menz 20/8 standard, my bme started about 7100 and when broken in - several gallons later - was up in the 7500 to 7600 range. the bme is probably close to the g38, but whereas i know a lot of people who were flying aerobatics with the bme, i have never seen a g38 show up at a contest, or heard anyone sing their praises....ignition conversion or otherwise. 2lbs out of the nose is a heck of a lot. i sold the airplane a couple of years ago, but that 44 pulled a 14lb 29% edge around with real authority.