HYPEREUTECTIC alloy piston technology is old news and is unrelated to crankcase design concepts. As suggested it is a viable alternative to Forged castings but there are minimal drawbacks associated with this alloy composition. What is realized is superior wear resistance, 15% less thermal expansion and increased thermal barrier properties. End result is excellent compromises/improvements for piston applications.

Crankcases manufactured of T-6061 bar stock have been subjected to T6 Heat Treatment, which is specific heat treatment process which may be applied to aluminum / silicon alloys, such as hypereutectic 390 alloys to increase the strength of the alloy by as much as 30%. In the case of T6 heat treatment, the process occurs in two phases. Not generally associated with “lost wax” or “sand casting”. I suppose cost is the primary consideration. Heat Treatment is a process in which metals are alternately heated and cooled according to a preset schedule of time and temperature to improve the characteristics of the metal.

The primary benefit I see for a machined crankcase is it strength, durability and in this case its one piece. There is no snout, backplate mount or end cap to be damaged. Lets face it a cast crankcase is structurally inferior to a T6 aluminum alloyed machined unit. Period, end of story… Drop the ZDZ case from lets say 50’ and then drop the Taurus case, undoubtedly the Taurus case will be undamaged, it maybe scratched but it will be structurally/physically sound. Of course this is my opinion…

As far as consistency of wall thickness, what’s more accurate CNC machining or investment castings???

Weight is a factor. When you compare the weight of a ZDZ-40 to that of a Taurus TS-42 guess what they’re nearly identical. So what did you gain with the oversized glow motor with ignition??? Certainly not improved performance, not unreal idle and smooth instantaneous transition, not long term durability, not user friendly accessible Carb’s, not nearly vibration free performance, nothing in the way of crash damage superiority.

For some the rear intake and rear exhaust makes sense. For others it’s a hindrance. To each his own… We can beat ourselves to death with this stuff. For a given application I would choose either engine depending on the specific needs of the model…