[quote]ORIGINAL: sigrun


What I refuse to buy is high probability "maybe it will, maybe it" won't unreliability or outright trash.


----------------


I began buying ASP engines in 1992. None of my ASP engines (all two-strokes back then) had a single, solitary problem and back then I was flying several times a week - long before diabetes knocked me on my Tukkus.

While others in the club were having problems with ASP engines, I had zero. I bought, owned and flew two .12, one .46 and one 1.08 Redhead. All of the carbs worked as advertised. None had rod or crankshaft failures, or any other kind of failures.

I must admit that I am old school when it comes to using castor oil. Back then I was having fuel mixed for me by S&W. It had 5% nitro, half synthetic and half castor oil. Sometimes I ran 5% nitro with all castor oil, depending on the mood I was in and the majority of engine types I was using. I never trust any engine to all synthetic oil unless it is a major brand name, like OS, Enya, Webra, YS, Rossi, etc. Sub brands, like anything Chinese, Fox, Merco or K&B all get a fair dosing of castor oil in the lube package.

Folks showed up at the field with stuck throttle barrels. I told them how to fix them. No, they'd rather whine and cry about buying a piece of junk than fixing it and flying it. I've had new Enya, Fox, K&B and OS engines with throttle barrels that stuck after a while. The fix is simple and easy. I don't have time for whiners.

For me, the Chinese engines have represented true value. Now I am saddened that they are raising their prices to the point that one may as well buy a higher quality brand name engine (NO - not Magnum). Back when the Chinese engines were at one half to two thirds the price of an OS, I bought. I had not bought any Chinese engines for quite a while, until a couple of weeks ago. I bought two Sanye engines (ASP) from Peakmodel in NZ. Their prices were in the buyable range that I established versus OS. Since then, the prices have been drifting upwards. Who knows, it could be the devaluation of the dollar. I don't know and don't care. I'll just buy the higher quality brand names until the Chinese engines fall to their old price point.

Am I brand loyal? No, not really. I'm also not political about buying products. To me, that is idiotic and short sighted. The best way to change a communist to a capitalist is to help their business succeed by not discriminating against them. Conversely, I don't buy their products out of sympathy.

Happy New Year


Ed Cregger