ORIGINAL: FatOrangeKat
argh. [:@]
How much clearance do I need? Will 1/32" to 1/16" cut it?
It was so much work to get the engine to even drop into the plane, but it required the muffler resting on the side of the plane. It would take a 3.5" cut out of the side of the plane.
Does anyone know of a muffler extension that is only 1/8" to 1/4" long, or where to get one? The ones they have on Tower's site are much longer than I need. I'm actually looking for a gasket, which would probably do the trick, but there is none for the OS46AX. There are gaskets for the GMS .47, but I don't know how different the shape is.
You absolutely do want to move the muffler away from the fuselage or the fuselage away from the muffler. No matter how strong motor mounts are, there is nothing good that comes from the engine contacting anything at all.
The more clearance you have the better. There is also little or no benefit to keeping the gap to a minimum. That hunk of muffler is out there and being close to the fuselage isn't going to hide a bit of it. And being further out isn't going to affect anything either.
A gasket isn't going to do the trick. Our systems don't usually benefit from gaskets anyway. And usually do not need them.
Go with the OS extension that fits your OS. They're available, and that's 99% of the problem with our model engines. If you notice, OS's are everywhere in huge volume and not all of them have extensions available. And almost no other brands have extensions at all available. So finding extensions, same mfg or not, just doesn't happen.
BTW, if you're worried about a muffler sticking an extra 1/8" into the airflow, it'd be much easier to cut the fuselage back than it'll be to find a perfect length extension. But neither are worth it.