RE: Vortex SS
Engine temp is just a base setting or recommendation, If your engine has plenty of power and performance at 200 degrees no point in leaning it out, same goes if its running 230 or 240 and sputtering and spitting fuel( although this could also be due to a bad clutch, glow plug, or dirty air filter) then you should probably lean out the needle settings. For Example I participated in a large off-road race here locally about two weeks ago and the outside temp was around 90-95 with muggy air and both engines my engines would not make power and perform unless they were upwards of 250-260(Although these were not Redcat engines the theory still applies)
The reason "tex" is seeing a cooler running temp would and could be to a number of reasons, Weather and fuel being the two biggest. Derek I know lives in Arizona where we are located and due to our dryer air and hotter temps ( this past week being an exception lol) we see much higher engine temps.
Also he is running Heli fuel which has a much higher oil content then car fuel and is mixed a little differently, Correct me if im wrong Tex but Heli's are pretty much full throttle the whole time during a flight and use the pitch of the rotor blades to control up and down and forward and backward flight which requires the fuel to have a lot more oil content then cars require.
Basicly in my opinion you can use temperature as a base tp know where your engine likes to run but its hard to compare with someone else as far as temp goes cause of all the variables and even when all the variables are the same its hard to compare cause one engines compression ratio may differ from the others.