RE: O.S. VS. SAITO???
I'll take Saito's EVERY time over O.S....
If a Saito seems to drink more fuel than an O.S., the Saito is improperly tuned!
Also my Saito's ( once tuned PROPERLY ) will often out power identically sized O.S. engines tested on the same planes.
Saito's have an extremely WIDE tuning range, that O.S. simply cannot match. Which also means that many people are flying with these engines improperly set.
I had my needles set 11 turns TOO FAR out ( rich ) on my first Saito, yet I was able to fly my plane just fine.
At the time I didn't understand why I could not get the idle down as far as I should, nor why I wasn't getting the power I initially expected, but the engine ran reliably.
Once I discovered that the Saito engines have such a broad tuning tolerance, I had no problems getting the tuning right.
Get the tuning wrong on an O.S. and it will deadstick.
Get the tuning wrong on a Saito, and it will fly just fine, albeit out of tune.