So I'm looking at 2-stroke engines for my firend who wants to get into the hobby and also for me as I progress to an Intermediate plane. The question is with so many brands out there and no doubt different prices for same size engines how do I know the quality? I know O.S. is a great engine but you pay for it. (I've also heard the LA series isn't great.) Are Evolution engines decent? What about the bargain Tower Hobbies engines? Thunder Tiger? Super Tiger? GMS? etc. So many options, how do I know? I guess I need your input on quality.

Thanks!

You're opening a can or worms. It's like who is the best automotive manufacturer, who's the best sports team, best NASCAR driver etc. Personal preference. Saito for 4 stroke. OS for 2 stroke. I've had others, they all work but these give the best power and least trouble for me. Emphesis on the for me part.

Good luck!

It helps to narrow the question a bit. What price range? What kinds of planes do you want to use the engine on, now and in the future? Do you enjoy fiddling with engines, or would you rather set it and forget it?

Hi capt17,

First of all, Welcome to the Hobby/Addiction , its a beautiful hobby and wish you the success in it. I'm very new in this hobby, for the last nearly 15 months I have been flying. I have used Evolution PTS .45 2C engine, engine screams, its good and its chinese. As far as O.S. is concerned its expensive but it doesnt need to admire cos everybody knows its a great engine with great price. I'm sure you are planning to fly a high wing plane of 40 size, its a good size. I got a chance to buy a used ASP engine which is .46 two stroke engine. I installed that engine on my 40 size trainer and man that engine was screaming on 10x6 APC prop. It even gave me 40 to 60 feet vertical, unfortunately one of my friend lost that plane in the air, during flying he just took radio from me and just started screaming I lost the plane, He couldnt keep the track of it, and it was lost and its gonna be 3rd week, its lost as we were flying it, in big open space where houses are there, but not risky, as we are very far from them, but we lost it and never found it.

I would recommend you ASP .46 engine its best. Or you can go for 40 size combo of Hangar 9 which comes with Evolution engine I think .46 NT and JR Quattro 4 channel radio. Naturally you need for channels initially, 1 for throttle, 1 for rudder, 1 for aileron and 1 for Elevator. Evolution and ASP both engines are Chinese, and ASP is a true copy of O.S.. ASP screams, its great engine.; I have also bought HB german engine of .61 size and my friend is getting me 60 size plane which is easy sport's like plane of great planes. It's my just brief experience, and In this RC Universe I observed that people praised about all engines whichever they had been using and they never found any problem, and if anyone faces the problems, they naturally say its not good. GMS are good engines, my friend is using .68 Two stroke, and that engine can run and screams like hell. TT, ST, all those engines are great, but when we buy the engine, we look into our pockets as well, so, ASP, Thunder Tiger, Super Tigre, Evolution, GMS, these are good engines and can give you great flying when they are taken good care of.

Once again capt17 Welcome to the hobby, I hope many would post here regarding your question.

Have safe flying

Mody

IMO the OS engines are especially good for beginners... all of mine have started out of the box and have needed only a few clicks to tune properly... this makes up for the difference in price...

The LA series while a bit anemic in power (which you can always make up for by going to a bigger engine) are relatively simple to tune as well, but do not provide as accurate tuning... but they are cheaper.

I like the T.H. .46 engines and the .75 with a a couple of caveats... these are MUCH harder to tune and get broken in properly... I find that they really don't settle down until they have had a gallon or more of fuel run through them... getting them dialed in is tough, but once done they are reliable and powerful engines... now the .75 muffler mounting bolts are on the wrong side of the cylinder head IMO.... ugh what were they thinking! The T.H. and GMS engines are made by the same manufacturer.

I've seen club members curse the SuperTigre carbs, but I haven't had problems with them. The engines run well but develope slightly less power than the O.S. and T.H. equivalents.

The Evolutions are good engines BUT the limiter collars are a needless pain to deal with and they normally act to prevent you from properly dialing in the engine, even when the limiting pins are pulled out! More grief than necessary.... which lowers them in my list...

I've never tried the TT engines, but many club members really complain about them.

It really does boil down to personal preference. There is just too many options to pick just one brand. OS for general good quality, SuperTigre for amazing value, Saito/YS for four strokes, ect... My personal pick is Enya.

A better question would be "what brands should I avoid?" I don't have much experience in the way of bad engines, so maybe some other RCU members will be able to point out some brands to steer clear of (there aren't many).

-Mike

Thanks for the info so far, I guess to narrow the question; Are there any brands you should steer clear of? I've been running a O.S. .40 FP in my Midwest AeroStar for some time now. I want to buy a Sig Four Star (60) or Venture 60 next so I will be looking .61 size.

Another Question: Is the O.S. .46 AX ABL that much better than the .40 LA to warrant another $50? If my buddy had the money, should he upgrade to this motor for his Trainer?

Has anybody any beef with the Tower Hobbies engines?

In this hobby, you get what you pay for. There are very few exceptions to this rule. When it comes to power, longevity, ease of ajustment, ease of starting, not eating plugs and runs on about fuel you put in it, you can not beat a OS 2 stroke. The new Evo motors have some really good features and seem good. In the same day I flew the Evo 46 and a OS 46 AX with the same prop and the OS has better power and quicker response.

OS is a motor you can not go wrong with. Are there "better" motors, yea. Wanna spend 150-300 for a motor? AND they are a bit more picky, however once you find the sweet spot, WOOHOO!!


As a paperwieght!

In this size I'd look at a .90 four stroke from OS, Saito, or Magnum if funds are tight.
If he's on a budget, the .40 LA can do fine. However, for planes in the .40 range, the engine will only be useful for low power applications. The .46 AX will have way more power and give more options for future .40 size planes.
Some people report good luck with them, while others are less than happy. There seems to be a natural tendency for people to complain about bad products more than they praise them, but the volume of complaints I've seen about the Tower .46 has convinced me that there are better choices. However, the Tower .75 gets a significant amount of praise and appears to be a good choice for over powering a .60 size plane.

For a 40 size engine that will perform very well with out needing to fiddle with it all the time, spend the extra $$ and get the OS 46AX!! After you see how it runs a few times, you will be glad you spent the extra $$. For a 60 size engine the Tower Hobbies 75 engine is the best that I have found for great performance regardless of the low cost!! It does take about 5-6 tanks to get the engine to settle down and run smooth but after that, the performance and reliability is WOW!! Its the only engine that I trust on my 60 size warbirds including my favorite, a H9 Stuka 60!! The smaller TH engines such as the 40/46 size are more finicky than is desirable.

As FastSky and Piper_chuck posted, YES go for the AX over the LA, the two are very different engines.


The Towers engines do well, including the .46's, but they are NOT "start and go" type engines....

Most of the complaints seem to be from people that have not taken the time to get them working correctly vis-a-vis tuning/setup... and they need re-tuning as they break in... especially with the included low (really almost NO) backflow/tank pressure muffler that compounds things a LOT!

There is not that much difference in makeup between the .46 and percieved to be better .75's... I run both and I have noted exactly the same tendancies.

One any of these are properly broken in and set up, they are quite reliable and powerful engines at a bargain price... but the offset is the initial time investment and experience needed.

It's quite easy to get parts from TH when desired, and the parts are far more reasonably priced... e.g. a piston doesn't cost almost as much as a new engine...

Unfortunately many of the TH .46 users tend to be beginners with little experience looking to save a buck on a .46. This doesn't mix well. They are better served by the O.S.'s or something that is not as time intensive initially.

With regard to two-stroke motors, particularly in the .40 to .60 size range, a few generalities can be made:

O.S. and Thunder Tiger make top quality engines in this size range. They are not particularly high compression engines, which makes them less sensitive to fine tuning and thus easier for beginners to operate. They will fly best with 10% to 15% nitro fuel, will operate best with a hot glow plug, and both manufacturers recommend castor oil as a significant part of the fuel's lubrication. Both manufacturers feature ball bearing (O.S. FX, AX, SX or Thunder Tiger Pro) engines or bushed engines (O.S. LA or Thunder Tiger GP). Bushed engines from either manufacturer should be operated with a minimum of 18% oil content fuel and 50/50 castor synthetic blend. Ideally, O.S. LA or TT GP engines should be run on 20% lubrication all castor fuel.

Super Tiger, Magnum, and Evolution two-stroke engines are generally regarded as very good engines, but not perhaps as high quality as O.S. or Thunder Tiger. These engines are higher compression than comparable O.S. or TT engines, and are thus a little more sensitive with regard to fine tuning. These engines will run quite well on 5% or 10% nitro, and even straight methanol/castor fuel could be used for longer flight times when power isn't critical. These engines may require a medium hot or medium glow plug instead of a hot glow plug, particularly if used with higher nitro content fuel (15% or higher). All engines by these manufacturers feature ball bearing construction, there are no bushed engines in their line-ups. All of these manufacturers also recommend significant amounts of castor oil as part of their fuel lubrication.

Other engine brands in the .40 to .60 2-stroke marketplace include GMS, Tower Hobbies, SK, JBA, Aviastar, Webra, MECOA, HP, HB, Aviatronics, and a number of others. Some folks have great experiences with these engines. Others have trouble getting them to operate smoothly or have difficulty obtaining service or spare parts. Then again, some folks have problems with O.S. or Thunder Tiger engines and are frustrated by them despite their best-in-class reputations.

The simple truth is, while 2-stroke engines vary a bit with regard to fuel and glow plug requirements, most every brand of .40 to .60 2-stroke sold today in North America is a good servicable product that should perform well for the owner. A new pilot would have to search long and hard for a truly bad engine.

Dollar for dollar, the best sport engine on the market is probably the Super Tigre GS-45 ABC at $64.99. I'd buy it over the GMS, Tower Hobbies, or most any other brand out there. I don't think it would be a mistake to spend an additional $45 to buy the O.S. .46 AX however, I own three of the O.S. .46 FX/FXi engines that preceeded the AX, and they're delightfully powerful, reliable, and easy to start and tune. If you have the money, buy the O.S., but if you don't then buy Thunder Tiger, Super Tigre, or Magnum (in that order).

Happy shopping.

Recently bought a plane with a O.S. 40la and it runs fine, but not near as good as my O.S. 46Ax. The ax is much more beginner friendly (with tuning and starting, i flip start), well worth the extra $50!!!!!!!!

Thanks SO much for all the info! This board is a great tool! Happy and safe flying to all!

Hi!
As you are a newb the most perfect engine for you and your friend , in a high winged trainer would be an OS LA .40 or .46
engine...and not, I repeat no an OS AX .46.
The reason for this is power! The OS LA series of engines are easy to run and easy to set and very durable and they deliver what the OS AX .46 does not ....power that is smooth and gentile, not explosive.

Hi!
As you are a newb the most perfect engine for you and your friend , in a high winged trainer would be an OS LA .40 or .46
engine...and not, I repeat not an OS AX .46.
The reason for this is power! The OS LA series of engines are light in weight , easy to run and easy to set and very durable and they deliver what the OS AX .46 does not ....power that is smooth and gentile, not explosive.

Jaka, have to disagree with you on that one. You have to learn how to control throttle soon er or later and its easier to learn quick throttle response on a trainer than a sport plane. Also field conditions can vary widely and there were times at our field where the grass was getting long because of wet weather and the trainers with the weaker engines had a very difficult time getting up to take off speed. I have also had the winds sudenly whip up and I needed almost full throtle and 3/4 down elevator just to get the plane back to the runway!! Working with new flyers engines the only other brand engine I would suggest is the Thunder Tiger. They are not quite as strong as the OS but they are easy to adjust and reliable.[8D]

My results bear out BigEdMustafa's. I've owned two TT Pro-46 and have been very happy with them. I have a Perry Carb on one and it has a narrow but noticable "sweet spot" for high idle but the broad low idle range was worth the "upgrade". Not really an upgrade, but a dirt nap destroyed my original TT needle valve and a new carb housing from TT was 3X a Perry Carb.

My OS 40 LA is reliable but a snoozer in comparison, and my Super Tigre G-51 is noticably stronger than the TT Pro-46 but requires a bit of work to tune it to changing conditions.

I haven't tried the newer OS AX series to see if they are as nice as the older FX models. The GMS engines are more prevelant locally than the Tower, but I've never flown or been exposed directly to either. The GMS seems to be a solid enough egine and there are several in my club that like them. I have yet to see an Evolution engine locally/in person.

YESSSSS!!!!

But on the other hand, The TT pro 46 and the Evolution .46 are also excellent engines for a lot less than the OS 46ax

I find that Evolution engines are a mixed bag. Some will run great and others are a continual struggle. When you can buy an OS or TT that are consistant performers why would you want to bother taking a chance on an Evo engine?? Th larger engines are no better. I have both one of the original OS 40 and 46 FX engines and one of the new 46AX versions. The 46AX seems to have a bit smoother idle and a bit more power, not much but its noticable. [8D]

Oh they are!

I couldn't get over how easy it was to set up and tune...

Hi!
When did you see a newbie handle throttle management as well as controlling the airplane in the air without crashing?
I haven't in 31 years flying.

The problem with all ball bearing .40-46-engines is that they are too powerful and give explosive throttling characteristics. Have you seen a newbie loosing controll of the plane and diving towards the ground.? Panic!
And then and he /she gives full power and elevator to try to regain some alltitude...with the results that the airplane cawarting all around the place and then crashes in a plile of balsa dust.
With a more gentle engine the reaction to full throttle isn't as violent.
That's why a more smoother running engine is better. Like a OS LA .40, .46 or TT .42

These engines provide slower airspeeds which also gives the newbie some more time to think provided you use a fairly large prop like a 11x6 (like APC or RAM). This prop size give fairly low rpm and high static pulling power...which newbies need...not explosive power. Throttling down is something a newbie can't manage as he/she is fully occupied with just keeping the airplane in the air. That's is at least my experience.

With a flat-bottomed trainer wing you either manage the throttle or spend all your time feeding down elevator. Fist lesson on a buddy box (or with "covered thumbs from behind") is to manage the throttle for level flight. I then teach them just as if it were a full size small aircraft: throttle controls altitude.

With mode two the right hand does most of the "problem entering" flying and, yes, sometimes early lessons are forgotten when it becomes a flurry of sticks to try and do something that will rescue the model. A student who has gotten used to "explosive" takeoffs (as opposed to learning good technique) may go into afterburners in hopes of making the model respond faster. But a faster response to bad input is a bad, bad thing.

I don't see having a .46 with ball bearings on a trainer as a bad thing provided the basics are covered BEFORE the student gets off the buddy box.

For someone learning on their own - all bets are off.

What's the distinction?

My LA's seem to throttle up at the same rate as my AX's.

The difference in power is usually offset by engine size...

e.g. the .60 sized LA gives performance more in line with the .46 FX/AX.

The extra money is worth it.

I had a 40 LA and replaced it with a 40 FX.
FX was easier to start, tune, and lots more power than the LA!

Besides, I am very pleased with their service!