Ok,I wanna hear some opinions on the differences of engine....particularly the O.S.,thunder tigre,super tiger,and evolution brands. I'm fairly new to the hobby and so far I own a thunder tiger GP-42,and a super tiger G-90. I love my little thunder tiger .42. It idles fairly decent and runs very consistantly(except for my carb falling off this weekend causing my first fairly successful deadstick landing) and was fairly cheap. My super tiger .90 runs ok,but could idle a tad better down low(but maybe that is common with larger engines),but not too bad. And it was DIRT CHEAP! I like both my cheapo engines and dont regret buying either of them considering they're almost half the cost of an O.S. Everybody tells me O.S.'s are WAY better,but Its gonna be hard to convince me to spend the money for an O.S. My first 4-stroke might be an O.S. though. I have an evolution .61 I'm picking up in a couple days that was also dirt cheap compared to an O.S. Cant wait to see how it works.

Anyways...it seems to me that O.S.'s might be known for there great low idling charactaristics,but for a newb like me,seems like cheap is good enough! lol

Considering were newbs here,why should we buy O.S.? And how do they compare to our cheap thunder tigre's,super tiger's,and evolutions that would make a difference for us rookies? Keep in mind were not professionals and wouldnt be able to tell most differences....

thanks!

This subject has been debated to practically ad nauseum levels over the years. It's like "which is the best camera" when the actual differences are pretty small.

OS simply has maintained one of the best reputations for quality, ease of handling, performance and value. Thunder Tiger is a Taiwanese clone of the OS when several OS engineers left to form a new company. I have both. The Thunder Tiger will be priced a bit lower than the OS. Some say the OS has the edge in power, others say the TT is the beast. My TT 46 Pro runs very well and has ample power for my applications. Yes, you can buy 3 TT engines for what you'd pay for 2 OS engines.

I don't have enough experience with SuperTigre to be an authoritive source but these are all manufactured in China these days.

As far as 4 strokes, my choice is simple - Saito.

Well being new to the hobby myself I have only experience in two engines. My first was an Evolutions .46, it was gutless, but it had the training flywheel so that was probably why. It idled like a dream once you got to tuned. However, I question material qualities since after a couple months flying I put the same oil I used in my OS engine in it as after run and set it away for the winter, only to find the bearings rusted so badly the next year that it rattled and coughed and sounded awful. (I didn't know it was the bearing till I tore it down after that weekend flight.)

The OS I replaced it with is a .46FX and its a typical OS (Read more power than my trainer really needs!) I run circles around the flying field for 20 minutes at 1/4 to 1/3 throttle and when we land it it usually has 1/2 a tank of gas left. Best part, I put the plane away for over 2 years, with just some Marvel Mystery oil in it once a year or so. When I took the plane down to set up for another go at this hobby all I had to do was clean the motor and its smooth as silk!

My vote between these two is the OS, I've seen a couple Tiger engines (Cant recall if it was the TT or ST) and the owners were always very happy with them, but I have no first hand experience there.

OS is over-rated and over-priced but someone has to pay for the massive ad campaigns . Vitually all engines are very good nowadays and all have similar power until you get into things like Rossis. Most of the problems people have with engines when they rubbish them comes from not knowing how to use them properly. Wrong fuels, wrong plugs, the list goes on.

Don't be put off Super Tigre just because they're made in China now. They're made there but the Italian engineers supervise the whole process because they still own ST...they simply moved the factory.

All the engines are worth what you pay for them. Every one.

Some obviously cost more, some are cheap. All will work for someone with experience. Usually.

What it boils down to, is that every one is a gamble, but the odds are set by what each one costs. The cheap ones are more of a gamble. The more expensive, the less the odds that you're going to wind up with a clunker. You pays your money and you takes your chances.

With the more popular and more expensive engines, there really isn't much risk. For example, OS and Saitos are no real gamble at all. And any engine that's as universally used as most OS are is obviously going to do what you want. And do it for a long time.

Everything we buy in this hobby is a gamble. Some just aren't much of a gamble at all. And if your certain purchase happens to clunk, when you've bought from a quality mfg, you're still not going to lose the bet. They back 'em up, no bet there.

Over the past several years, I've tried OS, Evolution, and Super Tigre. By far the OS's were superior than both. I currently have two OS 46's, one OS 50, three OS 1.20 AX's and one brand new OS 75 AX. The .75 is new and still in the box except for test fitting it on the Protege, it has not run yet. I also had an OS 52 Surpass four stroke that was a great engine. Someone wanted it more than I did and offered me a price that I just couldn't refuse, so I no longer have that engine.

But I can tell you that I had three Evolutions, a 46, a 60, and a 100. All three, well, I can't say they ran well, because I had considerable difficulty getting to run, let alone run long enough to burn a full tank of fuel. I won't go into that because I've already discussed it here on RCU.

The Super Tigre is a replacement for an OS 61 SF that needed new bearings. I bought it used and flew it on my Tiger 60 for about six months, then removed it to replace the bearing. I put a Super Tiger 75 on board just in the interim. I have no problem with how it ran, but again, I've outlined the problems I had with it here on RCU.

Now for the OS's, well, I've lots of flying hours on each and every one of these fine engines and have yet found anything to even mention let alone complain about. I did have one that would dead stick frequently until I fixed the fuel tank, and that was not a fault of the engine, that's for sure.

So, my vote is for OS. I am willing to pay the extra to get the quality. Period. I've seen and flown with the cheapies and they just won't cut it for me.

I just bought an OS.46 AX . It broke in easy , but for a little more money I could of had a Saito.56 and wish I had gone that way.
After flying several flights , the plane was slimed. Yuck! Forgot how messy 2 strokes are. But I well admit, The .46AX was easy to break in and would be a perfect engine for a newbie.
I`m moving on to bigger planes, anyone know where I can get a good deal on a used Merlin ?

Slimed?

Exhaust deflectors work wonders. You can also make them out of the large silicone tubing sold as "tuned pipe coupler" at LHSs. Of the 15-20 models built in the last couple of years, only one of them gets messy. All the rest have exhaust extensions and the residue misses the plane almost completely. Amazing what a dollar worth of tubing can do.

I guess I won't have to worry about power losses by adding a home made deflector on my Protege with that OS 75 AX up front. Any power loss would ge negligible as compared to what is needed to fly that plane.

Better doing searches here

IMO, the best engines for new flyers in the 40/46 sizes are the OS or the Thunder Tiger. Both are user friendly to break in, adjust, and run reliably. The OS has better power but its more $$. It made my training flights less stressful because of how nice the engine ran. I am still running that OS 40FX engine after 10+ years and I don't use after engine oil(we do live in a dry climate though). I have seen lots of problems with the ST brands and some with the EVO brands so as a new flyer I would look at the other choices. In the 60/75 size my personal choice is the Tower Hobbies 75. Its only $5.00 more than the 60 size and is a superb engine in this engine size regardless of its bargain basement price!! It has great power output and its the only engine I will run in my warbirds because of its combination of power, ease of use, and reliability!! Cheers!

da rock , that was with a deflector on it,lol. I was running rich , because it was it`s first flights.
I do believe an OS is one of the easiest engines to tune. But ST , GMS , and Magnums , 2 strokes , are good products and I don`t hesitate a bit to use them.
I`ve put about a 1/2 gallon of thru the OS .46 ax and it has preformed flawlessly , hope the power gets better after a few more flights.

OS is good but pricy, most are heavy for their power. Very dependable. If it was a girl you'd describe her as: "the kind you'd take home to Mother".

I have a TT Pro-46 that has sucked more dirt than Paris Holton - had the cylinder and piston replaced under warranty even though I admitted it was my fault. On it's third airframe having outlasted the first two. Now it sports a Perry carb as the original worked loose at the needle housing and leaked air (bent in crash). Shows no sign of stopping. "Racy".

I have a ST G-51 ringed and it is a snotty little engine. Noticably torquier than the TT 46 in mid-range but not much better wide open. Could be how I have it propped, though. "Tomboy".

Worst disappointment was the Kangke/SK-50 engine ($77 new; had to try). Broke it in with three tankfulls and then 25 consecutive dead sticks over two days with three good R/C mechanics scratching their heads and trying every trick known to rocket science. "Skank".

Evolution? Know of one being used. Works. No opinion. "Plain"