Hello guys, I read in some forums that the .46 FX ABC is not really recommendable, that the OS .46 FX ringed (I think) is the best bet, why???
How can I recognize which is which just buy watching them???

This page explains the difference between ABC and ringed.

[link=http://www.hooked-on-rc-airplanes.com/nitro-rc-engines.html#3a]Ringed vs. ABC Nitro RC Engines[/link]

Someone told you wrong.
The OS 46 ABC engine are fine engines.

Yep, nothing wrong with the 46 ABC's.

I wasn't aware OS made a ringed .46 lately. As far as I know, the FX and AX are both ABC engines.

(ABL, ABN, ABC-- whatever. We all know what we're talking about here)


ABC engines are fine. The person who told you not to get an ABC engine is full of crap.

I sort of remember some flyers using the ringed piston and liner out of the OSFX Heli engine when their original liners pealed.
Fred

I started RC with an OS 40 ABC FSR with the bolt on front case still runs fine today and it has been 20 years. New bearings after a little storage rust but great compression. Pulled a Golberg Eagle on floats with good authority for years. My instructor set the low end once and I never touched it again. One click of high end ocassionally for weather changes. starts with hand flips on third flip most all the time. We always ran 10% nitro in those days.

also, I have seen that for a strange reason, I follow some auction on ebay and the .46 FX ABC finish with a price way lower than the .46 FX ringed, that is why I was doubting about it...... According with the link above, the .46 ABC with the time decreases power, the Ringed doesn't... do you think that is why????

Nope.

I think the ringed FX's are home brews, the original owner wore out the original ABC liner and piston, and replaced them with the heli engine ringed parts. Sort of a custom job. As such, they are uncommon, and thus more valuable.

A note for you about the lifespan of ABC engines. A quality, well run ABC (or ABN) engine will last several hundred hours of operation. Each flight is about 10 minutes. So, if it manages 400 hours of operation, that's 2400 flights!

An ABC engine will not loose significant power until it's just plain worn out. Then a new liner and piston, and new bearings would fix it right up. Were it a ringed engine, at about that time you'd be installing a new ring, maybe a liner, and new bearings. The cost difference would be about 40 bucks in teh rebuild. You'll burn a healthy portion of that breaking the ring back in.... ABC breaks in quicker and easier.

You will never wear out an ABC engine (or a ringed one for that matter) unless you run it lean, dirty, with inappropriate fuel etc. Most likely fate is death due to impact or neglect. Don't fret the difference, it's not worth mentioning.

If you're new to the hobby, ABC is easier and will develop slightly more power than a ringed engine.

J

There were some documented problems with premature wear on some of the O.S. liners for the ABC engines, but O.S. changed their formulations years ago.

A lot of this is holderover info from that time.

The newer ABN/ABC liners hold up very well.

I believe that you may be confusing the FX with it's predecessor, the SF, This engine came in both configurations, ringed and abc. The ringed version goes for about twice as much on Ebay as the abc. When things begin to wear, you replace the ring (cheap) and you are back to running strong. Not so easy with the abc. (new liner and piston)

to be honest, I want to get an used OS .46 FX on ebay. I got an used .32FXH on ebay and works great, it is almost new! I hope I'll have the same luck with the .46FX.

But I have seen that the OS .46FX ABC goes cheaper than the Ringed (way cheaper) in sevel cases, that is why I was doubting about it, specially after reading the link above saying that the ABC looses power over the time, i just thought that the owners might have that problem and got rid of it on ebay...

so, if I want to get one on ebay.... which do you guys recommend me?????

thanks.

P.S. Is there any way to recognize them besides opening the engine to see the piston???

Buying engines on E-bay is a crap shoot with the odds stacked against you.

That "great condition" engine has rusted bearings.

The "great compression" engine has a set of stripped cap screws.

The "like new" engine is missing a key part.

If you cannot afford the O.S. prices consider an engine from an alternative manufacturer.

The only ringed .46 FX I'm aware of is a heli engine.

I got a free 46FX from a friend years ago. He broke it in wrong and ruined it. It never would turn a 10x6 over about 8500RPM.

I swapped the piston and cylinder out for the heli parts. Ringed piston, new liner, wrist pin and clips. It ran just great. All the ports are in the same spot. Same exhaust and transfer port timing and duration.

I believe the ringed engine you are referencing the O.S. 46SF, which has been discontinued. As stated in earlier posts, the O.S. 46 FX replaced the FS and is not ringed, nor is the 46AX which replaced the 46 FX.

Hope this helps.

DaveB

go to www.osengines.com and you will see that they DID in fact make a 46FX-H RINGED engine.

There are many reasons I will no longer use EBay for anything. One main reason is that I just don't trust them. I got burned pretty bad with a sale on EBay (I sold something, brand new still in the original wrappers, and in the original box, and got pretty well burned on it by not getting my money for over a month.. check's in the mail, oh, I thought I paid that, and all the excuses in the world, but no payment for a month. Then, because I complained, I was given a label as a trouble-maker.. so no more Ebay for me).

The reasons above are typical in my book. I can get whatever I need from my LHS, Tower, or Horizon. Yep, I may pay full retail, but I have recourses in case something goes wrong. Buying on EBay gives you a 50-50 chance of getting screwed.

CGr.

As repeated above there is no such thing as a ringed OS 46FX Period. The OS .46FXH engine is something else as are hundreds of other os models over the years.

E Bay is a liars den of inequities where truth is frequently skewered by claims of seller ingnorance. This is especially so with OS engines where buyers are frequently unaware of the series they want. Sellers frequently will not claim a model series at all or flat out lie if he thinks the buyer is ignorant of what he is shopping for.

I have had more than a few cases where a local newby shows me his OS from Ebay and the model series was ground off and or the entire engine was wire brushed to mask its true idenity and condition from what it really was, a clapped out old and undesirable series from what the buyer was told, a new in box or bench run only current series.

All current OS engines are not ABC but instead ABN. The N stands for nickle rather than chrome. Arguably the reason for this may be due to severe environmental restrictions in Japan governing this plating process they must conform to.

I further beleve that OS did have a bad run of 46FX's I don,t know maybe seven or eight years ago That resulted in peeling of the plating in the cylinders. Simply some bad plating on one batch. I also beleve this was quickly taken care of and all subsiquient batchs were fine (the one problem batch likely was not in great numbers).

This probably accelerated the introduction of the .46AX series and the plating issue from the past would seem to explain the real reason for the lower value of the 46FX.

All of the above is only just my personal opinion.

John

Unless you have a gasser, the only engines used in nitro cars are ABC construction. They put up with alot more abuse than an airplane motor ever will and last 7-10 gallons depending on if it was broke in correctly or not. ABC engines are much easier to repair also. No rings to fiddle with, just slide a new sleeve in connect everything back together and your off!

John, about 12 years ago, I bought a ringed OS .46 FX at my LHS. They had two stacks of new 46FX engines on the counter, one with ABS and one with rings. I chose the ringed version. I have since sold it with the plane it was on, but it was a fine running engine for the couple years I ran it.

Thank you Jim and I may have been wrong on that point.

John[8D]

http://www.osengines.com/parts/xr15470.html
Part list (illustrated) for the 46 FXH ringed engine. This would be a Heli engine if I'm correct but could be modified with a smaller head. I found no record of a production airplane version on the OS site.

There was a 46 SF ringed though http://www.osengines.com/parts/xr15420.html