ringed vs. abc engine?
 

Why would you choose one vs. the other?

ringed vs. abc engine?
 

Two data points to start the discussion:

Many ABCs are ready to fly out of the box. That saves the careful work of seating the rings on a ringed engine to get it live up to the power it promises.

Ringed pistons do not have the interference fit between piston and cylinder that ABCs have. That saves the danger of ruining an ABC engine by running it cool for the cylinder to expand to fit the piston.

ringed vs. abc engine?
 

It depends on the usage you intend for the engine. If you use four stroke you get rings. The ringed engine can be made almost as good as new after it slows or becomes unreliable. Just add a new ring. The ABC engines are usually meant for higher speed and with the current state of the art of machining they will last a long time. I read somewhere a few years back that the average model glow engine usually lasts about 200 hours. I know there will be those that say "I've flown this airplane with the same engine for five years" but I'll bet they don't keep logs on actual flight time. The average flight time for most models is in the 10 - 15 minute range. divide that into 200 hours and see how many flights you have to put up in a week. Now if that doesn't stir up some controversy I don't know what will.

ringed vs. abc engine?
 

<blockquote>Quote
<hr>Originally posted by: ballgunner
The average flight time for most models is in the 10 - 15 minute range. divide that into 200 hours and see how many flights you have to put up in a week.<hr></blockquote>

that's 800 to 1200 flights.

10 flights a week is 520 per year. That's probably a lot for most people.