I'm stuck between the supertigre gs-45, the thundertiger .46, or an ASP .46. I'm kinda on a budget but want a powerful yet reliable engine. Any ideas which one and why?

You can't lose with any of them. Muffler style is different on the ST, if it matters to you. It is also least expensive right now. Keep an eye out for sales if you are pinching pennies, or watch for used on classifieds here.

Call Fox. They will have a Fox .50 .45 and .46. Only the .45 is on their website. If you have a junker engine,even an old 1/2A engine, you can trade it in for half off. This would be better than any of those Chinese engines and comes with a lifetime warranty.

I haven't seen a Fox engine at the flying field in 15 years. I'm surprised they're still around. Wonder why they don't outsource? All my Super Tigre's I flew were Italian made by the way. Awesome engine. I wouldn't take a trash can full of Fox engines for one Super Tigre S 45 personally.

I would try the Fox engines...U.S. made and bullet proof. I have a couple that are 30 yrs old and still run great. Nice people to deal with also.

These are all good choices. The best of them is the Thundertiger. Same quality as OS as to machining but superior as to longevity. ASP is the "rest of the world" version of the Magnum engine. Problem is that now that Tower is the distributor Thundertiger, the price has gone up. If you can find one at a "pre Tower" price, snap it up.

Hi!
TT and ASP are more powerful than the Suprer Tigre and have better silencer. Price is also better.

Modeling stuff is not Fox's primary business. Its what they do to keep the shop busy between defense/aerospace machining contracts.

The ST mufflers are very quiet, but real bricks weight wise. The Fox mufflers are relatively light.

I've been impressed with the output from the little ST G34 on an 80/20 FAI mix.

A friend has the .40 which wasn't as impressive, and he's running 5% nitro. The .34 with no nitro outperforms the .40

The S-45 is no longer made, but the GS-45 is. Good engine but Idoubt the China version is of the same quality. The Fox 46 is likely more powerfull, same power as their 50 but guessing it is more of a revver. I know RC Reports gave it rave reviews and said its power was up there with Rossi's and the ilk, especially when useing a tuned pipe. Their engines have been given a number of refienments in the last decade or so, the latest being a twin needle carb, of which the main needle has no detents. Instead it has a teflon bushing used to seal it and add friction, preventing the needle from backing out.

http://www.foxmanufacturing.com/imag...carburator.jpg

They tend to run out of a certain line of engines, then make a lot of them when other business is slow. Sometimes the engine has been sitting around for a decade if not a popular size. But I have been told that sometimes they will take them off the shelf remove carbs or other items, replace with the latest, and sell the removed items as parts. They don't seem to do much advertising as well, but since they have improved them in the last decade I suspect sales have gone up.

I have a friend who runs a Fox 40BB on a Dazzler. Its more than the equal of any of the OS 40's.

I have an old (but new) lapped iron Fox .40 bushing engine I've been breaking in slowly. This is one of those odd-run model they'd make occasionally. Its the 6-bolt backplate .40 guts in the large frame 6-bolt .45/.46 bushing case. Its power on a 75/25 (all castor) FAI mix with the Fox tuned pipe is very very impressive.

The TT Pro .46 is a good strong engine - lots of guys use them in sport racer applications, i.e. a sport RC .40-.50 on a Quickie ARF, that sort of thing, and report impressive speeds. But it's $30 more than the GS-45, currently $109.99 at Tower for example versus $79.99.

I've got a bunch of TT.40s and have nothing but good things to say about them. You won't go wrong.

Ihave great luck with Thunder Tiger and like Fox engines also.

Just because Super Tigre engines are made in China does not make them inferior.
I have both Italian and Chinese versions and in my opinion, the Chinese engines
are the best value on the planet. All mine have run right out of the box without fuss.
They also have the best carb, period!!! Low, mid and high range adjustment.
Most Super Tigre carb complaints come from those that don't read the instructions or don't
know how to properly adjust this simple devise.

It's your money, and the decision you make is the right one.

It's a great hobby, enjoy it!!!!!!

Tony

Thunder Tiger .46! It is just like an OS with the same quality. The other two are junk, IMHO.

Hi!
I have several of those "Junk" ASP .40 (or Kyosho .40 GX , same engine) and they sure out performs the OS FX.40 in any way in pylon racing!
Durable, Powerful and well made. Turns a 10x6 RAM or Graupner Cam-prop at around 14600rpm on 80/20 fuel! The TT .40 turns the same prop at around 14800rpm. One head shim removed and Nova-Rossi 4 glow plug used. Rear bearing (28x15x7mm) replaced with Swiss WIB C4 bearing from Dave Shadel.

i do have an os .46la. do yall think that will be enough to pull a spadstick around with some authority

The 46La will be ok If You want some authority use a TT46

Jeff

It'll be fine. Avoid all-synthetic oil fuels. I see people destroying their LA's all the time with Morgan's Cool Power (all synth). The one's running Omega last a lot longer.

It will run fine on a cheap no-nitro 80/20 FAI mix.

Would a sightly used Magnum XLS .46 be worth buying rather than using my LA?

I would choose the Magnum over the LA.

I've been flying for over 35 years and my experience is that Super Tigre engines are a problem. The engine itself is a power and fantastic engine but their carbs suck. You can tune them perfectly at low end and at top end. When you throttle up on take off, they'll flood out at mid range and quit. One guy in our club had a ST 90 and it kept doing that. We put on a Tower Hobbies 65 carb and the engine ran fine. Lots of power. And that ugly muffler... what an unsightly thing. They have the ugliest muffler in the r/c world.

Every time I see somebody flying a ST, I'll ask them how the get them to work. They'll explain it to me and then they'll take off and the engine will quit. I've seen many guys lose their airplanes because of the quitting problem. I belong to two clubs with a total of over 200 members and NOBODY uses a ST engine.... except the guy with the 90 with the TH carb... and that runs great. A lot of guys tried them but, after a while, they go on to a different engine.

Another buddy of mine bought a ST 46 and was having the quitting on take off problem. I told him it was the carb's fault so he went out and bought a Perry carb. That helped a little but a in the end, his engine quit and crashed into a cliff side... we flew over the ocean with a cliff. You don't see many people using Perry carbs anymore.

For the price, the old Tower Hobbies .46 ran great with lots of power. But the don't sell them any more. I understand the the TH engines were made at the same factory that makes the ASP and Magnum engine. I'm going to buy the ASP 46 as I've been hearing good things about that engine. They are cheap.. around $61 from Hoppypartz.com. Free shipping. Don't know where I'll get the spare parts from. But it seems that getting replacement parts is a problem with many engines.

The best engine is the OS 46 but they cost an arm and a leg. The best compromise is the Thunder Tiger 46.. but their prices have gone up too.

If you're learning to fly, keep it cheap because you'll be crashing and sadly, engines are usually the stuff that gets damaged. Don't know why they put it up front. They should all be pusher engines.. ha, ha.

Other than that, don't use too big a prop, keep your fuel can tightly capped when in storage, use a good glow plug (like an OS #8.. they are expensive but in the long run they'll outlast all the other plugs... NO U.S. plugs are good.. cheap but bad), put a fuel filter on to keep the garbage out of your carb (one speck of dirt can change your setting and that can result in a dead stick). Watch they other fliers and determine who has the least problems with their engines. Then ask that person to tune your engine. The last thing you want to do is to ask and idiot to tune your engine. Use the pinch method. At full throttle, pinch the fuel line. The rpm's should increase slightly before slowing down. If it immediately slows down, it's to lean. Same with the low end. At idle, pinch the line. If it immediately slows, it's too lean. Ideally, when you pinch the fuel line at idle, the engine should increase in rpm for about four seconds and then slow down.

PPPlum,


The carburettor ST equip their engines with, allows the user to adjust the mid-range mixture setting; by loosening the retaining screws and rotating the spray-bar.
This causes the 'eye' to change its orientation, relative to the air-flow through the venturi.

This in turn changes the fuel-curve as the throttle is opened.


Making this extra adjustment is not a 'piece of cake', like turning a needle-valve; so it is often overlooked by owners of these engines...
Probably also because it seems to be missing from [link=http://manuals.hobbico.com/sup/sup-manual-v1_1.pdf]the manual[/link] - I cannot find it there!


Unless there was a change lately, ST engines are not made by Sanye (the producer of ASP and Magnum), but rather by the company that makes Tower Hobbies engines.


And the OS.46AX is definely not the best engine - not in my book and not for most people who undestand engines well.

Perhaps it is the easiest for a beginner to handle, though.


EDIT: Wording.