Hi, I bought a SIG Something Extra plane but I am not sure what motor will work best whith it. I want power but at the same time a long lasting and efficient engine. I looked around this web page and people suggested the following motors:
- TT .56
- Magnum XLS-46
- O.S. .46 AX

Which engine is the best option??? And I notice the O.S. engine is very different in price(more expensive), does this makes it better??
thanks,
toti

The TT Pro 46 is the best engine whenyou consider price.

The OS 46 AX is a very good engine but they want too much money for it.

The Magnum XLS 46 has mixed reviews.

Enjoy,

Jim

[b]Tot:

A little expansion on Jim's comments.

The Thunder Tiger is an excellent engine, made in Free China. It is different from most other engines on the market in that it has a nickel plated liner as opposed to all other good engines of its type that use a chrome plated liner. The result in normal service is no difference, but in a dusty climate it will wear faster than the chromed engines. My son has bought nothing but TT since he got back into the hobby about ten years ago.

The Magnum XLS 46 is an almost perfect copy of the OS 46 FX engine, differing in that the Magnum does have the chrome cylinder, the OS 46 FX had a nickel plated cylinder, which was highly prone to fail, unlike Thunder Tiger which has never had a peeling problem. The Magnum is made in Red China. The Magnum engines have been my choice for sport planes for many years.

The OS 46 AX is a development of the older 46 FX, it is still using a nickel plated cylinder. Giving OS their due, it seems they learned how to do the nickel from Thunder Tiger, they now seldom have a liner failure. Good power, and reliable. I wont spend the money - overpriced in my opinion - but many don't agree.

Summary:

Thunder Tiger. Least expensive, a good engine.
Magnum. Also a good engine, in the same conditions will last some what longer than the TT.
OS. Highest price. For the same money you can buy either of the others and have money left to buy the fuel for a good season's flying. Estimated life similar to the TT because of similar construction.

Bill.

thanks a lot for your answers. I fly my planes next to a mine where they blow out a mountain to make cement and stuff so it is pretty dusty, will flying in this condition affect a lot the TT??

[b]Tot:

Something like that will have an adverse effect on any air breathing engine.

Sounds like you want the Magnum engine with a Bru-Line fine mesh air filter. Tower Hobbies stocks the filter and the Magnum engines.

On the engine, Hobby People is the importer of Magnum, they jhave been known to put the XLS 46 on sale as low as $50 - now if you can wait for the next sale...

Bill.

ok...thanks a lot for your answers!!

[b]Tot:

Here's one of my twins, with Magnum XL 46 engines, about ten years old. Second picture is a CU showing the Bru-Line air filter on one engine. Both engines still feel new.

Bill.

Nice twin.

Let me guess, it has a foam wing - right?

Why do I think this to be true? Because the engines are mounted close to the
wing's leading edge, forcing the fuel tank back into the nacelle and causing a
huge slot in the wing's structure. This would be difficult to do and retain enough
strength with a built-up wood wing.

I like Magnum/ASP engines too. I've only had a problem with their .30 four-stroke
engines. Which the support folks remedied post haste.

Ed Cregger

[b]Ef:

This bet you lose. Built-up wing, the plane is in fact a bashed Hobbico "HobbiStar 60." Still has the original trim on the stab and fin.

Modified to a two piece shoulder wing with an aluminum tube joiner.

Fuel tanks and spars? Simple. No tanks in the nacelles. Each engine has a Perry VP-30 pump, there is a single tank in the main fuselage.

Bill.

cool planes, someday I will buy one of those with two engines. It appears you know a lot about all this so I have another question for you. What proppeler should I use if I put the Magnum in my Somethin Extra?? I always use whatever propeller says I should use while breaking in the engine, not sure if its the right thing to do but I dont know how to choose the correct propeller!

Your standard 46 2C engine will be happy with an 11x6 for your average sport flying. If you want speed for racing then perhaps a 10x6 or 10x7. For 3D its the 12.25x3.75 or the 11x5.

For me I will go with the TT46, in Malaysia it is the most popular engine for soooooo many years. The 46AX is nice but it is the price that puts me off, the power is not much more than the TT46, I have TT46s that have lasted 5 years and still run good. As for Magnums I met a few guys who had trouble with it. They run fine and after a while there are problems, no real answer as to why but it just has happened too often unlike the TT46 which everyone uses, newbies and the oldies.

I have only been flying for about a year and a half, one of my planes is a Spacewalker II with a Magnum .46 XLS on it. I am using an 11x5 on it right now and it seems like it could be a little faster. Should I try an 11x6 or a 10x6 what will each do for me. Thanks Randy

RLau,


The 11x6 prop will load the engine a bit more than your current prop, reducing the RPM somewhat, but speed will be increased slightly in level flight. Prop braking will be reduced slightly and up-lines will be a bit slower.

The 10x6 size will increase RPM to about the same extent as the 11x6 decreased them, but level flight speed will be increased only slightly, because the Spacewalker is a high drag model.

Up-lines will be weaker with this prop; perhaps considerably so, due to a smaller prop disk and an inherently less efficient prop size, with narrower blades and a smaller Reynolds number.

Prop breaking will also be reduced.

I think a 11x5, or an 11.5x5 are the right size props for your model.

Bill and I are in the same club and even though we are friends, we argue engines. I have a couple of Thunder Tiger .46Pros, a couple of Magnum .52XLS (punched out .46's) and 4 OS .46AXs. They are more expensive, but the OS AXs are the nicest running engines I own. They started and ran well right out of the box. No problem with tuning, just pour in the fuel and fly. They are ultra reliable, especially on twins and that's the reason I have 4 of them and not the others.

Hey Bill -- Thought you said Saito rules -- John

John:

Saito is, without question, the best all-round four stroke model engine. Not all model engines are four stroke.

I resisted the cost and complexity of four stroke engines for a long time, that twin I pictured in the post above is more than ten years old now, the one in my avatar is about 13. Both have two stroke engines.

As I currently have only about a dozen Saito engines, most of my planes are still powered with K&B 40s and 61s (about three dozen), five Magnums,, some HBs (4), an MDS, some AMD (Norvel) and about 30 Coxes. There are two good OS Max III 15 engines for the Duellist 2/15, and one OS 46 FX that refuses to peel its liner on a Modeltech "Magic."

So, while I am working my way to being Saito exclusive I still have a H*** of a long way to go.

Bill.

Consider the ST .51. It's ringed so it takes a little longer to break in, but will last for a long time. Price is right and power is very good.

OK, Thanks a lot to everyone for everything. It's great to see that people are still answering to this post although it is kind of old! Thanks again, If I have another question or something I will post back.
ToTi