What are the advantages of the 4 stroke engines that would justify the cost? Can/could you compare them to the 2 strokes. What do you like or dislike about them or the 2 strokes. Thanks for your input.

I like the sound of a four stroke. Most of my flying is done at half throttle or less. My four strokes run smoother, and are more responsive, at half throttle than my two stroke. Would that justify the price for everyone? Probably not, but it does for me.

carrellh
i love it for those reasons to only 2 strokes in my camps r gas motors

Most people start out with 2strokes, but sooner or later you`re gonna treat yourself with a 4stroke and from there on you`ll get more fourstrokes. Why? Because they are more interesting, sound (music instead of noise), response, fuel efficiency, lighter than same cc 2 stroke.

I like the throttle response. If you fly 3D close to the ground like I do. The 4C will give you confidence. I know when I push the stick it will go. And go in a hurry. My first 4C was a Saito 72 about 4 years ago. It has never had a dead stick with fuel in the tank. I still fly it on a Fusion3D.

David

Can you picture a Harley with a 2-stroke? (Rrrrrring-ding-ding-ding)

Personally anything above a 40 sized glow plane I use a 4-stroke in

120 size and up, I go gas

Why are they better? Sound, performance, sound, better fuel efficiency, sound, and a LOT less gunk left on the plane

And did I mention that they sound better?

OK well let me look on the other side for the 4s. I have a saito 82 and do like it, however they vibrate/shake more, weigh more for similar power in many cases, and often require more nitro for power or better idle. While my 2s will run fine on 5% the saito needs 15% nitro to run smoother. Obviously they cost more too, and crash damage is more likely. ($$) Anyone dispute this? The positives are above.

A 2s often needs rpm to make a lot of power therefore they don't sound as nice. However they are light, very simple, durable, cost less and are easier to tune. Probably the best thing you can do is to buy a quality 2s engine, the better carb often making much of the difference between it and a cheaper engine.

I LOVE my 4 stroke engines.

I LOVE my 2 stroke engines.

I had a few RC engines that I didn't love, and they are now GONE! (or sitting on the shelf)

Bottom line, if there was a definitive answer to this question -- "Are 4 strokes (or 2 strokes) better than 2 strokes (or 4 strokes)?" -- one type would come out ahead, and the other type would not continue to be made. You make your choice, and buy whichever type you decide on. You'll probably be happy with your choice, because it is YOUR CHOICE......

Edited to add this:

I just thought of this, and felt it might be enlightening. I DO love my 2s, but I currently only own three of them, and that includes one that is sitting on a shelf. The last six engines I bought were all 4s. Why did I pay more for my last six engines to get 4s? Perhaps I DO love 4s more??

LMAO

With nitromethane costing around NZ$25 per liter, I run my Saitos on 10% nitro and they are real smooth and strong. Saitos may perform better on higher nitro but they don't *need* it to perform well.

Yep, me :0)

I've smacked a Saito 100 into the ground from a couple of hundred feet when the battery wire broke. It was burried so deep you could only just see the intake manifold -- everything else was well underground.

I think the total cost to repair was about $10 for a set of pushrod tubes.

If that'd been a 2-stroke, the carb would have been toasted ($40-80) and chances are that the crankcase would have also cracked or broken where the carb attaches (borderline uneconomic to repair at all).

The good thing about 4-strokes is that the carby is behind the motor.

Actually, I owned about 4 different two stroke Harleys when I was a kid, a 1.25 called the Hummer, (2) 165s called STs and a 175 called the Pacer. My first cycle was a 200cc flathead, single cylinder, 3 speed Indian, almost no one knows they even sold one.

XJet, Saitos run just fine on 5% nitro also.

Hey Minn, Can you picture a Harley with an electric?

I fly ALL two strokes from .049s to DA 50s and all in between
and they work fine for myself...

I also fly quite HARD doing mostly 3d...

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But not as well as they did before the compression ratio was lowered to accomodate the nitro-freaks.


Ed Cregger

I guess it depends how it crashes, but I'm thinking if that muffler rips the threads out of the head or the valves get hit it could get expensive. And the nitro, they do run on lower nitro but not as good. take care,