No sarcasm intended. IMOH the engines are not worth the time require to get them to run half decent and has only moderate output!! The throttle barrel is also finished off crudely with a rough outside finish which will suddenly jam without warning at some point. I have seen them jam as soon as half way through the 3d tank of fuel while the pilot was breaking the engine in. They are are the second most cursed at engine (next to MDS which are just as bad) when new flyers show up with that engine on the front end of their shiny new trainer. New flyers want to get flying, not wait while the poor instructor has to fiddle, tweak, or modify the engine just to keep it running! There are tons of threads on the problems of these but if you still think they are fine, then have fun!!

To answer the original question, there is NOTHING wrong with a Thunder Tiger! They have been copying OS for 30 years.

What question requires this response?
Copy?? No. Get your facts right.
Ever heard of a TT peal its liner?

Okay everybody, time to take deep breaths, and do something to cool down. One post was deleted and two others editted to keep it at this current level of unfriendliness. Nobody wants the job of having to edit the messages to take out the worst comments, but it will be done if need be.

Maybe there's a Ford vs Chevy thread somewhere to go and vent before coming back here.......

Barry, when in doubt, buy the one that costs the most.

If you have had positive experiences with both OS and TT in the past, then just pick the one you want to buy next depending on how much you want to spend this time. I doubt your new experience will be much different than any prior ones. It looks like there are several here that will take that SuperTigre off your hands at a discount to cut your losses as well. Good luck with whatever direction you go.

P.S. If you decide to pursue a four stroke at some point, I recommend not asking about Saito versus YS versus OS either

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I like Thunder Tiger engines. Of course, I also like Super Tigre, Fox, K&B, etc...<G>

The TT .45 Pro and 1.20 Pro have great reputations. A few years ago you would have heard nothing but cursing and flaming about their .36 heli engine, though. Didn't know that did you? See, anyone can have a run of turkeys now and then. Even TT.

No, unless a beginner has an experienced modeler to help them, OR, they are good at reading the instructions and sticking to them, I would not recommend a Super Tigre engine for their very first engine. This is not a disparaging comment regarding Super Tigre. There are many, many other brands that I would not recommend to a newbie if they are just starting out and unassisted. Some costing two to three times as much as ST for the same size displacement.

I have had Enya and Webra engines need a little touching up with emory cloth on the throttle barrels. It happens from time to time and is no reason to knock a particular brand of engines. No way is Super Tigre as rough as MDS. Even MDS engines make good engines after a little smoothing off of their rough edges.

Thunder Tiger hasn't been around for thirty years, sorry. At least not in the USA. Of course, I have been wrong before...<G>


Ed Cregger

I continue to find it odd that some consider brand preference in a mechanical device to be a moral issue.

jess

Conversely, most engine companies have their sweetheart engines too. OS has the .46FX, theres the Saito .56, the ST .40, and the Tower .75 for examples. The Evolution .455 belongs in that group too.

Edit to add the TT .46 Pro in that list according to a lot of people.

You are right, there is nothing wrong with TT. They did copy OS designs, and some of the GP series still have some of the copied designs, however the lead designer left OS for TT and has designed much of the Pro and four stroke series. As I said nothing is wrong with TT but Ace Hobbies who does the US servicing is horrible. They had my TT .91 FS with bad bearings for almost six months, sometimes they would deny having it, sometimes they would say they would call back, but wouldn't. One time they left me on hold for almost an hour, during that time I could hear them shooting the bull near the phone! For that reason I do not send people to TT engines, or tell them about this after praising the engine. Generally, you will not hear me say this if someone is trying to solve a problem on an existing engine.

Ed,

I'm running the K&B Screamin' 48 with an 11x7 prop on my 40 size Big Stik and it screams !! A friend of mine has a Kaos with an OS 50 SX and the stik will out run it. I like the K&B and the OS engines . I'll be running the ST 90 on a Tiger 60 in a few weeks , we'll see how that goes! Like you said, a K&B 61 is a good choice too , only weighs in at 19 oz with the muffler and the recommended prop is a 11x7.

Andy

I have owned all of the following; here are my experiences. Keep in mind that I use them mostly for speed and performance for pylon racing and aerobatics. Your experiences certainly may be different...

O.S. 46FX...overpriced, poor bearings, average performance but good reliability.

Magnum XLS .46, had two...both were losers in reliability and performance.

Thunder Tiger Pro .46, A Best Buy...above average performance and reliability, superior bearings, for speed and performance beaten only by...

The O.S. 46AX...they got this engine right! Better performance than the TT Pro, but takes a few hours of running to get peak RPM. Now, whether an O.S. is worth the extra money is purely subjective. Is a Beemer worth that much more than a Camry? Is one of Dub Jett's engines worth more than an Evolution?

Agree with Ed that some engines don't make good first engines. The ASP Super 52 is a superb running high out put engine but it takes several tanks of patient break in time to get it there vs. 3 tanks and ready to go for the OS and TT engines.

My experience from what I have owned.

TT Pro .46 = excellent, all around. Recommended.
SuperTigre .45 = better than the anemic ST .40
OS .46 AX = took OS a while, but they finally made a good .46 engine. Pricey.
Magnum XLS-52. = Eye-popping Power. Tougher to tune properly. Will dead-stick until tuned properly.
GMS 47 = Very strong engine. Known to have leaky carb (air). Tough to shut down.

Had I to purchase a new .46 engine, a TT would be at the top of my list.

Sir, you may be right! It's really only been 29 years since TT copied the O.S. .25 .
Not 30. My Bad[:@]

BTW...the original question was....OS or TT?

I doubt that a guy would go wrong with either engine.

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The late George Aldrich used to recommend the Magnum .46 (forget which designator) as a good engine.

What was wrong with your samples? If you remember. Just curious. I'm not going to argue with you. Never owned one. TIA


Ed Cregger

Gosh, mine was perfect right from the first tank-full. Didn't seem to need any running in and apart from one deadstick, has been 100% reliable.

Perhaps it's because I just tuned the needles and flew it like I stole it rather than going gentle on it for the first few tanks. Now has great compression, starts easy, pulls well and never stops unexpectedly.

I still prefer the TT46Pro though. The Magnum/ASP mufflers are rubbish and they're still using two bolts to hold the carby on (lost one on my second flight, the only time it's ever deadsticked) rather than the more effective pinch-bolt setup.

The bearings in both my 52s were also a little noisy right from the start whereas all my TTs have been *smooth* as silk and only one has needed replacements but that was after 220 hours of running.

Hi Ed-

The two I had just never seemed to peak, and started to lose compression after only a few hours of running. Ergo, they were hard to start and puny in the performance arena.

Perhaps I broke both of them in wrong, but I am usually pretty good in that department; or I just got two lemons.