Was looking at a Saito 170R for a project and I have a question....or a few.New to radials here.

When you start this engine I guess you have to connect an on board glow driver to every cylinder or there is no way every cylinder glow plug would ever get heated?

If a cylinder doesnt fire or you lose 1 of the glow plugs can you tell that 1 cylinder is dead?

Thanks for the answers to this newby radial guy.

You need a glow starter on each one to get it going

The cold cylinder is not running

You can also here the cylinders in the individual exhausts

If a cylinder goes out, it is hard to get it to relight because the incomming fuel cools the coil in the glow plug

Thanks for the answers. I guess they sell a good on board glow drive that powers 3 cylinders?

I'm not a radial guy but I do know you could make your own...then it'd be perfect length leads and a neat installation.

If you were to buy 3 on board glow driver leads, and have your common ground, and your battery pack...you'd be in business.

http://sonictronics.com/xcart/home.php?cat=308

I have started my Saito 5cyl many times with two ni-starters. It runs on two cyl, then I remove one and touch off the other three cyls. An automatic glow driver is much nicer though.

That is really cool Kweasel. I love how it runs on just two!

Can you tell when one cylinder goes out just from the sound?

Arctic cat rider is no fool

Never had one go out and stay out. I can hear some cyls drop and/or misfire when the mixture is set too rich or too lean but they always come back to life when the throttle is opened. All my single carb multis do this to some degree.

Kweasel you'd know right away if you dropped a cylinder on a Saito 1.70, the power drops dramatically. I use a "home made" glow system on mine and it will sometimes start on two cylinders. The difference in RPM is dramatic without one cylinder firing. Once it's lit though, it virtually never drops a cylinder. Mine runs great. It did take a good while to break in properly and during that time would drop cylinders. Once it's got a good hour or so on it, and all cylinders firing and warmed up, its a tremendous engine.

I have a 90R3 and the cylinders are good about staying hot