Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

I am thinking of trying a Thunder Tiger Pro .46 from Tower Hobbies, or someplace else if someone knows of a better price. I want to put this on the Hanger 9 PTS P-51. I have tried the Magnum .46XLS but the mid range is not so good and I have not been able to adjust it so it runs better in the mid range. Anyway what are your thoughts on the Pro .46? Does it transition well from idle to full and how is the transition from midrange to full throttle?
Also where do you get parts for the Thunder Tiger? I see Tower does not list parts for the Thunder Tiger.

Thanks

Mike

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

The Pro .46 is an excellent engine. Many people rate it equal to or better than the OS.

Great Planes is not the distributor for Thunder Tiger so Tower only sells them. Ace RC is the one who has parts.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

chief aircraft has the price. TT is better then os what I have "seen" for years! KELLDOG

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

I have 3 TT 46's GREAT ENGINE! Very reliable.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

The TT46Pro is simply the best value for money in the .46 engine class -- if you want an engine that's reliable, powerful, has a great-midrage and transition and will last you years and years.

Our there must be more than a dozen of these engines in our club and we've seen no problems with them.

I fly 3D and have yet to find another engine in its price-range that can match the TT46Pro for this kind of flying -- where power and good throttle response is critical.

I've tried several *cheap* Chinese motors (TS, SK, ASP/Magnum) and never found anything that comes close to the TT46Pro.

Just a tip -- if you're going to use the stock muffler, take the baffle out -- it'll give you even more power without any real increase in noise. If you want to gain another 600-800RPMs, fit a Tower or GMS47 muffler. The TT46Pro *really* sings with one of those mufflers and is a match for just about anything else in its displacement category for raw power when you do that.

Best glowplug for a TT46Pro is (in my experience) an OS#8

Only use fuel that contains at least a few percent castor oil -- this is true of all ABC/N engines. Using a fuel with all-synthetic oil will significantly reduce the lifespan of an ABC/ABN engine.

My oldest TT46Pro has now done over 300 hours and still going strong.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

The TT PRO46 has been around some 10 years and has an excellent reputation

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Change the rear bearing if you spool it up over 16K. The cage will come out and go places you don't want.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

The Thunder Tiger Pro .46 may be the finest glow engine made by any manufacturer at any price.

Parts are available through any hobby dealer that resells Ace Hobby/Thunder Tiger products, as well as:

http://www.thundertiger4u.com
http://www.infinitehobbies.com
http://www.ehobbies.com
http://www.paulsmodelsupply.com

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Mike,


It is a good engine and has a nice price as well, but in most places in the world, parts are so expensive that it is not worth overhauling; if it ever wears out...

You can just buy a new one for the same expenditure...

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Ditto vicman's comment on the rear bearing. Maybe replace the rear bearing every few years even if it doesn't seem necessary.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

At 18K mine only lasted two flights. Otherwise it was a good engine.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

We've had one for a while, so far so good. I'd say right on par with an O.S. We have a macs tunned muffler on it, flying a Great Planes Tracer. Flies with plenty of power on an 11x7 MAS, and the plane is heavy. A friend built it from a kit, with the retracts, and WAY too much glue. I haven't weighed it, but I'm guessing close to or over 7 lbs.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Yes, As good as the 46fx/ax,

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

That's true -- but despite my most concerted efforts I've been unable to wear out a TT46Pro :-)

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Bruce,


In normal circumstances, as a sport engine, this is true.

But if put under best effort condition, such as sport Quickie racing, they are just over-stressed and fail (see Vicman's post and I have seen several locally).

It is not the ABN P+L that I have seen peel like in some older OS FX engines, but after a few very high RPM runs, they no longer hand-start and power is down significantly.


This seems to wear the piston down. But I saw two that shattered the metallic bearing cage, causing massive trauma (replaceable in advance with a phenolic/polyamide cage bearing).

Unlike another 'inexpensive' offer from an after-market source that sells his high-speed sets for no less than $36 minus change, [link=http://www.mcintoshcentral.com/rc-bearings/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=81_87_102&products_id=713&o sCsid=c0cdae6bd775751c872cc27f372de4d1]Paul of RC-Bearings[/link] offers his set that includes a rear bearing ONLY with this protective, non-metallic cage, for less than $7 + shipping.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

We've only seen one TT46Pro bust up an "original" rear bearing and it was doing about 17K RPMs at the time. Surprisingly one of the balls exited the engine (goodness knows how) and although a few fragments of the bearing cage made it up into the top of the cylinder they did so without scratching the bore.

The piston was slightly scored but we simply replaced the bearing and ran it *very* hot and hard with some 20% castor fuel to varnish-up the score marks.

That engine still runs "good as new" today, several gallons of (better) fuel later.

Using the oil we all know about, we regularly run our TT46Pro engines at 15K-16K and have noticed no wear. Perhaps this is below the "critical RPMs" that cause the wear you speak of. Ours are also largely uncowled so they get very good cooling that probably helps a lot.

Yep, I noticed that the last lot of 46-sized bearings I got from Paul had non-metalic bearing cages -- maybe that's also why our engines are standing up so well to date. I bought a bunch of bearings when we changed oil because I wanted to start testing from a known-point. After that initial retrofit we haven't had to change any yet so I've still got a box-full here.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Bruce,


I would not consider 17K a real high RPM... The rear 3902 bearing from most manufacturers, is rated at 32K max...

At least three of those I saw here 'blew-up'... Large fragments of the cage got 'caught' between the sleeve and the piston, in a port... One engine broke the crankshaft, the second 'pretzeled' the con-rod and dented the crankcase and the third pushed the head-off, breaking two screws and pulling the threads out with four...

It seems strange so many different forms of failure, can result from a seemingly identical cause...

None could be repaired for a reasonable cost.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

TT .46 is an excellent engine...one of the best "bang for the buck" things going in r/c these days IMO.

Speaking of R/C bearings...has anyone else had a problem getting into Paul's site?

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

PropTop,


No. I just accessed it now...


The URL is <http://rc-bearings.com>...
If you try adding the 'www' where it usually is in many URLs, you will not get there.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Thunder Tiger Pro 46 may be the best cheap two stroke engine being sold now. It is very reliable and last a long time. It cost under $100 and the carburation is better than OS. The power is very similar to OS 46FX. The engine responds well to tuned pipes and mufflers. If you want a good engine go for it.

RE: Is the Thunder Tiger Pro .46 a good engine?
 

Sounds like a lot of people like the Thunder Tiger Pro and haven't had to many problems with it. The rear bearing sounds like the main problem and only if you run it at high RPM. I think I'll pick one up this week and give it a try. I have tried a Magnum 40 XLS and 46 XLS engines. They run but for me when you have it in the midrange they load up and die or sputter real bad. I can't seem to find the setting that fixes the midrange problem. Thanks for all the input on this engine.

Hey Guys,
I have just purchased a TTpro 46 Engine for flying in pylon using 10% nitro in the fuel. Some body told me if I take the baffle out of the muffler I will get more RPMs out of the engine is this correct!!
Then somebody else told me if I leave the baffle in I get more RPMs out of the engine is this correct!!!
Love to hear back from some of you guys that has done a test on the RPMs!!

Buy a tachometer, it is cheap and interesting to do your own tests on many things that you may want to try in the future.

Hey Guys,
I dont want to run up the engine cause I want to weld up the muffler prior to starting, if I start the engine up ith muffler on it will make it to hard to weld up. This is why I asked if any body else knows if you get more RPMs with the baffle out than leaving it in.

I don't know why you'd want to weld it but Yes it will make it hard to weld up..... ,