ICE_MAN

I know guys are modding engines like the Picco P-3, but has someone tried modding the 5.9? Seems like maybe we could get the top end power a little more on par with the low end torque through modding

BudBud

I inquired about the same thing and Supertib eventually voiced his honest opinion for us all to see. I will just quote him below. During our conversation, he basically told me the engine life was not going to be as long as the time it took to modify it. With a few cases of broken pistons already showing up, one has to wonder. I think it would be fun to have though. Now, on to the man!

"I will try to explain my veiw on this topic..... engines for RC's are the same as engines for cars..... When a customer comes to us looking for a engine for his car we tell them something very similar to what i tell people about RC car engines..... We can make a stock internal motor very fast very easily, it will make big numbers on a dyno and likely beat out some more expensive motors other guys run.... The issue is if that customer intends to use that motors power frequently its not going to last, its a stock internal production motor that was never engineered to be raced, and even worse engineered to be raced with all the extra power we added.... Even stock nearly all production motors will fail under race conditions, being raced with added power is just asking for problems..... Its much better for a customer for us to build a motor that is engineered for the task they are asking from it, a motor that is engineered to be raced its entire life..with a motor like this we can not only add big HP but we can use that big HP with much less fear of failure..... These HPI RTR engines were never intended for racing, beat on them too much and they will fail even when stock.. to me spending money on modifying one of these engines is pointless as the end result is not really a motor I feel my customers really want....Its not like we can buy a forged piston and after market rod for these engines like we can with 1:1 engines , the inernals they come with are what we are stuck with..... The internal material differences between a K5.9 and a Picco 28 is very substantial... The Picco is a full blown race engine, it come factory with all the goodlies..forged piston, forged crank, oversized harened crankpin, MES exhaust, Swiss bearing ..The 5.9 comes with cast crank,cast piston, basic exhaust, cheap bearings ........... Its almost like comparing a modern fully built 426 race Hemi to a 1981 full emission GMC 454 fleet engine.....and unfortunately unlike the GMC motor we cant buy any upgrade parts for the 5.9...... so consider my engine mods almost like a blower or shot of NOS, which engine would you rather add the power to ? even stock the 5.9 would never survive in a racing environment, so how can I expect it live being beaten on as a modified motor ?"

I do not think I could have said it any better. Bud

supertib

I will modify a 5.9 is someone asks me too... but i definitely will make sure they understand the differences between a Taiwanese RTR engine and a Italian race engine...... I do understand not everyone has the finances to buy a modified Italian 28 so i will work with lesser motors even if I prefer not to....... In the end the person turning the needles and squeezing the trigger will determine the engines lifespan...a modified 5.9 will be much more fragile then a modified Picco 28......... If a person can look past the lesser materials I am positive a modified 5.9 would be an absolute monster..it is a very large short stroke engine and with the right mods would be formidable monster motor....... I can guarantee huge power and RPM gains, but i cannot guarantee any sort of lifespan, that will be up to how the end user treats and runs the engine.....

ICE_MAN

Thanks for the comments. I was just curious because I'd like to get a Picco, but I would like to mess with the 5.9 once I get my hands on one first. I'd gladly grenade a motor for the sake of a POSSIBLE success. Plus I think it would be fun, and I could still rebuild save some MAJOR failure. I know nothing of the 5.9 (yet) but based on what you guys have seen what kind of life expectancy would you give the modded 5.9? And what kind of price range would the mods be? I would assume you can't really give a stage 1,2, or 3 since you've not modded one, but what sort of mods are you willing to do (if any)? And what kind of performance compare to stock would you expect (if only for 30 seconds)?

BudBud

I cannot speak for the engine life, but I can tell you that the modded Picco I got from him is a dream engine. Starts easy, idles forever, has no heating issues, makes tons of low end torque, tunes easy and holds it well. It was money well spent. Even if there had no been a power increase, all the other characteristics of this engine would have been worth the modding costs, but there was a tremendous performance increase! I anticipated hard tuning and high temperatures, I was dead wrong. The guy does a fantastic job.

Keep it a little rich and watch the bearings, if the piston holds, I think it should live for a few gallons. He will make big power for you, be sure to post videos if you go ahead and do it. Bud