Jamxx

Hey guys...

Yet again, I need some help. Here's the good news... If you read another thread I posted on here about my MT2, then you know that I broke my Roto-Start the first day. Well, now it is fixed! I'm done with the break-in and it went as smooth as Brummel and Brown Butter Spread. Wow! Much easier to tune and start and everything than my old T-Maxx. And, even with that one-speed, it flies! I was very satisfied since I'm a speed guy, not acceleration.

I have a few questions, which are mainly directed at MT2 RTR owners, and please, some of these questions are directed at the engine so make sure we're all talking about the T-15 engine, not the 18 SS engine! Thanks!

Anyways, I was wondering what the maximum (and I mean the "safe" maximum) temperature of this engine is. When I was tuning, I think mine went up to about 260 and I shut it off just for good measure because I didn't know exactly what it should run at. Also, here's a question in a question, where do you hold an infared temperature gauge? I hold mine over the top of the cooling head without letting it touch it... Is this the right location? Or should I hold it at the side of the cooling head near the glow plug. I get lower temperatures from it when I hold it at the side, but I don't know if this is good or not.

Continuing on... What are some basic settings for tuning? And I don't mean the icky stock settings, they are completely bogus-ly on the rich side. When I have my HSN turned three turns out, the thing won't move! It just loads up with fuel and dies. I have to have it around 2 turns out (something around there, probably from 2 - 2 1/2 turns) to get it to move, and when I put it there it runs pretty well. I leaned it a bit more from here and it hit 260 as mentioned above; I suppose I was at about 1 3/4 turns out to 1 1/2 turns out. Somewhere around there...

Also, whenever I accelerate in the low range, not putting on much throttle, sometimes it makes an annoying clanking noise. It isn't loud by any means, and it sounds like something in the clutch area. Is this normal? When I floor-it, though, it doesn't do this. This is from a standstill, too. When it gets moving it doesn't do that. I could probably video-tape it sometime (unfortunately, it started storming here a few minutes ago and Hurricane Dennis is coming in, so I don't know when I can run it again...) so you could hear; just let me know.

That brings me to this... What kind of after-run procedure do you MT2 owners do? I just ran mine out of fuel, and dropped a few drops of After-Run Oil from Hobbico into my carburetor. That's it... Is there something else I should do? I didn't have time to blast the outside of the engine with Motor Spray before it started raining, but that's okay since it isn't really dirty yet.

One last question, but I'll probably think of some more in a few minutes . When you accelerate with this truck, does it seem to go up to a certain RPM (usually around the same one) and then pick-up a little speed, and then really start moving? This whole process takes only a second or so, and I think it may be the nature of the gearing setup of this truck.

Whew! I guess that was a little more than one question... But thanks for reading (if you did ). Anty, you gave me a lot of help last time, so maybe you could help me out some more! You seem pretty knowledgeable.

Thanks again! [8D]

anty

TEMP
I never took the temp, but what you are saying jibes with what I have seen concerning the needle settings. I get the best performance at around 1-3/4 turns.

NOISE
As far as that clacking noise, it sure is annoying! Mine does it as well, I am assuming it is the clutch engaging/disengaging as the revs slow.

RPM Change
I found that the more i leaned it out, the less prevalent the throttle change was going to the top-end.

After-Run
I run Cool Power fuels and they say that you do not need to run after run oils. So I cannot comment to that. I also make sure that the piston is bottomed out before it cools down.

HTH

Anty

Jamxx

Okay. Thanks! That really helps.

Just on a side note, how do you like your MT2? It's one of those "so far, so good" deals with mine as of now, but I'm planning on really bashing it after Dennis goes through. There's some construction going on around my neighborhood and maybe I can sneak down there and run it since they have some pretty large dirt-piles. That would be awesome!

anty

I have really enjoyed it.

It was a very good purchase.

I have not bashed too much other than some construction sites, and a plywood ramp. It has help up well, and the only real complaint I have is with the crappy air filter that it came with. After I replaced it I seen a huge gain in performance.

Anty

anty

doublepost....

Jamxx

Oh really? I thought that air filter looked stupid. It was just too small! Do you have a MotorSaver filter? I've heard those are good. What size do you need to fit the carburetor on the engine though? I think I might get one... I've heard good things!

anty

Yeah, its a motorsaver. I think it's the 10-11mm base. I got the one with angled base, and it fits nicely.

You should really pick one up. Makes a huge difference.


The stock one is just too small, and the filter element seems a little to dense.

anty

ChriX

As for the temperature, find the highest you can looking down the head towards the glow plug, and take that to be the temperature. Hold the gun as close as you can, as when you are further away it is sampling an area with a bigger radius so the temperature will seem lower. Remember the temperature is just a guide though, you could probably still wreck your engine by having something too lean at 250F if you tried, but have a perfect tune at 260F. (just an example). Anyway I think HPI say the max should be 275F, it's in the T-15 manual if I remember correctly, but I have no idea where that is so you had better check!

Jamxx

Okay, thanks. That's what I've been doing ChriX, so I'm good in that regard. And I remember reading, even from HPI, that it doesn't matter so much about the temperature as it does when it has a good tune. So as long as I'm seeing quite the smoke coming out of the exhaust, and it performs well, I think I'll be fine. Of course, if the darned thing ever peaks above 300 degrees, I'll know something is wrong. I haven't gotten my LSN set up quite yet, and I won't be able to for a few days while Dennis moves through (I should have it running with nice weather after the storm passes; it should be rather cool down here after that goes through). I think, however, the LSN is set pretty well. I've got it at about the one o'clock position, I'd say. That is, when you're looking at it dead on.

What kind of after run procedures do y'all do though? I don't want to harm the little tiger now that I've got it running well again and I'm not frustrated at it anymore!

Thanks guys, you've been a big help! I can't wait to pull some awesome jumps with this thing!

One more thing: Do you have a lot of spacers in the shocks? I think they're way too mushy for me... What do you have them set up like? I don't race, and I'll probably drive it on pavement, grass, and gravel-ish dirt. So ground clearance really isn't an issue, but I'd like a nice, firm suspension that still has good travel.

Thanks!

EDIT: Is [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDAP2&P=7]this[/link] the filter you have?
Or is it [link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXDAN7&P=7]this[/link] one?

anty

If I had to guess at the temp I am running I would say that it is in the 250-270 range. Depending on throttle usage.

The air cleaner I have is the 10mm one.

Also if you are ordering from tower pick up some

[link=http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LX3310&P=7]shock oil.[/link]

The stuff they use from the factory is horrid.

The higher the number the stiffer the travel. I am running 25 in the front, and 35 in the rear.

Anty

Jamxx

Well, I was tuning it today and I got it set really well. The throttle response was crisp, and it was fast and quite quick off the line as well. I used the pinch-test for the LSN was set perfectly the way I had it, so that's good. And, I got the idle the way I wanted it. Nice and low but still reliable. Well, I used my trusty on-board temperature gauge while tuning, and the temperature hit around 255 and stayed around there. I wasn't sure if this was okay, so I tuned it a little richer. The performance went down the crapper, but it stayed around 240 - 245... So, what do you think I should do? I really think that the way I had it set was okay. This was with the body off as well, and I'm still using that stock air filter. Do you think when I switch the air filter that it will work just fine at that richer setting?

Thanks!

anty

Tune it to best performance. My early goof was not tuning at the half tank mark. By the time it got down to the bottom, I was running quite lean. But easy to retune.


Anty

Jamxx

I tuned it at a half tank, and just got it tuned right when it was about 3/4 of the way empty (as in there was 1/4 of the fuel left). I do have a question though. When you're running the truck at a full tank, though, is there a noticeable drop in performance until the tank gets emptier? Or will that new air filter solve that problem as well?

And what's your after run procedure? What exactly do you do? It doesn't clearly outline it in the manual (I don't think it says anything, actually).

Thanks! It's nice to be a fellow MT2'er. [8D]

anty

The new airfilter helped a a lot with the full tank bog. It is still there, but I blame most of that on not being warmed up enough. It usually goes away in a minute or so.

The only time that it gets bogged down now is when I need to clean my airfilter. I clean it about once every 5 tanks or so. Sometimes later, it depends on where I have run it.

You will be quite amazed at the difference after putting on the new arfilter. It holds a tune through the tank better, and is a LOT easier to tune in general.


My after run consists of rotating the flywheel until the piston is at the bottom of the stroke (before it cools) and putting it away. I use Sidewinder fuel, and they say that I do not need after run oil. I fire it up just about every other day so even if I ran a different fuel I dont think I would put after run oil in it. If I were to stow it for a week or more I might consider it.

Anty

Jamxx

Okay. I run mine pretty much every day, so I don't think I need that after-run oil after what you've told me. I also use Sidewinder.