Hello All, I had a mishap with my 3yr old S25 in my savage. The little start pin went kaput, the spring is gone ??? Anyways, I decided, since the engine in my savage was a little worn, to get a new one. In searching locally, of course, I found the Axial .32 engine, although I was looking for the savage .28, this .32 sounded great and it was cheaper. After reading some stuff about it I bit the bullet and purchased it. It is a direct drop into my savage. I decided to leave the pull start as I did not want to spend 25 bucks on the rotostart for it. I am through the first tank of break in (it takes 4) but so far, it started right away without any issues although I noticed that the low speed needle appeared kind of lean so I enrichened it a bit.
The engine sounds nice and it is plenty big, I gues my T-MAXX 3.3 will be further behind now

Anyways, is anyone familiar with this engine that can comment on it. I already bought it so it is a little late for this question. I also saw a PICCO 28 but I am a sucker for displacement.

Any comments are welcome.

regards

Z

I've heard it's great, BUT lacks on top end compared to some of the 28's.. I've also heard it CAN have front-bearing issues.. I have the 28 and love it.. I still have to loosen the glow-plug to start it after a gallon and a half... Because it's such a torque monster, I might suggest gearing up a little bit - so, maybe an 18 tooth clutch bell.... I have 18/47 and a 3-speed in mine, and though it's not maybe as snappy off the line as it could be, it's really nice in the middle and on top...

Two and half gallons in my axial .28 and still have to loosen the plug so I dont break the pull-start. These engines are so cheap and reliable you cant pass em up if your just an every weekend run of the mill basher. I am very pleased with it and would be willing to try out the .32 but my .28 is twisting the dog bones.

Good beater[&o]

The Axial .32 is going to be my next engine, probably next year when I *finally* get a new Savage. Keep in mind, any .32 or larger engine is not a racing engine, they're torquey bashing engines, so keep it all in perspective.[8D]

Well, thanks all for the replies. I finally finished the break in process and I am currently tuning the engine. I still have it running pretty rich just to see what it can do. It seems to be too strong for the stock savage configuration. I may need to gear up like Patrick suggested since I do not want to start spending money on hubs and things like that. Maybe I'll put it up for sale soon, who knows.
Thanks for the tip on loosening the glow plug. This thing is impossible to turn. Here are my observations:

1. The HSN is set soo rich that it floods the engine constnatly during break in.
2. On my engine, the OWB was faulty. I pulled the engine appart and worked it out so that it would work correctly. It was a pain since it would not allow the pull start wire to retract.
3. Impossible to turn (thnaks for the tip).
4. Very strong even when running rich. Wheelies at less than full throttle.
5. Makes my T-Maxx look weak

Thanks all in advance.

Z

Well, it would be a shame to sell it... I say keep it. You WILL have to upgrade your diffs though. I would recommend upgrading to the complete X SS set-up - that would include skid-plates, bumper posts and shock towers - plus the pre-shimmed, pre-assembled diffs. You can do all that for about $100.. There's an excellent Savy chop-shop on US ebay.. I think his name is plc-man or something like that.. Just look up "Savage differential" and you'll find it..

Power-wise though the Axial 32 is an enormous upgrade over your old 25, so diff issues are invevitable I would predict... Just run it for now as is, but I'd be surprised if you make it through break-in.. Even with my 28 I was inadverdantly wheelying at 1/2 throttle on the 2nd tank...

Anyway, you've got a real torque monster there - so I'd keep it and have fun with it.. I know it can sound like a pain to have to upgrade stuff - I hate the idea too(You said you're a sucker for displacement... Well, no pain no gain.........) But now with the X SS setup, everything is really easy. When my diffs go I'm just gonna buy preassembled diffs from a chopped X SS and switch them out - no shimming or any of that...

LOL about the wheelies.....that's my only complaint about the Axial! It wheelies TOO much.

If you are running any engine over stock you will need to up grade the diffs and drive train.

Well, $100 is not too bad then. I really like this truck. I have most of its suspension changed to aluminum since I kept breaking the plastic ones. I like the idea of the 3 speed transmission, that would be cool and hopefully fast.

One problem I have that I forgot to mention is the location of the throttle return spring. The new carb is a little smaller than the factory one and the spring is kind of big for it. Also, the servo mechanism for the throttle is weak so addiing tension is kind of over powering it.
I have already done the break in thing per the instructions with the engine. I am gradually leaning it down to get better response but not necessarily all the power at this point as I would like to run at least two more tanks through it. I can tell you however, that the power is evident and it just raises the front wheels like nothing, better than when it was new. The noise is really interesting, I do not like the oil dripping thing however. It's really worse than the old engine.

I am running 30% fuel as recommended in the instructions. Would there be a problem if I switch back to 10%

regards,

Z

Defo NO to %10.. %20 minimum I'd say... What oil are you talking about??

I'm not running a return spring on mine....risky, but so far so good.

As for dropping nitro content....don't do it. It's not recommended-the general rule of thumb is to only go up, not down. You broke the engine in on 30%, so the sleeve and piston are "tempered" for that level of nitro. I'd stick with 30% for the life of this engine.

The oil dripping you mention is normal for a richly tuned engine.....that will diminish some when you lean it out, but it will never go away entirely. [8D]

My LHS is out of Sidewinder %25 for several weeks - only has %20.. Should I go with Sidewinder %20, or go find some other brand of %25?? I really like Sidewinder.....