going4#1

This weekend had a bit of engine trouble on my JP FX-03T. Doing some maintenance I discovered the piston was scratched like hell. I mean really scratched, as in chuck-it-in-the trash scratched. Even when I ran buggies I never had that happen. I keep pretty good care of my engines so it was a surprise to say the least. I've got 2 JP .12 and they've lasted 3 years.

The track where I run on-road is dirty. There is natural dirt that blows from a nearby hill and tire wear is high so it's a double combo of natural and man made guck getting sucked into the engine. A new filter gets black after a day of race practice.

I've used all sorts of filters. Novarossi (expensive). GQ (okay), Titan (low cost), Motor Savers, etc. Thing is, I wonder if it wouldn't be better to pick up a bunch of cheap filters and use 'em for a day then chuck 'em. Or should I stick with the good stuff and use those for a couple of weekends then chuck?

Rob

FF25510

did you put filter oil on? i have had this problem long time ago when i'm not using filter oil.Now i use filter oil and change a new filter after a day run.(cheap one )

rocket-mtrsprts

iTrader: (1)

THAT is your problem.
I've never ran anything long enough for a filter to get black before cleaning it, or even for an entire day or racing.

wingracer

iTrader: (24)

Are you sure it got scratched from dirt? The most common causes of such piston damage are glow plug elements, bearings, bits of rod bushing or other broken off internal parts.

going4#1

Come to think of it that sounds like a more reasonable explanation. Dirt is way too small to cause the scratches I saw. Glow looks intact but the con rod is scratched heavily at the crank pin.

jeff1

I have an engine that has scratch on internals due glowplug failure, I ran the engine to lean, overheated it and the coil burnt and scratched the piston and sleeve

Normally even with a cheap airfilter or without oil in foam what happens first is the compression goes away faster because of very small particules.. no scratch

I use GQ filter, after 1 to 2 hours of use I replace with a new air filter, like the instructions says

TomB

iTrader: (10)

if you want maximum protection use offroad motorbike airfilter oil. this will protect the best no matter what quality filter you use. buy the cheapest 1 peice filter (within reason) and just use good quality offroad motrbike airfilter oil. squeeze the filter and make sure the oil goes right through then squeeze out the excess against a wall, or a surface (to avoid getting sticky crap on your fingers).

throw it out after a full days racing.

i use the novarossi filters and the above oil, and bin the filter. never had any scores or scratches.

the quality of the foam is what determines the filtration ability of the filter. higher or lower density foam means more or less airflow but also more or less chance of dirt entering engine. the reason i recommend the motorbike oil stuff is because no matter what quality of foam, the oil will trap the particles.