Does anyone have any suggestions on how i should break in my new savage x 4.6? I have never done it before and i dont want to meas anything up. Any info would be helpful.. Thanks

WAIT UNTIL IT GETS WARM OUT I NEVER RUN NITRO IN THE WINTER..

GET A LIPO FOR YOUR ROTO START

BUY AN EXTRA GLOW PLUG

HEAT UP THE ENGINE WITH A HEAT GUN AND WRAP IT WITH FOIL

PUT IT ON A BUCKET OR SOME BLOCKS AND LET IT IDLE FOR THE FIRST TANK

IF NECESSARY YOU MIGHT HAVE TO INCREASE IDLE A BIT IF IT KEEPS DYING ON YOU

LET THE ENGINE COOL DOWN FOR 10 MINUTES IN BETWEEN TANKS

HPI SAYS FOR THE .28 YOU SHOULD LET THE ENGINE IDLE FOR 3 TANKS, ID DO THE TRAXXAS METHOD AND APPLY 1/4 THROTTLE FOR A FEW SECONDS THEN STOP AND REAPPLY FOR TANKS 2 TO 4

TANK 5 1/2 THROTTLE FOR A FEW SECONDS, THEN STOP RE-APPLY

TANK 6 1/2 THROTTLE AND START GOING TOWARDS 3/4 THROTTLE WHEN ENGINE IS NICE AND WARM

TANK 7 IS WHERE I'D TUNE SINCE YOU'RE A NEW COMER

ALSO USE A GOOD FUEL BREAK IT IN WITH 20% NITRO AND ABOUT 14% OIL, THEN MOVE ON TO A GALLON OF 30% WITH 9% OIL VP IS CHEAP AND ITS THE BEST FUEL I'VE EVER USED IN MY 11 YEARS OF RC


MAKE SURE THE WHEELS CAN ROTATE FREELY WHEN DOING THE STATIC BREAK IN TANKS, YOU DON'T WANT TO BURN UP THE CLUTCH***

Thanks for the help. Its suposed to be 45 here this weekend just wanted to get it broke in

I wouldn't do it man..if you can wait or perhaps start it up in your garage do that..ambient temp for nitro break in should be 60 f or warmer..good luck though

My method.

Tear the engine apart and seal absolutely everything to prevent air leaks. The only thing I dont seal is the head.

I break in my engine slightly, I repeat, slightly rich. like a 1/4 turn from where you would run it normaly, if that. You do not want the engine spitting fuel and you want to constantly vary the throttle. During the first tank I let it warm up slowly buzzing around and shut it down once it reaches operationg temperature of 200+. After shuting it down make sure that the piston is at bottom dead center of its cycle and let the engine cool to outside temperature before firing it up again. I do this 3 times on the first tank. After the first tank I lean it out slightly, where you can drive the car and not have it bogging or sputtering trying to move around. The fuel has oil so as long as you are not running lean you dont have to worry about lubrication.

I personally run my cars from 1/4 throttle to full throttle from here on. No hard acceleration, just slowly going from idle to full throttle and its usually not lean enough to open up completely. Lean it out about a 1/16 of a turn from here on out until you start to see it want to keep pullin. after a good 10-15 tanks start setting it up for performance and let it rip. You should be able to tune it so you can go from WOT to idle without the engine idling high or 4 cycling

You don't need it to be 60+ out, and you don't need a lipo...

Don't overestimate it. Nitro is not rocket science.

Break-in(some details will vary from person to person, but the heat cylcing principle remains..):

1.) Take the glow plug out. Look down in hole, rotate flywheel to point where piston is at bottom-most position. Then, mark a notch or spot at say 12:00 on the flywheel(with a screwdriver, body reamer, whatever.. Or, permanent marker maybe..) Then later you can just rotate it to that position and know where the piston is. During cooling the piston should always be at BDC - bottom dead center. Put the plug back in.

2.) Wrap head in alu foil, or sock. Or both. Might as well do both for starters if it's coolish out. SH engines (LRP, Losi, Dynamite Nosram, etc..) and other RTR engines (Force like the Savage X4.6 etc..) especially can be reluctant to get up to temp during break-in...

3.) Preheat engine with a cheapo hair drier to 200-225F. With the head wrapped I can get an engine to 200ish in about ten minutes with a cheapo €7 hair drier..

4.) Start engine once it's warm. See how it idles. Don't be afraid to blip it to keep it running. You want temps to get up to 200-225 for a few minutes, then shut it down, let it cool completely, then repeat. For the first tank you can let it idle with the wheels up in the air(propped on a box or something) - if temps get to that range just idling, fine. If not, I would plop it on the ground and run it in figure-8's very lightly til temps get up there. Max 1/4 throttle in slow pulls back and forth.. Once it's been at 200ish for a few minutes, shut it off. Rotate piston to BDC immediately. Leave it til it cools completely. Break-in for the first few tanks is boring.. Bring a magazine or book or yo-yo or something.. I do this cylcing of running, getting temps to 200-225, shut off and let cool completely with piston at BDC like 5-10 times with an SH or other non-high-pinch engine.. Getting it up to 200 though might not be easy.. So I usually end up having to blip the throttle a tiny bit.. Maybe even lean the HSN a tad.. Remember, it's all about the temps, and complete cool down at BDC.. This is "heat cycling"..

Once it's cooled completely after the previous cycle, preheat again, and repeat. From cycle to cycle you can extend the running time. Over the years I've become less particular about it - so that nowadays I do the first few cycles for more extended periods - like half tanks. From the third cycle, assuming temps are good, I might even do full tanks. You can do it how you want - the original OS heat cycling method was more precise - first small cycles, then slightly longer, but afaic it's just about the temps, being rich and well lubed, and getting fuel through it..

So yeah, I do that, going easyish for the first liter or two - i.e. no extended WOT bursts(probably not even anything of half-throttle for the first two liters - on a race engine anyway. For an RTR or basher engine you can probably go to town after 6-8 tanks..) After a couple liters are through, then I just floor it like I want to, making sure temps stay around 200-240... Some higher pinch engines like Go's and Alpha's might like it a bit higher..

You have to be a bit patient and somewhat cautious for the first few tanks, but in theory and principle I don't believe in babying engines.. Just heat cycle the first half gallon with temps in the right zone, then let'er rip...

As for tuning, just lean the HSN a tiny bit at a time - as in 1/12 increments til it gets more crisp. The idle gap has to be very small - like less than 1mm. As you close the idle gap the idle might go down. Counter this by slightly and gently leaning the LSN..


Extra tips for nitro would just be, don't floor it til it's like 170F or so.. That's about it really..

Don't bullshit the man, let him get a lipo for the roto start he wont regret it.. Nimh packs die quickly...I've always been told by hobby shop owners, racers, engine modifiers and I looked at squirrels method as well..they don't ever recommend doing it in winter...RTR motors are not built like the 250$ and up motors..I've learned that lesson hundreds of dollars over and over

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9PZd...7E3713&index=9

You've been listening to the wrong people then.. I'm not talking about breaking in in below freezing temps - but 50F for ex. is fine.. Colder than that, or less than say 45F and it's just not fun to be outside that long anyway.. Basically, the colder the outside temp, the more crucial preheating is. I personally wouldn't break in an engine without preheating if it weren't warm outside. AFAIC though if it's 80 out, and you wrap the head, you can break-in without preheating if you must - though yeah preheating would be better. If it's cooler, preheating negates the wear of starting an overly cold engine and compensates for colder outdoor temps..

And you don't need a lipo by a long shot. I've been using the same Losi Spinstart for seven years, and am probably on my third 7.2V stickpack. Both my starterboxes also have nimh stick packs. Keep them charged and they're fine. A freshly charged 3000-3700 nimh stickpack will last a day's break-in session no problem.. I've broken in all kinds of engines, in all kinds of temps, and they've all been fine. An expensive race engine would be a bit of a different story, as they tend to have a lot more pinch at first - so preheating is more important, etc. So they take a bit more work generally. Force, LRP/Losi/Dynamite/Mach engines etc.. are a piece of cake in comparison(mostly though because break-in doesn't last nearly as long..) And 50F is fine. And you don't need a lipo....

You're making nitro sound harder than it is. And it's not. Half of the supposed "difficulty" of nitro is just in peoples' heads. It's made out to be more than it is. As long as it's 45F or above, wrap the head, preheat it up to 200ish F, and run some fuel through it without going crazy. Complete cool down at TDC. Repeat...

Good info guys i really apreciate it. I have watched some vids and it doesnt look too hard. I will give it a shot and report back after a few tanks. Il try to get some vids. My only concern really was as to when i should start tuning it. Im not really new to nitro ive just never broke in a new engine before. So tuning isnt new to me by any means. Ive watched a few of my buddies break in some nitros ive just never done it alone

best info here: http://www.rctech.net/forum/offroad-...eak-bible.html

No you're making nitro sound easier than it is, I don't want the man to hate nitro and if he has the right equipment the first time around he will be hooked..he can do as he pleases I just don't have the time to buy new motor because I couldn't wait..

I think outside temps have more to do with running temperature then it does "warming up" although that too plays a roll in engine wear.

If the engine is running in weather 30 degrees cooler and gets used to that temperature, when the outside temperature rises, the operating temp will rise too and all of the internals will expand, including ring pinch.

Check this out. You'll thank me later.

http://www.rbproducts.com/mainEn.php...e%20carburetor

With large differences in outdoor temps, you can also adjust the tune. That's what the needles are for..

The engine will run cooler in cooler temperatures. Adjusting the needles keeps the air/fuel ratio where it needs to be for the engine to perform optimally. I dont tune to temperature, I tune to performance.