thanks for the fast replies guys. I have absolutely no problem saying this was most likely my fault some way or another. I live by the saying live and learn and that's what I will do here. I do believe it was most likely due to a needle imbalance as grizz stated however I do believe to have a plug wire fail due to being lean on the hsn would the car have to be running lean lets say on the straightaway? I had the motor fairly rich to the point of stumbling out of corners and at the end of the straightaway it was just starting to clean out. (straight isn't very long) I understand maybe fouling a plug from being to rich haha I just cant see it being lean!:eek: worst part about this for me is I tried so hard with this engine to make it last where as some (sport) engines ive had in the past never even got a break in and still lasted a few gallons lol. I guess im kinda bummed out. now to order another works or try something different ha ha... found a nice deal on a O.S. .25 tonight..... lol thanks for your help guys. not sure what to think tonight its getting late:mad:

Sorry to hear of your misfortune - Sometimes, $*&t happens - if it makes you feel any better (and it probably wont) from time to time, $*&t happens to all of us - that's just part of the hobby!

All is not lost - take the engine apart, make sure there are no foreign materials in the crank case and bearings - Assuming the marks are only small, give the head button and piston crown (not the skirt) a light, gentle polish - If the bore/sleeve are un-marked, likely the engine will be absolutely fine.

(My guess is, a rich bottom, was hiding a lean top end)

Bill8Turggy makes a valid suggestion. Pull the engine apart and check the internals as he mentioned, especially the sleeve and piston side. If there is no scoring (scratches) in them you can probably give the top of the piston and combustion chamber a light polishing just to clean things up and just keep on running the engine.

In regards to your comment about you've always ran the engine rich to be safe. As Bill also mentioned the rich bottom end probably masked a lean top end. This is why I always tell people if you want to be safe, tune your engine properly and use your throttle finger to limit how fast you drive. Running around with an purposely incorrectly tuned engine is more likely to result in not only drivability problems i.e. flaming out after a pit stop, engines bogging coming out of corners etc. etc. but also can also mask potentially dangerous tuning as I think happened in this case. Again though before you just junk the engine check it out or send it to someone like Lance at RC Renew who can take care of it for you at a very reasonable price.

International suppliers
 

Are there any werks suppliers in South Africa?

I bought 2 gallons of werks 30% race fuel from local guys and the engine (B5)ran fine. Then I was forced to try other fuel and now I cannot get a good tune on it. I had 3 flameouts during the last race for which I travelled 500km to get there.

And it's also an issue when I have to wait a month for my orders to come from international suppliers when I choose the less expensive shipping option since the more expensive shipping options cost more than 20% of the engine price.

I really like the werks and would choose not to run anything else but this fuel issue is really frustrating me. Any recommendations for other good fuel blends will also be appreciated. Locally I can get Nitrolux, Beetle Juice and Sidewinder.

I used to run Sidewinder relegously until I moved. Nobody in the area sells it so I was kind of forced to switch. But the 8 years I used it, I had nothing but good things to say about it. Tunes good, good oil content and leaves a good coating at the end of the day so after run oil is not needed unless its for long storage.

I'm not at all familiar with the other probably local blends, but I'm not a Sidewinder fan after having serviced motors that have run on it and some other associated fuels from the same source.
Everyone will have their own views - in fact we just went through this exercise on a another thread a few weeks back. Try and track it down and have a read.
I honestly wouldn't recommend it, but that's just my .02c worth.

Here you go - http://www.rctech.net/forum/offroad-...rike-team.html

50-50 for and against, so you will have to make your own mind up on what you read.
Maybe best to continue this conversation on the above thread.............

I agree. The Strike Team stuff was hit or miss. I tried it for a gallon then went back to the WC Blend then back and forth for about 1/2 a year. Could not for the life of me get the Strike to act right. One tank was too rich, then the next was too lean, then just right but down on run time. So I switched back to the WC and all was good.

That was until they shops stopped selling it. Then I had to switch completly. Been good so far with the Byrons.

I would stay away from the Strike and get the World Championship Blend. Its red. Strike is the purple.

Hi Guys,

Thanks for the info on the fuels. I tried the nitrolux 25% since it's the more expensive brand and comes in a nice looking tin can.

It seems like the flameout issues are over now but I also know it's because of my lack of tuning knowledge. So what I did was:
1) Fitted a new glow plug (OS P3) hottest locally available brand I could find.
2) Made sure the idle gap was as to 0.9mm since that's the smallest drill bit or paper clip I could find.
3) Fitted a fresh airfilter.
4) Tuned the HS needle back to baseline and then 1,5 turn in.
5) Tuned the LS needle back to baseline and then 1 turn in.
I read about this somewhere in the forum...

I started the engine and it continued to purr like a happy kitten. I'm still not getting the two stage idle but it doesn't flame-out and the Max Temps after 2 tanks riding as hard as possible is just over 100'C or 212'F.

This gives me enough space to lean the HS out if I need more performance but I'm very happy with the performance and the temps.

If comparing the new needle settings vs. the previous, it shows that my HS was too Lean (High temps) and the LS was too rich (flameout). The idle gap was good though..

Correct my if I'm wrong in my assumptions..

. . . you had me at 'doesn't flame-out' :blush:

Idle gap seems a little large to me (is the engine new? If so, as it loosens up you will be reducing the idle gap).

But hey, whatever the case, if she doesnt flame out, she comes to life as soon as you nail it after an idle, and your temps are ok, I reckon you are good to go!

The engine is pretty loose since it have about 3 gallons through it so far.

I think that the bottom end may still be a tad too rich since I don't get the two stage idle but I'll re-adjust the tuning before the next club race. I'm just very happy that it doesn't flameout, runs well and the temps are low.

We had a very competitive race last weekend and the performance was right there with the Reds team engines, Bullit engines and rossi's with ceramic bearings. The pit times was also at 7 minutes with enough fuel left in the tank to stretch it to 8, maybe 9 minutes.

Dont worry about two stage idle - if it idles consistantly, doesnt flame out or fuel up, you're good to go!

HI ZA_Fourie.. I believe you got the werks fuel from us. as it is still stock left over from when we still used to do Werks.
One thing i can say as a local guy racing in SA. I Will never import any fuel ever again. Ron had exceptional fuel. we were very happy with it.
I believe we are the only guys in SA that actually stored our fuel in a temperature controlled chemical room.
The only Fuels that are being imported into the country now is only Nitrolux. As we know, it stands in a container that gets very hot during the day. and gets very cold during the night. Temp fluctuations like that is not good for fuel.
However he has regular new batches coming in i believe. But you dont know how old it is. when it gets shipped from modelix.
The SideWinder mixed in South Africa is not mixed by morgan fuels..
http://www.morganfuel.com/sidewinder_strike
I have other theories about that.... :mad:

BeetleJuice Race Blend is a local blend perfected by BBimporters and 15 SA onroad Champion Wayne Joelson. New small batches are mixed every 2nd week. 30-40bottles.
The formula was "perfected" after they went to italy a couple of years back and got some secrets from the novarossi guys I believe.

We are now the importers of other motors in the country. and I can honestly recommend the Beetle Juice Race Blend.. to such a point that if something goes wrong with a motor. I always ask what fuel they are running. and immediately put a bottle of beetle juice race blend in.. 80% of the time. the issue is fixed. I'm running a engine currently with 48liters of Beetle juice through it. with only a conrod and front bearing replaced at 26 liters.

Beetle juice locally in my opinion is way to go, but it has to be the race blend.. the normal blend is the notorious old fuel that had a bad rep between the race crowd in the past.
Sorry all you other guys, this has no impact on you. but i thought ill help a local out.

Good on you man. It's nice to see great info like that for people who ask a specific question re their own local race scene.
Sounds like the Beetle Juice is the way to go for SA locals that's for sure.

Hi Warren, thanks for the info. I have seen that most of the regulars at Nats use the beetle juice, but I thought it's because of the cheaper price. Just shows that expensive fuel isn't necessarily better!

I'll give the beetle juice "race blend" a try!

B6 - B5 parts swap ?
 

I've got both B6 and B5 and I prefer to run the B5. B5 now needs new bearings.
Not sure I can have new bearing ordered-delivered-installed in B5 by next race next week end.
Since B6 bearings are fine, can I simply put crankshaft-rod-piston-sleeve from B5 into the B6 ? ( I think so - can someone confirm)
Rod of the B5 has some play- so also wondering if crankshaft and rod of B6 can be used and only swap piston/sleeve from B5 into B6.
Thanks !