Gents,
You all make very valid points and observations, appreciate you taking the time.

Regarding the 'ingestion of dirt' I can only agree based on initial visual inspection, when I first opened the engine up I thought "damn, there it is..". The track isn't the cleanest, however it had a lot of running and was remarkably clean that day (no stones or grit in gears, pretty rare). However, mindful of this I change filters and oil every day after running and inspect after each run. No issues, not even little bits of tiny grit resting in the INS box which made me look a little deeper. I will say I ran novarossi filter and INS box for the first time when I bought this engine instead of my usual xceed combo that's protected my REDS engines for countless gallons over 16 months. However I can't see filter brand being the issue, but again you can't argue with the crank scratches (it was also tie wrapped to the carb, maybe could have been a tiny bit tighter).

So regarding temps, I try to run on feel and smoke, however the temp gun stated it ran at (temps taken after pre-quali' warm up, so around 1/2 tank fuel, reasonable tires):

Ambient Air: 35C - 38F (95F - 100F)
Heat 1: 118C (244F)
Heat 2: 122C (251.6F)
Heat 3: 122C (251.6F)
Heat 4: 123C (253.4F)

So not cold, but considering ambient, not completely ridiculous.

So, what actually killed it? Why did it suddenly cough then lock up whilst gently warming up? I found nothing except for pieces of metallic flotsam when I cleaned it, and one piece aprox. 0.1mm wide, and around 0.5mm x 0.6mm in a shard shape. It still feels to me that something suddenly entered the engine of a decent proportion enough to halt the proceedings. I've added some better non-flash images of the piston, it looks more like something rubbed very hard against the exhaust side of the piston on it's last few strokes, as the scratches are very shiny and not oxidized (there is a joke in there somewhere!).

Anyway, I'll send back to NR via the shop and see what they say. I don't think it was a bearing failure personally, and that missing material is not from the bearing it's from the crankcase by the bearing itself, so we'll see.

I didn't expect something this powerful to last as long as other engines in the garage, but this was shorter ownership than I wanted. However, an amazing engine while it ran. Do I get another?...

Cheers Lads!

Ok sounds like you could be right. I've got a couple of Mito WC's as well as Ielasi Tuned Nitro series engines which are based on the Mito and all have been fine so far. I think it's a case of just being unlucky. See what NR say when you send it back and I wouldn't hesitate to get another one as it really is a great engine.

Hi Tony,
From the pic -
1. Bad tuning
2. Fuel / fuel tank
3. Dirt

Temp is only a gauge, really depend on the weather/humidity and your driving style. The engine should be making reasonable powerband around 115C during warm up With proper tuning. You are not reading the correct temp during the warm up period, not running at race pace. During race, when you start "pushing", the temp will be at least 10-20C higher - over lean.

Your engine was not supplied via the local NR distributor, parallel imported by the shop. Hopefully the shop can work out something for you.

Nope, when driving the engine shows 20 degrees lower temps due the airflow. My telemetry data shows that. Even when comming into the pit the temp has gone higher.

really?

my engines and most of the local racers go 10-20*C hotter than warmup.

:weird:

Definitely depends on the class, for sure in open 1/8 they are cooler cause the airflow is huge. In buggy there's a smaller amount, depending mostly on your fuel tank opening and on the bodyshell, while in 1/8 GT it's almost nonexistent. I have driven all of these classes and have mixed experiences with temperatures during warmup and driving

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cwkVENYaK-k

At 4:10 I just stopped the car and see how fast the temperature is rising

Cheers again,
Really interesting to see the telemetry, nice to see research into the character of these engines and to chat with people that appreciate the art & engineering! It's funny, but this sport is what inspired me to become an engineer in the first place, there is a piece of a jet engine somewhere that was inspired in someway by playing with a S-Power P5 in the 80's im telling ya! (But don't let that worry you, it was a great little engine!).

So my good friend and purveyor of all things fast at my local pro shop has sent the engine back to NR and we'll see what they think, more interested to hear their thoughts more than anything else.

So yeah, stupid question, of course I'm gonna get another one!... but which one?!? Ielasi tuned, or Mito35. Cue much web related research.... but that's half the fun right?

Cheers!

I'm also an aerospace engineer (helicopters) and have been into R/C since around 10 years old which was a very longtime ago now! R/C is fantastic for youngsters to get into engineering disciplines.

I'm seriously impressed with the new Ielasi Tuned NITRO series engines which are based on the Mito but with Daniele's hand tuning. It is as smooth as the mito but with more top end. It is still fuel efficient too. The pre-run option is also very worthwhile as the engine comes almost ready for race tune and a test card in the box.

Also the support you get from Ielasi really is second to none. Daniele is NR's main ambassador now and provides all the NR support at the big races he attends worldwide. So should there be any issues down the line you know he will take good care of you.

I currently run onroad .12, onroad .21, 1/8 GT5, and 7-port buggy engines from them and all have been absolutely flawless so far.

If you want more info or to chat about them please feel free to PM me.

The Ielasi engines are awesome. I have measured the timings and they showed the secrets of the real fast Italian engines as Ielasi explains that we are getting the same engines as teamdrives do.

Just about to get my first 1/8 motor and am debating between the mito 9c and legend 9. How do these engines compare to each other? Been running sedan and finally have the means to run both classes

If it is your 1st 1/8 then I would not bother the choice, both are toplevel engines. The Mito 9C is based on the older Flash so it uses the normal long stroke which seems to work beter and a normal bearing which makes a maintenance cheaper.

Must be some 7000 series aluminum. They never say what they really are.

Probably just a 7075 but there are the T specifications and there are differences between brands, it is difficult to say. The R7 rod is just a rocksolid conrod and I just think they altered the design to save some weight (for what it is worth)