Hello FITO

the XenonR is different than any engine you will ever run. I receive a lot of calls from people that have problems with the xenonr's because they are trying to tune them and break them in like ABC engines.

An AAC (aluminum sleeve, aluminum piston, hard chromed sleeve) motor requires a more patient and careful break in and warm up period prior to putting them on the track.

There are different theories on how to break these things in but the best thing anyone can do for themselves when going to start these engines for the first time is to have a heat gun or blow drier and preheat the motor for a short period of time to help the internal components expand evenly and relieve some of that initial pinch. The AAC motors have more taper at the top of the liner, preheating helps to relieve some of that initial pinch that will cause frequent TDC lockups

The instructions supplied with the engine are a good starting point and our website in france has great help as well, here are a few bsic links on the site that are helpful to have

http://www.rbproducts.com/mainEn.php...20the%20engine
http://www.rbproducts.com/mainEn.php?part=Support&L=En

I always suggest mounting the engine in the car and breaking it in on the chassis, i think break in benches are fine for the very experienced but its too easy to loose a finger if not properly trained or experienced with the prop method.

The first few tanks are critical to the life of the piston and sleeve, make sure to preheat, for the first tank start the engine up and let it sit and idle through an entire tank, in some cases you will need to raise the idle speed and or lean the bottom end needle a bit, this is normal so no need to woory if it needs to be adjusted.

For the next few tanks the car should be driven on the track at varying speeds, 1/4 throttle 1/2 throttle 1/8th throttle, varying the RPM's for all of the internal parts to begin cycling and seating properly. Realistically it will probably take 1/2 a gallon of fuel of varying the engine through a range of cycles, and by this i mean 1/8, 1/4 and 1/2 throttle cycles, before things have seated properly. Its very importaint to keep an eye on the rear main bearings of the engine, because they are subjected to contact with nitro all the time, if you have bad fuel or improperly stored fuel it can dramatically lessen the life of your bearings so keep a very close eye out for the feel of the bearing. You should disasssmble and inspect the engine after each race day and if you hear any strange noises immidetly stop running the engine and tear it down for inspection to make sure all inside is working properly.

For that 1/2 gallon of fuel that you have used the engine and cycled it be sure there is no left over nitro fuel inside the motor if at all possible after you are done, either disassamble the engine after the end of a race day and wipe everything down or run the engine out of fuel, doing this allows the majority of left over or unburnt nitro to burn off while the engine is still warm

I have personally seen many of the XenonR's with 3-5 gallons of fuel through them before they start loosing life, but these were very carefully cared for engines. I have also seen some of the engines go after just 1 weekend because of poor maintenance and improper break in and lack of tuning experience with AAC based engines. There is no way to give you a life expectancy but i can tell you that if you do things properly and ask questions first before assuming you know what you are doing it can save you alot of time and headaches.

After that 1/2 gallon of fuel thats been run through the engine, the engine is more than likely ready to start leaning out more and more until you have the power you desire. The clutch setup on the XenonR is extremely critical and so is the pipe and manifold selection so be careful there too, but when you get a XenonR thats been run in properly, has the right pipe and manifold and clutch setup, you have in your hands one of the fastest most dangerous engines available.

Hope that helps and ust ask questions if you got them, we are here to help as best we can

regards

kevin @ RB USA