dear all,

i'm in need of advice. I've got myself an ofna jl3 engine. I've done the break-in without issues.. comfortable running temperature.. good smoke trail, nice sound while accelerating, etc. After the break-in I was happy with the performance although I knew the motor could be pushed further. So far I was using 20% nitro.

After I changed to 16% I've started seeing some issues. To get the same performance and get the car to shift at same spot on the track, I had to lean a bit the hsn. Now the temperature runs higher...260F with less performance then I've had with 20%. any leaner and the engines gets too hot. Also when gradually accelerating the car off the ground, it starts fine but at a point in time, the revs start dropping rather than increasing, but there's still alot of smoke coming out...

I've read somewhere that this engine is shimed already for 30% nitro. Should I remove a shim and see if it helps?
I may blame the pipe as well. I'm running a copy of an efra 2017 pipe.

I ordered a picco 2607 now but it's still a month away to get it. Would the tuned pipe make the difference I'm looking for?

thanks.. sorry for the long post.

g