SH engines - quality of cheaps?

[ruchith]

Hey, i'm thinking of getting a new engine for my inferno mp 7.5 sports and ive found that i can get these SH engines for very cheap ($AUS).

Has anyone heard anything about the rep of this company?

The two engines of choice are:

SH .21 PT2004-XB nitro Engine (supposed 2.5 -2.9hp)(AU $187.10)
28 Size SH Racing Engine (supposed 3.6hp)(AU $153.00)

Are these cheapies out to fool? and if not which would u recommend for the inferno sports buggy?

[thedarkness]

their numbers are over inflated but they are good for the money, both those engines are pretty much all bottom end.If you go for the .21 run a 14 tooth cb, if you go for the .28 run a 15 or 16 tooth clutch bell.
I must warn you about SHs quality control tho, it seems with them you either get an awsome engine or it will throw a rod through the case after 10 tanks.Mines been great for 4 gallons but some people have not survived break-in

[1822]

I find the quality control to be very poor. I've run across random engines that run well, but I've seen more that are inconsistent at best, and quite a few that blow conrods if you look at them wrong. I'm not a big fan.

[ruchith]

ok, are there any other companies at the same price range which offer better quality control?

[Mustang2]

I would run a Hyper engine in the inferno and they are real close to that price range...
www.ofna.com and look for "engines" on the left.....and I have heard alot of good things about them

[thedarkness]

You might want to look into the sts.28 or the sts dragon .21 both are in the same price range as the sh with a better reputation for quality.

[slowhanddd]

Well I broke a rod yesterday.Took the whole motor with it.About 3/4 gallon through the motor.Great power and easy to tune.Just too many rods breaking.Evey forum i go to someone or three have broken the rod.Time for a new Picco 27 for me.Slow

[ruchith]

i don'ot get it.. is picco an engine company or a type of engine because i seen more than one comany make these piccos...?

[ruchith]

hey what is everyone's opinion on the
Ofna .27 Picco Rear Exhaust Pull Start
OFNA/Picco .26 Outlaw

How would these go in an inferno?

[LD3Furious]

I have an SH .21 Pro. Ive run just about 3/4 of a gallon so far and it is running very well. Ive even had it pushing 400 degrees at one point after a heat race...I ran the buggy a couple days before, outside temps were 70ish, bright n sunny but engine temps were fine, 220ish....this heat race, outside temps were much cooler and it was around 9 pm. Not sure that makes sense, it seems to me that cooler temps would create a richer running engine...but this is what happened.

[cool head]

@ld3. cooler temps=higher barro preasure/more air. that will leave your engine lean if you tune during hot weather.

as for cheap engines, i own the ofna/picco 26. and it's a piece of junk IMO. hyper .21, same thing. accept the hyper engines are all top end and no bottom.
now the good ones. i'm happy with the mach .26, the XTM .21 or .247 "pro" and the OS RG. you don't see many problems with these engines and are under $150.

[Philster]

SH motors are love/hate.

Generally, you have to seal the engines when new and really understand and perform heat cycling. My experience is that falling short on proper heat cycling on break in = trouble, especially broken rods.

Now, there are some broken rods even when the owner did the proper break in, but the sheer number of incidents is higher because proper break in did not occur.

If I had a new SH, I'd seal it, grab my hair dryer to warm it before starting, always loosen the plug when starting and do a thorough break in with the emphasis on heat cycling.

[slowhanddd]

My SH 28 broke the rod too.I used aheat gun and wrapped the head for breakin.It ran great for 3/4 gallon.It was running temps of around 210 with 30% and a mc 8 or 9 plug.It started running crappy and i changed the plug and it ran good or about 20'.Heard the dreaded metalic click and rod was sticking thru the block.Hobby People is warranting the motor for me.Should be getting it a new back next week.The motor made gobbs of power.I ran 18/49 gearing in my 11# Super maxx.Wheelies out the ying yang.I'll be selling it when I get it back.I'm going to try the Picco 27.It should be here tomorrow.Slow

[Duster_360]

Are the STS28 engines any better or different as far as reliability? They seem to be about the same price, look similiar and make same claimed HP?

Slow - I asume you've heard good things about the 27 Picco?

[slowhanddd]

I've heard it's a screamer.I've had good luck with the Picco brand.I have P2 21 that's just awsome.Slow

[kitty]

A lot of you guys understand how a lot of us monster truck fans like to wedge the biggest, baddest, fastest engines in our trucks. Though I haven't done so, a lot of guys I know went with the SH .28 for the good price and sheer power it puts out. Unfortunately, way too many of them are going through warranty/replacement issues with them. Like has been said, it's a love/hate thing and a good luck/bad luck thing. Personally, I do not have any faith in the SH .28 engine. The most popular kid on the block with the Savage crowd is now the STS .28. The main seller of them that I know of is located in Hong Kong and sells primarily on eBay for both the US and UK markets. I'm pretty sure that the Aussie guys get decent prices on them too.

Like I mentioned, I haven't slammed a .28 into my truck, but that's mainly because I don't really need that much power and with the problems people have been having with engines .28 and up, I went with a Sportwerks .26 for my new mill. I did a lot of reading, research and plain old asking around for information on .25 and up big blocks before making my decision. The reason I went with the Sportwerks is because it is known to be reliable, pumps out the power, and if the small chance something goes wrong with it, I won't have to send it out of the country for replacement. It's the same engine as the Mach .26, but comes with a different head and three carburetor venturis. I have been told that for bashing it really screams with the largest venturi installed and will keep up with some of the .28s; for the track, the medium venturi gives the best performance. All that power and peace of mind for $130. Not bad at all in my opinion.

If you really want the totally insane power of a .28 engine, the new K4.6 by HPI that comes with the new Savage SS kit has a great reputation. It's more expensive than the SH/STS .28s but you do get a much better warranty and customer service.

[Philster]

Amen, kitty; Amen.

[Duster_360]

Kitty, thanks for putting all that in order!

[dyslexic]

@ld3. cooler temps=higher barro preasure/more air. that will leave your engine lean if you tune during hot weather.

as for cheap engines, i own the ofna/picco 26. and it's a piece of junk IMO. hyper .21, same thing. accept the hyper engines are all top end and no bottom.
now the good ones. i'm happy with the mach .26, the XTM .21 or .247 "pro" and the OS RG. you don't see many problems with these engines and are under $150.


Hate to break the news to you but the ofna/picco .26 the mach .26 and the sportworks .26 are all the same engine the only difference is the head color and the paint on the block internaly they are all the same. The first run of picco.26 had the wrong needle in the carb as well as shreaded orings witch caused tuning issues. both problems have been addressed long ago.

[thedarkness]

wrong bro, the ofna/picco.26, wasp.26, and diablo.26 are all the same rebadged picco engine.
The mach .26 and sportwerks .26 are made By SH.

[dyslexic]

wrong bro, the ofna/picco.26, wasp.26, and diablo.26 are all the same rebadged picco engine.
The mach .26 and sportwerks .26 are made By SH.

I stand corrected. I hate when I swap the names around like that. :p

[kitty]

The Mach and Sportwerks .26 engines are the same except for a few details. The head on the Mach is slightly larger, the case of the Sportwerks is black, and the Sportwerks has a different carb with three replaceable venturis with 6.5, 7.5 and 9mm diameters.

Philster and Duster: Thanks, guys =)