45 motors,.. in general

[anthony_marquart]

I'm getting back into bigger motors slowly, as I build some bigger boats.. But back when I was running big motors it was pretty easy to get a solid engine.. For a time there were hardly any to get,.. now more,.. but some issues to be aware of.. I remember when there where CMB EVOs' on the LHS shelf,.. they were not the fasted, but fast,.. and you just about couldn't break one!!!! How things change.. anyway..

First I don't want to bash anyone's engines. I'm just trying to avoid any surprises when I buy something..

I'm trying put in one place some information on 45's,.. maybe some history etc,..

CMB,, I hear that the VAC45 is just pain a very good motor. No real issues to speak of..

I get HR and the RS confused.. Can you guys explain the difference? A while back there was a thread about one of them not really doing well in sport hydros, Can you please confirm which is not better suited for sport hydros?

AA45,.. This seems to have many interchangeable parts with the old MAC 45. Sounds like there were 2 builds of these motors,.. sounds like the first were very good, the second maybe not as good as the first.

NR45, We had the wrap around motor,.. then the DD,.. Some carb issues and some cooling head issues, P/L issues that seem to have been all straightened out by now.

Picco45? Still make them? part available? any info

I have a AA45,.. seems OK so far.. I have 2 more 40 size boats that need engines. I need to pick up a good used 45 or 2 and I need to understand what to look for. This will be for either a sport boat or a rigger,..

What is a good used engine for either application,.. that has available parts,.. and good performance without hundreds of $$ getting set up and modded..

Thanks for your input..

 

[Rene Danner]

Yeah really, Why cant we buy a motor ,strap it in the boat and run it,only to find out later you have to do this and that to make it work..

 

[anthony_marquart]

The AA was supposed to be just that. Now we know that NR nailed it with the 5p. Is there a 45 equivalent.

 

[Tom Foley]

CMB VAC 45 , and the NR 45 as well as the AA are all strong engines . You will never find an engine that you will not have to tweak some ...well except for the VAC 91 ! totally stock they run as long as you pay attention to the Carb in terms of loctiting and keeping a lookout for side to side play in the barrel .

 

[Rene Danner]

No,There is not one that I know of, Even the AA needs work so I am told .And the Nova 46 I will keep that to myself. And now we have a CMB vac 45 so we will see what it can do.

 

[Duck899]

What kind of work does an AA 45 need? I would really like to know because mine runs really well. I'm running my second one in an Eagle SGX 45 and the first one was in a Mutt II sport 40. Maybe I'm just lucky times two?

All I know is that Al Hobbs dumps a lot of money into trying to get Axe/Rossi to build engines for himself and for others in the hobby. Al is one of the best there is. His engines are designed so that they will run in a sport boat, a mono, a rigger, an airboat, lol.

Sure, maybe they are not the fastest out of the box. But, that being said, set up is the key. Mine have been super reliable. There are people that can have the most powerful engine out there and still not finish a heat, nor get their boats to run smooth and corner well.

For my money, the AA45 engine is an engine, you buy, stick it in a boat and go racing.

I really would like to know what mods are necessary though, pretty sure its just internet hype.

 

[Kevin Krogness]

I think you have to go buy the guys that sell the product. As far as I know they all stand behind the engines they sell. I don't think you can go wrong with any of them.

 

[anthony_marquart]

I'm not really having trouble with my AA. Just hear that a lot have. Plus I have not really been able to test it well. I'm just trying to learn more about the engines and what is involved. A stock motor is fine with me as long as it make average power and doesn't explode every time I run it. Just trying to learn the differences.

 

[Tim Kish]

Great topic Anthony.

With all the new 45 motors out there it would be great to get some feedback from those running them, not only to help people looking for a motor but also for the people making them.

Feedback positive or negative will only make for a better product .

Tim

 

[David Murany]

If you want to get a little more out of the AA 45 you can skirt the piston on the intake side and clean up the ports. Also make sure the rod has .003 clearance so you get plenty of lubrication to the bushing. We played with carb bore sizes and didnt see real gains in performance but we didnt have any means of checking speed differences. Run them rich and hot.

Im running an AA 45 P/L in a Mac and it looks promising so far.

Dave

 

[bermudadude]

the RS are the double fixed crank engines

 

[gooycheese]

I have the nova 45 with the wrap around header.... it was one of the first production engines out.... I had issues with headers... it turned out there was a simple fix that glenn did for me and the motor has had ZERO problems since.... I think all the problems i was having have been addressed and are not present in the current engines. All my engines in all my boats are bone stock.... setup is my key.... I wish I was better with prop work cuz i probably could go alot better with some good props.

Why buy used... odds are you will be buying bearings and piston sleeve

 

[Beau Parsons]

I would say buy a .45 CMB VAC, that is what I am buying next. I am converting all my motors over to CMB's because parts are available and in stock. A motor is only as good if you can get parts when something breaks (and something will just a matter of time). But in the end it is all personal preference I believe.

Beau

 

[LarryConrad]

What kind of work does an AA 45 need? I would really like to know because mine runs really well. I'm running my second one in an Eagle SGX 45 and the first one was in a Mutt II sport 40. Maybe I'm just lucky times two?

All I know is that Al Hobbs dumps a lot of money into trying to get Axe/Rossi to build engines for himself and for others in the hobby. Al is one of the best there is. His engines are designed so that they will run in a sport boat, a mono, a rigger, an airboat, lol.

Sure, maybe they are not the fastest out of the box. But, that being said, set up is the key. Mine have been super reliable. There are people that can have the most powerful engine out there and still not finish a heat, nor get their boats to run smooth and corner well.

For my money, the AA45 engine is an engine, you buy, stick it in a boat and go racing.

I really would like to know what mods are necessary though, pretty sure its just internet hype.

I have to agree 100% I opened mine up to look inside for any stray machining residue, and was amazed how clean the engine was. Set the squish clearance, and dropped it in my SG. It's a great running trouble free engine that I will be running next season in my Sport 40.

Larry

 

[LarryConrad]

The AA was supposed to be just that. Now we know that NR nailed it with the 5p. Is there a 45 equivalent.

Anthony, elaborate a bit on you comments please. I can't vouch for how the current 5 port Novarossi's come out of the box, but the two I purchased new in 2008 both had machining residue inside them, and had different amounts and thicknesses of shims than each other and are 8 digits apart in serial number.One had .018" squish clearance from the factory, the other .022" Both engines run fantastic with reduced volume head buttons and the squish clearance at .007" I personally wouldn't run a nitro engine from any manufacturer without first inspecting it for flaws, cleanliness and proper assembly, but thats just the way I am. Your milage may vary.

Larry

 

[Al Hobbs]

The engines have become too expensive. Part of it is because the US Dollar has dropped in value compared to the Euro and part is because there are fewer people running nitro engines. When you pay $400 to $500 for an engine, you expect good service and good performance.

To get the lowest pricing, I buy in larger quantities. There is a discount when I get 100 engines at a time instead of 25 engines at a time. That helps to keep the retail prices at a reasonable level. The same is true for pipes and parts. That also mens that there are no changes made in the engine design that will not fit the original engines.

I really think that there are some really good 45 size marine engines available today. They are all made in Italy which affects the price, supply and materials. Each engine has its own personality. Some offer tremendous torque. Some offer higher rpm. None are bullet proof.

It comes down to finding which engine fits your own needs.

The A/A 45 was designed to be ready for a beginner. Take it out of the box and put it into your boat. It doesn't need a thorough cleaning. It was designed to help the boaters that still had MAC 45 engines but needed a piston and sleeve to get running again. It is competitive without needing a lot of work or special parts.

The more engines available to the hobby, the better it is for everyone. You can find a good 45 engine whether it is an A/A, a CMB, an NR, and now hopefully a Kalistratov. Improving the choices and improving the supply should help us all.

I don't think that you should have to be an engine expert to get good performance and all of the 45 engines available today run well when treated properly. You won't go wrong with any of the available 45 size engines.

Al Hobbs

 

[anthony_marquart]

The AA was supposed to be just that. Now we know that NR nailed it with the 5p. Is there a 45 equivalent.

Anthony, elaborate a bit on you comments please. I can't vouch for how the current 5 port Novarossi's come out of the box, but the two I purchased new in 2008 both had machining residue inside them, and had different amounts and thicknesses of shims than each other and are 8 digits apart in serial number.One had .018" squish clearance from the factory, the other .022" Both engines run fantastic with reduced volume head buttons and the squish clearance at .007" I personally wouldn't run a nitro engine from any manufacturer without first inspecting it for flaws, cleanliness and proper assembly, but thats just the way I am. Your milage may vary.

Larry

Well you are right. You have to have the head clearance set,.. and it will run BETTER with lower volume head. The good thing is that these things are things that glen will do before he ships at a low cost.. and after that they will run consistently and strong for a long time. and the price is 215,.. reasonable cost that will stay at least on the lead lap with 95% of .21's,.. at least that I have seen,..

 

[anthony_marquart]

thanks Al,.. maybe we can talk on the phone a bit to help me get my AA running well. Unfortunately I messed up my 2 smaller 45 rigger props last weekend. I think they were probably the best ones to run with the AA and the AA pipe..

 

[Mike Betke]

The Nova 46 has been a good motor for us. We are running the wrap around with the nova pipe bone stock. Boat was smoking fast down at Hobart, too bad the kid hit the buoy in his last heat. Only issue we have had is finding a good coupler for the wrap around, but Jeff Schindler showed us the teflon repair tape trick and that took care of that.

This is the first motor that I have had that out of the box will perform the way it does. Tons of rpm and pulls a lot of prop.