A look inside a $75 nitro engine. Also how to repinch a piston and sleeve

Here’s a look inside a $75 nitro engine. This engine is alpha based. It runs great and is very easy to break in and tune. Out of the box the engine comes with pretty low pinch but it holds that pinch for a good 6 gallons before you start noticing a performance loss. In this video I give a brief tutorial on how I repinch sleeves. Hope you enjoy and my next video will be the break in of this engine and another trackstar that I modified significantly. Hope you enjoy these videos

[@Eduardo_Espinoza]

I was thinking of this concept then Google recommended me this exact video.

[@mtadave6702]

Wassup dude, they are called pipe clamps, easy to find on amazon ✌️👍

[@dannyrisley4665]

Have you done any videos of repinching a smaller motor? Like a 15 or 18? I have a handful of 15 and 18 that could use a pinch but the clamp your using is to big for them.

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

I don’t have any videos. I would measure the outer diameter of the sleeves on your .15s and and .18s and get a clamp that’s an 1/8” bigger so you can fit the copper ring between it and the sleeve. I use a 3/4” clamp for .12s but that may be too small for .15s

[@LarryBlowers]

Good video,

[@mtadave6702]

How many head shims you got on that? Your suppose to remove one if you change strength fuel to higher % right? 2 is the default amount I think, if there's three from factory.

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

These engines came with two. One is .15mm and the other is .10mm I think. I haven’t had to do any headshim adding or remove while switching back and forth between 20% and 30%. I think once you get into the lower stuff like 15% or less is when you want to remove headshims or go to a hotter plug if possible. I run protek t3 plugs with 30% VP Tessmann blend and haven’t had any problems. The only time I add headshims is if an engine is running a little hot and is finicky to tune. With the bigger piston to head clearance, the engine usually smoothens out, tunes easier, and runs cooler.

[@mtadave6702]

@@moralesrcdesigns3784 the better plugs are p3. Those t3's don't last as long as the p3. 30% nitro is ilegal here and Europe believe it or not, our strongest fuel (unless we make 30 ourselves) is 25. Your right about removing the shims if you go as low as 15, but I hate using anything less than 20 and so do my cars.

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

@@mtadave6702 I also have p3 plugs, but I’ve found that those are too hot for most engines so I only run them in my OS’s. My dad is the person who buys 90% of the stuff for him, me, and my brother so he buys the t3 plugs since they’re a few dollars cheaper and since we’re running 6 engines at a time. I haven’t had any problems with the t3 plugs, they last a decent amount of time (definitely not as long as p3s) and all our engines run consistent and tune easy. It’s unfortunate that you guys can’t run 30% over there because these little nitros absolutely love 30. 20% is great, but the engines just don’t respond quite as well

[@GODLIKEZ490]

your suppose to add another headshim if you increase nitro content

[@gotnitro4329]

What should I buy to do this to a Traxxas 2.5

[@djcoolv4084]

Were did you get the tool to pinch it

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

i got it from amazon. i have the link to it on my other video about repinching

[@born2fish838]

How many gallons have you put through that motor ?

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

That engine before the repinch had ~7 gallons. Pretty good considering the fact that these engines don’t have much pinch in the first place

[@born2fish838]

@@moralesrcdesigns3784 very good considering the price

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

@@born2fish838 yep. Engine performs pretty good on the track as well. Fuel mileage and throttle response are meh but it’s got the torque for a truggy and great top end.

[@born2fish838]

@@moralesrcdesigns3784 I ordered the .28 the other day bc it was going in my losi 8 truggy and I was worried the .21 wouldn't be enough power. Sorta wish I would have went with the .21 after watching how good you truggy runs with it. Oh well I may end up with 2 of them

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

@@born2fish838 I haven’t run the .28 but it’s based off of the alpha .28 and I know that engine is pretty good so the .28 shouldn’t give you any problems. It’ll have more torque which is fine for a truggy

[@grahambate3384]

I watched the video 6 months ago of a guy the same thing but then you put it in oven cheers

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

I’ve had a few people ask me about heating up the sleeve while it’s in the clamp. I personally haven’t had to do that and I’ve had great results, but I’ve also seen people use heat and get good results from it too.

[@grahambate3384]

@@moralesrcdesigns3784 thx for getting back to me

[@j.m.castilla7150]

Donde puedo comprar ese Aro compresor ??

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

Amazon

[@j.m.castilla7150]

@@moralesrcdesigns3784 gracias

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

@@j.m.castilla7150 👍🏼

[@80s9]

The video should have been about the paper towel that’s the only thing we could see

[@needmoreboost6369]

Cheap nasty garbage! I love em I’ve had a heap and being so cheap for piston/rod and sleeve they make a good candidate for modifying and great results can be had! Don’t get me wrong they are still a cheap motor but they can hold their own on track against the big$ setup

[@klausbrinck2137]

why only 720p, but no 480p? Sorry, you know that´s not gonna work for older machines, so, channel blocked...

[@DerekRC]

Why not just buy a new piston and sleeve 🤷🏻‍♂️

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

Piston and sleeves can be fairly pricey, and if the piston and sleeve of an engine is in good condition, but just has no pinch left, it’s far more cost efficient to have a sleeve repinched. I repinch sleeves for $20 and rebuild/refresh engines for $30 (not including parts being replaced like con rod, bearings, etc.) which is much cheaper than $150-$200 for a new piston, sleeve, and con rod. Even just replacing bearings, connecting rod, and getting a repinch is cheaper. Although, if the piston and/or sleeve has significant damage on it, there’s no fixing that

[@craigjones2015]

That engine is based off a Alpha

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

Yup. It’s pretty much a turbo plug version of the alpha rtr .21

[@craigjones2015]

Send it off to adam drake $25.00 to resize

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

That is another option. He has a very good tool for it and is a pretty much guaranteed perfect repinch. I just wanted to figure out how to successfully do it myself and I have. It may not be as precise or consistent as Adam Drake’s tool but it gets the job done and that’s what works for me

[@craigjones2015]

Alot of people where using that very thing a few years ago. But had issues with consistency and the right amount. Now they make a Die for doing it

[@moralesrcdesigns3784]

@@craigjones2015 It definitely isn’t the most consistent method but I always start light, and if the pinch isn’t tight enough, I’ll try tightening the clamp a little bit more. I just go in small increments until I get the tightness of pinch I’m looking for.