Gas engine tuning for newbies....

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by Rocky V.
	Hey Mark, Thanks for all the good info. Is it better to do these ground adjustments with cowl on, or does it matter ?

It shouldn't matter, but it does matter on some airplanes. I would highly recommend you perform your work with the cowling on. That way, you can adjust the carb in the environment it will be operating in.

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by khan
	Thanks for clarifying!! This confused me a lot. And thanks for all you inputs!!! We should save and print them all.

Once you get accustomed to good tuning practices, you won't need any help. But it never hurts to have some good reference material handy!

[Izzy]

Hey Mark, there's something wrong with your site--I can't display the page. quick question: I just maidened my yak with a DA 50 yesterday and have run it with the factory settings. Has this harmed the engine? maybe 4 or 5 16oz tanks through it. also, Should I tune the engine using yourmethod right away, with 32:1 lawnboy ashless, or wait 'til i switch to amsoil 100:1 (i know settings will change once I change mixtures). Thanks for the great info!

Izzy

[Izzy]

I put the example of the da 50 because it's the only brand new engine i'm running right now. I used your method on the others before (when i got the info from another site) and it works flawlessly

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by israelg48
	Hey Mark, there's something wrong with your site--I can't display the page. quick question: I just maidened my yak with a DA 50 yesterday and have run it with the factory settings. Has this harmed the engine? maybe 4 or 5 16oz tanks through it. also, Should I tune the engine using yourmethod right away, with 32:1 lawnboy ashless, or wait 'til i switch to amsoil 100:1 (i know settings will change once I change mixtures). Thanks for the great info! Izzy

Greetings IZZY,

Yes, our web server is down and should "hopefully" be back up sometime today. The factory settings from DA are often close to a perfect tune. I'm sure your engine is fine but you still need to keep a watchful eye on your tune as it breaks-in.

If it starts easy and you get clean throttle with minimal "four stroking" I would leave it alone. One thing about a DA-50 is, they are rarely (if ever) out of tune from the factory. Desert Aircraft does a supreme job making sure their engines are setup properly and your engine may only need the slightest fine adjustments as it breaks-in. You will have to "tweak" your tune slightly when you switch to the 100:1.

In my "humble" opinion, the DA-50 is the finest 50cc engine available. I have yet to see one needing a major re-tune.

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by israelg48
	Hey Mark, there's something wrong with your site--I can't display the page. quick question: I just maidened my yak with a DA 50 yesterday and have run it with the factory settings. Has this harmed the engine? maybe 4 or 5 16oz tanks through it. also, Should I tune the engine using yourmethod right away, with 32:1 lawnboy ashless, or wait 'til i switch to amsoil 100:1 (i know settings will change once I change mixtures). Thanks for the great info! Izzy

The TECH SITE is back up again!!!!

[Izzy]

	Quote: Originally Posted by mfuess
	Greetings IZZY, Yes, our web server is down and should "hopefully" be back up sometime today. The factory settings from DA are often close to a perfect tune. I'm sure your engine is fine but you still need to keep a watchful eye on your tune as it breaks-in. If it starts easy and you get clean throttle with minimal "four stroking" I would leave it alone. One thing about a DA-50 is, they are rarely (if ever) out of tune from the factory. Desert Aircraft does a supreme job making sure their engines are setup properly and your engine may only need the slightest fine adjustments as it breaks-in. You will have to "tweak" your tune slightly when you switch to the 100:1. In my "humble" opinion, the DA-50 is the finest 50cc engine available. I have yet to see one needing a major re-tune.

Thanks a ton for the quick reply. the DA is four stroking because I started to tune it with your method, but stopped when I remembered that the tune would change when switching the mixture, and then left it a bit rich just in case. should I retune for peak performance while breaking in?

Thanks again,

Izzy

[mfuess]

I wouldn't... Let her break in a bit and enjoy the power of your DA-50!

[mfuess]

When you tune, make small adjustments and only one needle at a time. IE: If you suspect your lowend may need tweaking, turn the lowend needle (either way) in increments of about 1/60th of a rotation. I call them minutes. 5 minutes is about the width of a screwdriver blade. When you approach peak tune, (both high & low) small adjustments make a big difference in performance.

[Izzy]

Hey Mark, how long should I wait on a new engine to use your tuning method? I have about 2 gallons through mine now on 32:1 lawnboy ashless

[airriley]

Wow, I am surprised to read the bit about the DA-50 being near perfect tune from the factory. In the last 3 months I have witnessed 3 new DA-50's at our field. Two of them mine and one a buddy's. All required serious leaning on the low end, somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 turn. I run mine on 40 to 1 Penzoil, not really sure what my buddy uses. What gives ?

[mfuess]

	Quote: Originally Posted by airriley
	Wow, I am surprised to read the bit about the DA-50 being near perfect tune from the factory. In the last 3 months I have witnessed 3 new DA-50's at our field. Two of them mine and one a buddy's. All required serious leaning on the low end, somewhere between 1/4 and 1/2 turn. I run mine on 40 to 1 Penzoil, not really sure what my buddy uses. What gives ?

Probably luck of the draw & evevation. New engines are somewhat sensitive until the ring seats and adding environment to the equation often changes the pre-set. 1/4 to 1/2 turn on the lowend isn't anything to lose sleep over. I use Penzoil 40:1 also, and I never bothered to switch to 100:1 inspite DA's recommentation.