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Now that your engine has been broken in, you can set the high and
low speed needle valves for optimum engine performance.

WARNING

  Be careful never to lean out the engine too much.

Remember that the lubricants for your engine are suspended in
the fuel.  If you lean out the fuel mixture too much you will also be
lowering the amount of lubricant entering your engine.  Less lubricant
means more chance of your engine overheating and possible
engine failure.

SETTING THE HIGH SPEED NEEDLE VALVE

1) Start the engine and remove the glow starter from the glow

plug.  Allow the engine to warm up for about 10 seconds.

2) After the engine has warmed up, drive the car as you normally

would.  If the engine seems to be running rich, lean the needle valve
about 1/16 of a turn at a time until the desired setting is achieved.
Always make sure you run the engine slightly rich - you want to be
able to see a slight smoke trail at all times.

To get more power from your engine you can use fuels containing

up to 30% nitromethane.  We must caution you, though, that once
you run the engine with increased nitro you may not get satisfactory
results if you decide to go back to a lower nitro content.

SETTING THE LOW SPEED NEEDLE VALVE

1) Start the engine and lean out the high speed needle valve as

per the previous steps.  Close the throttle until the engine slows
down enough so that the clutch is disengaged and the wheels don’t
turn when the car is lifted from the ground.  Allow the engine to idle
for about 10-15 seconds.

If necessary, adjust the idle stop screw to raise or lower the

idle speed.

2) While holding the car off the ground quickly open the throttle

in a short burst.  If the engine just stops running as soon as the
throttle is advanced, the low speed needle valve is too lean and the
engine is not getting enough fuel.  With the engine stopped, richen
the needle valve about 1/16 of a turn (counterclockwise).

3) Restart the engine and repeat step 2 until the engine will

transition smoothly and quickly.  Very slight hesitation in the
transition is normal.

4) If you quickly advance the throttle and the engine seems to

be very rich during transition (i.e., lots of smoke coming from the
tuned pipe and very rough sounding), the low speed needle valve is
too rich and the engine is getting too much fuel.  With the engine
stopped, lean the needle valve about 1/16 of a turn (clockwise).

5) Restart the engine and repeat step 4 until the engine will

transition smoothly and quickly.  Very slight hesitation in the
transition is normal.

To keep your engine operating at peak performance there are some
basic maintenance procedures that need to be performed on the
engine on a regular basis:

After you are finished running the engine for the day, pinch the

fuel line to stop the engine.  This will allow the engine to burn any
excess fuel out of the crankcase.

Remove the air filter element and wash it thoroughly in warm

water and a small amount of liquid detergent.  After it's clean, allow
it to dry, then reoil it and install it back into the air filter housing.

Never run your engine without an air filter installed.

Remove the glow plug from the engine and squirt several drops of

high-quality after-run oil into the glow plug hole.  Pull the pull-start cord
several times to distribute the oil throughout the engine, then reinstall
the glow plug.  The after-run oil will prevent the inside of the engine
(especially the crankshaft bearings) from rusting.

Clean the outside of the engine using a heavy brush and nitro car

cleaner, then dry the engine, using a rag or compressed air.

Check the engine's cylinder head bolts and backplate screws

after each day of use to ensure that they're tight.  This will prevent
air leaks from causing erratic engine performance.

FINE TUNING YOUR ENGINE

MAINTAINING YOUR ENGINE

6) Now drive the car as you normally would for a while to get a

feel for how the engine reacts to throttle.   Now that you know the
proper way to tune the engine, you can make slight adjustments to
the needle valves until you are satisfied with the performance.

IMPORTANT

  We suggest using a temp gun to frequently check

the operating temperature of your engine during use.  The optimal
operating temperature is between 210º and 240º.  Do not let the
engine exceed 270º.  If the engine exceeds 270º, stop the engine
immediately and retune the carburetor to a richer setting.

4

Important information about returning your

SH engine for warranty service can be found

on the separate Parts List and Troubleshooting

Guide packaged with these operating

instructions.

SH engines are distributed exclusively in the U.S.A. by

Global Hobby Distributors

18480 Bandilier Circle, Fountain Valley, CA  92708

All contents copyright © 2004, Global Hobby Distributors

Version V1.0 November 2004

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