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Ly-con PIREPs?

S

Sig600

Well Known Member
A bunch of local builders have recommended I take a look at Ly-con for my motor. I was leaning towards the package deal (FWF, Motor, Prop) from Vans for simplicity.

Anyone else have first hand experience with them? They're close by, and seem to have a solid rep.

Edit, ran a search, didn't come up with anything recent.
 
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LyCon is excellent

Kenny at LyCon builds GOOD motors. They have been the gold standard for airshow and air race engines for a very long time.
 
tcone1 said:
Kenny at LyCon builds GOOD motors. They have been the gold standard for airshow and air race engines for a very long time.
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They are a respected source of airshow and air race engines. The gold standard is a bit further east.
 
LyCon builds GREAT engines; absolutely true. However I know of 3 people that had to wait approx 12 months to get their engine despite a 10 week lead-time promise.
Two were new engines for experimental aircraft, one was an engine rebuild for a C-172. The C-172 was down there for 12 months (Really, I'm not joking!) I would not buy an engine from them due to the lack of customer service and excessive lead times that are not set forth ahead of time.
 
Ordered all of mine through Vans.

Lycoming, Hartzell, Vans and FedEx Freight was flawless, on-schedule and in perfect condition. Two weeks for prop, two months for engine.
 
further east is...

...Mattituck.;) I got my engine from them and am really pleased with both the engine and the service/info/time from Mahlon Russel who contributes to this forum and is a font of expertise.

That said, I know many people are pleased with Barrett (also a forum contributor I think), Van's deals through the factory and also Aero Sport in Kamloops. All seem to have very good reputations and deliver what they say, when they say and support their products after the fact.

I have heard mixed things about LyCon but don't want to slam them without first hand knowlege. Yes they do a lot of race motors. They also seem to quote very hard to believe "dynomometer" results on the engines they deliver, but then again I didn't put it on any dyno to counter their claims. I do know that one engine that was "dyno'd" at 225hp doesn't perform any better than mine from Mattituck which Mahlon estimated at 195ish. It is an IO-360B1B with 9:1 pistons, electronic ignition and the Red Gold package. Love the engine.

Maybe if you're a racer you get a different product/support than non-racers?:confused:

Jeremy Constant
RV7A 120hrs
 
Our brand new Ly-Con O-360 A1A arrived by air freight to Switzerland two weeks ago. We are completely satisfied with what we got! But it will take some time until it will run on our RV...
5890476918_12c7b840aa.jpg

It was very well packed and conserved and workmanship looks great. It's balanced and flow matched, but with standard compression ratio pistons.
Communication was a bit sparse, but if you do get a good product in the end it is not that bad. We had the opportunity that we know someone in Switzerland that has closer contact to Ly-Con (worked in A Red Bull Airrace Team).
We ordered the engine just before Christmas 2010 and received it in Switzerland mid June 2011 in Switzerland (including LSE PLASMA III).
 
Andreas, measure you oil dip stick tube. It looks a little short. It needs to be close to the oil door to work properly. Mine measures 10 5/8" from the engine case to the top of the tube. If needed, may as well send the two parts back now so you won't be held up later.

Also, it doesn't look like you have a spin on oil filter adapter.
 
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Bought my prop and engine through Van's. Wait until Osh. They will offer a sale, plus the package discount. When I bought mine during the Sun N Fun discount, there was free shipping and no charge for long term preservation.
 
AltonD said:
Bought my prop and engine through Van's. Wait until Osh. They will offer a sale, plus the package discount. When I bought mine during the Sun N Fun discount, there was free shipping and no charge for long term preservation.
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That's what I'm thinking. OSH next year will be about 2 months prior to my return from A-stan. Could have everything delivered right as I am.

I'm trying to justify the cost of going with a custom builder over factory, but everyone seems to love Barrett, Ly-con, Aerosport, etc....
 
One more data point:

The fastest side-by-side RV at our local airport is a 6 with a standard factory Lycoming engine that he got through Vans and Catto prop.

Jeremy
 
413 hrs on a custom spec LyCon O-360-A1A in a -7. Smooth, strong, cool running. Their build reputation is earned, forte being their flowing and polishing Lycoming jugs. Spec an engine any way you want. Mine dyno'd 203; it performs like a 200 hp airplane. Nearly all the RV builders at KEUL use LyCons, and the engines do perform.

Customer reputation is also earned. It su*ks. All communications go through Kenny Tunnell, promises are worthless. If you constantly pester him, delivery may be within three months. Such poor customer relations is why my last two engines came from ASP. They'll also build an engine any way you want, they are good machines, and they are skeptical of Tunnell's claim - but, see above.

Stock Lycs are really boring. My next will be LyCon-ized jugs on an ASP 375. Ought to be a screamer.

John Siebold
 
No racers don't get special treatment. In fact, no matter what shop we go it, the engine has ALWAYS been at LEAST a month overdue from when it was promised. With Lycon, it's always been:

Drop off engine in October
Pick up engine in August
Race in September
Drop off engine in October


That said, they have an excellent combination of great performance, with great reliability, even when racing. That keeps a lot of the racers coming back. Their HP numbers are almost certainly optimistic, I'd say by 5-7% at least. They might be calculating HP based on not driving the accessories or something.

We had our last two formula 1 engines done by Pacific Continental Engines at KWHP... same place Darryl Greenamyer gets his Lancair engine done these days. Good folks there too.
 
Last year I sent my new cylinders to Lycon for some flow work. They promised me a five day turn around and did the work and shipped them out after four days. This was my first experience with them.
 
engine builders

Since we are comparing engine builders, has anyone had experience with FireWall Forward located at Ft. Collins/Loveland in Colorado. I have an RV-4 with 1876 hrs on the airframe and that many since last engine overhaul. Total time on my 320-E2D is 4076 and I am leaning towards bumping up my HP via higher compression pistons and other tricks of the trade. My RV has been flying 22 years now without a hitch but it's time to rejuvenate the engine compartment ie. hoses, mags, carb and so on.

I would like to stay with the 320 since my plane is light and I don't want to make changes to the cowl or increase the empty weight by going to a 360 however I'm open to suggestions.
 
Welcome Hans...

Wow, 22 years old and going strong.

It's been my experience that the 160 Lycs will easily run the 2,000 hour TBO and a heckuva lot more! If they're run often...at least once a week...I've seen one on my airport go 3,000 hours and still had compressions in the 70's. We flew a Cherokee 2,700 hours and took it off to do an oil pump AD and freshened it up.

If your oil consumption and compressions are OK, I'd leave it alone and freshen up the engine compartment with new hoses, ignition leads and so on.

Best,
 
Thanks Pierre for your input. I'm anticipating upgrading to 8.5 to 1 pistons and mild rework based on an excellent recommendation I received today. The higher compression pistons will help decrease the lead deposits I find on the bottom plugs and a little added power will add to the magic this little airplane has provided for 22 years.

Cheers, Hans
 
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