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Which engine

B

Bavafa

Well Known Member
I am in process of ordering an engine for my 7A and still not sure who I should go with. I know I want FI, horizontal sump and possibly EI. I am willing to spend the extra $$$ but only if I get some thing tangible back for it. The choices are Superior, Lycoming and Aero sport. I was wondering any one has any one can help narrowing this done or even add to the list of options :)

Thanks in advance
Mehrdad
 
Engine

Give Mahlon Russell a call at Mattituck Engines, 1-800-624-6680, ext 305
Charlie, RV-7, Tucson AZ
 
Aerosport

Can`t say enough about the service and helpfulness of Bart Lalonde and Sue at Aerosport. Call them at (250) 376-2955 :)
 
Hollow crank for CS prop?

If you use one Lightspeed EI then you may have the standard one battery/one alternator setup. If you go dual Lightspeed, then some folks have not only dual batteries but dual alternators. You need to get advice on whether the second alternator is needed/recommended.

If you use modern glass panels, then you probably won't have a vacuum system and that is where the second alternator (B&C?) can go.

My normal biased suggestion of 180 HP or better.

I am not a believer in FADEC type systems (make that another bias).

The good thing is that you have plenty of reputable people to choose from. I don't know what Lycoming will do, but it may be that if they won't supply an EI (you can do that later anyway) then that may be a factor.

Do not ignore any possible savings from Vans, especially on an engine/prop combo.
 
All good info and thanks all for their info. Just to share a bit more info, CS and 180HP was minimum requirement. I am not entirely sold on higher HP since it seems not really needed unless I am in the business of showing off even more then now, but the added fuel burn and possibly of degradation the engine life, it does not worth the bragging right :)

Lycoming wasn't really a choice till I heard about the saving $$$ and the fact that they will install a LASAR for much cheaper then other location (still need to be verified) Aero sport has a great reputation but they are almost $3K more and just wondering if that is worth paying for the reputation or is Lycoming has bad enough reputation to justify paying extra to go with some one else!
 
I'll add my support for Mattituck.

Have just taken delivery of my engine. It's still in the box so cannot comment on operations yet but the pre-sales service from Mahlon was excellent.

I went for an IO-360 horizontal sump with one mag/one Lightspeed plus substituted ECI nickel carbide cylinders. Other than these plus the horizontal sump, everything else is Lycoming parts, including roller tappets .

The 'true' Lycoming horizontal sump is rather expensive to say the least.

I also went for the Mattituck RedGold warranty option. Don't ignore warranty considerations. The terms of the Mattituck warranty are very good - starts when you are ready to run, not at the expiry of some arbitrary time limit.

I'm in the UK so I thought very carefully before rejecting a locally sourced engine and so far I'm very happy I did.

Steve
 
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engines

Ditto for Mattituck--TMX IO-360--Lightspeed EI on right--vertical induction(installs same as carb). After appx. 20 hrs. has used about 1 1/2 qts mineral oil, break-in is about complete. Runs great. :) :)
 
I vote for Superior

Although I haven't run the engine I am totally happy with the service I have received from Superior so far. I bought it second hand from another builder and it has only been test run by the facility that assembled it. Superior treats me like I was the primary customer. There was a recall on the composite sump that they took care of. They even sent me an overhaul manual at no charge when I asked about it. I'm sure I will get many years out of this engine.
 
Hey, you are just down the road from American Propeller--Go visit them in Redding, just 160 mi up I-5. At the very least, you will come up with some questions you can ask the other shops you are considering. Price will be competitive. See link in earlier post.

A local builder bought from them & is very satisfied. I talked with Bob, the sales guy several times at Arlington & he seems like a decent guy.
 
Your engine choices are actually Lycoming, Superior, and ECi. Aero Sport is a builder, as is all the other names mentioned. These manufacturers all have their various lower tier suppliers and vendors.

Right now Superior is expensive, Thielert's stuffing it up and having difficulties. Confirm with Honig of Ameritech.

ECi has plenty of variations to choose from.

Lycoming has nothing to recommend it over the others who have pushed them out of their Lycosaur mindset with competition.

Also talk to Ly-Con in Visalia, CA. They and Aero Sport will build any combination of ingredients you desire. Call 'em all! Each has their quirks and preferences. Many hesitate to combine the best parts from different manufacturers, but if you're new to the engine game, sticking with a straight ECi kit is a good choice.

John Siebold
Boise, ID
 
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