Gordon wrote:Rottela T4 Oil...........
I took note of your point Dale, that you use the Rottela T4 oil. This is meant for diesel engines......it is what I use in my Chevy Silverado (Duramax diesel).
I bought my VW engine from Scott Casler in Arizona, it is the Hummel 2400 85 hp, and he highly recommends using an oil meant for diesel engines like Rottela T4. It is meant for severe use and heat.
Sonex says DON'T use oil meant for diesel engines.............go figure. I plan to follow my engine builders (Scott Casler) recommendations.
In regard to weight......the 3300 Corvair must be almost the same weight as the 0-235 or 0-200. I wonder is anybody trying that in a Sonex.....?.....this would be a very interesting project.
I mention this because I was "on the fence" and about to pull the trigger on a Panther when a "pre-owned Onex" kit became available locally so I made a left turn and bought it. With all this controversy with VW engines regarding high CHTs, oil leaks, etc, etc and occasional dead stick landings I am feeling a little bit of "buyers remorse".
Gordon,
I know a good many bike riders that use Rotella Conventional oil in their air cooled engines with great success. I did in mine and it proved to be an excellent choice. I use it in the Corvair & my VW bug. I also plan to use it in my Z-turn after the break-in period is over. It is the best oil I have found for air cooled engines with flat tappets. There is an excellent video about the protection Rotella gives to engines. They tore down a 500K mile truck engine and the results were quite amazing. William Wynne & Dan Weseman have studied this oil in flight engines for many years and can also attest to its breakdown resistance to high heat and it's anti-wear properties. But I digress.
The weight of my 3.0 is listed at 218 lbs which is a bit less than an O-200. The 3300 is even less than this because of more material being removed for larger cylinders and the newer stroker crank is lighter. I don't care to get into a spitting contest over it, but looking at some of the turbo installs with the extra pipes, pipe wrapping, oil lines, additional oil pump, and all the other "little add-ons" that are needed for the complete turbo install, I have to doubt that the FWF weight is still within the published specs given by the company ... but admittedly that's just a guess.
While the VW conversion I had on my nose roller was an OK engine it wasn't enough power for two up and worked hard on days with higher OATs. I would think that a Casler 2400 engine in a single place would be adequate but the fact remains that VW conversions are difficult to cool when asked to work hard.
I do like Dan's Panther but I don't need a single place airplane. If I build again, and he has the Cougar available, it would be high on the list!
Dale Williams
N319WF @ 6J2
Myunn - "daughter of Cleanex"
120 HP - 3.0 Corvair
Tail Wheel - Center Stick
Signature Finish 2200 Paint Job
166.7 hours / Status - Flying
Member # 109 - Florida Sonex Association