Arrowflyer

My Feedback: (25)

Are the GMS engines that tower sell any good?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

Yes, they are very powerful and they are made by the same people that make the Tower and Super Tiger engines

Lately, they have not been in stock at Tower due to some manufacturing laxness or something?

Konrad

Some like myself think they use better materials than some engines made across the straights or the sea of Japan.
Now is the engine as a whole good? Yes, very much so for sport applications. What are you thinking of using the engine as (in)?

w8ye

My Feedback: (16)

The GMS engines have been around in the USA for 20 years

earlwb

GMS engines generally are OK. It is hit or miss on the carbs though. The GMS engines I worked with all had carb problems. it is fixable if you know what to do to fix it though. But other people have had good luck right out of the box, so that is why I say it may be hit or miss on the carbs being good or flaky.

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

I agree with the hit and miss quality control. It goes with just about every Chinese engine I've bought. Japan has produced consistently durable engines and for the extra money, you might want to consider that option. Also, I have done better with Thunder Tiger than any other Chinese / Taiwan manufacturer for run of the mill sport plane applications.

My GMS 75 runs and runs for about 4 years now, and feels as fresh as the day I broke it in. I've had running issues with the .47 engines, but a flying buddy did much better with his .47 than mine. Again, hit and miss.

Konrad

As far as hit or miss, there is little correlation with quality, power and price. Everybody makes a dud every now and then. It is how the OEM or her agents deal with these duds that is very important.

So the short of this is read up and learn what is best for your application. Cost , durability, performance and customer support should all be looked at if you are going to by a new engine. The fact that some are made in China is really not the issue, other than maybe customer support. And a lot of this is dealt with by the importing agent

Friends don't let friends fly nickel,

Konrad

Arrowflyer

My Feedback: (25)

Thanks guys, that's what I needed to know.

rambler53

My Feedback: (494)

Did you read this valuable tool yet? http://www.rcuniverse.com/product_gu...m?engine_id=37

Ladyflyer

My Feedback: (2)

Thanks for the excellent link. It pretty well echos our RC family's experience with OS engines. A very positive experience spanning over 40 years.

MJD

My Feedback: (1)

It's well documented that some of them have screwed up carbs, specifically in the area where the fuel inlet nipple intersects the spraybar. Some are misaligned restricting fuel flow. I worked on a .32 that could not be made to run correctly at full throttle, since the NV was ineffective beyond the point where the fuel inlet was the primary restriction, so it was always too lean at top end. It ran like a bear once that was cleared up. There are other threads/reports about the same problem that will turn up in a search, and it was not restricted to the .32. Dunno if the alignment varies between examples, or if a bunch were made one way and the rest are good. Those that suffer from this problem predictably run like crap at WOT, but it can be fixed. Beyond this, the engines are strong runners.

Predictably, folks who did not have this problem say they are great engines and you should buy one. Just be aware is all.