thurmma
150cc
Hello Everyone,
I am here to present some real information on my experiences with Joe and Nicole at ZDZ USA and the ZDZ-180 engine.
I was in the need for an engine for one of my 40% planes and had tried a couple of alternatives with varied success. I had always wondered about the ZDZ line but, never made a call or purchased one because there hadn't been a whole lot of information about them from other pilots. I decided to make a call to ZDZ USA and happened to get Joe on the phone. After about a 30 minute discussion with me explaining what I was looking for and what type of flying I was doing along with my concerns that I hadn't heard a lot about the engines, Joe let me know how he and Nicole ventured into the ZDZ dealership.
Long story short, I ordered an engine 3 days later. The engine arrived 3 days after I ordered it in a very well packed box with all pieces needed to get it running on the plane. I had ordered standard mufflers but, really wanted headers so I could hook it up the the RE3's that were already in the plane. A phone call back to ZDZ USA and about 10 minutes later the headers were on their way.
Over the next week and a half, between work and softball umpiring, I managed to get the engine installed and the headers modified, they were to short which I knew when I ordered them, it was time to fire the engine up. It took about 6 flips to get it to pop on choke and then another 4 flips to get it fired up. After a couple minutes of high idle and some medium speed run ups, I took it full throttle. WOW is the only word that describes the power I felt. I have a 29x12EVO 3 blade on this engine. This prop is a very heavy loading prop. I had it on another engine in the similar size range that could only turn this prop at 5350 rpm, AFTER it was tuned. Same exact exhaust setup. The 180 was turning the prop at 5900 with no tuning yet! After I ran it a couple more times I opened the high end needle 1/4 turn and it was now turning it at 6000 rpm! I was very excited about what I was seeing and couldn't wait to get the plane in the air.
I went out the following weekend and flew the plane with absolutely no issues and completely INSANE pulling power! I fly IMAC and after about 6 flights over the weekend, I was finding out that I could fly about 90% of the sequence at 1/2 throttle or a hair over and had plenty of power. The mid-range power of this engine is unreal. If I start on an upline and needed more power, all I have have to do is breath on the throttle and the plane accelerates. It is nice to be able to perform the upline maneuvers with power to spare and have the plane pulling through them at a constant speed.
The temperatures on the cylinders measured at the back side on an 80 degree day never topped 300 degrees even on long uplines with rolling maneuvers in them! once I was leveled off from the upline the temps dropped back down immediately to a comfortable 250 to 260 degree range.
I wanted to say Thank You to Joe and Nicole at ZDZ USA for answering all of my questions with completely unbiased answers. Joe has a wealth of knowledge and has ran just about every type of engine out there so, you will get answers from someone who has already put in the work and has first hand knowledge of how the ZDZ compares to most other engines out there.
FYI, I am NOT a sponsored pilot. Just another satisfied customer that wants to get the word out about these engines so someone else can make an informed decision. Feel free to message me with any questions. I will answer them if I can.
I am here to present some real information on my experiences with Joe and Nicole at ZDZ USA and the ZDZ-180 engine.
I was in the need for an engine for one of my 40% planes and had tried a couple of alternatives with varied success. I had always wondered about the ZDZ line but, never made a call or purchased one because there hadn't been a whole lot of information about them from other pilots. I decided to make a call to ZDZ USA and happened to get Joe on the phone. After about a 30 minute discussion with me explaining what I was looking for and what type of flying I was doing along with my concerns that I hadn't heard a lot about the engines, Joe let me know how he and Nicole ventured into the ZDZ dealership.
Long story short, I ordered an engine 3 days later. The engine arrived 3 days after I ordered it in a very well packed box with all pieces needed to get it running on the plane. I had ordered standard mufflers but, really wanted headers so I could hook it up the the RE3's that were already in the plane. A phone call back to ZDZ USA and about 10 minutes later the headers were on their way.
Over the next week and a half, between work and softball umpiring, I managed to get the engine installed and the headers modified, they were to short which I knew when I ordered them, it was time to fire the engine up. It took about 6 flips to get it to pop on choke and then another 4 flips to get it fired up. After a couple minutes of high idle and some medium speed run ups, I took it full throttle. WOW is the only word that describes the power I felt. I have a 29x12EVO 3 blade on this engine. This prop is a very heavy loading prop. I had it on another engine in the similar size range that could only turn this prop at 5350 rpm, AFTER it was tuned. Same exact exhaust setup. The 180 was turning the prop at 5900 with no tuning yet! After I ran it a couple more times I opened the high end needle 1/4 turn and it was now turning it at 6000 rpm! I was very excited about what I was seeing and couldn't wait to get the plane in the air.
I went out the following weekend and flew the plane with absolutely no issues and completely INSANE pulling power! I fly IMAC and after about 6 flights over the weekend, I was finding out that I could fly about 90% of the sequence at 1/2 throttle or a hair over and had plenty of power. The mid-range power of this engine is unreal. If I start on an upline and needed more power, all I have have to do is breath on the throttle and the plane accelerates. It is nice to be able to perform the upline maneuvers with power to spare and have the plane pulling through them at a constant speed.
The temperatures on the cylinders measured at the back side on an 80 degree day never topped 300 degrees even on long uplines with rolling maneuvers in them! once I was leveled off from the upline the temps dropped back down immediately to a comfortable 250 to 260 degree range.
I wanted to say Thank You to Joe and Nicole at ZDZ USA for answering all of my questions with completely unbiased answers. Joe has a wealth of knowledge and has ran just about every type of engine out there so, you will get answers from someone who has already put in the work and has first hand knowledge of how the ZDZ compares to most other engines out there.
FYI, I am NOT a sponsored pilot. Just another satisfied customer that wants to get the word out about these engines so someone else can make an informed decision. Feel free to message me with any questions. I will answer them if I can.
