Rotax 912 Reliability

[jiott]

I fly a 912uls and have 550 hours on it with nothing other than regular scheduled maintenance. I did have a radiator failure but that is not really a part of the engine and not a Rotax part.

[av8rps]

Besides being known for extreme reliability, the 912 is very well engineered to operate even if you do develop problems. One good example of that is the cooling system. If for some reason you were to lose all your coolant, you can safely fly it to the closest airport, and probably without any engine damage. The coolant system is just cooling the cylinder heads, the rest of the engine relies on cooling fins and air.

[WWhunter]

Floog, you mentioned FI, is this a factory FI engine or an aftermarket type?

As far as getting back OT, my 912 has had ignition problems that may need an entire wiring and ignition module replacement. Not fun to be flying along and the engine start sputtering and totally quit on on ignition. Luckily I was over my strip when it happened. Granted, this is a very low hour (200TT) eninge but of 1997 vintage.

[Floog]

I ordered the factory 912 ULS through Kitfox Aircraft in 2014. EFI is Edge Performance after market kit from Norway. It was essentially a one day conversion. After installing the kit, all that had to be done was set the idle. Later, I added a 40 amp alternator and a backup battery (see pic) for the fuel pumps. The Rotax ignition is stock.
Sorry to hear about your problems.

[tracstarr]

Floog. I just came across the same performance upgrades. Which did you add? Just the intake/Fi system or also turbo and big bore? I'm assuming not the upgraded cam shaft since you said one day conversion. Did you get any measurable HP improvements? Or just what you "notice"? How many hours do you have on it?

I'm curious as I think somewhere I hear them mention a total HP gain of over 50 with everything added. That's pretty damn significant.

I'm just trying to decide which engine to get or if I should wait for the 915is. But, I like the cost savings of the 912uls with bolt ons. Just curious if the reliability is affected with the increased HP

[AirFox]

Give Jason Busat(Canada guy) a call at Badasspowersports.com. He is the North American rep for Edge Performance. Both Doug and I installed the EFI only. It's good for about a 9 HP gain. If I was in the market for a new engine I would order a Rotax 912 ULS from Jason with the Cam, EFI and Big Bore kit. You would save a bunch of weight over the Rotax 915IS. I think that setup would be over 120 HP and more than 30 lb lighter. I have almost 200 hours on my 912 ULS with the EFI. Doug(Floog) has probably even more.

[Esser]

Give Jason Busat(Canada guy) a call at Badasspowersports.com. He is the North American rep for Edge Performance. Both Doug and I installed the EFI only. It's good for about a 9 HP gain. If I was in the market for a new engine I would order a Rotax 912 ULS from Jason with the Cam, EFI and Big Bore kit. You would save a bunch of weight over the Rotax 915IS. I think that setup would be over 120 HP and more than 30 lb lighter. I have almost 200 hours on my 912 ULS with the EFI. Doug(Floog) has probably even more.

Probably save money too depending on if you got a used 912ULS. My 914 has an SDS injection setup. Also a Canadian guy in Calgary. My engine will be easily good for 125. I can run over boost if I wanted too as well since I no longer have to worry about having more boost than fuel pressure. I probably won’t go that route but it’s an option

[Flyboy66]

I am looking for 100 to 120 hp for $17,000 or less. It looks like a 912uls is the most likely candidate. I have been chatting with the folks at Zipper Big Bore, and I think the only option to get more than 100 hp is a used engine with a Big Bore kit on it, or just getting a new 912uls.

[littlecricket]

Give Jason Busat(Canada guy) a call at Badasspowersports.com. He is the North American rep for Edge Performance. Both Doug and I installed the EFI only. It's good for about a 9 HP gain. If I was in the market for a new engine I would order a Rotax 912 ULS from Jason with the Cam, EFI and Big Bore kit. You would save a bunch of weight over the Rotax 915IS. I think that setup would be over 120 HP and more than 30 lb lighter. I have almost 200 hours on my 912 ULS with the EFI. Doug(Floog) has probably even more.

Scott, if you don’t mind I’m going jump in too. I’m in my research phase... I have been looking at engines leaning toward 912is. While I’ve considered other engines, this is the first that I’ve thought of getting a 912uls reworked engine. Any idea how your EFI compares to the IS? I’m intrigued by the thought of bore kit, cam, and EFI, too. Though I worry about longevity. What about a turbo? Guesses on which firewall forward kit that would go with these setups? Would this be too much for a rookie builder? Things that make me go, hmmmm. Thanks for any added insight.

[Flyboy66]

In one of these threads I saw mention of some aftermarket leaning product for the carbureted engines. Does anyone know what it is and has anyone tried using the product? Did it work as advertised?