Review – Ofna/Picco 28 engine

Italian power
Words and photos: Sylvain Lafrance

Introduction

Picco engines are distributed in north America by Ofna. Those engines are well known for their power and reliability. When I first saw the Ofna/Picco 28, I was excited and wanted to bolt this mill in my Monster GT. The Ofna/Picco .28 is available with a pullstart. A non pullstart version “team” is also available for truggies.

Installation and testing

For the break-in, I used my traditional XP Fuel 30% formula. For the first tank I let the engine idling with few blips to unload and prevent the engine from flooding. Read my Engine break-in procedure.

I kept the temp between 200F and 210F. For the next five tanks I slowly ran the Monster GT (not more than 1/2 throttle) and I leaned the settings about 1/8 turn after each tank. I also let the engine cool down between each tanks with the piston in the bottom of the sleeve. On tank #6 I began to run the engine more aggressively. The Ofna/Picco 28 engine was clearly more aggressive than me and my Monster GT was flying and it was easy to break traction. The temp was at 235F and my Monster GT was doing wheelies easily. I had to relax myself and keep in mind all the Picco power to achieve good lap time. This was a major power boost compared to my other engines I tested before.

Features

• Claimed HP: 3.3HP
• RPM: 34 000
• Carb type: Slide
• Crank: SG Shaft
• Construction: ABC
• Engine case size: .21
• Engine bore size: .28
• Type: Rear exhaust
• Ports: 9 ports
• Displacement: .28 c.i., 16.8 stroke
• Crankshaft: Heavy Duty
• Crankshaft 14mm
• Carburetor: Composite, 8mm insert, changeable
• Glow plug type: Standard Plug – Pull start – Turbo Plug – Team

Conclusion

This engine is a monster !!! It has a lot of torque and rpm’s. I used an OS R5 glow plug with 30% XP Fuel. The carb’s settings were easy to find and they stayed set perfectly. I noticed that the engine was a bit thirsty. You can drop this engine in any monster trucks or truggies and you’ll obtain massive performances.

For more information, visit www.ofna.com

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