Zonsen powered Jabirus - Opinions sought from Jab owners

[Rapture]

There has been discussion on this forum previously about repowering the Jabiru airframe with Rotax engines.  The general consensus is that the Jabiru is an excellent airframe.  However, some owners or potential owners have reservations about Jabiru engines but support the reliability of Rotax engines.  Indeed, several members of the forum have already repowered their J160c or J230/J430 with the Rotax 912/914 engines.

The reports on this forum from the owners of these Rotax powered Jabirus indicate that the conversions have been a success and the owners have been happy with their decisions to repower their airframes.  Performance of the aircraft appears to be similar or better than the when fitted with the Jabiru engine.

As many of you will be aware, the Zonsen Aero engine has striking similarities to the equivalent Rotax engine, but has not yet had enough market penetration to build up any sort of reputation for either reliability or support.  While over 400 predominantly 100hp Zonsen engines have been sold into Europe, it is still a relatively new product in the US and Australia.

Zonsen offers products equivalent to the Rotax range, so 80/100/115/145hp, both carbureted and fuel injected/turbocharged.  Zonsen also has their own 109hp engine that fits between the Rotax 912 and 914 models.

Enquiries already made to Rapture Aviation about the Zonsen range of engines indicates that there is interest in putting Zonsen engines into Jabiru airframes as the Zonsen engine will offer a savings over the equivalent Rotax product, albeit without the proven track record of Rotax.  
This thread is really a bit of a poll to determine what the preferred powerplant would be for the respective Jabiru models, if an owner were to consider a Zonsen engine to replace their Jabiru engine.

 

The aircraft models that I seek opinions on are:

 

J160c

J170

J230

J430

 

and the engine options would be:

 

80hp carbureted

100hp carbureted or fuel injected (FI)

109hp carbureted or FI

115hp turbocharged

145hp carbureted and turbocharged

145hp FI and turbocharged

 

For those that own a Jabiru or are considering owning one, I’d appreciate your opinion on which powerplant would be the best suited or most attractive option for your airframe and if possible, why that would be your engine of choice.

 

One of the benefits that I see in a Zonsen retrofit for the J230/J430 aircraft is that when fitted with the 145hp turbocharged engine, there is not only 25hp more for takeoff, there is also 137hp cruise power available at 10,000’, 17hp more that the Jab3300 can make at sea level and full power.  At the rough air limiting indicated airspeed of 112 knots at 10,000’, that equates to a 130ktas cruise for the aircraft.  In still air, a 140ktas cruise speed at 10,000’ could potentially be comfortably achieved.  With the FI engine, there is no carburetor heat needed and with the liquid cooling, there are no shock cooling concerns to think about.  This sort of performance for a J230/J430 would help make it a better cross country aircraft.

 

Handing over to the viewers for your feedback and opinions.