Titan 340 Engine Questions from Newbie

[Ron Earp]

I've been researching and gathering information about the "Titan" 340" engine. As I understand it, it is basically a stroker 320" Lycoming with a different crank to accommodate a 0.25" longer stroke, longer rod, and different piston, along with various other improvements.

In reading about the engines on various forums and so on, it seems that some early Titans had some troubles such as unven fuel / air distribution, hot cylinders, high oil consumption, failed rings, failed cylinders, crank thrust load issues, and possibly high levels of vibration. Obviously I can't verify these problems from reading about them. It seems that most of these concerns I've read or heard about occurred in engines from the 2016-2018 time frame.

Is, or was there, a significant difference between early Titan engines and later Titan engines? Or possibly were there significant differences between Titan engines produced by Continental/ECI (who I think holds the trademark Titan) vs. "Titan" engines produced by AeroSport and other companies?

Please excuse my ignorance about the engine, I'm trying to learn as much as I can about them and thought this subform might be the right place.