Motor Question

Here's a question for the motor gurus out there:

On Quest and Estes engines, they give you the Motor Weight and Max Liftoff Weight.  Now I know "Max Liftoff Weight" is just a suggestion, but it is an educated suggestion.  My question is does the Max Liftoff Weight include the Motor Weight or not?  For instance, on an Estes F15-4 (big to show a big difference), the Max Liftoff is 595 grams and the motor weighs 102 grams.  Can my rocket weight be 595 or should it be kept under 493 grams (595 - 102)?

Max liftoff weight at least for Estes motors is the mass of the flight ready rocket + the motor in use. So for example, on a Estes D12-3, with max liftoff weight of 14oz, your rocket with parachute/wadding/etc needs to be 14oz - 1.57oz = 12.43oz to stay within that recommendation.

Thus in your case, you need to keep your rocket under 493g.