What brushless setup are you actually racing with?

[mrhemi1971]

As I've been racing nothing but nitro cars for the past few years, I didn't pay alot of attention to the brushless motors and lipo batteries that everybody is running now. I'm planning on getting a setup to run some vintage races and want to stay competitive. Whats everybody running that will work on the track, but not kill the trans. I know everybody wants to put the fastest motor in and go ballistic, but I know from years of experience that fastest isn't always quickest. I want to hear what you vintage racers actually run on. Thanks!

[Eau Rouge]

I have Tekin RS Pros with Speed Passion v3 motors in all of my cars (6.5, 8.5, 10.5 and 17.5). All sensored for racing. The Tekin is managed through Hotwire on a laptop with the most current software.

Usually:

• 4wd: 6.5
  2wd Mod: 8.5
  2wd Stock: 17.5

[kaiser]

well my gtb took a dump a couple of weeks ago so i'm running "the evil chinese xerun esc" in my b4.
gtb is off to novak.

actually i really like the xerun. the program card makes things so easy and it stays cool.
2 complaints, the motor wires are short and the fan is very loud. other than that it's a great, affordable esc.

i was running an 8.5 ballistic, and it was just that ballisitic on the tight indoor track i run on.
i bought a speed passion 13.5 last wednesday and i liked it alot, i geared it tall like i would a 17.5 and it was just right. (28/81)
on the outdoor track i'd probably toss the 8.5 back in.

[Jay Dub]

In my RC10, I am running a Tekin RS Pro speedo, and a Orion 8.5. In 4wd I am running an LRP Sphere and a Orion 6.5 speedo. One thing I like about the current setups is that if you have too much motor, just turn down the end points untill it is driveable. I usually run my RC10 between 80-100%. Occasionally I will take my 4wd down to 90%, but for the most part it stays all the way up. One other note. Most of the time you should be running (in modified anyways) the motors retarded, and with a negative throttle curve (around -30 is a good starting point) on the radio. This will make the motors feel more linear- more like a brushed motor instead of a on/off switch. -Jeff.

[Charlie don't surf]

I am running ( in 2wd buggy ) a LRP Sxx and 7.5 Trinity based custom stator motor ( Murffdog )-
and in the Truck it is a sphere TC spec and 6.5 motor- All timing at 0 and all end points neutral.

[RETRO R/C]

I am most probably going to sound "biased" - however I use VENOM speedies and batteries, and either Speed Passion or Fantom motors at this stage. The Venom speedy is extremely easy to program - you dont need a laptop and it gives plenty of "feel" right through the rev range. The Venom speedies are Hobbywing/SpeedPassion based - so they have plenty of support with software upgrades should you find the need. I am moving from Stock to Mod now - and will continue to enjoy the "smooth" feel of the Venom speedy.....good news is is that they have MOD brushless motors coming - and they are HOT HOT HOT!!

Pricing is extremely keen and I have also used these in my vintage rides as well. The "smooth" throttle response is a god send in the old girls, as they can be a bit "Wild" with mod motors in them. Ultimately you are best to buy what you can afford - and to be honest the "cheaper" brands for the most part will more than do the job for you. Most of the gear now days is way better than we are ever going to be able to take advantage of - so get what you can afford. For me - thats Venom.

Cheers

Darryn

[drbelleville]

Well I had been using an LRP Sphere with an LRP X-12 13.5 stock spec motor. But I really do not like the setup / profiles of the Sphere, its a bit punchy for me. I like racing stock, its not about the HP and speed but the control

[JK Racing]

I'm using a Mamba Max Pro with either an LRP 13.5 or Traxxas Velineon 3500 kv sensorless (in my shortcourse truck). A novak GTB with a 17.5 in my boys T4.

I want to pick up a Citrix Sportsman Spec set up (17.5) for my vintage as soon as I finish building it. I may pick up a spare 13.5 motor for more "spirited" driving...

I really like the feel of the MMP, but I, like others, have had issues with the quality of the speedo.

[drbelleville]

I'm using a Mamba Max Pro with either an LRP 13.5 or Traxxas Velineon 3500 kv sensorless (in my shortcourse truck). A novak GTB with a 17.5 in my boys T4.

I want to pick up a Citrix Sportsman Spec set up (17.5) for my vintage as soon as I finish building it. I may pick up a spare 13.5 motor for more "spirited" driving...

I really like the feel of the MMP, but I, like others, have had issues with the quality of the speedo.

Let me know how that Citrix runs, I have been eyeing one - but have not bit the bullet yet.

[mrhemi1971]

I'm getting some good ideas of what to get, Thank you all!

I've heard good/bad things about the Mamba stuff, when it works, it works well, but if it goes bad....POOF!!!

[kaiser]

i too have heard more bad then good about the mamba speedo's.

that being said i'm ordering another xerun 60amp speedo. (pretty much the same as speed passion, venom, and a bunch of other names).
i'll keep buying hobbywing, they haven't let me down yet.

[civilguy]

FWIW I race a Mamba Max esc with a 4600kv motor in mod truck and I haven't had any issues. I also have run a 5700kv setup before but it is a TON of motor on lipo power. It may go in my new B4 kit I'm building this winter. For vintage I usually run brushed, but I do have a Hacker 17.5 that worked great in my Traxxas Rad2 when I had it. Oh, and I used that with the Mamba esc as well. I guess I'm one of the Castle customers who has not had problems.
I also have a few MGM ComPro escs, that are a pain to program but have run great on up to 4s lipos in my MRC Thunder King. I run Lehner XL motors with those setups. They are quite hearty.

[Brandon G]

I have only run GTB's in all of the vehicles I currently race. Duo 2 17.5 in the vintage 2wd buggies, and Novak 10.5 in the Blitz and B4. If I were going to go buy something new, I would most likely go with the Tekin RS (non pro model) and an LRP X-12 motor. The onroad carpet TC guys swear by them. One of the dudes pulled the car off the track and temped the motor at 310F and didn't seem to phase it at all. Of course he did a gear change after that... Heat resilience is nice with these new timing advanced speedos.

On a side note, I was running a GTB in my Slash when I had it, and then installed it in the Blitz. It ran trouble free for a long time but then started cutting out on me. Run for a while then dead as a door nail. Then go to running again. It was happening at various stages of the race, so I knew it wasn't thermaling. I bought a new power switch hoping it would cure it, and sure enough, I ran it all weekend in my Kingcab at the vonats with zero problems. If you have similar problems, try a $12 switch before sending it to the non-repairing Novak and shelling out $69 for a reman replacement.

[Eau Rouge]

I ran GTBs in everything, too, while I was waiting for Tekin to finish work on their brushless controllers. I liked the GTB except the footprint was massive compared to most other ESCs on the market now. That is, until we had issues with the digital servos overloading them if you manually turned the steering by hand—it would overload a circuit in the ESC and blow it up, rendering it useless and requiring you to pay for shipping their and back, and a new ESC at a discount. It was a flaw they knew about and did nothing to help GTB owners who had the issue.

I used Novak products for a long time and appreciated their CS, but they charge for EVERYTHING if you need a repair. Tekin's CS is night and day better in my experience. I won't ever go back.

[ricerscott]

I usually run either a novak gtb or a castle esc. The gtb has worked flawless for me even for an "older" esc. I do love the castles though, with the castle link they are a breeze to program, and have alot more adjustments than the novak gtb does. I have yet to have either a castle or a novak fail on me as well.