Brushed/Brushless ?

[J4CKO]

Not had an RC car since my Tamiya Dark Impact which I had quite a few issues with, it was dog slow when I got it with the standard motor, so put a more powerful one and ESC in it, which burst into flames, put a new one in and it worked but the drivetrain struggled.

So, since then the Brushless set ups have appeared, they look to be faster and I hear better battery life ?

Is it worth going Brushless, what are the up and downsides ?

Are they more predictable and reliable ?

[300bhp/ton]

J4CKO said:

Not had an RC car since my Tamiya Dark Impact which I had quite a few issues with, it was dog slow when I got it with the standard motor, so put a more powerful one and ESC in it, which burst into flames, put a new one in and it worked but the drivetrain struggled.

So, since then the Brushless set ups have appeared, they look to be faster and I hear better battery life ?

Is it worth going Brushless, what are the up and downsides ?

Are they more predictable and reliable ?

It really depends on a lot, the type of model, terrain, your intended use, etc etc and of course budget.

The old Silvercan Tamiya motors (27 turn single) where out dated even back in the mid 1980's. And this is still the same motor they use today.

However running a Lipo in one will significantly wake it up. Modern batteries can flow so much more current and have a higher and more stable voltage.

Whether you'd consider such a vehicle to still be slow or not I do not know.

Back in the 1990's when I got into RC racing as a teenager I used to run modified motors. Anything from a 14x2 to a 9x6 (14 turn double to 9 turn hex). Such motors are rare to find today, but they were capable of being pretty speedy. Modified motors can be stripped down with replaceable brushes and adjustable timing. To run the quick motors you'd need a fairly beefy ESC to handle it too. Most modern brushes ESC's have a brushed motor limit around the 15 turn mark.

And there are still brushed motors. Traxxas, Losi and most RC makers offer brushed motors. These are often around the 12 turn mark, but tend to use the larger 550 sized motor can. Whereas the racing modified motors of yesteryear where 540 can sized motors. These motors tend not to be strippable or adjustable either. Many are pretty speedy, but as they offered in the entry level variant of a model, they are often restricted somewhat by other means, so as to make the brushless versions appear a lot quicker.

Going brushless won't automatically make an RC a rocketship, although going from an old 27T Silvercan with a NiCd or NiMh battery to even a mild brushless and a Lipo will yield vastly different performance levels.

Brushless motors are also rated in Turns, but this is just done to compare to the old brushes motors and it isn't a direct comparison. And different manufacturers use slightly different turn ratings for a given spec. Getting your head around the KV rating will help.

I'd say a 13 turn brushless setup would work well in many 1/10th scale models. But you'll reap the most when also switching to Lipo's.

2S is the closest match to the NiMh 7.2v setup, but the Lipo will actually give more voltage under load and be a lot more punchy and should offer longer runtimes. You can also get large capacity Lipos.

If you really want speed, then upping the voltage is the way. Setups that support 3S or higher Lipos can be hugely quick. But high voltage can also mean a lot of torque and you can easily destroy many models not designed to handle the power. They can also become quite difficult to control.

[J4CKO]

Cheers, sounds like I need to do some research before I buy one, rather than after and decide what type I want first and foremost.

[300bhp/ton]

J4CKO said:

Cheers, sounds like I need to do some research before I buy one, rather than after and decide what type I want first and foremost.

I may have made the above complicated. If you are buying a new motor, then yes it makes sense to get a brushless setup.

You don't need to spend a fortune, although some of the cheap ones are a bit nasty. I can recommend some if you let me know what RC you are looking to upgrade.

[J4CKO]

I rearranged my sheds and put a load of shelving up in the big one, in the process I found my sons old Nitro car, a Schumacher Menace truck thing, so think I should resurrect that, its in bits but the engine turns and it just seems to need some suspension components. Will make a list and get them ordered. Might even do a rebuild thread if anyone is interested ?

[J4CKO]

Ordered Steering Yokes, Hubs, Air filter and the screws for the steering that I cant find.

£30 so far.

Need to get some Nitro fuel, anyone know what percentage I need ?