Ultra cheap, mid level machine wound, or nicer hand wound, worth it?

[mdchris]

So I just pulled the trigger on an xr10 kit and will be building it in a couple weeks once everything arrives

I have everything sorted out and ordered with the exception of motors. Looking for some advice in that department.

My driving style is what i'd call "comp style", but we don't actually have any competitions in my area (not yet anyway, a guy can hope). So i'm looking for motors that are going to be good for crawling, not bashing. So far i've been looking at 35t motors mostly, but having a hard time deciding how much i can justify spending. Money is an issue, so i'm keeping this build fairly budget, doing the 9mm bearing mod and have a pack of traxxas bushings coming too, other than that just some home made links and otherwise staying stock out of the gate. Just have VP knuckles so I can run wheel weights.

If it makes any difference to your advice, i will be running dual esc with a 4pl.

So the 3 options I am looking at are:
- some ultra cheap 35t's like the novak ones that are $12 each
- some HH machine wound torquemaster sport 540s that are about $32 each
- some HH hand wound torquemaster pro 540s that are gonna be $62 each

Now I assume that there will be a pretty big difference between the ultra cheap novaks or the like and the machine wound HH motor, however besides being rebuilding i'm not sure what to expect besides more power.

What i'm looking for more advice/info on is the difference between hand and machine wound HH motors. What kind of difference can I expect? Do they really perform well enough to justify 2x the cost?

Any advice is appreciated, can't wait to get started!

[JohnRobHolmes]

The big difference is the torque, punch, and power. The handwounds just have a great snap to them that the machine wounds do not. If you are looking for power, go Pro. If you are looking for value, go Sport or Expert.

Otherwise, there isn't much difference in construction. The sport still has strong magnets, ball bearings, gold plated hoods, etc.. What you are paying for is the time to craft the Pro motor, there is a lot that goes into each Pro motor VS the sport.

[KnoJa]

When i got my kit i got the cheap integy v12 35t motors. not bad. my buddy is still running them.
But i switch to the HH handwound torquemaster 35t and love these things!

very snappy and the wheel speed is there if i really need it. Great low end.

If you are thinking about it you might as well get the right stuff for the job.
But that is just my $0.02.

[muddinscx]

IMO, id save up and go with the handwounds. You won't regret it and I'm sure you'll kick your self in the a$$ for buying the cheap ones first (wasting money on a tight budget). Its winter so around my area its too cold to crawl so I'm saving money for my projects but, like I said, this is just my opinion.

[muddinscx]

A...put it this way, why build a 305 small block with cast iron head with 1.66 valves when for a few more bucks, you can have a world products sb 454 . I think you get my point

[mdchris]

Ya i'm likely going to just get the hand wounds, i know if I don't i'll just want to buy them in 4-5 months anyway

[Krawler23]

i am kinda in the same spot. I would say go with whatever you would be happiest with. i think some cheaper ones will do fine for me. my 2 cents

[mdchris]

Just placed my order, as usual I started out looking at the $32 machine wound sports, and ended up talking myself in to spending more than I wanted. Have a pair of 20t crawlmaster 540's paid up, now the worst part, waiting 3-4 weeks for them to get here

They should be worth the wait though