melting the yeti

[guido5526]

Mine gets way to hot on 2s but I crawl with it mostly. Changed settings in esc and threw castle motor blower on it but esc still gets too hot. Figured gearing is next.

[rustneversleeps]

just wondering is this about the stock motor esc combo..
i just bought the kit version and decided to put in the sidewinder SCT WP with the 5mm shaft 3800 motor using 18 pinion, and it's still a shelf queen for now until all this frigging snow goes away,that being said i plan using 3 cells and hope mine don't over heat or burn up those funky looking hubs...
rustneversleeps
I also have this exact set up in my Exo Terra buggy with no issues and that's with the body on....

[guido5526]

Yes mine is stock rtr.

[justintime51]

Mine seems to run fine when im bashing it. But shuts down after some slow crawling with a 3s.

[trig n tahoe]

My tranny seems to have some resistance in it,not as smooth as wraith tranny. Wonder if that has something to do with overheating.SCT guys deal with heat all the time, I was wondering when everyone was going to start having probs with big motor big cell combos

[redsawacs]

Doing some research on the Castle site and Axial, I think the AE-3 in the Yeti is simply over taxed on 3s. IF the AS-3 is the Sidewinder 3, it is really only designed to drive the lighter vehicles under 5 lbs withe 3800 and up motors on 2s.

Being that the Yeti is 6.5 or more lbs, it stands to reason that the added weight is simply too much for the vanguard even though you're using a lower KV motor. Again, in my mind, this ESC is only for up to 5 lbs and 2s, using it on 3s will certainly up the amp draw and ultimately the wattage (heat). In my opinion, the Sidewinder SCT should have been the chosen ESC for this vehicle.

So, with all this in mind, if you're going to stick with the AE-3 Vanguard, you'll need smaller gears in order to keep the heat down on 3s. Though the Axial site specifically states 3s compatable, I would argue that they forgot to mention a gear change would be required. As most everyone knows, when you're trying to keep your motor and ESC happy, you need to pick a gear and check motor temps, if it is too hot, you're too big on your gear selection. If you want to go faster than that gear will allow, buy a new motor/ESC combo.

If you look at the AE-3 in the EXO buggy, that was a 5lb rig with a 2900 kv motor perfectly at home on 3s. But, you increased the motor size (less torque) and you increased the weight of the rig by nearly 2 lbs. Should have looked at that a little closer.

Again, my thought is the motor and ESC is being taxed by the weight of the rig at 6.5+lbs. Bad call by the manufacturer? I would say yes. But, knowing what I know now, I simply think Axial forgot to caviat the need for a gear change on 3s. Couple that with larger wheels and you should have seen this coming. I think the simple fix is gear down and chalk it up to gear error from manufacturer....they dont always get it right the first time. Neither do I, thats why I have edited this post a few times already and I'm sure I'll do it again.

[Duuuuuuuude]

Axial has a habit of overgearing their rigs. Gotta appease the bashers...

[johnnyh66]

Go faster = air cooled.

[JesterSpec]

14t and get rid of the timing, add in a bec and your golden.

[Dara's]

So if I buy the Traxxas 5640(5mm, 32p, 14t), would it be compatible? The only reason I ask about this over the Axial AXI30840 its more readily available locally.

[rustneversleeps]

Originally Posted by Dara's

So if I buy the Traxxas 5640(5mm, 32p, 14t), would it be compatible? The only reason I ask about this over the Axial AXI30840 its more readily available locally.

For Sure

[micro racer]

According to Castle's website, the sv3 (including the SCT version) is designed to run 3s, but neither with the 1410 motor. I assume that Axial advertised "3s" capable because the ESC is, not necessarily the whole whole system. Check it out here...

[Dara's]

Well, I ended up going down to a 13T and took all of the timing out of the stock ESC, and it still thermals after about 10 minutes of slow rough terrain.
I can spin the whole drivetrain from the rear wheels with 2 fingers and very little effort. It's also cooler today than it's been previously.
I did end up backing off the gear mesh a tad more, I have a small amount of play between the pinion and spur gears where before I had very little, if any. I'll try it again tomorrow.

Edit: This is on 3S by the way.

[Dara's]

Noticed something interesting today in my research.

AE-3 Vanguard ESC Specifications:

Voltage Input: 2S-3S LiPo (7.4V-11.1V); 6-10 NiCd/NiMH (7.2V-12V)
BEC: 3A @ 2S input
Current Rating: up to 100A
Dimensions: 1.95 x 1.51 x 0.83 in (49.5mm x 38mm x 21mm)
Weight: 2.1 oz (62g)
Motor Wires: 4mm female bullet connectors
Battery Wires: 13AWG 4.72 in (120mm), with Deans® Ultra Plug®
Receiver Wire: 10 3/4 in (273mm), with universal radio connector

Motor Limit: on 2S/4200kV Max; on 3S/2900kV Max

Protections: low voltage cutoff, thermal protection
Please note it is very important to monitor ESC and motor temps during your first initial run to ensure temperatures remain reasonable. If temps are too high under normal conditions try changing the overall gear ratio with either a smaller pinion or a bigger spur gear.