Brushless

[rc4x4nut]

I was thinking of going the brushless route in my crawler/mudder. The setup will be TLT-1 with Novak SS5800 on 7 cells, pede tranny, and a gd600. The FD is going to be about 159.46 to 1. The motor should give the wheel speed that I want and still have enough torque to get over obstacle. The reason I was thinking of going brushless is the lack of motor maintenance. Over time the amount that I am going to have in a brushed setup would equal a brushless.

[Davkin]

I don't know for sure, but I think I remember reading somewhere that brushless motors don't like being run at partial throttle low speed, which is something we do a lot in rock crawling. I do know you'll have to have very good batteries to avoid cogging, which I believe is what you get at low throttle regardless of the battery. I could be wrong though.

Rock crawling is easy on motors and the motors that are best for rock crawling are cheap anyways, so I don't think you'll save any money going brushless anyways, even in the long, long run.

David

[emaxxjeremy]

the novak stuff is sensored, so cogging is at a minimal. but there is really no reason to spend the money on it for a crawler. what do you have to gain by using bl? you can get the speed or power yoiu need for a crawler out a regular motor easily, and you wont gain any noticable runtime.

[rc4x4nut]

I am not worried about cogging because the novak setup is sensored. You really only have to worry about cogging with sensorless setups. Also since its going to be going through a gear reduction of 159.46 then I would think that the rpms will be pushed up higher. I dont know maybe I am just going crazy...lol.

[FritoBandito]

I'm a huge brushless fan and will use them in just about any other application but I think they're a horrendous waste of money for a crawler. If you want to spend extra money, do it on something that would be useful to a crawler like a set of real aluminum beadlocks. Just sayin...

[rc4x4nut]

I would get a nice set of aluminum beadlocks but I cant find any right now not even RC4WD. They way I was looking at was SR for 110 new and a new with lathe motor for 20 + shipping. I can get a new SS5800 for 185 shipped. So buy getting the brushless I still get my wheel speed with alot of torque. I guess I can go the conventional route and get a lathe motor.

[RockDragon]

Me too, had been thinking that brushless is a waste of money for a crawler. But after I looked more into brushless motors and found that some outrunner type of brushless motor have a very high possibility to use for crawler.
The one I want to try out is the MEGA RC 400/15/8 that has only 800 RPM per Volt. .... Correct me if I'm wrong! ... running 6 cell pack, then the RPM will be only 5,760 rpm with the max. current of 10 Amp. .... this spec can be up against the lathe motor. And for the ESC, the mamba-25 will be OK for the job too.

[sn0wrider]

waste of money.. get lathes, the best motors for rock crawling..

[rc4x4nut]

I see all these post about brushless being a waste or money but has anyone actually used them? I think that with proper gearing the brushless motor will perform just as well as brushed motors if not better.

[RockDragon]

I know LATHE is the perfect motor for the crawlers, especially the clod as using dual motors. But I'm thinking of the single motor drive crawler such as 2.2 TLT crawlers.
Well! there's gonna be something new comes up, whether success or fail.

[rc4x4nut]

I would give the lathe motor but I figured since I got a gear reduction that I would like to try that first.

[JohnRobHolmes]

an outrunner will probably be the best after everything is said and done. i see no reason why the novak would not do well though. just keep it geared down low enough so it can rev up high and keep the efficiency up.

[toyofast]

Originally Posted by rc4x4nut

I was thinking of going the brushless route in my crawler/mudder.

Do brushless systems like mud and water? I highly doubt it.

Originally Posted by rc4x4nut

Over time the amount that I am going to have in a brushed setup would equal a brushless.

You can get a high quality waterproof ESC for under $50(LRP or Proboat). Lathe motors are only $20. Right there you have about $70 spent at tops for a ESC and motor. That's a lot less than a brushless system. So how would you ever have the same amount into a brushed setup as a brushless system?? I have yet to replace the brushes in my lathe motor and I've been running it since September in a variety of trucks. I have an average of 4-10 runs per week on the motor too.

[JohnRobHolmes]

cost aside, i would use brushless for the huge watt output. of course i could get a cobalt brushed motor for that.

[badger]

Buy a brushless for your crawler, install it and find out that cogging is HUGE problem with your crawler. Then take the brushless out and install a $20 Mag Mahem and find out that you could have saved yourself a shit load of money and time.

I have a 5800 and love it in my RACERS.

[4XADICT]

I`ve got chim in on this one, I thought the brushless would not work well in a crawler at one time, but I`m thinking differently now after putting one in another car. I think a brushless would work well and have it`s advantages if you were to put it in front of a GD600, low gearing for crawling with the added benifit of being able to get some wheel speed when needed, not haveing enoughwheel speed is something that I have heard complaints about from several lathe motor users on 7.2v. I`m going to wait for Castel Creations to realease their Brussless set up for the Maxx before I spend though. The ESC will be where the advatage is, smaller, lighter, and more tuneable than anything else. Start power, brakes, and overall rpm should be adjusable with low volt cutoff built in for Li-Po use, all programable from the Tx or your computer.

It all comes down to how much the end user is willing to spend. Just my 2 cents.

[JohnRobHolmes]

if geared properly, i dont think that cogging would be present, except for in bound tire situations. then you will just break shit.

[FritoBandito]

Originally Posted by 4XADICT

I`m going to wait for Castel Creations to realease their Brussless set up for the Maxx before I spend though. The ESC will be where the advatage is, smaller, lighter, and more tuneable than anything else. Start power, brakes, and overall rpm should be adjusable with low volt cutoff built in for Li-Po use, all programable from the Tx or your computer.

So far, this is the only reason I can see to consider going brushless. Regardless of the application, CC makes the best speed controllers period. I have around 14 of their plane controllers as well as their USB PC interface. Oh and programming your speed control from the PC is only half of it. You can also download firmware upgrades from their web site and use the USB interface to update the firmware on your controller. THAT ROCKS.

[chafey]

brushless motors have about zero drag brake i like drag brakes

[JohnRobHolmes]

you can program in drag brake up to 100% with most new controllers, including the CC one.