Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Just wondering, has anyone played with programming or building an ESC with a realistic throttle response? On 1:1 vehicles we would also be noticing the weight of the car, where on scale trucks the weight isn’t even an issue for most motors that are being used.

I do some coding and could see building an esc or programming an existing one being a fun project.

If you know of any efforts to add a simulated engine effect to an esc i would love to hear about it!

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

If you turn down the startup punch you get this already? Watch Southern Rock bouncers on YouTube and will see none of this throttle response is unrealistic. It's all about learning to not panic and smoothly squeezing the trigger not yanking it.

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Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I don't code but I've thought about this many times. If you're driving a scaled-down version of an older truck with a 4 cylinder, the instant-on throttle response is completely unrealistic. It would need time to build revs and make power, and turning down startup punch isn't enough to get the right effect.

In my mind, it needs something like a variable maximum forward speed that would increase with time. The first instant you floor it from a standstill, you would only get 25% of full throttle. It keeps ramping up and 2 seconds later you get 50%, 1 second after that you get 75%, etc. This might be better in concept than real life but I'd like to be able to play around with it.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I have messed with the startup punch on my HW1080 and with a brushed motor I can go WOT from a dead stop and not spin a tire on loose dirt. Not sure how much softer you need it to go? Try applying the throttle trigger on you TX in a more realistic fashion.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Get a castle setup, with castle link, adjust the throttle curve accordingly, get a higher turn motor, smaller c rating on the batteries.

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Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Run with 2s. Squeeze throttle slowly.

Done, no coding needed.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

:ror: Funny, but true!

You'll never have the feel like you do when you're inside a 1:1.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

We are on the same page here. I appreciate the ideas about punch control, but that doesn’t really accomplish the same thing.

It’s almost like scaling back the torque value on a curve. Would be fun to try different simulated engines.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Good idea, but now i need to make the project more complicated so i can keep working on it. Building code is a fun project just like building a kit.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

The closest thing to "real" I've had with RCs is probably the gas engine 1/5th stuff because they use centrifugal clutches, so they have that feeling that you don't get instant power. I'm not sure if this would work but maybe on trigger pull, add a .10 second delay, and then have it go from 0 to whatever % throttle in another .15 seconds. Of course those times are just hypothetical but it would give that .25 second delay that might add a challenge.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Good point! 1/5th scale handling also feels so much more realistic.


In a 1:1 there's more "slop" because the drivetrain is extensive and has play. Trucks will roll back on the rocks, etc.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Get a decent radio and use the dual rate feature to dial the throttle input down and then simply use your finger for finite control from there. You'd still be able to have full throttle at the touch of the dual rate switch when warranted.

I realize this isn't the super complicated answer that engineers crave but in the real world simplicity rules.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

To make it even more of a project, you could try to simulate gearshifts too. Like when ramping from 25% to 50%, maybe it drops down to 10% for an instant. It may just end up feeling broken or glitchy, but there's only one way to find out. "thumbsup"

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I had a 380 motor in my Tamiya 3-speed. Talk about a scale driving setup... didn't have the torque to climb unless you were in first gear, so I had to downshift every time I got to an obstacle. 3rd gear was useless unless you were already rolling and on a flat trail. Second was somewhere inbetween. The 540 had enough power everywhere making the 3 speed somewhat redundant. Going with the 380 made using the trans a must.

It was one of my favorite trucks to wheel, despite the limitations of the Tamiya chassis and axles. I'd like to build another someday - with all the parts that are now available, I'm sure it could be made to perform better overall.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Build a TRX-4 with EVERY available brass replacement part on the market, it'll weigh a ton (relatively speaking) and then follow the programming tips here for your ESC.

(I'm only kidding a little bit here, it would actually make a more realistic rig. But I wouldn't want to do it, myself...)

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Yea, just have your friends shove you side to side from time to time...

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Real vehicles don't put out much torque at low rpm, Electric motors put out the same torque at any rpm, so you would need to fix that, probably would be easier to use a mini centrifugal clutch to mirror that feeling though.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

That actually sounds like a lot of fun to drive. Not that I would want all of my trucks to drive like that, but to have one setup that way for when the mood strikes, why not?

The centrifugal clutch is a good idea too, albeit with some clever fabrication required. Imagine a heavy rig with a 380 motor running through a centrifugal clutch into a 3-speed, with custom laggy ESC programming... so deliciously over-complicated, I love it :lmao:

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Did I say 3 speeds? Make it 4!

http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/rc4wd...sfer-case.html

I kinda want to try this. Centrifugal clutch would be tricky but the rest is totally doable.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I agree this is interesting conceptually but is likely to not perform as good as a gentle throttle input.

One thing you may be able to do with one of the Mamba X ESCs is use the aux wire feature and set it to power level, I've never used this feature as it more for racing and bashing. I assume you could use a 3 position switch to get 3 different power levels (if not 3 then 2 with a 2 position switch) or if you have a dial on your radio you can likely set it to use that and get a much finer control.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I have a dx5 pro that the toggle swich is set to limit the max throttle to 30%,60% and 100% similar to a 3speed but it dosent hurt to hit it on the fly, which might tear up a real 2 speed.

With a throttle curve you could add little jumps that might feel like shifting. Would probably just be anoying though.

All of this can just be done with your finger too...

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Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Of course, but picture driving a full-scale 4 cylinder Jeep Wrangler or Toyota pickup. They probably take 10 seconds or more to get to 60 mph, and that's with a bunch of furious flooring and hard shifts. That's the kind of driving experience I (and I assume the OP) want to simulate.

Another example is near the end of this Dirt Every Day episode I just watched where they nearly blow the motor trying to get the jeep over some small rocks. I want to simulate that struggle! :ror:

https://www.motortrendondemand.com/d...ge/1_915qsmw2/

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Some radios have a throttle speed option. You pull the trigger and it slowly ramps up to that speed.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I still think a centrifugal clutch is the only way to get close, they make them for rc nitro cars and can probably be adapted. It will Basicaly remove the low end torque from the mix. That and a multiple speed setup. Or you could actually run a nitro setup, maybe you could eve tune the exhaust to sound slightly toyota like.

Electronically it wouldent be very impressive because the motor won't have struggling noise. Maybe a sound box could fix it. Simply increasing the time it takes for the motor spool up won't cut it, neither will torque limiting.

There are bycacles that have centrifical transmissions that shift based of centrifical force, that with a 80t 540rc motor will be gutless and a speed range.

Because of the situational instances like low gear 1:1 crawling having massive wheel torque the transiting to 0-60 torque. It's difficult.


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Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Solution: a 100% electronic solution, so if you had a programmable esc (I don't think the mamba x can do this) , you could assign each gear or profile with an aux wire(like driver profiles in spektrum remotes) .

Esc Profile 1: 1st gear - 0% torque limiting, 100% punch 20% throttle range.
Esc Profile 2: 2nd gear - 20% torque limiting, 80% punch 40% throttle range.
Esc Profile 3: 3rd gear - 40% torque limiting, 60% punch 60% throttle range.
Esc Profile 4: 4th gear - 60% torque limiting, 40% punch 80% throttle range.
Esc Profile 5: 5th gear - 80% torque limiting, 20% punch 100% throttle range.

You would also need a Chanel on the remote to assign to up/down shifting.

You could even program the esc to when x rpm is met to shift up or down for an automatic transmission if you are using sensored brushless motors.

You could build a hardware channel output coming off the esc to connect a sound box to, so that the sound box reacts to the esc output and can Rev up in 1st gear, then reduce the rpm 50% when it shifts. Instead of the traditional based of throttle pull.

This is all pipe dreams though, never going to happen...

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

You describe multiple ways it could be done, but then say it can't be done. :lmao: This seems like an aspect of scale driving that hasn't been explored very much yet, and there are definitely people in the R/C community that could make the tricky stuff happen. We can do eeet!

I don't know if OP is still around but I appreciate all the ideas floating around in this thread. I could definitely see some elements working their way into a future build of mine, especially the 380 motor on a 3 speed because that would be so easy.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

I think this entire discusson is comical. It's called "Throttle Control" people.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

What's comical is all the people dropping in that completely miss the point and just want to suggest that we either don't know how to drive or don't know how to set startup punch on an ESC. There's like half a dozen of you guys in this thread. :roll:

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Im still here. Yeah this isnt to help anyone be a better driver... as far as i am concerned, this could make you a worse driver. I get these responses whenever i ask hypothetical questions about doing something differently than it’s done now. I think thei kind of simulated motor programming would be popular for film production and also the scale semis and heavy equipment crowd.

This discussion is really interesting though, i think this would be a fun project.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

throttle exponential on your TX, no?
that is really setup as a curve that will increase at increments you determine... just like your "gears" you described above. sure its only one "gear" but its a start.

yes?

i do like this discussion and until 1:1 teslas are doing rock crawling/trails, it would get us closer to that "scale" effect we are all replicating with EVERY other aspect of our trucks.

Re: Realistic/simulated acceleration and throttle response?
 

Hmm.. should be possible with proper programming.

“Realistic throttle response” has been a main-stay on the more expensive 1/16 tank controllers for quite a while. Switchable from the transmitter, no less. Clarks have it, IBU has it on all generations of Mfu’s. Elmod has it.

Though, I guess we tankers áre a bit spoiled afa ‘realistic controls’ go with the oodles of functions that can be set via editable config files.

Here’s how that looks on a Heng Long T-90: ..ehh.. crap! Can’t get the video link to work. Well. Full thread it is, then. Video is on page 1. This is with a somewhat more ‘agressive’ setting of the esc.

https://www.rctankwarfare.co.uk/foru...p?f=33&t=25516

Fun detail, it also works on the braking. So, no instant ‘lock’ Makes for a great sense of weight. Though, tank is already 6kg.. talk about ‘weight’ :lol:

The thing, however, with car controllers is that when using exponential on the TX, one has to make sure the motor has enough torque to prevent the sudden ‘jolt’ when a just-not-powerful enough motor is spooling-up to gather enough power/rpm.

I prefer 5-poles for that specific reason. Their power comes in much more controllable (and vèry smooth) than the average 3-pole. Holmes has some exellent 5-poles. Check those out if you want realistic, and controllable throttle response in combination with throttle-exponential settings on the TX.

Most of my historic WW2 tanks got 5-poles in them to get that controllable low-speed sensitivity.
Modern tanks are faster, more aggresive, so long-can 3-poles are fine in those.