ESC help for the newb

[Tutt]

hey guys,
im currently building my first RC of any kind and i need help choosing an ESC. i am building a tube chassis with clod axles. i will be running stock motors. i would like something that performs well but is also pretty cheap.
would something like a traxxas xl-1 be ok for crawling on stock motors. the main thing that i am concerned about is the throttle being smooth and controlable.
thanks for the help
josh

[DirkDigler]

I would not consider any esc, other than a super rooster, when running two motors of any kind.

[Grizzly4x4]

I ran a rooster in my clod for about a year with the stock motors and Masher2000 tires. Worked great, but understand that I was willing to accept the risk of burning it up.

I tried the Rooster with the Magnetic Mayhem motors and 9T pinions and the Savage tires in my redone Clod. It worked OK as long as I used a receiver pack to power the steering servo but it would do a thermal shutdown quite often.

Bottom line, run a super rooster with dual motors like Dirk said. It's always better to have the safety margin.

[DCLXVI]

I'd rather save a few dollars and get the LRP/Associated F1 Pro Reversible

[Tutt]

so are stock motors harder on th esc?

[Reflection]

I'm new to RC also but I think it's more the fact of running 2 motors more than what motor. I might be wrong though.

[Grizzly4x4]

The stock motors should be much easier on the esc than a modified motor in most cases. Like Raptorman said, it is the dual motors that put the real strain on it. But that is not entirely true either.

Dual motors wired in parallel will put more load on the esc than 1 motor of the same type. Example. A stock Mabuchi 540 motor is about a 27 turn motor. Wiring motors in parallel is roughly the same as running 1 motor with half as many turns. So dual 27 turn motors put a similar load on the esc as a single 13 turn motor (27/2=13).

Dual motors wired in series put less load on the esc than a single motor of the same type. So dual 15 turn motors wired in series put a load on the esc similar to a single 30 turn motor (15x2=30). This also cuts the rpm in half though.

In case you dont know, the more turns a motor has the "lower performance" it is. For lack of a better term.

[Ace]

The crawler esc choice is a no-brainer.

The super rooster. (period)

I tried to save a little coin by going with a regular rooster. The super rooster supplys 3amps to the steering servo, most (all?) others supply like .5 amp. When your high torque servo binds your radio will likely glitch from low voltage. Also, your big buck servo will not develop full torque on 1/2 amp.

Also, my reg. rooster (and other reversing esc's I own) have an annoying delay when going into reverse. Really a PITA when manovering a crawler. Most have this delay so people can race with them and have brakes w/o reversing accidentaly.

[SR5Dave]

I really love my EVX, it runs 14.4V (You can only run 7.2 on it though) its bullet proof as it was designed to run Titan motors, which take a TON of amps, it has full forward, reverse, braking. It has the delay, but I rewired my motors so the delay only works when you're going in reverse and want to go forward, not vice versa. Its also warrantied for life.

[Tutt]

thanks for the info!

[Tutt]

should the motors be wired in series or parrallel for crawling? i would think that they would need to be in series for one motor to not stall. but the motors would be seeing the wrong voltage from the batteries.

[Grizzly4x4]

I tried wiring my stock motors in series when I first built my Clod. I found it to really SUCK , one motor would stall when it got in a bind and the other motor would just see all the power. I would only recommend wiring a Clod in parallel, SR5Dave will tell you different but he is running 14.4V, 12 turn pulling motors, and an EVX. He says he likes it though.

A driveshaft truck works well with the motors wired in series because both motors are driving the same spur gear.

[Nish]

i wanna use one batt one motor what esc and what motor will any esc work with a titan ( allready have those ) I know I'm cheap

[Grizzly4x4]

Nishru, If you use 1 battery and 1 motor you can use many different esc's, too many to list. Since I dont have experience with any of them except for the Rooster and Super Rooster I can not suggest one of the others. You could use a Rooster but read Ace's post above on why that might not be a great idea. Running a receiver pack with the Rooster would help any steering problems though. I still suggest a Super Rooster because of the high current on the steering circuit.

However, people have had problems running a Titan motor on one battery. They are designed for 14.4V and running them on 7.2V may cause them to run inefficiently and cause problems. See this thread for Toyotafourwheeln's opinion on Titans and 1 battery.
http://www.rccrawler.com/postt800.html

A Magnetic Mayem may be a better choice for a 550 motor to run on 1 battery. Cheap is fine, but having to do it twice is not cheap.

[Nish]

Giz thanks not only did you give a suggestion but you explained why you suggested it. I owe you a beer ( only if you are of age & drink )

[Grizzly4x4]

Originally Posted by nishru

Giz thanks not only did you give a suggestion but you explained why you suggested it.

Glad to be of some use other than makin Toyota and Dirk laff.

Originally Posted by nishru

I owe you a beer ( only if you are of age & drink )

Yes and YES

[SR5Dave]

Originally Posted by Grizzly4x4

Glad to be of some use other than makin Toyota and Dirk laff.

Yes and YES

He called you Giz.. which sounds like jizz

Is the EVX in series? It does ok. The front will really start to spin up on a steep incline, which really helps it pull up, but the rear still gets PLENTY of power. No problem at all over here.

Then again, I have power to spare

[Nish]

i meant GRIZ LOL guess i need to use spellcheck... or you need your mind out of the gutter LOL

[pipdango]

My neighbor wired to 20 turns in series on his txt-1 with a Duratrax sprint esc. It works fine! Unless your driving a clod, you don't really need a super rooster.

[Nish]

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