Time to replace the ESC in my Summit

[fyrstormer]

I'm still running my Summit on the stock motor and ESC, though I modified the motor to spin on ball bearings instead of bushings. The current setup meets my needs, except for the stupidly-high LVC programmed into the Traxxas EVX-2 ESC. What brushed-motor ESCs exist at this point that can handle 4S and have an adjustable LVC? There's one from Holmes, as I recall; are there any others?

EDIT: I'm not looking for a crawler-only ESC with drag brake that can't be disabled.

 

[dweano]

All your answers are here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S8HL-gRvFEs

Except for not adjustable LVC. But it is set to 3.2v I think. Maybe 3.4v

 

[fyrstormer]

Hmm. I think I've seen that one recommended before, though I don't recall if it was for the Summit specifically. If the LVC is set to 3.2v, that's fine, because that's what I set all my LVCs to anyway.

Does anyone know if that ESC is the 1-brake/2-reverse type, or the type that engages reverse after the throttle sits at neutral for a few seconds? I prefer the 1-brake/2-reverse type, because it sucks when I let my vehicle coast for a few seconds and then hit the brakes, and instead it tries to engage reverse while still rolling forward because the neutral-timeout expired.

 

[dweano]

It has a couple modes. One is a crawler mode with a drag brake that goes in instant reverse I think. The other mode is forward/brake/reverse. Which is the same as the stock one. First "reverse" brakes...and the second actually puts it in reverse. If you read the manual it explains it better

 

[fyrstormer]

Good, that's the brake-to-reverse operation I prefer. I tried to use a Tekin FX-R in a different vehicle a couple years ago, and it engaged reverse after coasting for 2 seconds at neutral-throttle, even if the vehicle was still going forward at high speed. That was not cool. There was no way to reprogram it, either.

What I don't understand about brake-to-reverse with brushed motors is: When a vehicle with a brushed motor is coasting, the motor turns into a generator, so WHY CAN'T THE ESC SENSE THE ELECTRICITY BEING GENERATED BY THE SPINNING MOTOR AND USE THAT TO DETERMINE WHETHER IT'S SAFE TO ENGAGE REVERSE?? They seem to be able to do the exact same thing with brushless motors without any problems. Bah.

 

[fyrstormer]

I tried the HobbyWing QuicRun 860 Dual, as suggested. I was a little concerned about the 16-gauge wires it comes with, because the stock ESC has 14-gauge wires, but it doesn't seem to have made any difference. My Summit can still wheelie far enough to fall over backwards when accelerating, and stop hard enough to fall over forwards when braking. It's actually a little faster than it used to be, up to a top speed of 25mph with the stock motor, so I'm probably going to have to gear it down. After my test run I saw motor temps around 190F when I aimed my IR thermometer through the vents in the side of the motor, but I need to see how it handles running on rough terrain in low gear before deciding how much to gear it down. But the point is, the QuicRun ESC does the job quite well, and I'm pleased with it.

 

[fyrstormer]

Also, can I just say, the Titan 775 motor is a freaking tank. I've had the same motor in this truck for two years, and it took about 8 months just to completely break-in the brushes. I have a DeWalt 820 sitting in the spare-parts box waiting until the day the Titan 775 fails, but I'm starting to suspect it will last until the brushes are worn down to the nubs. (I'm sure it helped that I took apart the motor and installed dual ceramic bearings, but still.)

 

[Hydrocarbon92]

I'm curious about the crawl mode on the 860, specifically the drag brake. How powerful is it? I know the 1080 has 9 different brake settings, but the 860 only has one.

 

[fyrstormer]

As best I can tell, it's 100% drag brake. When I tested the crawler mode, my Summit front-flipped when I let off the throttle.

Personally I prefer 50% drag-brake on my crawlers, but that's irrelevant since I'm not running my Summit as a crawler.