Granite Dead Motor

Just adding more meat to the discussion...

Talking with my local hobby shop (https://greathobbies.com) I've ended up a little more confused in the following:

1406 or 1410 size motor?
3800 or 4600 kV rating?

It seems like there are varying combinations. I wouldn't object to somewhat higher top speed, but mainly looking for stock performance, and good battery life while bashing.

Thoughts?

I run vxl set up on 7 cell nimh for son with 17 tooth pinon

It would depend on what your end goal is. Im running a 3800kv castle and its a lot of motor. I changed my spur and pinion to 32 pitch. Great hobbies is a good shop but hobby hobby in streetsville has better prices. I live in that area and have an extra motor from a traxxas brushed your welcome to if you want to stay brushed and save some money. The lower the kv the slower it spins and the more torqe you get. Go lower kv if ur planning to go 4s or 6s higher if you want more speed but its harder on the motor. 3000 - 4600kv seems to run well in 4wd monster trucks. it really depends on whay you want to spend and your end goal. I don't recommend inmh with a brushless system it gets old fast.

My first hobby grade rc was a mega senton a couple months ago, and I've replaced the brushed motor a few times after burnt electric smells too. I've since learned that brushed motors are considered a consumable with limited lifespan and this is normal for them. I've been able to increase the lifespan of mine with heatsinks for 550 size motors you can find on amazon. Took the stickers off and used a little thermal paste. You should blow the dust out the insides with canned air or whatever you have too every now and then.

I've been using lipos but I think if you want to stick with NIMH batteries you should just keep buying brushed motors but I'm a noob too.

Whoops, I didn't get notifications.

Regarding avoiding NiMH because "it gets old fast" is a user experience thing, or you're talking about the stress on the batteries?

It sounds like the 3800 kV system with NiMH sounds like a starting point, though perhaps far from optimal. For now, my main goals are to simply maintain drivability, while limiting consumable expenses. Could I expect one of the castle systems to last a couple years? What is likely to go first?

All in all, I guess I'm just surprised they went this quickly (my second truck just died too). Are we just running them too hard and long for the motor to keep up and it simply burns out? Is there something about our driving style that is doing it?

Thanks for the inputs all.

'Gets old fast' in a sense where you will tire of the inconsistency of the output of the nimh compared to a lipo. I noticed nimh runs great for the first few mins but then gets slower and slower vs lipos run pretty much the same till you hit low voltage. Cut off. do you run the truck on back to back batteries? How is your driving style? I thought i ran pretty hard and have broken a arms and shocks and input gears, bumpers etc but have never burnt out a motor. Do you check your motor temp after each run? The castle system should last you as the motor is rebuildable but you still gotta keep an eye on it after each run. They are built well but its up to you to make sure you don't over abuse it coz like anything it will break. I have an extra 15 turn motor you can have if you want it. Let me know im at eglinton and britannia you can pick it up there.

I kept my son on Nimh for about 6 months when we restarted the hobby, about 4 years ago. Nimh is easy, and somewhat stress free, comapired to lipo. Run time is shorter, with the second half of the run getting slower and slower, though. Also, a good high MAH nimh costs more than a budget 20c lipo.

I say all that to say - if you feel like staying Nimh, then stay Nimh. Lipo is the new cool kid and all, but Nimh has been around for ages, and is very reliable.

As for brushless - if you are mostly satisfied with your current power / speed, then maybe look at a 'F540' motor. These are long-rotor 380 size motors (380L) in a can with deep fins - so the motor looks like a 540 size motor. They make a bit more power than the stock brushed 550-size motor, but because they are brushless, they should run almost forever without dying (assuming you don't cook them). Plus they are chaep, $40-$50 for the motor / 45a ESC combo from different retailers.

I have been playing with my F540 3000kv in my Granite mega 4x4. Nice motor, snappy acceleration, a bit more top end vs the stock motor, but still not a rocket.

Here is a longer review I did of my combo -
https://www.rcgroups.com/forums/showthread.php?2713040-Racerstar-F540-45A-ESC-combo-Review
I did take that motor out of my Mega 4x4 this weekend, and I shot a short video with the intent to append it to that review. When I get it uploaded, I'll also attach it here.

fmaramara, thanks for the offer, but I'm based in Ottawa, not Toronto.

My son loves doing donuts and always drives full throttle...in both cases he was driving when the truck died. Could be coincidence, but could be other factors too. Perhaps a mixed blessing of large capacity batteries...allowing longer run times to heat things up.

I'll look into that F540 setup...does the motor mount without trouble, or are modifications required on the mounting holes? I'm not sure my son could wait that long for delivery

ah Ottawa, a bit of a drive for a 25 dollar motor lol. Jerry is correct, if you're ok with the nimh power and runtime stick with it, it is easier and maintenance free, but I do suggest trying a 2S lipo and see if you like it better. As jerry said the price of a good nimh is comparable to a decent 2S lipo. Best of luck on what you choose.

Motor mounts straight up. ESC will mount up with some double sided tape. Get the 3m outdoor mounting tape, or "VHB" tape.

On my stock Arrma motor, the pinion was stuck tight to the motor shaft, I never got it off (but didn't try heat or hammer) Might want to buy a 17t and 14t pinion with the motor. Granite stock is 14t, Senton stock is 17t.

Reelivery, yeah, sometimes it can take a while. From Banggood.com (the link in my review) if I pay the extra $2 or so for tracking, I normally get it in about two weeks.

There are other supplyers of basicly the same motor too. Here is one out of California -
Motor - $22
https://www.nitrorcx.com/96m10-car-2848-3000.html

Again, I welcome the comments and advice. I may give LiPo a try....my main stick to NiMH was so that I could make use of the stock 2400 mAh packs as well as the extra 5300 mAh packs I bought. The 5300's give a good 15-20 minutes run time that keeps us pretty busy. I notice the slow down first in the loss of ability to reverse. The stock ESC dials back the reverse a little much me thinks, but then again, that is already so close to the end of the pack anyway.

What am I looking for in an ESC for that nitrorcx.com link? Given my lack of experience, I'm likely to make the wrong choice based on electrical instinct. I noticed that motor is listed as "13T/2POLES"...most brushless are 4 pole for something like 1/10, aren't they?

I realize the vast majority of hardware ultimately comes from China, and best prices cut out the middle man. That said, I like to support local business where possible, and branch out from there where necessary.

There is this combo -
https://www.nitrorcx.com/26p-blcombo-60a-13r-3000kv.html
I didn't see that one the first time. $80 for that one with a 60a ESC vs $50 for the Racerstar with a 45A ESC + $7 for the programing card. Seems decent for the Leopard. Probably come out of the same factory - I sold my Racerstar programing card to a guy with a Leopard esc similar to that one, and it works - so same software at least.

Or if you want it quick, and use Amazon prime -
https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-B...rd_wg=CDuQC&psc=1&refRID=8V7H5TA4XEPBXN82RZ8E

Jerry-rigged said:

Or if you want it quick, and use Amazon prime -
https://www.amazon.com/Waterproof-B...rd_wg=CDuQC&psc=1&refRID=8V7H5TA4XEPBXN82RZ8E

Click to expand...

Unfortunately for us Canadians the price is not as sweet as our southern neighbors..

How are these ESC's programmed? Do most have a programming card available?

A cross border trip can make an Amazon.com order work, so I'll look into that. Thanks again.

RE: Programing card, hard to say, because the add does not give a brand.. If it is a GoolRC (common) then the Gool card will work. If it is something else, you will need that brand of programing card. Might be best to message the seller to make sure you are getting the right card.

The specs near the bottom of the listing say the ESC and motor are GoolRC, so a GoolRC programming card should be doable then? That would be interesting and make things a bit easier. I might give one of these a try then, since it seems right up my specification.

Aside from shaft diameter, anything to consider for the pinions other than teeth and I assume pitch?

Id do the input gear mod while your waiting coz it will snap as soon as you go brushless.

fmaramara said:

Id do the input gear mod while your waiting coz it will snap as soon as you go brushless.

Click to expand...

Hmm, I was trying to avoid mods and such, but sounds like I should give them some attention. Thanks for the heads up.