Kraton Castle Mamba Monster X/1515-2200Kv motor combo

[birgy85]

Yes.

Same screws too?!

 

[Rcproponent]

I went and got this combo today from a LHS. They matched the price Castle is selling it for on their website,which I thought was cool. I only had a few issues with installation. First I couldn't get the 14t pinion off the stock BLX motor. I have a pinion puller but I couldn't use it because of my HR channel motor mount. The grub scew stripped and it was just a nightmare. I finally got it off just as I remembered that I have a 14t pinion from my Typhon, lol. So I went and used that. Another issue was the sensor harness. It doesn't come installed on the MMX, which is just freaking stupid. There are no directions and no obvious place to plug the harness in. I finally googled up something to help me out and I got it on there. Once I has everything installed I took it out and forward and reverse were reversed. Since I am using it sensored I couldn't just swap motor wires. I had all the motor wires in the proper places, so I tried reversing the throttle in the transmitter. Bad idea. I went forward at half speed and when I hit the brakes I did front flip, lol. So I knew it had to be something else. Again I went to Google and saw there was a setting in the ESC to reverse the motor direction. I changed that and went back out to test. All was good.

Running the same 14t pinion I had on my stock BLX motor resulted in very difficult to control power. Based on the Bolospeed calculator, I should only be picking up 5 mph by going to a 2200 kv motor, but man it sure seemed like a lot more. Insane torque too. I had set the Castle Punch to 50% which is like a 4 or 5 on the BLX. Definitely not enough. The Proline Trenchers don't help either as they really balloon. I took it back inside and put a 13t pinion on it. Again, according to the Bolospeed calculator 13t and 2200Kv is basically identical to 2050 an 14t. I also set the punch to 60% which is like the BLX 3 or 4. This combo tamed it a bit, but it still it super wheelie happy.I am running 500k in the center diff too. The Castle motor is just super punchy. I am very happy with it so far. I ran a full 6s battery combo through it and the motor temp maxed at 177 according to the log. My handheld could only find a max of 161. The ESC was warm but not hot, yet the log showed a max temp of 228. I find that hard to believe as my handheld was showing 140. Max amp draw was 226.3 but I can't find it on the graph. The highest I can see is 190.4.

Anyway here are a few pictures:

View attachment 22214View attachment 22213View attachment 22212View attachment 22211

So, is it normal behavior of all castle ESC’s to violently go forward after backing up and then trying to put the brakes on a little (by applying some forward throttle) ?

every time I back up, when I go to go forward again it’s like the car slams back into forward drive with a LOUD pop. Like something in the diff snapped.

this has happened to my with both the rigs I have castle esc’s now... I’m starting to get concerned with the quality of castle esc’s... seems like they are doing everything they can to just rush em out to the customers. Even if it means not getting it right the first time.

first I had the fan issue which I found out was a common problem.

then there is the screw issue that could potentially pierce the top of your capacitors.

and now I find the same fault with the NO delay from reverse to forward.

I have checked the “reverse type” and it is configured correctly.

is it just me ? or is the Mmx8s just problematic...

considering getting a max 5 to replace the castle esc in the k8..

 

[bicketybam]

Same screws too?!

Yes. You'll find that almost all motors that can physically fit the stock mount will bolt right in. Same screws and all ???

So, is it normal behavior of all castle ESC’s to violently go forward after backing up and then trying to put the brakes on a little (by applying some forward throttle) ?

every time I back up, when I go to go forward again it’s like the car slams back into forward drive with a LOUD pop. Like something in the diff snapped.

this has happened to my with both the rigs I have castle esc’s now... I’m starting to get concerned with the quality of castle esc’s... seems like they are doing everything they can to just rush em out to the customers. Even if it means not getting it right the first time.

first I had the fan issue which I found out was a common problem.

then there is the screw issue that could potentially pierce the top of your capacitors.

and now I find the same fault with the NO delay from reverse to forward.

I have checked the “reverse type” and it is configured correctly.

is it just me ? or is the Mmx8s just problematic...

considering getting a max 5 to replace the castle esc in the k8..

I've never noticed the reverse to forward issue but to be fair I don't slam the throttle after traveling in reverse. I use reverse sparingly to back out of a situation where I can't continue to go forward.

 

[Rcproponent]

Yes. You'll find that almost all motors that can physically fit the stock mount will bolt right in. Same screws and all ???

I've never noticed the reverse to forward issue but to be fair I don't slam the throttle after traveling in reverse. I use reverse sparingly to back out of a situation where I can't continue to go forward.

No, I’m not talking about slamming it back forward, I’m just talking about barely squeezing the trigger (for brake, not to go forward) and instead of braking, it just activates forward and goes. I’ll try to get what I’m talking about on video, I’m not out there abusing it by any means, jusy weird how snappy it is going from reverse to forward. Like if a person who didn’t know how to drive got the remote they could probably explode the diffs and not even know what happened.

 

[chevys10zr2003]

No, I’m not talking about slamming it back forward, I’m just talking about barely squeezing the trigger (for brake, not to go forward) and instead of braking, it just activates forward and goes. I’ll try to get what I’m talking about on video, I’m not out there abusing it by any means, jusy weird how snappy it is going from reverse to forward. Like if a person who didn’t know how to drive got the remote they could probably explode the diffs and not even know what happened.

It kind of sounds to me like you have the esc in crawler mode where you can go into forward mode at any time. You shouldn't be able to go forward until it is at a complete stop. Just so we are clear, with the Mamba X you have the brake/reverse set to option 1 and not option 3, correct?

 

[Rcproponent]

It kind of sounds to me like you have the esc in crawler mode where you can go into forward mode at any time. You shouldn't be able to go forward until it is at a complete stop. Just so we are clear, with the Mamba X you have the brake/reverse set to option 1 and not option 3, correct?

Yes, correct. That the first thing I checked because I thought it was weird that forward activated prior to full stop. But yes, I have it configured for the normal fwd brk rev. ??‍

I should also mention this is on 2 completely different setups... one on my kraton XL with the 1717 combo and the other in my K8s with a Mmx8s and hobbystar 5692 motor. Both forwards activate prior to coming to a complete stop..

 

[chevys10zr2003]

Yes, correct. That the first thing I checked because I thought it was weird that forward activated prior to full stop. But yes, I have it configured for the normal fwd brk rev. ??‍

I should also mention this is on 2 completely different setups... one on my kraton XL with the 1717 combo and the other in my K8s with a Mmx8s and hobbystar 5692 motor. Both forwards activate prior to coming to a complete stop..

I just wanted to make sure since some people see they have forward and reverse and think its good not knowing they have the wrong one. Have you tried the other setting just to see if somehow they programming got mixed up at the factory where option 1 is actually option 3?

Also, can you go into forward at any speed or just at lower speeds and does it do it for reverse too?

 

[Rcproponent]

I just wanted to make sure since some people see they have forward and reverse and think its good not knowing they have the wrong one. Have you tried the other setting just to see if somehow they programming got mixed up at the factory where option 1 is actually option 3?

Also, can you go into forward at any speed or just at lower speeds and does it do it for reverse too?

That could be worth a try... and yes, all speeds...the only reason I know that is because I was troubleshooting this problem. Under normal circumstances I would never mash the gas forward without coming to a stop first ..

 

[chevys10zr2003]

That could be worth a try... and yes, all speeds...the only reason I know that is because I was troubleshooting this problem. Under normal circumstances I would never mash the gas forward without coming to a stop first ..

That is weird. Try the other settings and let us know how it goes.

 

[Rcproponent]

That is weird. Try the other settings and let us know how it goes.

Tried putting it on option 3 as suggested but no go... option 3 takes out brakes entirely. Does the same thing forward and back. Option 1 only does it going out of reverse to forward. It’s like they forgot to program the brake function for the reverse to forward?

 

[chevys10zr2003]

Tried putting it on option 3 as suggested but no go... option 3 takes out brakes entirely. Does the same thing forward and back. Option 1 only does it going out of reverse to forward. It’s like they forgot to program the brake function for the reverse to forward?

View attachment 89852

That is weird. I have 7 or 8 castle escs from the xlx down to a micro x and I have never seen that or anything close to that before. Have you tried hooking it up to a computer to make do a factory reset and update the firmware? Also, when its hooked up to the computer there are a lot more settings that you can mess with too.

I know that I had one of my Mamba X for one of my crawlers that wouldn't run sensored or at full speed. After I did a factory reset and updated the firmware it worked fine and has ever since.

 

[Jimbobjr]

@robert@castle would be the man to ask.

 

[Rcproponent]

@robert@castle would be the man to ask.

Your right, @robert@castle , any input on this ??

 

[robert@castle]

We have never had brakes when going from Reverse to Forwards. I've been asking for it for a few years now because it seems like it would be helpful to avoid breaking parts and would be an easy bit to put in the code(maybe next time we get a new firmware engineer). Back in the day before flat chassis monster trucks like the Kraton, people liked the lack of brake because it would allow them to reverse a bit and instantly power forward so they could make their truck do a back flip. Traxxas would often complain to us when the E-Revo wouldn't do a double standing backflip.

Option 3 is labeled poorly on that programmer. It should be called Crawler Reverse, which gets rid of all brakes and relies on drag break being programmed.

I've also asked for another mode that doesn't do reverse lockout. Slows the vehicle to a stop with the brakes and then has a motionless delay(wouldbe programmed) and then spin the direction the radio is asking for. This would help with control in the air when jumping and you want to use the motor to keep the vehicle level for landing(or backflips/frontflips).

 

[Rcproponent]

We have never had brakes when going from Reverse to Forwards. I've been asking for it for a few years now because it seems like it would be helpful to avoid breaking parts and would be an easy bit to put in the code(maybe next time we get a new firmware engineer). Back in the day before flat chassis monster trucks like the Kraton, people liked the lack of brake because it would allow them to reverse a bit and instantly power forward so they could make their truck do a back flip. Traxxas would often complain to us when the E-Revo wouldn't do a double standing backflip.

Option 3 is labeled poorly on that programmer. It should be called Crawler Reverse, which gets rid of all brakes and relies on drag break being programmed.

I've also asked for another mode that doesn't do reverse lockout. Slows the vehicle to a stop with the brakes and then has a motionless delay(wouldbe programmed) and then spin the direction the radio is asking for. This would help with control in the air when jumping and you want to use the motor to keep the vehicle level for landing(or backflips/frontflips).

Thank you for the reply Robert. I think a brake before forward would be a great addition.

The instant forward can’t be good on the drivetrain components...

Now we know! ??

 

[Loon_tune]

As a brand new owner of a monster x with a 1515 I'm going to agree and say the reverse thing sucks big time. It cost me a spiral gear figuring it out. With a little work it doesn't really affect the driving so much, especially on dirt or whatever where it can spin the wheels, but it's certainly an inconvenience, especially on so pricey a system, to not have a feature standard on arrma's blx.

 

[Rcproponent]

As a brand new owner of a monster x with a 1515 I'm going to agree and say the reverse thing sucks big time. It cost me a spiral gear figuring it out. With a little work it doesn't really affect the driving so much, especially on dirt or whatever where it can spin the wheels, but it's certainly an inconvenience, especially on so pricey a system, to not have a feature standard on arrma's blx.

My thoughts were very similar to yours... when your spending $200 on an esc, you shouldn’t have to:
1:add spacers under a fan cover so your esc doesn’t overheat or fail.
2. Reprogram to get rid of faulty programming.
3. Be careful how you drive your cars now cause you may potentially kill your diffs without proper throttle control or (if someone unfamiliar is driving your car doesn’t destroy it)
4. Buy your own mounting device to for it, nothing is included, not even any double sticky tape.

I think I will be trying to sell the couple combos I have to go back to hobbywing.


I am kinda bummed and feel bad for suggesting this combo to people, at first I thought it was very solid.. come to find out, not so much.

You don’t have to do anything to a hobbywing after you buy it... except install it...with the mounting holes it has, OR the sticky tape it has.. and maybe sometimes put your own style connector on it... just sayin..

 

[Lyphted]

I went and got this combo today from a LHS. They matched the price Castle is selling it for on their website,which I thought was cool. I only had a few issues with installation. First I couldn't get the 14t pinion off the stock BLX motor. I have a pinion puller but I couldn't use it because of my HR channel motor mount. The grub scew stripped and it was just a nightmare. I finally got it off just as I remembered that I have a 14t pinion from my Typhon, lol. So I went and used that. Another issue was the sensor harness. It doesn't come installed on the MMX, which is just freaking stupid. There are no directions and no obvious place to plug the harness in. I finally googled up something to help me out and I got it on there. Once I has everything installed I took it out and forward and reverse were reversed. Since I am using it sensored I couldn't just swap motor wires. I had all the motor wires in the proper places, so I tried reversing the throttle in the transmitter. Bad idea. I went forward at half speed and when I hit the brakes I did front flip, lol. So I knew it had to be something else. Again I went to Google and saw there was a setting in the ESC to reverse the motor direction. I changed that and went back out to test. All was good.

Running the same 14t pinion I had on my stock BLX motor resulted in very difficult to control power. Based on the Bolospeed calculator, I should only be picking up 5 mph by going to a 2200 kv motor, but man it sure seemed like a lot more. Insane torque too. I had set the Castle Punch to 50% which is like a 4 or 5 on the BLX. Definitely not enough. The Proline Trenchers don't help either as they really balloon. I took it back inside and put a 13t pinion on it. Again, according to the Bolospeed calculator 13t and 2200Kv is basically identical to 2050 an 14t. I also set the punch to 60% which is like the BLX 3 or 4. This combo tamed it a bit, but it still it super wheelie happy.I am running 500k in the center diff too. The Castle motor is just super punchy. I am very happy with it so far. I ran a full 6s battery combo through it and the motor temp maxed at 177 according to the log. My handheld could only find a max of 161. The ESC was warm but not hot, yet the log showed a max temp of 228. I find that hard to believe as my handheld was showing 140. Max amp draw was 226.3 but I can't find it on the graph. The highest I can see is 190.4.

Anyway here are a few pictures:

View attachment 22214View attachment 22213View attachment 22212View attachment 22211

I can not thank you enough for this post. I just swapped over to a MMX with a 1717 motor in my Kraton 6S V4. I ran into the exact problem with the motor feeling like it’s backward. Almost flipping at the slightest touch of reverse and nothing impressive going forward. I can’t wait to try switching it in the ESC rather than the radio. It makes perfect sense. But to add to it, my BLX motor also has a 14t pinion stuck on it. I used a ball end (I know, I know) that broke in the grub screw and tried lots to get it off. We were able to get the gear to the end of the shaft and will have to cut it off. It sucks but was the only way.

 

[Lyphted]

Same screws too?!

If you want your wires to run in the same place, you have to take the motor cap off and spin it till the screws line up as close as you can get. Otherwise, I would have had to use much smaller screws that just caught the lip on the mount

 

[bosko]

Yes.

hi i live in danbury is there any race track's around this area. i just bought my first rc just getting into it i got a typhon 6s.
i am really having a blast i bought a set of street tires and been mostly driving around the parking lots. my name is Bosko.