Do motor wires have to be the same length?

[dure16]

Only 1 or 2 motor wires need extension to reach the ESC on a new build.

Is there any reason I should extend all three to keep them the same length?

 

[Diem Turner]

Nope. It's of no consequence.

 

[KnowAir]

I heard/read that on TP motors it do matter? True?

 

[SrC]

^^^
Possibly so. Depends on the Type wind of the BLX motor in question, if anything.
I personally would keep all the wires the same length and not think any much more beyond that. What is so bad about making all 3 of them equal length, while you are there? To save 3 minutes and 3 nickels? A short cut?
In general the correct length of all the 3 Phase motor wires , never seemed to be a concern. Unlike the Mains Lipo leads. ( shortest as feasible being best)
I do know that the Serious Speed Runner crowd keep all 3 Phase wires all the same length.
I think it matters, when you get technical about it.
Why play around? Stock configs are all equal lengths. Follow suit. For the sake of continuity, if anything. The Phase wires handle low voltages yet Higher Pulse frequencies, than the lipo Mains wires. A shorter or longer length Phase lead with just one wire, should technically matter, electrically speaking.
Food for thought.
My spin.

 

[SirCrashALot]

^^^
Possibly so. Depends on the Type wind of the BLX motor in question, if anything.
I personally would keep all the wires the same length and not think any much more beyond that. What is so bad about making all 3 of them equal length, while you are there? To save 3 minutes and 3 nickels? A short cut?
In general the correct length of all the 3 Phase motor wires , never seemed to be a concern. Unlike the Mains Lipo leads. ( shortest as feasible being best)
I do know that the Serious Speed Runner crowd keep all 3 Phase wires all the same length.
I think it matters, when you get technical about it.
Why play around? Stock configs are all equal lengths. Follow suit. For the sake of continuity, if anything. The Phase wires handle low voltages yet Higher Pulse frequencies, than the lipo Mains wires. A shorter or longer length Phase lead with just one wire, should technically matter, electrically speaking.
Food for thought.
My spin.

That sounds a bit like the gold plated plugs for audio cables. Technically beter, yes, but doubtful if anyone would notice improvement.

 

[Diem Turner]

That sounds a bit like the gold plated plugs for audio cables. Technically beter, yes, but doubtful if anyone would notice improvement.

To be fair, the only reason that they use gold plating on audio connectors is because it doesn't oxidize. It always looks nice. If it was about performance/conductivity they'd use silver but its tendency to tarnish just makes it unsuitable for purpose.

I heard/read that on TP motors it do matter? True?

TP motors are different from most others in that the wires that come out of the motor are the winding themselves. Most other motors terminate the windings inside the can with a bridge where you (often but not always) have your solder points for the three phases.

If at all possible, don't shorten the wires on a TP motor because you won't be able to solder a bullet to the end if you do. You'll first have to strip the coating from each individual strand (wire for windings is coated otherwise you'd short any coil you wind with it). Different materials like enamel, poly and various synthetics are used for insulation). This means you'll have to either mechanically or chemically remove the coating. Once that's done, you can proceed with the soldering process.

So theoretically when you shorten one of the wires, you're very slightly changing the timing of that phase. It's my understanding that the amount you can remove isn't enough to make any difference in the grand scheme of things but I've never tried it myself so...grain of salt, you know the rest.

But the question posited by the OP was regarding extension which would be made from regular stranded wire, presumably 10 or 8AWG depending on the motor. This shouldn't matter at all (unless you're adding several feet of wire....if anyone has done this, please post pics cuz I wanna laugh too).

 

[SrC]

+!
A Cm difference +/- does not matter. The OP never stated how long of a difference one one wire would be on his motor.

There are some guys who say twisting the 3 Phase wires together along its length to gather up long wire lengths also has a signal benefit.
I don't think there is any data to back that up.
And then there are some that say all 3 wires should be parallel to each and never crossover each other.
No data to back that up either.

 

[Diem Turner]

+!
A Cm difference +/- does not matter. The OP never stated how long of a difference one one wire would be on his motor.

There are some guys who say twisting the 3 Phase wires together along its length to gather up long wire lengths also has a signal benefit.
I don't think there is any data to back that up.
And then there are some that say all 3 wires should be parallel to each and never crossover each other.
No data to back that up either.

Careful brother...you're straying precipitously close to audiophile territory there.

 

[SrC]

I know exactly what you mean.

 

[Sirkensirlot]

^^^
Possibly so. Depends on the Type wind of the BLX motor in question, if anything.
I personally would keep all the wires the same length and not think any much more beyond that. What is so bad about making all 3 of them equal length, while you are there? To save 3 minutes and 3 nickels? A short cut?
In general the correct length of all the 3 Phase motor wires , never seemed to be a concern. Unlike the Mains Lipo leads. ( shortest as feasible being best)
I do know that the Serious Speed Runner crowd keep all 3 Phase wires all the same length.
I think it matters, when you get technical about it.
Why play around? Stock configs are all equal lengths. Follow suit. For the sake of continuity, if anything. The Phase wires handle low voltages yet Higher Pulse frequencies, than the lipo Mains wires. A shorter or longer length Phase lead with just one wire, should technically matter, electrically speaking.
Food for thought.
My spin.

I think it all comes down to resistance. The longer motor wire will have more compared to the shorter wires. but for the inch or two difference does it really matter unless you are one of the top-speed run guys? That opens a can of worms on how the ESC likes it

 

[slick2500]

It would really trigger my ocd if the wires weren't the same length.