Outcast New Outcast EXB 6s owner: Switch to new ESC?

[DiffLock]

New Outcast EXB 6s owner here, and so far love driving that little monster!

It's my first real RC car, though, and after browsing the forums and reading and learning a lot, there remains one central question:

Should I exchange the stock ESC right away?

I'm running it stock (except I put a fan on the motor in addition to the preinstalled cooling fins), on 2 Spektrum 5000mah 50C 3S or 1 Spektrum 5000mah 100C 6S batteries, charged by a S2200 G2 smart charger. So far no issues.
But: I was aware of the issues the old BLX180 had before buying and thought those have been resolved with the new BLX185. Now, browsing the forums, I stumble upon what seems to be plenty of Outcasts, Kratons and the like with BLX185s catching fire...

Is that just biased perception as most people are not experiencing issues, or would it really be the smarter move to just swallow the bitter pill and install a new aftermarket ESC in a basically new car?

 

[GraniteFox]

No real issues with the stock spektrum stuff. If you still have the warranty I would just keep it stock. If something burns up have HH replace it. The go to system after the warranty runs out is the Max6 combo.

 

[Hector_Fisher]

I assume you have the spektrum 150a ESC if it's the outcast EXB RTR. There is a probability of it going up in flames, but if left mostly stock, there should low risk for that. The warranty offers quite a bit of value that an aftermarket ESC doesn't. If you start gearing up like crazy, changing out tires, or swapping in bigger motors, i'd consider changing ESC. But that's just been my experience.

 

[Camaroboy383]

Pull the motor timing down and you won't have any issues..

 

[Moirae]

Yea lower timing in esc settings and enjoy that bad boy until it breaks or you want more.

 

[DiffLock]

Excellent advice, thank you so much! After a quick read-up on motor timing I recon that I'll hardly ever need high-speed performance in my Outcast, and giving up on max speed and fire risk for more low-end torque combined with a cooler-running ESC sounds like an excellent trade-off to me!

I'll dial in lower motor timings before the next run then.

Which... brings me to another, closely related topic.
While directly programming the ESC is a workable solution, I find it rather cumbersome, counting beeps and flashes. Any advice on a nice programming device, preferably one featuring a display, that would work for my Outcast, my wife's Granite, and - ideally - for a Traxxas Summit?

 

[Moirae]

Excellent advice, thank you so much! After a quick read-up on motor timing I recon that I'll hardly ever need high-speed performance in my Outcast, and giving up on max speed and fire risk for more low-end torque combined with a cooler-running ESC sounds like an excellent trade-off to me!

I'll dial in lower motor timings before the next run then.

Which... brings me to another, closely related topic.
While directly programming the ESC is a workable solution, I find it rather cumbersome, counting beeps and flashes. Any advice on a nice programming device, preferably one featuring a display, that would work for my Outcast, my wife's Granite, and - ideally - for a Traxxas Summit?

Sadly I believe you will need a different programmer for all 3 of those. I actually don't even know anything about programming traxxas escs but 3s and 6s arrma rigs defintiely use different programmers.

https://www.amazon.com/Spektrum-Smart-ESC-Programming-Update/dp/B07XZ9VBYV
^ 6s arrma


https://www.amazon.com/HobbyWing-LE...refix=hobbywing+pro,toys-and-games,109&sr=1-4

^ 3s arrma