Should I go with a Hole or a Slot?

[Velodromed]

Yep definitely have to experiment with different things with the hobby and see what works best. In my case with my sandy dirt and harder driving style slit is best solution so far

Experiment, rig, figure out, make up…love it all!

 

[Edough13]

Experiment, rig, figure out, make up…love it all!

Yes Sir

 

[murphy0987]

I have slotted both my 3s rigs, and never had any issues since doing it. I think its a great way to keep the power module from building up fine dirt in there.

 

[dure16]

Others have found the tape (velcro) method doesn't work for them,. But it works for me and my power module has to be cleaner than using a hole in the chassis. A hole lets dirt out, but also lets dirt in. My power module is 100% dirt free. If the velcro works in your Vorteks, there's no reason to drill a hole. If it doesn't, then you can drill a hole instead. But once you drill a hole, you can't undo it. I think it's obvious you should try the Velcro first.

I’m with you here. I use Velcro and my power modules stay squeaky clean no matter where I drive.

 

[Velodromed]

When I pulled apart my vourtex the other day there was minor amount of stuff underneath the spur. On the vortex I had used soft Velcro, run a dust cover and taped off around the chassie/gear box. Stuff still got in. Some of the stuff you see is the ground up spur gear but not all of it is

Looks like I’m gonna slut up the vorteks. I mean slot up. Or hole up

 

[RCbuzz]

Thanks for the follow up! Was just about to tape up with some velcro, guess I will just drill a hole in the chassis.

 

[Edough13]

Telling you guys I've ran the slot in mine about a year now and no issues at all! Also another great suggestion that helps save the front motor bearing is put a small O ring over the motor shaft down to the base at the motor/bearing it will help keep dust out and give more life to the bearing and motor

 

[RCbuzz]

Thanks! Going to try the hole route. Already locktighted the pinion though and don't have o-rings that size, will check into that one later.

 

[SrC]

O rings on the motor shaft.. Brilliant.
I do that to my Servo out put shaft. before I place the arm on.

 

[Edough13]

O rings on the motor shaft.. Brilliant.
I do that to my Servo out put shaft. before I place the arm on.

It really does help a lot I believe. I've been running the same 3s blx motor since last April and not replaced a bearing once! That's being ran hard too and where I live is sandy dirt so get the really fine dust unfortunately. It kills my hub/wheel bearings pretty quick if I'm not on top of cleaning them often but I haven't changed the motor bearing once and that's also running the slot cut in the chassis

 

[Velodromed]

Thanks for the follow up! Was just about to tape up with some velcro, guess I will just drill a hole in the chassis.

Yeah… I’ve changed my mind on drilling a hole in the chassis. Without the hole I only had to deal with a small amount of dust in the spurcase. Taping off the area with soft Velcro, running a dust cover, pulling the motor and cleaning it often works very well for me.

With the hole there was significantly more debris underneath and inside the spurcase, including grass and small rocks. It made the spurcase and motor area filthy. Additionally I noticed that the spurgear in my granite has far more wear and tear, including chips and ground up areas (from the small rocks?), compared to my other two cars that do not have holes in the chassis.

My habit is to pull the motor and clean it every few runs. Since the two cars I have without holes in the chassis are staying far cleaner and the spur gears have less wear, I taped off the hole in my granite chassis last week. Now I’m back to dealing with only minor debris in the spur case.

 

[dure16]

Yeah… I’ve changed my mind on drilling a hole in the chassis. Without the hole I only had to deal with a small amount of dust in the spurcase. Taping off the area with soft Velcro, running a dust cover, pulling the motor and cleaning it often works very well for me.

With the hole there was significantly more debris underneath and inside the spurcase, including grass and small rocks. It made the spurcase and motor area filthy. Additionally I noticed that the spurgear in my granite has far more wear and tear, including chips and ground up areas (from the small rocks?), compared to my other two cars that do not have holes in the chassis.

My habit is to pull the motor and clean it every few runs. Since the two cars I have without holes in the chassis are staying far cleaner and the spur gears have less wear, I taped off the hole in my granite chassis last week. Now I’m back to dealing with only minor debris in the spur case.

This is why I haven't slotted my chassis. It's not perfect now but adding a hole just seems to introduce other issues. Plus I love driving in the snow and all the water/snow that'd get in there could be even more problematic.

 

[RCbuzz]

Okay, back to undecided

 

[SrC]

@dure0016, I had bashed once for several packs, no issues.( Kraton 6s) On a dry day. As sundown approached and on my last lipo , dew developed fast on the Grass, half way through my pack, my ESC bricked from the Dew moisture. The whole rig was soaked inside the chassis.
I avoid water. In this situation crap just happened, caught me off guard. ESC's are just not WP. You are on borrowed time in the wet. We all RC differntly. I get it.
I just find that those who do run in the wet, complain the most about Electrics bricking out of no where. So its kind of obvious what the problem is.
Have to think about that. Mfr says WP, yet they wont warranty if running in the wet, telling them you do this. Read between the lines. Simply not WP.

Okay, back to undecided

Slot or not. I think it is rather subjective depending how and where you drive your rig. And your cleaning regimen. If you pull out you Power modue very often, you will be fine. If not, taking a chance. That whole power module setup is what puts me off the most about the 4x4's.

 

[dure16]

Simply not WP.

Completely agree. I understand that running in water/snow means I’ll have to replace parts more often. That’s worth it to me.

 

[RCbuzz]

Have you noticed if the velcro or double sticky tape (with one smooth side left on) works better? I think my issue is that there is very little clearance and sometimes it just bunches up under there. Have read some posts that velcro didn't work too well and let some debris through.

 

[dure16]

Have you noticed if the velcro or double sticky tape (with one smooth side left on) works better? I think my issue is that there is very little clearance and sometimes it just bunches up under there. Have read some posts that velcro didn't work too well and let some debris through.

I use only the soft half of adhesive velcro, with the adhesive part pressed to the bottom of the motor mount. Then I cut out a hole for the spur gear.

I wouldn’t say it’s perfect but it’s a big improvement. If I had to guess, I’d say it is 80% effective.

 

[Velodromed]

Have you noticed if the velcro or double sticky tape (with one smooth side left on) works better? I think my issue is that there is very little clearance and sometimes it just bunches up under there. Have read some posts that velcro didn't work too well and let some debris through.

The soft side of Velcro works great for me. Some debris will always get through no matter what you do. Which is why I pull the motor often. Like every few runs. The more I pull motors (got three cars) the easier and quicker it gets.

 

[RCbuzz]

Tried the tape this round, won't rule out the chassis hole though either until I try it.

 

[jondilly1974]

Hey @slick2500 @Mr.Duke @WoodiE I thought this was a family friendly board? Hole or slot?