Motor & ESC capabilities?

[Steven_mc]

First off I'm new to the R/C scene, I just picked up an brushless Axial Wraith from someone and after one of the axle bearings let go I decided to tear the whole thing down and rebuild, doing a complete overhaul and maybe upgrading a few things along the way.

For starters I bought it to get into low-speed technical R/C crawling, and the brushless hobbywing xerun 3656 & SCT PRO ESC seem way too fast, the thing can't even turn a corner without recreating the explosive rollover sequence from your favorite action movie. Not to mention there's considerable delay between throttle pull for forward or reverse before it moves in either direction, not what I would describe as smooth!

Where should I start for a basic overview of motors and ESC options, gearing, and transmission details? I've browsed the newbie guide at the top of the forum, but most of the data or parts listed seem to be 4 or 5 years out of date.

Thanks for any help and direction you can provide!

 

[punkindrublik]

Are you wanting to go brushless or brushed? Both have their advantages.
And what kind of budget are you looking at?

And I can tell you right now, Holmes Hobbies is the hot motor right now no matter which way you go. "thumbsup"

 

[Steven_mc]

I have lots to learn. I’ve always assumed brushless was better than brushed for the same reason my cordless brushless tools are better(last longer, more torque, better battery life).

Where can I find details on the differences(pros/cons)?

Budget? Say $200 for motor and ESC, but that’s completely flexible.


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[punkindrublik]

I really had to do a double take when I got into crawling and learned that brushed was the go-to motor. Brushed motors have much smoother low end start up which is very desirable in crawling. But with the brushless technology ever evolving, the sensored (and even the sensorless) are making their own strides in crawling. For the most part brushed is less expensive, but you can spend some good money on a nice hand wound 5 slot motor.

Check out holmeshobbies.com. The man has come up with the best crawler specific motors on the market IMO (and most of the people on this forum). And be sure to check out his youtube page.

https://www.youtube.com/user/HolmesHobbies

 

[punkindrublik]

Not to mention there's considerable delay between throttle pull for forward or reverse before it moves in either direction, not what I would describe as smooth!

That's an ESC setting. You have it set to FOR/BRAKE/REV, it needs to be set to FOR/REV.

 

[Steven_mc]

That's an ESC setting. You have it set to FOR/BRAKE/REV, it needs to be set to FOR/REV.

Good to know! I’ll check that out.


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[altd896]

No Wraith corners well at speed, certainly not without substantial mod's but seeing as your looking for a crawler thats not hugely important anyway.

What kv is the motor? (3656 is only the model type)
And what battery are you using?

If it's the 3400kv on 3s it should crawl just fine & be pretty smooth, at least mine is.
You may need to dig into the spur cover & find out what pinion is on the motor, you may be able to go down a couple of teeth on there which will be a much cheaper option than changing out the whole power system.
Also double check the sensor cable between the motor & esc is plugged in & the plugs clean not full of mud or corrosion.

Being a 2nd hand deal the throttle on delay could be in the radio set-up as well

 

[Steven_mc]

No Wraith corners well at speed, certainly not without substantial mod's but seeing as your looking for a crawler thats not hugely important anyway.

What kv is the motor? (3656 is only the model type)
And what battery are you using?

If it's the 3400kv on 3s it should crawl just fine & be pretty smooth, at least mine is.
You may need to dig into the spur cover & find out what pinion is on the motor, you may be able to go down a couple of teeth on there which will be a much cheaper option than changing out the whole power system.
Also double check the sensor cable between the motor & esc is plugged in & the plugs clean not full of mud or corrosion.

Being a 2nd hand deal the throttle on delay could be in the radio set-up as well

The motor is 4000kv on 2s LiPo. I see a black plug coming off of the motor (opposite the ABC connectors) that isn't connected, is that the sensor? I don't see provision to connect it on the SCT Pro ESC, but maybe I'm missing something?

I'll watch some videos on disassembling the trasmission and investigating the pinion gear. I have a few spares in all the spare parts that came with the rig, so maybe previous owner also experimented here... I'm also planning to crack open the axles and investigate the gearing there as well.

Rear is 28/13. Still need to break open the front...

Thanks for the help!

 

[Steven_mc]

Another question... Since I’m already setup with a Hobbywing Brushless setup, (motor & ESC), could I simply swap to a brushless Holmes Hobbies motor and still run my current SCT Pro ESC(just to keep cost down)? Or is it best to match motor and ESC from the same vendor?? TIA!


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[altd896]

The HW SCT Pro esc should be sensored, (mine is) it will have a port on the side that may still have a blanking plug in it, see back right hand corner in pic

Pop the plug out & there'll be a socket for the sensor cable, note theres a right way up for the plug.

Hooking up the sensor cable should make an improvement in it's start up, brake & drag brake.

In theory any sensored ESC should run any sensored motor with no problems.
Obviously some esc are better than others or have additional features ( Castle Mamba aux ctrl for example ) but I've mix n matched CC esc with Tenshock, Tekin & Hobbywing sensored motors & also HW SCT Pro esc with both Tekin & Tenshock motors & none have ever been a problem other than occasionally being caught out by the motor rotation being wrong (easily fixed in both esc with software)

 

[Steven_mc]

Update - I got new wheel bearings installed, rebuilt all 4 shocks, and figured out how to program the ESC. Made a few adjustments, namely moving to a FWD/REV setting and insuring the sensor wire is now connected... What a difference! Tons of control.

Thanks for all the help! More to come as I start to make upgrades and improvements. A couple of pics:

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[altd896]

Glad thats started to work out with what you've got with tuning rather than more spending.