Spektrum brushless combo review

[RudyF6]

Horizon last-minute deals got me an AX-24 cheap, perfect candidate for this combo Spektrum Accessories Firma 8A Sensored Brushless ESC / Motor Combo: 1/24 Rock Crawlers | Horizon Hobby when it popped up for under $30.
I was curious how this setup would compare to the 2 Furitek powered rigs I've had for a while.
It's got plenty of power, but no such thing as smooth startup and slow crawl. It stutters so bad at startup you can see the body of the car shake!!
If the AX-24 came out of the box with this setup, I'd be shopping for something to replace it. The twitchy throttle just makes the bouncy little AX JUMP on to its back instead of just flopping over all the time! I thought "sensored" would make it smoother than it is.
I know reviews are about split on this thing, but I had to see for myself.
Glad I didn't bite when it came out, it shows MSRP of $49.99, but I think it was more originally.
I'm kinda' bummed about spending even $30 on it!
Anybody else try this with better results?

 

[JatoTheRipper]

That sucks to hear. I personally have no experience with it.

 

[bgredjeep]

I had seen those on sale a while back. Everything i read about them said not good so I never pulled the trigger. Your experience mirrors what I heard.

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

Make sure there is no play in the worm gears . If you rotate the wheels back and forth and the drive shaft moves in and out of the axle housing you need to shim it with a larger O ring between the worm gear and bearing that sits in the diff cover. I use the O rings from ball links.

Maybe install the lowest underdrive gears you can find . Mofo has gears that are as low as 53% underdrive.

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

Also make sure the wheel hexes are not binding on the bearings .

 

[RudyF6]

Make sure there is no play in the worm gears . If you rotate the wheels back and forth and the drive shaft moves in and out of the axle housing you need to shim it with a larger O ring between the worm gear and bearing that sits in the diff cover. I use the O rings from ball links.

Maybe install the lowest underdrive gears you can find . Mofo has gears that are as low as 53% underdrive.

I'll be doing a u/d in the rear just because it needs it, but the chatter is all electronic. I plugged it in before reassembling the car and I could feel it with the motor/trans/skid in my hand.

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

Could the motor pinion and spur gear mesh be too tight ?

 

[RudyF6]

Also make sure the wheel hexes are not binding on the bearings .

That's exactly what it feels like, but smooth as silk beyond startup.
What's bad is you can accelerate through the chatter and back down to a decent slow crawl, but the startup either chatters, spins tires, or flips backwards faster and with more flair than it used to...

 

[RudyF6]

Could the motor pinion and spur gear mesh be too tight ?

I wish - I could fix that!
Makes me wonder though, they include a smaller pinion in case the motor runs too hot as-is. (It doesn't)
I wonder if the lower gearing would lessen the effect?

 

[NWCT24CRAWL]

What other mods have you done ? Large tires and heavy brass can make things sluggish.

 

[JimrC]

I looked at this combo a while back and like others ... never pulled the trigger because of said issue. Would of expected a V2 by now though.

 

[89Industries]

Makes me wonder though, they include a smaller pinion in case the motor runs too hot as-is. (It doesn't)
I wonder if the lower gearing would lessen the effect?

Lower gear ratio would certainly make the startup stutter less noticeable. To get rid of it altogether you might have to go super low at which point you may not get the top speed you want. But if they give you smaller pinion that is an easy place to start.

I wondered if the esc was programmable but looked up on the website link you included and it says it is not programmable.

 

[RudyF6]

Thanks for the input guys, this thing is box stock and only 2 packs through it after a once over and all was well.
I think gearing down is going to be the best thing, even axle u/d. I think I have some somewhere. I don't care if it's fast, it's too unstable! But it's fun to watch it crawl!