ASK Cub Reporter, 09.12.2012, Version- There Are No Bad Questions, Only Bad Answers

Hi Guys,
Great site and lots of info. I have read quite a few articles and forums and I’m at information overload now trying to pick the right combo for my build. I have a e-revo 1/16 that I’m planning on putting a mamba max pro with either a 4600kv 4-pole or 5700kv 4-pole motor. Than it comes down to choosing the right battery for these motors to get the right current for these motors to be efficient.

In your opinion would you go with a 4600 or 5700 motor? I contacted Castle and they told me both are rated to 3S only while on the net everyone says the 4600 is safe with 4S?
And lastly batteries for the mini battery compartment. I was looking at thunder power but now im debating.
Any suggestion or help is appreciated.
JetSpeed81

Cubby– What up Jet, and mucho thanks for the email. Send Brian your snail mail so we can hook ya up with some stickers.

So… you want to completely, utterly, grossly, overpower a Traxxas Mini Revo? Sounds awesome to me.

I have never done what you are attempting to do, so a lot of what I’ll be posting here will be pure speculation. With that said…

So… you are gonna drop in a 540 tenth scale brushless motor into your 16th scale Revo. And you are wondering which would be better, the 4600 or the 5700 kv motor. The stock 380 brushless motor in the lil’ Revo is 4000 kv. So, with either of the two Castle motors you are going to have more rpm per volt of input. To really boil it down, both of them are going to feel faster, wayyyy faster, than stock. Personally, I’d go with the 4600 because you are talking about going with high cell counts. Why? Because the 4600 won’t be as over-geared as the 5700 would be at higher voltages.

About batteries…. yes, they will be very important with what you are trying to do. That big 10th scale Castle system is capable of pulling a LOT of juice, more juice than a lot of batteries that will fit in your battery compartment are going to be comfortable putting out on a consistent basis.

The use of higher cell counts will help keep current draw down for a given output wattage, but lets look at this. The Castle 4600 and 5700 are both roughly 500 watt motors. Lets say you are running a 4S Lipo setup. Lets say each cell dips down to 3.5 volts when you pound the gas. In those circumstances the Castle system will still be pulling more than 35 amps from your batteries when hitting 500 watts. Let’s say you are using 2000 mah packs. You’ll be asking for nearly 20C (40 amps) from those packs for the motor to put out its full 500 watts. Now, while most modern packs can easily do a 20C discharge, some will be more capable of doing it for 100 cycles than others. No, we haven’t tested many (any??) cells in that size range so I can’t point you to a specific brand, but it sounds like a heck of a good idea for us to do in our next Lipo shootout.

Best of luck with your project, and I’m holding you to shoot’n us some vid of that insane beast when you get it done.

Hey, I am a noob and I’m not sure what the best bang for my buck is. Nitro or electric? How long does the average battery charge last. What kind of maintenance does a nitro car require? And for my first car can I get a decent one for around $200? I want to have the power to play in sand and on gravel but also decent speed on pavement. Please help me.

Thank you

Gage

Cubby– Hi Gage, I am going to totally hook you up with the scoop. Nitro is sooo much better. They are cheaper, run better, faster, and they require virtually no maintenance. Best of all, they start easy and run perfect every single time!

Just screw’n with ya. Nitro, in theory, should be the bomb, but unless you like tuning engines more than running your truck, they are a PITA.

So what is the best bang for your buck? IMHO, it’s electric. But of course, if you were to ask our staff wrench guy Bill what he thinks, his answer would unequivocally be nitro.

How long does an average battery charge last? That depends on a bunch of different factors, but if you aren’t getting at least 10 minutes now days, you are either going ridiculously fast, you are running really crappy batteries, or something is very wrong. My rough answer to you would be most people get between 10-20 minutes of drive time on a decent quality battery with good power.

What kind of maintenance does a nitro car require? Wayyyy too much. Seriously bru, trust me on this one.

Can you get a decent car for $200? Heck yes you can. I don’t know what type of vehicle you are looking for- car, truck, buggy, etc, but for example the ARRMA Granite just won our 2wd Monster Truck Shootout. The Granite has a street price of $200 and is one kick ass bash-mobile. And good for you, the Granite has more than big enough tires for use on gravel and sand.To boil it down- you won’t get the best of the best for $200, but you can certainly get something well worth owning that is lots of fun. Btw- rarely in our hobby does price have anything to do with how much fun you’ll have. The most fun times we’ve ever experienced have been with lower priced units.

Big squid
I don’t normally chime in on stuff like this but the AMA Nationals from this past weekend were in the 951, not in the ‘heart of the 909’ as was described in the posting.
Thanks
Mike C

Cubby– Hey what’s up Mike, thanks for the email.

So I take it you live in the 951? Yes, Lake Elsinore is located physically in the 951 area code, but it was located in the 909 up till 2004 when the 951 was created. Some of us don’t forget. But, on top of that fact and perhaps more importantly, as far as the rest of the country is concerned the 951 looks exactly like the 909. Why? Because there are just as many flat bill hats, black socks, and murdered out trucks with Metal Mulisha stickers in the rear window (lifted of course, with an old clapped out 95′ CR125 in the bed) in the new 951 as there ever was in the old 909. Now you know bro.

That’s it for this week folks. Shoot me whatever floats your boat to Cubby at BigSquidRC dot com! If you make the front page you’ll get free uber stickers, if I proclaim your letter as “letter of the month” you’ll get a free t-shirt.

YOUR Cub Reporter