Maclan Racing Diamondback MX 550 Brushless Combo Review
New on the brushless scene is a company called Maclan Racing. They have made a splash by promising a couple of big things- to put out the most powerful systems on the market, and to have endless innovations. We have been bashing one of their Diamondback/MX 550 Sensorless Brushless Systems for a few weeks now. Does it have the most power on the market? Is it smooth to drive? Did it live past torture testing? Read on to find out…
Review By: Cubby & Iron Mikeee
Pictures By: Tim Mohr
Quick Specs:
Diamondback 120 ESC
Brushless, sensorless
Waterproof: Yes
Input Voltage: 2S~3S Li-Po
BEC Output: 6V/5A Linear
Cont./Burst Current: 120A/600A
Fan: Yes
Bullet Connectors: 4mm
Weight: 97g
Dimension: 52.5 x 39.8 x 29.25mm
Support Vehicle Weight: ≥6 lb
MX550 Motor
4200kV sensorless 4 pole
Max cell count: 2S
Weight: 235g
Length: 60mm
Diameter: 36mm
Output Shaft: 5mm
Rebuild-able: Yes
Combo
Part Number: #MCL3004
From: Maclan Racing
Direct Link: Diamondback MX 550 Combo
Price: $139
Set-Up Notes: We installed the Maclan 550 system in our Losi/Pro-Line/MIP SCTE. It was mated to a Hitec servo, Futaba radio gear, and was powered by Duratrax Onyx and MaxAmps 2S LiPo batteries. We also used the optional Maclan Prolink programming box (#MCL4001) to make adjustments.
Ease Of Use: We found the Maclan to be a breeze to install and set-up. All the wires came pre-soldered, with 4mm bullets on the motor wires and a Deans connector for the battery. Throttle calibration was painless thanks to good instructions and we found the Prolink programmer extremely easy to use.
Power: There is no doubt, the Maclan has a lot of wattage under the hood. Low end torque is top notch, it rips through the mid-range, and top end yank was impressive. We geared our SCTE for about 40 mph and the Maclan provided eye opening power from the crack of the throttle until it topped out the gearing. On the track it had great punch out of corners and it had more than enough yank to clear any jump combo on our local 8th scale outdoor track.
How It Drives: We found the Maclan system to be very smooth and easy to drive. From a dead stop it might not be the absolute smoothest sensorless system on the market, but everywhere else in the powerband was buttery smooth. Sure, there was a lot of wattage on tap at all times, but we felt no unexpected surges (or drops) in yank across the throttle spectrum.
Downsides: Not many, the Maclan was a pretty dialed overall package. The 4200kV motor that came in our review combo was not rated to be 3S capable and movement from a dead stop could have been a bit smoother, otherwise the system was pretty dialed.
Durability: We drove the Maclan like we stole it and experienced no issues. It lived through a number of roof jumps plus pack-after-pack of being driven WFO without any problems.
Final Verdict: Is the Maclan Diamondback/MX combo the most powerful 550 system on the market? Without using a dyno or doing a straight up shootout we can’t say for sure, but we do know it felt at as powerful as anything else we’ve driven. We were impressed with the looks and quality feel of the Maclan system, plus it was easy to install. To top it off, we felt its price point of $139 made it an outstanding value. Yes, we really liked the Maclan Diamondback/MX combo and can recommend it to you.
