Best “off-road” motor on a budget?

[RC_FunLand]

Hi,

 

Looking to invest in a new motor / ESC combo for my Hotshot, preferably one that is fast (40+ mph).

 

My parameters are:

- brushless

- sensored

- fast

- preferably waterproof

 

Excluded brands:

- GoolRC

- no-name Chinese

- Turnigy

 

Should I invest in a stock-spec (ie Surpass Hobby Rocket V5R), or something simpler? I’m looking for performance, both on and off-road.

How many turns should this motor be?

What ESC would complement nicely?

 

Thanks so much!

[Twinfan]

Heat may be an issue with the enclosed radio box of the Hotshot but how about a Hobbywing 10BL120 and matching 3650 G2 motor in 13.5T?

[RC_FunLand]

7 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

Heat may be an issue with the enclosed radio box of the Hotshot but how about a Hobbywing 10BL120 and matching 3650 G2 motor in 13.5T?

Oooh, was thinking that! I already have an extra 10BL-120… go for that, or a Surpass?

 

In regards to heat, I run without the stainless top cover.

[Jonathon Gillham]

Since you want fast you'll probably need to go down to 8.5T or even lower. The Hotshot has limited gearing - the biggest pinion suits a 10.5T, so if you go for say 8.5T then you will have leeway to go up or down in pinion depending on motor temps.

I rate those Surpass motors, great bang for buck. You could pick up an older model though and save a bit of money as while they'll be a bit slower the quality should still be fine.

The HW 10BL120 suggested above is a good choice too. Get the programming card as you can dial in boost and turbo as well if you want more speed. If you do that you'll need a decent lipo that can provide the power that it will demand.

The Surpass TS160 is a great ESC but more expensive than the Hobbywing

I don't know of any sensored motor or ESC that is waterproof, although you could try to waterproof the ESC yourself, at the risk of overheating it.

[BuggyDad]

On waterproofing, I have had success with spray conformal coating on the circuit boards in 10BL120s and the sensor boards in Speed Passion motors. I had the motors cut out when wet once or twice before, and not after.

That's beach running. Not (generally*) submersion! 

This presumably won't be comparable to waterproof sensorless kit but it's certainly a useful increase in water resistance. 

*one buggy has actually been briefly submerged after coating. It drove straight out the other side, but "sample size of one" and all that. 

[RC_FunLand]

33 minutes ago, BuggyDad said:

On waterproofing, I have had success with spray conformal coating on the circuit boards in 10BL120s and the sensor boards in Speed Passion motors. I had the motors cut out when wet once or twice before, and not after.

That's beach running. Not (generally*) submersion! 

This presumably won't be comparable to waterproof sensorless kit but it's certainly a useful increase in water resistance. 

*one buggy has actually been briefly submerged after coating. It drove straight out the other side, but "sample size of one" and all that. 

How have you gone about waterproofing the board?? I’ve fried two 10BL120s in the past year (via dumb things like driving through massive puddles).

[Sogogi]

I have hobby wing ezrun max10 4000kv on my tt-02b. Very fast… but if you want more, i would suggest mamba max.. they have 7000kv+ motor..

[RC_FunLand]

3 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

The HW 10BL120 suggested above is a good choice too. Get the programming card as you can dial in boost and turbo as well if you want more speed. If you do that you'll need a decent lipo that can provide the power that it will demand.

I have so many LiPOs on hand, I could probably open a shop!!!!

 

3 hours ago, Jonathon Gillham said:

I rate those Surpass motors, great bang for buck. You could pick up an older model though and save a bit of money as while they'll be a bit slower the quality should still be fine.

You see, that’s the thing. The V5R’s open-bodied design, lack of low-turn models (nothing below 10.5), and higher price tag is swaying me towards the Quicrun mentioned above. It’s an 8.5T, sensored.

[Twinfan]

There are still a few Speed Passion 4.5T and 5.5T motors knocking about for sale if you want daft fast. I tried a 5.5T in my Fire Dragon, it was ridiculous! 

[BuggyDad]

1 hour ago, RC_FunLand said:

How have you gone about waterproofing the board?? I’ve fried two 10BL120s in the past year (via dumb things like driving through massive puddles).

Take out the board, mask the connectors (use tape that's sticky enough and not going to get saturated just because if it does it might fall off, the area to stick to is small and I hold the board by the tape - painters masking tape isn't good enough, electrical tape was OK IIRC), spray. I don't honestly know how many coats but I did quite a few, probably resulting in too much on there. More recently I did some receiver boards with 3 or 4 light coats which I reckoned seemed like enough but have no basis to back that up! 

I can't tell whether this has affected heat. Because with 10BL120/10.5T in my DT-03 heat isn't really a concern. 

[BuggyDad]

50 minutes ago, Twinfan said:

There are still a few Speed Passion 4.5T and 5.5T motors knocking about for sale if you want daft fast. I tried a 5.5T in my Fire Dragon, it was ridiculous! 

Oof. I've got the same 5.5T. I did try it in a buggy or two, but not for long! 

[Jonathon Gillham]

4 hours ago, RC_FunLand said:

I have so many LiPOs on hand, I could probably open a shop!!!!

 

You see, that’s the thing. The V5R’s open-bodied design, lack of low-turn models (nothing below 10.5), and higher price tag is swaying me towards the Quicrun mentioned above. It’s an 8.5T, sensored.

The V5R come in low turns, but not  thestock spec ones. I have 8.5T Drift spec (less torque, more rpm) and they also make mod versions which are low turn. For just bashing about go with a cheaper model, you can still get the Surpass v3 for good prices

[Sogogi]

Though now think of it, cant really list ones that are decent… for good price. heard about speed passion in many places but never tried it.. I may give a shot. 

[TurnipJF]

Speed Passion motors are relatively old tech by today's standards and lag behind the latest race motors a little in terms of performance, but their quality is great. Out of the 10 I have in various models, none have ever skipped a beat.

[Frog Jumper]

HW max 10 combo

[Willy iine]

40mph on a HotShot?  I think best one gets a proper platform first, otherwise your limited budget might hurt more when the car disintegrates..     But that's just me.. 

[Fabia130vRS]

LRP Spin is a great esc. 100A 2S-4S around 50€
 

motor any you could find I guess around 10,5T?

[RC_FunLand]

6 hours ago, Willy iine said:

40mph on a HotShot?  I think best one gets a proper platform first, otherwise your limited budget might hurt more when the car disintegrates..     But that's just me.. 

Lol. I bash that thing to oblivion, just recently fried out my cheap 4300kV GoolRC.

 

I love my hotshot, it has its caveats, but it also has its strong suits. It does well going straight, has nice suspension, and is very agile off-road.

[Wooders28]

On 2/25/2023 at 10:27 PM, Sogogi said:

but if you want more, i would suggest mamba max.. they have 7000kv+ motor

Castle are awesome! (But their price reflects that....) 

I've a 3800kv Castle, that's night and day/ different league faster than a 4350kv goolrc, and a 5700kv is the daddy on 3s, although the 7700kv will run 3s and is awesome bonkers, it overheats after a short run (good for a one shot speed run though).

[M 800STD]

I like the Sky RC Toro TS120A esc because of it's ability to handle low turns on 3s.

Leopard make some cracking motors too.

[danimaldaisy]

Hobbywing Justock motor ESC combo with 10.5T motor?

Its about $110 US

[Sogogi]

23 hours ago, Wooders28 said:

Castle are awesome! (But their price reflects that....) 

I've a 3800kv Castle, that's night and day/ different league faster than a 4350kv goolrc, and a 5700kv is the daddy on 3s, although the 7700kv will run 3s and is awesome bonkers, it overheats after a short run (good for a one shot speed run though).

7700kv sounds crazy! Though one day i want to try that crazy motor haha

[RC_FunLand]

On 2/28/2023 at 4:38 PM, danimaldaisy said:

Hobbywing Justock motor ESC combo with 10.5T motor?

Its about $110 US

Thanks.

 

I actually went with the Quicrun 10BL120 with the Quicrun 8.5T Sensored.