what happened to the plasma dash?

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

While I dont do much 4WD, I love the Plasma Dash motor, and use it in many applications.  Imagine my confusion when its out of stock at Hobbytown and everywhere else.  The 4WD wiki doesn't even have any info, I went to the Tamiya website where its discontinued(?)  Why would Tamiya stop producing this marvel, and why has nobody on any forum has asked about it?  Now it goes for a minimum of 60$ USD on Ebay!  How Unfortunate.

[svenb 3880]

What a great user name Sir Fred

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

49 minutes ago, svenb said:

What a great user name Sir Fred

Thanks! Named after a locomotive funnily enough.

[Bwaaatch 617]

Brave Sir Fred, the reason for the retirement is precisely because of how badass it was! 

It is banned from most competition use if you check the regulations.

I suspect it is also responsible for destroying quite a few cars (including mine).

Now, I don’t know for sure, but I did hear a rumour that it contained a lot of technology illicitly sourced from the research labs of Conrad electronics, and may even be a scaled down version of the legendary Conrad 240836. But once it was out in the wild Tamiya soon realised that such density of power within the smaller form factor might trigger some kind of localised black hole, especially around the manufacturing facility in Shizuoka. The last time that happened was during the development of the Hyper Dash motor in the late eighties, which brought about the event horizon that birthed the original Dash 0 Horizon in 1989.

So, you know, potent stuff!

[Bwaaatch 617]

“Dark star crashes, pouring it's light into ashes
Reason tatters, the forces tear loose from the axis”

Grateful Dead, Dark Star

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

13 minutes ago, Bwaaatch said:

Brave Sir Fred, the reason for the retirement is precisely because of how badass it was! 

It is banned from most competition use if you check the regulations.

I suspect it is also responsible for destroying quite a few cars (including mine).

Now, I don’t know for sure, but I did hear a rumour that it contained a lot of technology illicitly sourced from the research labs of Conrad electronics, and may even be a scaled down version of the legendary Conrad 240836. But once it was out in the wild Tamiya soon realised that such density of power within the smaller form factor might trigger some kind of localised black hole, especially around the manufacturing facility in Shizuoka. The last time that happened was during the development of the Hyper Dash motor in the late eighties, which brought about the event horizon that birthed the original Dash 0 Horizon in 1989.

So, you know, potent stuff!

I just wish I could still have it for cheap.  I have seen some motors marked Doyusha 130 beat it, but they are inconsistent and also not produced anymore.  the best thing though, is to gear these down to normal speeds and have even more torque and momentum in some applications

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

20 minutes ago, Bwaaatch said:

Brave Sir Fred, the reason for the retirement is precisely because of how badass it was! 

It is banned from most competition use if you check the regulations.

I suspect it is also responsible for destroying quite a few cars (including mine).

Now, I don’t know for sure, but I did hear a rumour that it contained a lot of technology illicitly sourced from the research labs of Conrad electronics, and may even be a scaled down version of the legendary Conrad 240836. But once it was out in the wild Tamiya soon realised that such density of power within the smaller form factor might trigger some kind of localised black hole, especially around the manufacturing facility in Shizuoka. The last time that happened was during the development of the Hyper Dash motor in the late eighties, which brought about the event horizon that birthed the original Dash 0 Horizon in 1989.

So, you know, potent stuff!

I think I did also figure out a little trick to get motors to get 1.5 times more speed.  It was from trying to use an armature as an electromagnet to find a tiny screw in carpet.  the result is having almost no resistance to turning by hand and thus a higher top end speed, more noise, and a surprisingly long wait for the coasting motor to stop, oh and did I mention brush and bearing wear!

[nowinaminute 3320]

32 minutes ago, Bwaaatch said:

Now, I don’t know for sure, but I did hear a rumour that it contained a lot of technology illicitly sourced from the research labs of Conrad electronics, and may even be a scaled down version of the legendary Conrad 240836

I hope you're using a VPN 

[Sogogi 3333]

Ultra dash is the most powerful one that is currently available widely. Though nothing can beat plasma dash’s open bell design.

If you want super fast motors, those no name chinese ones are crazy. Also seem quite dangerous.

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

15 minutes ago, Sogogi said:

Ultra dash is the most powerful one that is currently available widely. Though nothing can beat plasma dash’s open bell design.

If you want super fast motors, those no name chinese ones are crazy. Also seem quite dangerous.

how do they compare to the plasma dash?

[Tamiyastef 2507]

10 hours ago, Bwaaatch said:

the legendary Conrad 240***

Oh no! Not again. Grab your gear. Women and children first and all that, if only we speak of this.

[alvinlwh 6886]

Try a MiniZ brushless at 2S = 41k RPM.

https://www.plazajapan.com/4548565461721/

Or this one less hot at 30k RPM.

https://www.plazajapan.com/4548565461738/

14 hours ago, 1471 Sir Frederick Banbury said:

I have seen some motors marked Doyusha 130

These?

https://www.plazajapan.com/4975406000649/

https://www.plazajapan.com/4975406000656/

50k RPM!

https://www.plazajapan.com/4975406000687/

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

2 hours ago, alvinlwh said:

Try a MiniZ brushless at 2S = 41k RPM.

https://www.plazajapan.com/4548565461721/

Or this one less hot at 30k RPM.

https://www.plazajapan.com/4548565461738/

These?

https://www.plazajapan.com/4975406000649/

https://www.plazajapan.com/4975406000656/

50k RPM!

https://www.plazajapan.com/4975406000687/

Thanks.  I saw the Doyusha used in Thomas the Tank Engine toys oddly enough, as those trains were being used as a way to demonstrate the speed difference.  I have one Doyusha that says 75k, but it struggles to get going in the first place, and has brass brushes that wear out quick!  here is that video for those who were wondering:   

Tomy Trackmaster Motor swap comparison Plarail プラレール (youtube.com)

its a really good visual demonstration of the speed difference

[Bwaaatch 617]

OK, if this is an arm(ature)s race, I'm gonna chuck in this one at 66,000 RPM (claimed):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006859982083.html

The brand is called 'Unparalleled' and it's described as a '66000RPM Violent Motor High Speed Hand-wound Motor'.

Single or double shaft available

[Bwaaatch 617]

3 hours ago, 1471 Sir Frederick Banbury said:

Thanks.  I saw the Doyusha used in Thomas the Tank Engine toys oddly enough, as those trains were being used as a way to demonstrate the speed difference.  I have one Doyusha that says 75k, but it struggles to get going in the first place, and has brass brushes that wear out quick!  here is that video for those who were wondering:   

Tomy Trackmaster Motor swap comparison Plarail プラレール (youtube.com)

its a really good visual demonstration of the speed difference

Nice demo!

[No Slack 502]

The Conrad people are back again, now under a different brand name. Be warned!

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

I'm probably going to buy a new plasma dash off of ebay and a laser tachometer to run a test for the fastest brushed motor available.  Hilariously, I wont really ever end up using the speed these demons make (at least in raw form), but will be using them mostly to be geared down >100:1 ratio for use in model trains and the likes of.  The reason for that, is to make something that can goat very slow speeds smoothly and so that flywheels can fully smooth out the torque, which is the exact opposite of their designed function (4WD), but they are well suited for such uses.

[alvinlwh 6886]

6 hours ago, Bwaaatch said:

OK, if this is an arm(ature)s race, I'm gonna chuck in this one at 66,000 RPM (claimed):

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005006859982083.html

The brand is called 'Unparalleled' and it's described as a '66000RPM Violent Motor High Speed Hand-wound Motor'.

Single or double shaft available

At that price, I am getting one to try.

[Bwaaatch 617]

There is a lovely Plasma Dash sticker in this sheet:

item 15196

I’d also like to ask it anyone is aware of other motors at this size that use an open end bell or other design details different from the norm? Most of them look like clone in different colour and with different stickers. But this beauty seems unique?

[alvinlwh 6886]

On 7/17/2024 at 7:28 PM, Bwaaatch said:

 

Mine has arrived and it even comes with that oil stain in your picture. In fact it is so oily that the label came off!

Now to see if it is indeed 66000rpm!

[Sogogi 3333]

On 8/1/2024 at 5:47 AM, alvinlwh said:

Mine has arrived and it even comes with that oil stain in your picture. In fact it is so oily that the label came off!

Now to see if it is indeed 66000rpm!

“Just do it”

[Eurypylus 4]

There are still available on my side of the pond from private seller.

With Taimya's only distributor in my country gone, many have gave up the hobby :-(

They are typically sold around US$26-27.

[1471 Sir Frederick Banbury 4]

On 8/7/2024 at 8:16 PM, Eurypylus said:

There are still available on my side of the pond from private seller.

With Taimya's only distributor in my country gone, many have gave up the hobby :-(

They are typically sold around US$26-27.

do they have a website? $27 USD is just over half of what I can find on Ebay, so I would love to find anything cheaper than $50!

[Eurypylus 4]

shopee.sg

Not sure if they ship overseas.

If not PM me your addy, I'll sent you one.

[Bwaaatch 617]

Well, I have a project on the go involving a Wild Mini 4wd that I am gearing up for track use. At present it hits 13Km/h using a Plasma Dash on the Tamiya Mini 4wd Speed checker, which is about the speed of a stock Type 1 Chassis. Not bad!

However, I have a crazy ambition to have it get round the loop on a track like this: 

Such ambition will need a speed pushing 20 km/h, I think. So I have exhausted what Tamiya motors can offer me.

Tamiya rates the Plasma Dash at up to 28000 RPM but, as noted above, Aliexpress has motors that claim to go way beyond. I even found one promises a hand-wound solution up to 140000 RPM!

Anyway, I have ordered a handful to try out, but just cheaper ones for now (in the £2 each range), with the speediest up to 72000 RPM. But in my search I came across a couple of motors that might interest Plasma Dash fiends … Both are made by Auldey.

In the mid-late Nineties, Auldey was the pre-eminent Tamiya Min 4wd clone branding in China. The quality was really good (by that stage, though it started off much less) and many products were almost indistinguishable from the originals other than the Auldey branding. While most clones felt the need to change the names of cars, Auldey used (mostly) the original names, seemingly unafraid of being sued. I kind of assumed they had an arrangement with Tamiya directly, selling into the Chinese market in a way that Tamiya never could (due to costs and laws), but no ideas if that is true.

As well as cars, they made a full range of tune-up parts including motors. Yesterday I discovered they made not one but TWO motors that look to use the same (very unusual) end bell as the Plasma Dash. Take a look at these:

Both can be found on this listing (scroll through the images): https://www.aliexpress.com/item/4000926484604.html

I can't find the source, but I saw another listing for these two motors where the 'Super' version was claimed at 27 or 28000 RPM (Same as plasma Dash) while the 'Power' versions was claimed at 33000 RPM.

So, the question is … did Auldey build the ULTIMATE Plasma Dash?

the Super is up for just £6.60 plus shipping.  The Power is £17.59!. Perhaps this is the 'Phantasma Dash' of our dreams! I think there is a good chance they are cut from the same cloth, even though one is made in Japan and the other in China. Plasma Dash photo below for reference. Even the packaging is a very impressive match.