Tamiya 540 Motor Question

[weedarlin]

Hi Guys,

I was wondering if any of you could tell me if this motor will fit straight into a Rough Rider/Sand Scorcher gearbox housing without any modifications [?] I tried asking around with no joy so now I thought it was time to ask the people who know []

Thanks for your help

Chris

[BiggusDitchus]

I know this doesnt answer your question but i have just fitted one of those to my brat and does it now shift... they are a good motor.

Sorry i couldnt help I am not fortunate enough to own a Rough Rider or a sand scorcher[]

[weedarlin]

Thanks Biggus, My next question was going to be how much faster are they with one of these in them [][]

[mr_lister999.]

Lots of motors will fit the gearbox but the label usually stops it. Remove the label and have a go. Not all motors seem to fit, some do some don't. Never tried this one. I preffer 27 turn stock motors as they really shift, just watch the cooling as some quick motors get hot! On the 1st run, if the performance suddenly drops but the battery is still good, check for a thin wisp of smoke from the motor or a discoloured plastic motor cover. It is probably overheating! It happened to me.

[weedarlin]

Thanks for that Mr L. I don't have this motor as yet I was asking the question before I purchased one incase anyone came back and said it's got no screw mounting holes or there's no way on earth you'll ever get it into the gear housing etc.

What's the deal with this number of turn motors ????? I see it all the time with E.S.C.'s but haven't the foggiest what it means []

[DJTheo]

Some people made holes on the gearbox to screw the motors on, then you don't need the plastic motor cover to hold it and can use more motors, as long as their labels aren't too thick. In stock form as far as I have geared only old style 540 and black Mabuchis fit well.

The less turns a motor has, the faster it turns, consumes more amps (empties batteries faster-needs a better electronic speed control), and logically creates more heat...

[wldnas]

Be very weary of buying used Tamiya SPORT TUNED black motors!!!

I got 2 in an jumble of cars and parts off E**y, Ive tried them both but for some reason they overheat really badly, I tried one in my Terra Scorcher and after only a minute of running it was too hot to touch, the other one warms up rapidly when only connected to a loose battery and free running, it seams that for theses particular motors all the electrical energy from the battery is being turned into heat instead of electo-magnetic induced motion, its almost as though they are acting like giant resistors, perhaps the insulation has failed somewhere inside?

Maybe I just got unlucky, and have got 2 duff motors but they dont look that old and Im wondering if perhaps they might have developed somekind of common fault?

[mr_lister999.]

With things like motors i have found people sell them for a reason. Occasionally it is because they need the money desperately or have moved from stock to modified but often its bad. Many people use/abuse the motor and when it starts playing up or drops performance they sell it. When it comes down to it you get what you pay for to a moderate extent. A 50 pound motor being sold for a tenner may seem good value but not always.

In an ideal world you would try before you buy or at leastsee the part inuse for a battery run to make sure but on Ebay there is no such luck. You pay your money and take a chance.

A mate loaned me his new sport tuned Tamiya motor to try in my touring car as he did not want it but i must say it was BAD. Marginal performance increase on standard silver can. I can't stress enough how much more improvement a top quality 27 turn stock motor makes. 25 pound is not much and they are nearly all great nowadys.

Do the motors turn freely when removed from the car? Do they look well used? I know it sounds silly but if the can is badly scratched/ scuffed etc the ovner was probably not the most careful/well informed owner in the world.

I have found a motor nearly always overheats once it overheats the 1st time (you know what i mean) The commutator gets blackened and never works the same again.

Oh the joys of life...[]

[WillyChang]

Tamiya's Sport Tuned is probably as hardwearing as a normal 540, I haven't had much problems with them. Powerwise they're about par with the Traxxas 20-turn singles they give with newbie cars, its nowhere comparable with modern rebuildable stockers. Then again SportTuneds are cheap enough new, I wouldn't bother buy secondhand; the used ones we've got have all come in cars (GrpC etc).

If the motor is running hotter than it should (50-60C is 'ok') and its not overgeared, then its probably time to do a clean.

Flush and reoil the bearings, flush the brush/comm section and check everything over. With some patience you can usually squeeze a commstick or cottonbud into the side vent hole to give the comm a bit of a scrub.

[weedarlin]

Thanks for all the info, I knew this would be the proper place to ask.

I wasn't planning on buying a 2nd hand motor cause like some of you I am always suspicious as to why they are selling it anyway !!!

Mr L, How would I know one of these standard 27 turn motors you're talking about e.g what do they look like and where can you get them from ?????? and what's a "black" Mabuchi ????

Cheers Guys

Chris.

[Bibbo]

I've got one of the motors you are looking for in my Pajero MT. I've also got a Ranger F 150. When I get the chance I'll try to see if it will fit for you.

I have'nt tried the Pajero with a standard motor but with the 540 it seems to go pretty well, specially for a big 4x4.

[DJTheo]

quote:what's a "black" Mabuchi ????

id="quote">id="quote">

The first tuning motors availabe from Tamiya in the eraly 80s, the same extrenal appereance like the old style Mabuchui 540s, but with black instead of silver can, was also used in "Competition Special" cars, like the Can Am Lola, Tornado, Porsche 956 and so on...

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=21

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=32

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=42

Btw, on the Ford http://www.tamiyaclub.com/car.asp?id=33 either the pic or the description is wrong, have to check on my catalogs...

[Bibbo]

Yeah Weedarlin, She fits like a dream. Just have to remove the label.

Or grind out the gearcases, depending on which parts you cherish the most!!....[]

[weedarlin]

I think I remember those old Mabuchi black motors Theo, Were they called RS540 SD or something, and came with a mounting bracket to fit those cars you pictured.

Thanks for doing that Bibbo, I appreciate it. How about try running it and tell me how hot it gets LOL! [] [] [] I've no need to worry about grinding out the cases cause I've got a spare set and when I get a minute (and my boss is off) I'll stick them on the faceplate in a lathe at work and make them fit any motor I desire [] [}] []

[Bibbo]

thats it weedarlin, get aggresive with it!!!... [!]

My Ranger's a shelf queen so I can't run it for you. Would'nt mind getting hold of runner a trying though.

Heah, have you seen the 4x4 kit for sale on e-bay? it would be good to have that with the motor. Thing would climb mountains!![}]

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewI...item=1789763731

[weedarlin]

Eye, I saw that 4X4 conversion thing, Was there not a guy on here recently that had one of them he was putting on his Rough Rider with pictures.

quote:it would be good to have that with the motor. Thing would climb mountains!!

id="quote">id="quote">

at high speed []

and just think you could call it a mountaineer or something.......Oh no hang on too late for that, Tamiya beat you to it[]

[mr_lister999.]

quote:Mr L, How would I know one of these standard 27 turn motors you're talking about e.g what do they look like and where can you get them from ??????

id="quote">id="quote">

If you are in the UK then check out www.apexmodels.com

They look the same as other modern motors to be honest.

Check out the site or just phone the shop and ask them. Remember there is no guarentee that they will fit the gearbox with the label removed as different makes are different sizes (only talking tiny amount but the little extra can cause a problem.) You can file a small amount off the motor to get it to fit if it is too large. Batteries will take a pounding with one of these motors! I would recomend not using the old Hump batteries if you get one, they get hot quite quick. They were never designed for the moder equipment so bear that in mind!

[weedarlin]

I am in the U.K. and thanks for the advice Mr L.

Chris.

[Bibbo]

I think it was Shodog who had the 4x4 kit. Yeah there are oictures in one of the forums somewhere. He also mentioned the kit I mentioned and said it was the same as his one.

Yeah, it's under vintage discussions on page 3. You see Shodog as the author.

[WillyChang]

quote:Originally posted by weedarlin

How would I know one of these standard 27 turn motors you're talking about e.g what do they look like and where can you get them from ??????

---

id="quote">id="quote">

27-turn single motors with external brushes are invariable labelled as "Stock" with various ROAR-sanctioned logos; these days they're also called "Rebuildable Stock".

quote:Originally posted by weedarlinand what's a "black" Mabuchi ????

---

id="quote">id="quote">

RS540SD "Black" was the first of its breed with red endbell. Later they became labelled as Black-Endurance/Sport with red or blue plstic endbell respectively. These days the SportTuned with metal endbell is the same thing.

All are noticeably more powerful than a standard silver can, but nowhere near as powerful as a modern racing stock motor.