Switched over to deans plugs

[steelo]

Hi guys,

The other day I took the plunge and switched all of my Tamiya connectors to deans. After much frustration with only being born with 2 hands and needing at least 3, I was finally able to finish soldering and heat shrinking the last connector. So I decided to charge up my Neo Scorcher and M-05 to see if there was any noticeable improvement. Maybe it was my imagination, but both cars seemed to have A LOT more 'kick' I could swear my Neo Scorcher was about 3-5 mph faster, but that could also do with the new ESC I have. Also, both batteries seemed to last about 4-5 minutes longer. There seemed to be more of a noticeable performance improvement with my 3800 NiMh than the cheap 1800 Nicd's.

I just got so tired of my cars randomly shutting off and the connectors being too hot to disconnect after runs. With these new connectors, the batteries seem to be much cooler too. The only thing I don't like are the tiny plugs, which make it difficult to disconnect without pulling on the wires.

The weird thing about these new plugs is that my 'smart' charger which was giving me errors with my NiCd's and overcharging my NiMh seems to be working perfectly now...not sure why

For $2-3 per set, this is a great, cheap upgrade for anyone =)

[speedy_w_beans]

You have a lot of changes happening all at once. Higher capacity NiMH batteries will sag less under load, so the voltage stays higher and the motor will run faster. Better connectors have lower contact resistance, so there is less voltage drop and less energy wasted as heat. A new ESC that supports lower turn motors will also have less resistance and heat up less. So, you're reaping the benefits of electrical upgrades all around. If you ever change from NiMH to LiPo, then you'll see a little more speed as well.

[Pintopower]

I have done the same but I did so about 20 years ago. Even in the 90's my 1700mAh nicads were too much with a mild stock motor for the Molex connectors that we attribute to Tamiya. I have never looked back. The cars are more efficient and as you have already seen there is an increase in both speed and run time. The heat given off through the stock plus is lost energy. The smart charger may no longer be detecting a voltage drop through the plugs which changes as the heat in the plug changes. The hotter it gets, the less efficient and the higher the resistance.

If you drive a car at all, it needs an upgraded connector. All 40 operational cars of mine have the deans plugs. Worth every cent.

[Champ85]

Agree with all of the above posters.

Tamiya should stop using those garbage connectors. First thing I do is snip them off and replace with a Deans plug.

The year is 2015, not 1979. It's time to act like it.

[Pintopower]

Agree with all of the above posters.

Tamiya should stop using those garbage connectors. First thing I do is snip them off and replace with a Deans plug.

The year is 2015, not 1979. It's time to act like it.

Well put!

[InsaneJim69]

As above alot of factors, but yes the connectors will most likely be the biggest.

Another jump is a good spec ESC. Years ago I went from a LRP Runner ESC and upgraded to a Novak GT7, and wow, just wow. The acceleration difference was incredible. The GT7 was able to put soo much more power to the motor that the LRP Runner just couldn't match at all, top speed was the same, just the sheer acceleration difference alone was incredible. And that was running stock rebuildable 27 turn motors (albeit 30K RPM ones, like the GM3 and P2K 2 Pro etc)

As Speedy says, Lipo power is the next big jump. You will gain alot more punch, run time and top speed. AND ...... the car overall will be lighter due to the lipo batteries weighing less than their old nimh and nicad friends.

James

[Mad Zero]

I went Deans about 10yrs ago but if I were changing now I would probably opt for XT60

[InsaneJim69]

I went Deans about 10yrs ago but if I were changing now I would probably opt for XT60

I went XT60 for racing a few years back and instantly changed back to deans. When my charger failed at a race meet and no one else ran XT60 connections I was out for the whole days racing

James

[steelo]

Ran M-05 again yesterday and still really impressed. This is a brushless set up with a 13.5T motor, the car goes for 30-35 minutes on a 1800 mah nicd!

I'm pretty old school, I just switched to brushless about 6 months ago....maybe in 5 years or so, I'll take the plunge and switch from Nicd and NiMh to Lipo

[Snakehands]

I went Deans about 10yrs ago but if I were changing now I would probably opt for XT60

Yep, same here.

[Snakehands]

I went XT60 for racing a few years back and instantly changed back to deans. When my charger failed at a race meet and no one else ran XT60 connections I was out for the whole days racing

James

A lot of work changing back when all you needed to do was buy a £3 adaptor.

[skip665]

I switched to Deans and quickly to Anderson Powerpoles about 7 years ago - but if I had my time again I would probably go with XT60s.

I am slowly moving all my motors over to 4mm Gold Corally connectors - makes swapping motors between cars so much easier!

[Effigy3]

I also recently switched my Tamiya plugs over to Deans. The Castle connectors seem to be the best choice but as has already been stated, I wanted something more common. Like you I can't stand how small the Deans connector is. I'm also not a big fan of a solder only connection. I'd much prefer a mechanical connection (like a crimp) that is also soldered. I did find a good compromise though in the HobbiCo "Star" connector. It's addressed most of the issues with the Deans. So I've ordered up a few and will use them from now on. I don't know that I'll re-re-convert what I have in Deans to Star though. I'd have to be really bored, or really frustrated with the smaller Deans plug to go to the hassle. I'm not ruling it out though.

[Wooders28]

Swapped to deans after,

[steelo]

I completely agree with you. I don't want the hassle of resoldering all of my plugs so I will live with the 'tiny' Deans and just try to be careful when I disconnect them. Like you, if I'm having issues with them breaking and find myself incredibly bored one day, I'll convert to a different type of plug.

[NWarty]

Been running Deans since the late 80's. All of my runners have them; the Shelf Queens are about half and half.

[steelo]

I had no idea Deans plugs existed in the 80's and 90's...of course I was just a young lad =)

[Wez-li]

Swapped to deans after,

Bit offtopic but I've got one of those.

Never seen another one till yours, just been sat in my parts box. The wiring isn't my handywork I might add. I also use deans

[cashrc]

i switched from Deans to Multiplex plugs about a year ago, after using Deans for a few years. Nothing wrong with Dean's they're great..but I felt I could get a better solder connection using the Multiplex plugs, plus, I used those exclusively back in the 80's and early 90's. Now that i have a decent soldering station, I might switch back, but I have a lot of batteries and ESC's to switch out, and i don't see me having the time to do that anytime soon, so it's the MPX plugs for now.

Cash

[Grumpy pants]

This is great timing this topic as I want to move on from the Molex connectors now.

For my runners that see some track use and lots of off road action are deans or the XT60 the better choice?

I currently use Nimh batteries, but I plan to go lipo in the next few months.

Thank you

Simon

[Mad Zero]

This is great timing this topic as I want to move on from the Molex connectors now.

For my runners that see some track use and lots of off road action are deans or the XT60 the better choice?

I currently use Nimh batteries, but I plan to go lipo in the next few months.

Thank you

Simon

Both work well enough XT60 just look neater and are nicer to use and solder.

[Wooders28]

Bit offtopic but I've got one of those.

Never seen another one till yours, just been sat in my parts box. The wiring isn't my handywork I might add. I also use deans

They are a few years old now!

It's one I used in the optima mid in the late 80's. Couldn't afford the 'gold star'.

[Scorpn]

I switched to Deans and quickly to Anderson Powerpoles about 7 years ago - but if I had my time again I would probably go with XT60s.

I am slowly moving all my motors over to 4mm Gold Corally connectors - makes swapping motors between cars so much easier!

Handy tip for the OCD brigade - Using the 4mm Gold Corally connectors, you can colour match the heatshrink to the motor wire colour and have nearly invisible connections if you cover the whole connector!

I use Anderson Powerpoles for my batteries, Deans for my brushed motor connectors and Corally for the brushless but as mentioned above I might move to Corally for all my motors connections.

I raced for a number of years and never wore out/burnt any of the above connectors

[cashrc]

Ran M-05 again yesterday and still really impressed. This is a brushless set up with a 13.5T motor, the car goes for 30-35 minutes on a 1800 mah nicd!

I'm pretty old school, I just switched to brushless about 6 months ago....maybe in 5 years or so, I'll take the plunge and switch from Nicd and NiMh to Lipo

Don't feel bad, I'm setting my M05 up for brushed...

[Gruntfuggly]

Powerpoles for me - can't beat being able to make them up without needing to solder...