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Question about ‘80s to ‘90s brushed motors

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I’ve been researching/looking for older brushed motors (late ‘80s to early ‘90s) for a few re release builds that I’ve been working on and some of these older motors indicate on the packaging or catalogue if it’s for 2wd or 4wd, or even on and off road. Does it actually matter? If I’m building a 4wd and want a 15T, 17T, or 19T but they indicated 2wd? Am I losing anything or will the vehicle be affected? Thanks!

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No idea, I run all sorts of motors in my buggies and trucks that were not intended for that purpose and not really had an issue, I just gear them up or down to suit the conditions/vehicle. 

At a guess I would say that a very high torque motor would be unsuitable for a 2WD because it would just spend its life wheelspinning and eating dogbones, at least with a 4WD it is distributed across 4 tyres?

Obviously run time can be massively affected by motor choice eg. We run a 14x2 in a King Blackfoot and it wheelies like crazy and is great fun but you're lucky to get 5 mins run time out of a 2000mah NiMH, whereas we run Kyosho Mag Meyhem truck motors in buggies and get 20 minutes run time out of the same battery while still getting punchy acceleration. I even run 13T Dyna Run Super Touring motors in several of my buggies with 8.4v (and now LiPo), get gut wrenching punch, wheelspins, donuts and drifting galore and still get good runtimes using a small pinion or can do 35mph with a big pinion and lucky to last 3 mins...

Also some motors seem to be better protected against dirt than others, eg. The Dyna Runs have huge open gaps down to the brushes/comm and I've had bits if gravel get stuck in them whereas the kyosho truck motor is better protected and has smaller apertures/cooling slots so I guess that may explain it? never bothered me though, annual strip, clean and new brushes and all my motors still run fine after decades of use in the wrong type of vehicle  :D

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I used to run single winds in 2wd, and double and triple winds for 4wd, as I believe they had more torque, so wouldn't drop as much rpm.

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Single and doubles were more torque. Triple and quads were more top end speed. I’d go single or double in a 4wd and triple or quad in a 2wd.

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Thanks, everyone. Kinda all makes sense. I think the bigger challenge I have since I never had access to RCs back in those days is that I don't have parts that I can repurpose. I also have a harder time accessing parts I want to use, like in this case an apporpriate motor.  

15 minutes ago, Avante2001R said:

Single and doubles were more torque. Triple and quads were more top end speed. I’d go single or double in a 4wd and triple or quad in a 2wd.

While waiting for answers I was digging around and you're right, came across your notes on the winds. Unfortunately, I may have to put a quad on the 4WD I'm building and just see how it goes.

If anyone is interested in some further reading, I came across an article by Scott Guyat (don't know who is) on the intrerwebs. Here is an excerpt:

The more strands of wire on a motor (e.g. triple compared to double), the more top end it will generally have (very general statements here). A multi-strand motor will generally be easier on batteries, and smoother to accelerate. You’ll generally be able to gear it higher (thus the higher top speed). But (and it’s a big but) you probably won’t get stump-pulling acceleration out of it. That’s where low strand count motors are strong (singles and double). I have to stress this again - this is a very general understanding.

In years gone by, the choices were fairly simple. The more power you wanted, the lower the number of turns and strands you opted for. Something like an 11 double would have been considered to be an enormous motor. That is no longer true. New motor winding technology has meant that multi-strand motors like 15 x 6 or 11 x 7 are more common (and incredibly fast). Still, here’s a rough guide to motors for each class:

2wd: When you’re choosing a 2wd motor, steer clear of stump-pulling torque, since you’ve only got two tires in contact with the ground. Try to run multi-wind motors like triples or quads (or even quin or sextuples) and generally stay around the 11- 12- and 13-turn range (until you’ve got some experience). For tighter tracks, or higher grip, you might try a 12 double. When you first start out, a 13 triple or quad will be an excellent, consistent choice.

4wd: For four-wheel-drive, you need a little more grunt. This is exactly where double (and sometimes single) wind motors come in handy. Try an 11 or 12 turn double. 4wd is tougher on batteries, so you’ll need to use a lower gear ratio than with an equivalent motor in your 2wd. If you’ve got some of the newer cells and want ultimate horsepower, seriously consider something in the 10 turn range, probably a triple or quad. Save this last option for when you’ve done heaps of practice and are good, very good.

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