do i have to break in my motor?

[ta02]

i bought a core stock motor... do i need to do anything to break it in like lube the bushings or something? ive never used a stock motor and ive never used this brand...

[rocknbil]

You'll get lots of arguments on this, but I'm going to say no. Never have anyway. If you are the type to cut your comm every 5 or 6 runs, use comm drops, have your motor dyno'ed and the magnets re-zapped, and all the other stuff that may or may not make a difference, then you probably will want to.

[ta02]

how important is it to cut your comm? ive never done it and been fine...

[Cain]

I would say that you should break in your motor. But you don't have to do something elaborate if you are bashing or club racing.

If you don't have a 4 cell battery pack, you can run the motor outside the vehicle ( ie- only hooked up to the esc not the drivetrain ) on about 50% throttle or max throttle trim setting for about 5 minutes. You want the brushes to look like they all have the same wear across. This will be a fully seated brush and will give you the best performance out of your motor. There are other tricks you can do as well but this at a minimum I would do.

As for cutting the comm, when you first get your motor you notice how shiny the comm is? when you run it for awhile ( or, even 1 run depending on how hard you are on the motor ) it will blacken up a bit or in general just not look that good. usually you will want to cut the comm at that point. You can get your LHS to do it for you for a fee. It will bring the motor back to life.

If you have overheated your brushes ( they turned blue ) its best to reinstall new ones. if not, you can still use the same brushes had had previously, just run the motor for about 5 minutes on the low throttle to seat the brushes again.

You can also do some maintenance on the brushes and comm by getting a comm pen. You can actually pick it up pretty cheap at Walmart, I believe its called a sanding pen and is made by 3M . its the Exactly same thing that trinity sells but for about half the price.

[Cain]

Make sure that you do lube the bushings, especially after you clean out the motor with motor spray. 1 drop of bushing oil will do the trick.

[rocknbil]

Cain - got your payment OK? Never received an email from you.

how important is it to cut your comm? ive never done it and been fine...

Well many people do it every 5 or 6 runs, and claim you have to, to remain competitive.

I really don't agree and think this is overkill. The idea of cutting the comm is to bring it's diameter back to a perfect circle (called "truing") to reduce the "bounce" and arcing by the brushes. Each time you cut the comm, you reduce it's diameter. This advances the timing. Cut it enough and it can never be as hot as it once was.

Blacking is pretty normal and usually can be cleaned off with a comm brush and motor cleaner. I only cut the comm when I see a VISIBLE wear in the center or ends of the comm - the center begins to be slightly concave shaped, or a ridge begins to form at the edges of where the brushes sit.

But that's just me, I'm pretty old-school and opt for minimal maintenance for the longest life. :D

[ta02]

sounds good, i just bought the stock motor to practice with.. theres only 1 electric class at my track during the summer outdoor races. 19t. ill do what yall say. thanks.

[highroller]

If all you are using the motor for is bashing then I'd say you wouldn't need to be as precise about breakin or using all the other items that uses for more competitive levels of RC use. Inspect motor just to be sure things are right from the start, check the manufacturer's instructions pretaining to gearing or added noise suspension capacitors some come installed referred to as SMC surface mounted capacitors, use 1-2 drops of 3 in 1 oil for the bushings and bearings run motor for 10-15 seconds using a partially charged 6cell pack. To keep motor working good use motor cleaner (a cheap substitute is the automotove brands of electric motor and contact cleaners) plus a comm stick or a regular eraser (the large pink ones cut to size so they fit down in the brush hood). This will help clean away some of the glazing.
As long as you use lower silver content brushes you'll reduce alot of the wear to the comm plus gearing the motor correctly.
Most of the exact information can be found on the Orion or Peak website. Sometimes you have to use a little of the manufacturers' recommedations and some of your own to find what works the best for individual use.

[Cain]

rocknbil, I sent your connectors yesterday first class mail.

I usually cut my comm once a week but that is because of how I race. Some guys do it every heat. Not sure why as they are still at the back of the bad :D

Since you run 19t, wouldn't be a bad idea to get another 19T as your practice motor ovr even something slightly faster that way you don't get speed shock going from your bashing stocker to your fast 19T.

[highroller]

Some of my motors have never seen a comm lathe too old to be used for racing and just used for meshing around with but will get cleaned and relubed depending on how dirty they get. Yet motors that are used for competitive racing I follow basically the same routine. Out of the package it gets inspected - how well brush is seated, if armature has too much end play,are brushes wearing down the center -if not if means brush hood need alignment. Other things will be done after the first intial dyno run based on numbers produced - realign armature, change brushes and spring, polish bushing and armature shaft to reduce friction, true comm and breakin brushes. With mod motors and adjustable endbell 19 turn motors it's trying different timing to see where motor makes the best power while still staying efficient. Yes there are times when racing 6cell motor may see only one run after which brushes were changed and comm trued. On average the motor is inspected after each run to check wear, gets sprayed out with motor cleaner, reoiled and the comm and brush face cleaned with a comm stick. In 6cell racing using high silver brushes (4383, 738, 767, Putnam X brush or Green shunt) comm is trued after three runs, brush gets reserrated for 4cell racing right around five runs maximum, springs get changed with the 3rd set of new brushes.

[Cain]

For me 767s seem to be the best all around brush as they don't beat up the comm and give great power. The putnams are beasts for 4 cell but kind of hard on the comm for 6 cell.

[highroller]

Orion makes a brush that is good for less comm wear, and last longer than most other brush types. It is very good for bashing, racing on local club levels but makes a little less power than other brands to be used in more advanced levels of racing.