New to eletric.

[ExtremeMT]

Ill be getting an Electric Rustler soon and was wondering if yall can point me to some good articles explaining whats good and whats not when it comes to motors, batteries, esc's...how they work....tutorials on how to work on the motor if it does need to be worked on....(Im a nitro guy and I break open my engine once a week for maintenence).

[Craps]

Welcome to electric!

If you going to race with the gas trucks or your track has a Mod Electric class, here are some options for you:

If you want maintence free, go Brushless with the motor and ESC. I suggest a Lehner 5300 motor with a Schulze U-Force 75 ESC.

If you want longer runtimes and less hassle with batteries, go Lithium Poly batteries. I suggest Thunder Power TP8000-2S4P 7.4 volt 8200 mah battery with a Astro Flight 109 charger.

With the above setup, you will be faster than any gas truck and be able to run around 40 minutes non-stop.

Good Luck!

[ExtremeMT]

Faster then any gas truck? My friends Mad force does 50mph, my NMT does 55 with current gearing and engine....80 soon ;)

What kinda speed am I looking at with that setup? :D

[ExtremeMT]

Ive been looking around and found a site that sells that motor but has the XL series also and has 1300watts instead of 700....max rpm of 65k and can hold up to 10 cells....and is 174 instead of 148 (5300 Basic). Would that be worth it?

[Craps]

I am sure you could gear the electric to hit those kind of speeds, but I was refering to the race track with superior throttle control and torque of the electric. I race with gas trucks all the time at different off road tracks in my area.

[ExtremeMT]

Well I wanna race at the track but I also like getting things to their top speed for fun...Thats why im dropping a .26 in my NMT incase you havent heard ;)

But anyway...ive heard alot about hacker motors....are lehner better then hacker? And also would you reccomend that Lehner XL over the Basic......?

Few other questions, is there a way to fit more then 6 cells in something like a rustler? I take it I have to make my own packs then? My best friend is going to teach me to solder and make packs and all.

That ESC you mentioned.....how many cells could it handle before blowing?

What should I look for when shopping for a motor, batteries, and escs?

[BurninRubba]

People have gotten there rustys past 70mph with those systems...Check out www.swami-rc.com to get an idea...And by the way you run up to 10 cells with those systems...I run 7 cells in mine...

[ExtremeMT]

Which systems specifically are you reffering to? Like the brand lehner or hacker...which one if so? Or just brushless in general?

That ESC you mentioned.....how many cells could it handle before blowing?

What should I look for when shopping for a motor, batteries, and escs?

[ExtremeMT]

Which motor?

Lehner 5300
Lehner XL 5000
Hacker B50 L series (probably 10L)

I can pull the money for either of them but which would be my best bet? Also can some one explain to me about controllers? and what to look for.

Any reccomendations on a controller?

[born2rc]

Well if price is a concern, it would problably be better to stay with a brushed set-up. You could race in the stock class (still pretty low maintenence) and that is always good racing. Stock motors run about 30 bucks. My favorite is the Fantom modified P2K2 (a trinity motor). As for batteries I would stay away from the 3600s they are weak cells (see pic). ESCs, I think LRPs are really good. The novaks can sometimes have a blowing up problem but do have great customer service. You didn't mention a charger but I would recommend the Integy line. They are good for their price.

http://img41.photobucket.com/albums/v127/born2rc/compare.jpg

This is from smcs matchers. gp 3300 verus sanyo 3600

EDIT: I'd better explain what the numbers mean: The top left number (like 0441) is the runtime in seconds of the cell. The top right is the average voltage of the cell (punch, higher is better). The second from the top on the left is the peak voltage the cell. Second from top on left is the internal resistance, lower is always better. 3rd from top on left is the cut off of the discharge (normally 0.90). 3rd from top on right is the amount of seconds they let it discharge to make sure it was all the way dead (can tweak numbers) this should be 5000 or it may make the battery look too good to be true. Bottom left is the charge rate in amps that they charged the battery when the numbers were recorded. Bottom right is the discharge rate in amps that they discharged the battery when the numbers are recorded.

Whew, get all that?

[ExtremeMT]

I mean price is a concern....but I can raise the funds pretty easily for a brushless setup....The motors I listed are between 148-200 on a site I found (Firefox Fine Design)

148 for the basic, 178 for the Lehner XL, and 199 for the Hacker B50 L series.

BTW that pic makes no sense to me.... :eek: :confused: ;)

[ExtremeMT]

yuppers. thanks

[Craps]

The 5300 is plenty of motor, the XL and the B50L are way too big and heavy.

I think the U-Force 75 will handle up to 12 cells.

Get the Li-Po batteries, they are alot less running back and fourth to the charger and they will last alot longer in overall cycles. The runtime is incrediable with around 40 minutes on one charge. You can warm up before the race where the nickel guys have to save they're batteries and if the gas truck main is next after mod electric, stay on the track and run a 20 minute main with them too without worrying about if the battery will make it or not. I have done this. Li-Pos cost more up front, but will save you money in the long run.

Good Luck!

[ExtremeMT]

Can I get a link to the U-force?

[Craps]

Here is a link for Model Flight that sells the U-Force 75: http://www.modelflight.com.au/schulze_electronic_brushed_speed_controllers_esc.h tm

I-Care RC in Canada sells them too, but they don't list them. You'll have to call them. http://www.icare-rc.com/

Notice the U-Force 75 can also run brushed motors too! The only ESC that I know of that can do that.

The Li-Pos and Li-Po charger can be found here: http://www.tppacks.com/
TP8000-2S4P or TP6000-2S3P battery and the Astro Flight 109 charger will be the best choice you can currently make in batteries.

Good Luck!

[ExtremeMT]

Ouch steep prices.....

I need to know something before I get into this....Ive seen pcitures and stuff of blown ESCs, motors, and battery packs and that all caused significant damage. Now at 150 for the engine and 250 for the ESC.......I cant afford to be buying these things like I do bearings ya know....ok ok I dont buy alot of bearings but I do spur gears :D

So at around 8-10 cells would I be safe running it........whats the likelyhood of something blowing?

[ExtremeMT]

Ok I cant start out with Li po........thats passing my budget, the ESC already hits it lol....I could slowly built it up piece by piece but Ill want to drive it soooooooooo bad :D

Whats a decent Nimh pack and I could go Lipo later....

[Craps]

Whats a decent Nimh pack and I could go Lipo later....

Somebody else needs to answer this question, I gave my Nickel batteries away last year.

[gizmoguy303]

GP3300 cells are the most popular and best performing cells out there right now, and are used by virtually all racers. You can get them in a 6-cell matched pack, or you can get them unmatched. Since you will be using more than 6 cells, you can get them at www.cheapbatterypacks.com. They sell the 6-cell sets for $30, and can custom build a pack of GP3300 cells for you and you can specify the # of cells you want.

[born2rc]

http://img41.photobucket.com/albums/v127/born2rc/compare.jpg

This is from smcs matchers. gp 3300 verus sanyo 3600



these are nickels, plus i thought it would be fun to quote myself... :D

[Lapster]

Hey, and if you're racing ask your track first before you squander your money on Li-po and BL. They are both not ROAR legal, but for a club race it might be ok.

[rocknbil]

Extreme - best thing to do is get it in hand, drop a stock motor and ESC into it and hop it up from there. One of the cool things about electrics is playing around with various options available as budget allows, and starting from stock and/or bare bones will give you a frame of reference.

It's going to take some getting used to though, it's a different animal than the nitro you're used to. :D

Choose to answer or no: why the Rustler?

[highroller]

The Rustle while not a competitive car against Losi and Associated vehicles is a good recreational vehicle so much of the stuff mentioned is unnecessary. One model comes ready to run with a esc, radio and motor you need to supply a charger and battery or sometimes paint for the body. For battery go with a GP3300 stick pack and a decent charger all for about $75 to $100. Get the hang of maintaining it as it is by cleaning motor with a motor spray (most use the cheaper Electric motor & contact cleaners from automotive stores) reoil with a lube (3in1)the kit supplied items may be fine for bashing but a little down in good idea speed and performance. If your aspects are to go racing even on a club level you would be better off starting with a vehicle and items more inlined for racing.

Anyone looking to get into RC racing should take the time, visit their local track to get an idea on what vehicles are used, ask questions from racers, find out rules and get an idea of what items they need, plus you'll get ideas on gearing and setups. It's like preparing yourself before you ever go racing.

[ExtremeMT]

Well Ive raced my NMT before but its more of a basher...it feels more at home on the BMX track instead :D

Well Im not made of money and to spend like 100 on an esc for a brushed.....a good brushed motor....anf then go brushless....I mean then I have a nice ESC and a motor.....that I cant use....unless I decided to get an onroad touring car or something.....but then Id need more batteries..........and then thats another $50-$80............I just kinda want to start out nice ya know. I can work on and maintain and take care of things.....I love working on rcs.

I choose the rustler cause my best friend has one and hes gonna help me out alot. He races too......He said he has a brushed motor, nice one, hell give me for free so once I get it I guess Ill go ahead and order a side x side pack, 7 cell, of GP3300 cells, and a brushed ECU.......start out there....go brushless later.

[ExtremeMT]

Meh.....Im going to start with a brushed setup...but a nice one....and learn my way around eletric and then go BL later

[ElectricThunder]

Aw, no fun David:p:D If you need help ask me online, and I think I can give you a lil nudge in the right direction.:D