ok this question might be dumb but i gotta know

[Andrew the RC man]

ok if i have a very powerful motor and a slightly power ESC will the ESC make the motor prefrom less than it can or will the motor work at full capacity until it frys the ESC

[JP]

What motor and what ESC? There isnt really a standard of a "powerful" ESC. Some ESC's are better, but they all have ratings of what the maximum amount of cells are and the lowest turn you can put in it.

[This message has been edited by JP (edited 01-29-2001).]

[SteveP]

Andrew - if you have a motor that's to powerful for the ESC, then a little bit of both scenarios you've described will happen.

[PeterV]

Even ESCs rated for stock motors can handle mild modifieds if the car is geared low and you aren't running the car under high-load conditions (through grass and sand, up steep inclines, etc.). Conversely, even the toughest ESC can be destroyed by the wimpiest stock motor if you jam the motor and keep your finger in the throttle. Here's what I suggest:

First, determine what the manufacturer of your ESC suggests for a motor limit(if you tell me what kind of ESC you have, I can help with that). Second, install a motor with the same number of winds as suggested, or more--NOT FEWER! Third, install a pinion gear with 1 less tooth than stock, just to be safe. Fourth, watch your run time and motor heat; if the car won't run more than 5 minutes or so with a 2000mAh pack (or 4 minutes with a lesser-capacity pack), and the motor and ESC are heating up to the hurts-to-touch level, your car is overgeared. If you don't fix it, you're likely to toast your motor and your ESC--gear it down (install a smaller pinion, larger spur gear, or both)

And when in doubt, go to the hobby shop and ask!

[This message has been edited by PeterV (edited 02-04-2001).]