Associated Customer Service

[IR]

I emailed them yesterday with some questions about Reedy motors that could compete with the GM3 in terms of RPMS and such. The MVP's I've tried can't generate comparable numbers.
I received a response back today. Very informative, very helpfull. It states," The MVP is the only stock motor we have."

What?Is the Rage series gone? Do they honestly think they can keep up with plethora of highbred stock motors coming out with the MVP?

I am very disappointed in Associated right now.

[Grizzbob]

That's the way Reedy has done it for many years, IR. The MVP is an upgrade of the Rage design, so there's no need to keep it around. If you still want a motor that behaves like the Rage, you'll have to do it with a Green Machine 3, its performance is as close to the Rage as anything I've tested. The reason I prefer the MVP, though, is because its more versatile than just about any motor I've had, with some tuning it can work very well for most any kind of racing you need.... :)

[IR]

Thanks Grizz. It seems odd that they are focusing on one and only one stock motor. I have tried tuning the MVP to get the laps times at my track that are close to the GM3 and it just ain't happenin'. It is only recently that I was able to run the MVP at a reasonable gear ratio without it getting the lovely "about to have a melt down" smell. Ahh well, I had hoped to stick with all AE family products but if it means going slower than forget it.

[HowieStern]

ok then guys... just what have you been doing to get the MVP to keep from melting down, and still have any power??

i've tried...

1. narrowing the brush faces- (reedy 767's) this keeps the temps down a bit.... but at a loss of some major rpm (and it still has zero punch)

2. icing down the motors before heat races- this also keeps temps under control, but is a real pain, and the motor still won't keep up with a Fantom P-2-K on my track...

3. gearing- FT T-3- i've tried everything from 18-87 to 23/87 (wanna talk about hot?? LOL)... and none seems to have any punch out of corners... and it STILL gets super hot...

it seems the brush hoods are a bit too far from the comm... and this is part of the reason of the overheating.... of course this can't be changed legally...
so ok all you mvp guru's... let it rip on how you are getting... 1. low temps
2. punch out of corners
3. decent rpm's

the first MVP i got ran good for the first few packs, but since then it's been all downhill... and right now.. i consider the mvp possibly the worst stock motor to come out in the last 5 years...

peace out... :)

[IR]

I'm right there with you Howard. I followed Big Jim's advice on this motor and it's still hotter than a rabbit in heat. Id' love to hear any things that made the MVP raceable as well.

[RC10GTMark]

I dont see how that has much to do with Associated's customer service. You said yourself that you got a very informative reply, so customer service did their job. It isn't customer services fault that they are only producing 1 stock motor.

If you cant get the MVP to do what you need than go with another motor. I can understnad brand name loyalty, but if it doesn't work, than it doesns't work, simple as that.

[ 07-03-2001: Message edited by: Mark ]

[IR]

That's prety much what I said Mark, but thanks for the advice. And as far as my post here, it's called sarcasm. The email I sent was 4 paragraphs long and pretty detailed as to the who, what and why. The reply was 1 sentence long. I specifically pointed out that the MVP's ( I tried more than 1, stupid me) I had were all getting way too hot and were pretty much useless in a racing environment. No helpful suggestions to try and remedy the issues with the MVP's or acknowledgement that I was trying to maintain loyal to the brand. nothing. That, my friend, is not good customer service.

[Grizzbob]

Then I'd say you're just using the wrong motor for you, because I have a good amount of experience with MVP's(I picked up a trio of them) & I've gotten them to run very strong, though I haven't been able to lick the heat issue. Really, mine have just kept on cranking out the power, hot or cold, so I've mostly ignored it, & set up properly, they're every bit the equal to a P2K, but with more top end..... :)

[Leet TC3]

Howie - I have had the same experience as Grizzbob. The MVP runs hot, plain and simple. But I have NOT noticed any performance decrease. I just keep in clean and trued, and it keeps purring away.

I have 2MVP's for when I am chaining practice runs. I just switch the motor and battery and get back out there.

Without a doubt the fastest stock motor I have run.

So far, 28t seems the best. I tried to gear it down some, but at 26t it just plain sucked. I haven't run any real races above 28t, but may try a 29 or 30 this weekend.

But then, I run a TC3 on high grip surfaces. I don't think the MVP is much on torque, so if you are running off road, or if you track has a lot of tight curves, you may be better off with a P2K.

[Grizzbob]

Actually, Leet, it just depends on how you tune it. I decided to try to get power & torque out of mine, & after putting some medium springs & Niftech's brushes, I managed to get my best one to equal my best P2K's, in torque & power, but still have more top end. But they can also be set up to turn more rpm with less torque, & that way they behave more like the older Yok motors. That's why I like them, they can be adapted to suit pretty much any kind of racing you need to do, where the others are all pretty cut & dried..... :)

[Leet TC3]

True true, but torque is rarely a consideration for me. A long time ago a wise old racer gave me this advice about how to improve your driving skills: Learn how NOT to brake.

So, now I only push forward on my throttle when avoiding hammering somebody (spinout in the straits, etc.). I have a little amount of drag braking, but I always coast into a curve with a wide line.

Typically, I have good speed coming out of a curve this way and have less need for torque to accelerate. The trick here is to learn how to pass on the curves, as I am usually carrying more speed than others (lots of lead changes, they pass me because I slow down sooner coming to a curve, but I pass them right back on the curve).

[HowieStern]

just FYI everyone... myself and IdahoRacer (IR) are experts at sarcasm.... too many flame wars from EH, RCA and other boards i guess... LOL...

anywhos... thanks for the info grizz... i've got the local motor guru working on my Dillon MVP Pro this week trying to get it to work at least for a practice motor... but i'll pass along your info about brushes and springs to him...

anybody else have some inside info on what you are using to get your MVP rocking??

peace out... :)