Northern Mike

I stumbled on this liquid cooling system for rc car/buggies and am wondering if its worth trying or will it be more show then function.
I'm building up a buggy with a mid mounted motor, and after cooking my motor yesterday on an open rear mount, I'm looking at ways to prevent this on my new build.
Here is a link to the kit I'm looking athttps://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/__51510__HobbyKing_Liquid_Cooling_System_For_RC_Ca rs_with_Self_Circulating_Pump_And_Radiator.html

Also thinking of going to a full water jacket instead of the half heatsink style that comes with it.

SyCo_VeNoM

I'll be honest outside the cool factor... its kinda worthless IMO Reminds me of those nitro turbos which outside looking impressive, anre 100% worthless, and do more harm then good.

In all honesty IMO it would make the motor run hotter as you now need a liquid reservoir which will add weight
If you are really worried about cooking the motor just gear it down 2-3 teeth sure it will impact the top end, but the motor also won't get as hot. Its pretty much what I do on my vehicles. I don't run any kind of cooling system outside cutting holes in a few bodies to increase airflow over the motor.

nitrosportsandrunner

it would be interesting to see a side by side comparison of a standard heat sink vs that system.
That system is more compact than ones ive seen in the past. I don't care for the anodized color, but it would add some cool factor....especially to a drift car!

I don't think the weight would really hurt....just not sure if it would cool better than a $5 heat sink.

as syco mentioned, dropping a few teeth on your pinion gear is a sure fire way to reduce heat on your motor. cheaper to

collector1231

My Feedback: (1)

They do make RC motor waterblocks and small water pumps. You could use nitro fuel tubing and PC watercooling coolant, if you had the space, time, and money. More for show, though.

Although, you could just zip tie a Ziploc bag full of shaved ice to a motor; same effect.

phmaximus

i like it.... ive allways wanted to make one, it would be great for vehicles that have little air flow over the motor or vehicles that don't have the room for a traditional heat sink.

As far a liquid cooling goes I think I could make a better kit for cheaper......

Sorry syco, no way that would make the motor run hotter. the added extra weight is under 45g. Its going to make no difference at all.
there is bigger weight differences from a soft pack lipo to a hard case.... to give u an idea... a hot wheels car weight about the same

See im a fan of cooling systems. it allows me to push my cars further than before. After all power is Volts times amps, so if u lower the gearing u will also lower the power.
so if u can retain the power by simply fitting a fan or heat sink Its a obvious decision for me

SyCo_VeNoM

That is assuming it actually works the radiator IMO looks too small to cool a motor adequately but that is IMO though. Thing is where will you pop the radiator? if the car isn't getting enough airflow for a motor to be cooled properly then the radiator ain't gonna do a damn thing. Also for RC's that are going for speed one hit and that thing more then likely will be trashed hell they even bent the fins on the right side in that pic on HK's site so I'm guessing they are fragile. They look more like they are around the thickness of the fins off a window AC judging by the thickness of the wire, and if they are that will bend easy. But that is just my opinion. I was half tempted to get one just for the scale looks for the vehicles I'm working on though(till I saw the price).

phmaximus

not necessarily....a lot of stadium trucks, Traxxas 2wd vehicles and Tamiya touring cars like the DF03, TA02 have issues with airflow over the motor.
something like a stadium truck or Traxxas 2wd u could mount the radiator on the front of the rear shock tower. As long as its lower than the top of the tower it should be safe from damage.
Same with something like a DF03. if u were to use a boat motor with built in cooling jacket u could mount the radiator anywhere on the chassis like u would a ESC and fit a fan to it. as long as its lower than the shock towers it should be safe.....

Straight away people associate the radiator to be at the front, but the truth is it does not need to be.

but I do agree, that kit looks crap, and very expensive. personally I would make my own radiator and use a boat motor

Northern Mike

I ended up passing on this system. Wanted to try it, but don't have much play money these days.
My concern was heat soak with the small rad. I had planned to mount it below the rear wing on my lx2e. It would get a fair bit of air there, less dirt and mud, and wouldn't be too out of place there.
A few concerns I had with the system was mounting and heat soak. Even running some copper tubing along the metal chassis would help, but if the pump and rad can't move enough heat. Heat soak is an issue I have with my intercooler on my 1:1 car when doing runs with it, and that is a much larger system. Might look into something for my lx2e down the road as the build progress. There will not be a lot of moving air under the body as I need to keep the dirt and mud out of there.

phmaximus

Ummm that doesn't make sense.... How is it going to get "heat soak"??
Heat soak only really apples to intercoolers. Or 2 separate cooling systems with there heat exchangers close together.
but because it will only have one Radiator/intercooler/heat exchanger (what ever u want to call it) it's not like there is another hotter Radiator/intercoolers/heat exchanger to soak heat from.

Maj_Overdrive

My Feedback: (11)

To the OP. If you're looking at motors for your LX2e that this cooling system will fit, that is your problem. You should be looking for a motor that's 40-42mm in diameter not the 36mm that this cooling system fits. 36mm motors are for 1/10 not 1/8. Get a good motor and you won't need any cooling system.

Im not against heat sinks, fans etc. But I personally would rather take that $40 and use it to get a bigger motor so I know temps won't be a problem. I had a LX1e powered by a Castle 1518 (1800kv) on 5s and geared for almost 60mph. With no holes in the body, no heatsink, fan or anything I could run that thing on 90f degree days pack after pack and motor temp never went over 160f. Buy a bigger, badder motor than you need and you'll never have to worry about temps. It's why my LST XXL has a Castle 1717 that runs cool geared for over 50mph.

Big Alice

I have no idea who built this, how well this works, or if it even does. It is beautiful, though. A real work of art. It's a pic I've had for a long time. Just thought I'd throw it in here. Yes, I know you're talking about electric.

phmaximus

Water cooled wankle... That's cool

Northern Mike

That looks crazy.
That rad looks like it would be much more effective then my previous posted link. The setup looks like it could cool. Hard to see all the components but it is defintetly cool looking

phmaximus

I found another pic...

Big Alice

That's it. I'd like to see it for real and get to really look it over.

nitrosportsandrunner

I like the idea of a radiator to remove heat from my brushless motor....and I would think it could be possible for it to reduce temps more than just a regular heat sink. But I am not willing to spend money on such a system unless someone shows proof of that.
I mean, if a company is selling such a system, I shouldn't be hard to show a side by side comparison of a given setup without anything, with a heat sink, and then with the liquid cooling system.

of course, one downside is a radiator and hoses runs the risk of a puncture or damage in a crash. don't really have to worry about that with just a heat sink. Tho, in my experience many heat sinks don't stay on the motor very tight.

Northern Mike

It looks like I'll have a second lx1 roller, so I may spend some time looking into a custom system with a fan on the rad.
The issue with a passive rad like this one linked is you need to be moving fast to move air through it. 20mph might not get enough air through the rad.
What I would like is a waterproof fan on a rad. Could do something similar to a boat shaft with the fan motor protected from potential water/mud

phmaximus

If only they had a 30mm variant of these....still might work on a 1/8 or on the back of a SCT
http://www.microcenter.com/product/3...oling_Radiator