lenny7118

Hello, I just got a Traxxas X Maxx and need some help with deciding what motor and esc combo is the best. I want speed , not crazy fast and I'll be using the x maxx on the road mostly.
At first I was considering the Castle Creations Mamba XL X 2028 800kv motor and esc setup but someone on you tube said the X maxx can't handle that motor and keeps breaking parts on the x maxx especially the driveshaft.
So I was considering the Leopard 1340Kv with the Castle Creations esc.
Also what gearing ( pinion and spur would work ).

Thsnk you

Mechanicaloverlord

Please be more specific. More speed than stock and crazy fast is a wide range and depends on your perception. Do you have a more tangible speed goal? What Leopard motor are you referring to? Really don't feel like combing through their offerings to find out the size. What Castle esc? The XLX, MMX, MM2? You staying 6s?

The XMaxx is a heavy s.o.b. and the stock motor is already straining pretty good. If it were me I'd go with a 58mm diameter 1/5 motor, not sure how long as I don't know what kind of room is in there or the esc relocation options. I think you're on the right track Kv wise so you can stay 6s so it won't be too powerful. Gonna need an aftermarket motor mount for a 58mm diameter motor though. As for gearing, you can compare to others setups but obviously you can go bigger on the pinion and/or smaller on the spur since the kv will be lower. Just experiment from there or play around with one of the many online top speed/gearing calculators. Stock top speed is what about 35mph? Add 10mph (should be fairly safe with 58mm diameter motor) or whatever your speed goal is, crunch some numbers and test it out. Start with all stock specs in the calculator, then change the kv to the motor you want to run. Then adjust the gearing until you see a mph number you like, then test it out.

lenny7118

Hi, Speed 40-65 on road. Motor Leopard 5892 1340KV and XLX 1/5 scale Castle Creations ESC.
Is that a combo that would be better than the Castle Creations XLX 800kv 2028

Mechanicaloverlord

First I think it's nuts to want to go that fast with that big of a truck and that's still a pretty wide speed range. But if you want to pop stock tires I'm not gonna judge. Second, I have no experience with Leopard motors that big. For those reasons I'm going a bit conservative. I wouldn't gear for more than 50mph to start out, especially if you're going to run 6s. So for 6s and 50mph you're looking at 30/50 gearing with the Leopard 1340kv motor.

As far as Castle vs Leopard motor. I prefer Castle, I had a Leopard similar to a 1515 2200kv and the Leopard ran hotter in the same vehicle setup for the same top speed. The problem with the 2028 is the low kv forces you to run 8s to get enough RPM's out of the motor. The 2028 on 6s requires 45/46 gearing to get to 50mph, on 8s 34/46 gets you to 50mph in the XMaxx. I wouldn't be afraid of running the 2028 on 8s though, you can adjust the "Torque Control" in the esc to limit overall torque at all RPM ranges to help save the drivetrain. Punch control works differently, it only adjust the rate of throttle application and only works when going from little to no throttle to higher percentages. Lower kv with higher voltage is also more efficient for longer runtimes and lower temps. The 2028 on 8s is going to have more than enough power to do whatever you want and run cool. The only potential issue is available gearing, your speed goals and whether or not you want to go 8s. Check the specs for whatever mount you're going to use and see what gearing it can support.

Edit: If you google Leopard 5892 XMaxx or 2028 XMaxx you can find other user's experiences in other places to give you some guidance.