Sorry for taking so long to reply! New job (position actually) added with
sending TWO kids to college this semester has pretty much tied up all of my time
(and ALL of my $$) as of late. Anyhow, the rules have changed a LOT for this
years competition but my questions are still pretty much the same. I have not
used my watt-meter as much as I would've liked but I did order several props to
attach to the T-400 motors that I already have and have a few questions. When I
first ordered a motor/prop combo, I chose an electrifly T400 (brushed, as
required by the rules) motor and a Multiplex 5X4 pusher prop only because that
was what was available on the website I was viewing at the time. That combo
(times two since two motor prop combos were allowed last year - only one this
year) won gold for us in 2013. This year we need a heavier car with only one
motor/prop so minimizing friction and maximizing thrust is of utmost importance.
I ordered four additionall APC props and am very dissapointed in the results. If
you look at the attached image, you will see that the APC props I ordered
should've been more aggressive than the Multiplex prop (on the far right) yet
the Multiplex prop provides SIGNIFICANTLY more thrust with roughly the same
current requirements (approx. 5-6 amps). The prop size limitation is now around
5.5 inches. I noticed that the Multiplex prop is wider than the APC props. Is
that the problem? Any specific, more aggressive prop recommendations in the 5.5
inch range??