Obrien:

The right brushless system with 3S lipo will substantially increase the performance of your car. However, it’s an expensive decision that must be carefully considered.

The motor, speed control and battery need to be selected with great care or you will damage or destroy one or all three of the system components. Furthermore, you must select components that have a bit more capacity than what you need, a performance or safety margin. It’s not always easy to properly match the components because there are so many variables such as the KV rating of the motor, discharge rate of the battery, amp draw of the entire system, max amp capability of the speed control and motor, and of course the current gearing of your car.

The manufacturer (Traxxas) has developed a system that meets all of the requirements and provides a safety margin so that they can offer a warranty. They also offer excellent support by telephone and email. The price of their system reflects these advantages.

While it is a simple matter for an experienced driver to select the proper components to suit his particular needs, it’s a rather complex process for a beginner, and likely to end in disappointment. Off the shelf components often require good soldering skills to change or add connectors, and patience to program the speed control to suit your system and driving style.

Your best choice is to pay extra for the Traxxas system, or find someone local to you with plenty of experience to help you decide what to buy and assist you with the installation and setup of the system. I have no doubt you will require help installing and setting up your new system. You will also have to learn how to drive your high performance vehicle without wiping out other parts of the car, or overloading your power system and burning stuff up. Lipo batteries put out a tremendous amount of power and care must be taken to properly manage the power without damage to the power system.

It’s possible to do it all yourself with enough research, but few of us have that much patience or spare cash to pay for the mistakes. If you insist on going it alone without Traxxas or local help, I suggest you identify exact components known to work in your exact vehicle by seeking specific advice here on RCU, and buy those exact components to install on your car.

I used to own a hobby shop and am quite familiar with uninformed folks buying high performance electronics for their car and then burning up their new stuff in a few short runs. It’s an expensive lesson.

I wish you success and hope you are able to find someone to assist in your adventure.