Cheap, brand name and good aren't mutually exclusive terms in brushless.

I'd like to point out that a 'cheap' Hobbywing .5t motor has a 540 rotor and will perform better than an equivelant CC or VXL motor, both of which are more expensive and make do with a 380 rotor. The ONLY decent motors that Castle make/sell are the cc/neu licensed 2200 and 2650. The others are not worth buying unless it's a good deal on a combo. Same goes for the VXL motor, which is made by a third party, most likely Feigao. Again, not known for their brushless motor quality.

The T8 Tekin motors had a lot of rotor failures in the early runs, I think it has been fixed now though. They appear to be 4 pole motors of good design and material, I would like to try one in my GCM RB3.