obrien135

Hi I have been thinking about doing a brushless upgrade for my Traxxas Slash 2wd. I saw a guy with a foreign made ESC and motor on YouTube. It's for$45. That's a lot cheaper than the one from Traxxas. But the guy didn't demonstrate it. Does anybody know if these foreign kits are okay? I'm guessing it's from china.can anybody make any recommendations. Even with the power up trade in the Traxxas option is a little steep

rgburrill

Nearly everything is foreign made today.

obrien135

So is there any reason at all to go with the manufacturer's option?
I I guess a better question is not whether it's foreign or not but whether or not it's the manufacturer's recommended option

seedygreenute

Traxxas electronics are overpriced in my opinion .
I have put a cheap 120A blue ESC and Leopard motor into a friends 4wd buggy . Still working 2 years later .
They seem to last on 2S lipo but I have read they dont last long on 3/4S .
Stay away from the motors with cooling fins .They are often small motors inside big cases . Make sure its a 4 pole motor too , not 2 pole .
You could try an ebay chop shop , ( parts sold from new cars ) JennysRC .
A Hobbywing combo might be an option for you also .

obrien135

Thanks I appreciate your input. Actually I'm reluctant to do the upgrade unless I can use a 3s lipo because I think that's the only way I can get a drastic change in velocity. And if it's not going to last long on a 3s lipo I can't see sacrificing the whole model for the upgrade because I do enjoy it even the way it is and I want it to last. that might sound ridiculous but the model was a gift from my mother who is not in the position to repeat the purchase and if it dies I can't replace it and I really enjoy it so I like it to last

obrien135

Thanks for answering. Actually I upgraded the ESC and motor today but with the nickel metal hydride battery that I already have it doesn't have much more speed I would like to upgrade to a 3s lipo. The 3s lipo and charger from Traxxas is available at the hobby store is $200 which is too much. Can you recommend an alternative? I mean a suitable lipo 3s with a compatible charger? I would appreciate the help since I'm already invested in this thank you very much. George

obrien135

What if I get a non Traxxas lipo and the connectors don't match?

049flyer

My Feedback: (18)

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.

obrien135

Thanks for that information. This evening I called the store a hobby store in Connecticut where I live that says they have the completer pack with the lipo and the charger from Traxxas for $90. I already got the brushless upgrade I probably didn't mention that but I'm still using the nickel metal hydride. So I'm thinking about getting the completer pack for $90 because it sounds like a much better deal than what else I've been hearing about. One hobby store owner who is sort of a friend of mine cautioed me about the dangers of lipos but I called Traxxas and they reassured me so I think for $90 it might be worth the money I like to go 70 miles an hour like other people have

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

Traxxas designed the completer packs to be nearly fool-proof which keeps their customers happy. The 2970 pack is a 2S LiPo which will still have more kick than the original NiMh pack.

As stated earlier in this conversation; there are many options available but I've seen many folks on tighter budgets purchase equipment that is "good enough" on paper in regards to the specs only to soon find out that their investment has gone up in smoke. An example would be purchasing a new 2S LiPo battery with a 20C rating. You can check the specs on your ESC or motor then run some math on the battery and figure that this relatively inexpensive battery provides enough amperage for your equipment. After a couple runs your pack puffs up slightly an only gets worse with subsequent runs. Eventually a cell drops under nominal voltage and it's basically dead at that point.

I'm not summarizing that 20C is the wrong choice because the mAh rating of the pack is a factor also. I've even seen in some instruction manuals to "use only 25C or higher rated batteries." Well, that's all well and good. But 25C at 3000mAh compared to 25C at 5000mAh give you different amp ratings. The question is how much power does your equipment need? You'll need an understanding of basic DC theory and for someone who is knowledgeable to help guide you so that you don't end up with batteries that aren't up to the task.

This is why I hear many people say brands like Traxxas or Spektrum are overpriced with their batteries and chargers. While you can find similar or higher performance products at a lower sticker price, the end user has to design their own system. These brands have done the engineering for you and have designed a system that works with all of their products. This is how they are able to warranty their products and provide a positive experience for their customer.

obrien135

Thank you for your reply. I ended up getting a complete pack with a 4,000 milliamp hour lipo with a 25c rating it's 3s do you think that's sufficient for the 3s power up upgrade is there any way of knowing without amount of information? If not maybe I can take further into it. I misplaced the box but maybe I can find the manual or instructions for the ESC that might have some information about its specs I think the motor is a 3500 I think that means it means the KV rating

BKoz559

My Feedback: (3)

For most 1/10 2wd applications that battery will be sufficient. It's a 100A battery. If you use the nominal voltage rating of 11.1V you end up with 1,110watts.

You really should be checking the wattage of the motor and compare it to the 1100 watts I just mentioned. That's a quick way to gauge your equipment but you still need to keep total amperage in mind. If you had a 25C 4000mAh 2S battery then the wattage would be 740W. Motor wattage varies but many are within that range so I'm betting that you're more than covered. The ESC amperage rating will help you match it to the motor but ultimately the power ratings of the motor will be the best gauge to determine how much battery you need. The motor may list continuous current and burst current separately and might be in the range of 60 / 200A. I'm just showing an example. In this case your battery would be sufficient for the continuous current. The battery shows 25C but might show a "burst" C rating. You can check that too to see if it meets or exceeds the burst current of the motor. In general you are safer to have more available power from your battery than what your motor requires. If you're battery specs are right at the motor's power requirements then you risk pushing the limits of the battery and shortening it's life, or worse, causing it to puff and possibly even catch fire.