srt10

My Feedback: (20)

That's funny!
the lipo mode if you read the instructions, is to have the LVC working with lipo packs [:-]
it sets the LVC

wilsta67

he maybe not driving it fast enough lol
it says in the driving instructions

Do not operate the boat continuously at low speeds when using LiPo
batteries. The ESC and motor could overheat from lack of cooling water flow.

if he has the ESC set to training or sports mode this maybe the cause.
he really hasnt given much info on how he has the boat set up so im just assuming.

Dirt_hawg

What size are your batts? I run 5000 mah packs in my MG and only get about 4 min of runtime.These arent like rc cars..These FE boats use way more juice than rc cars do..

wilsta67

i havent even run my boat yet this week end i will be.
i bought 5000mah 35c lipo packs

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

if you read the guys original post he says speeds are in the 40's
so it sounds like he is running it all out

best way to run FE boats is all out
boats pull way more amps than cars and trucks and will heat things up faster, specially if the motor is not big enough for the hull

wilsta67

if the boat is overheating there must be a problem with his particular boat.
there have been no other reports of this happening that i have heard of.
but then you probably have. and i maybe wrong.
il be testing mine this weekend it will be interesting

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

I've heard of several who are sending there boats back to traxxas because of heat issues

hyrulejedi86

After coming from the Traxxas forums, I read a bit about these issues and it seems the motor is overheating and causing the shut down. Iwas reading about an individual over thereadding a Y connector in after the tubing enters the hull. He sent one tube to the motor and one to the ESC then combined them again with another Y connector. Also, he moved the cooling jacket forward toward the temp sensor and widened the water intake on the rudder.
These changes allowed him to get the full 6-8 minute runtime until the 6s lipo cut off set-in. He then checked the motor and got 183* which is still a bit too hot but apparently better.

Others have been talking about getting a bigger cooling jacket onto the motor made of aluminum which I think is a great idea also.

I myself am just waiting to see how these problems are resolved before I order one.

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

his biggest improvement that I recomended was to make the pickup bigger in the rudder
even though he thinks there is more water going through the system, 183* is bad for a RTR on the stock plastic prop durring the cooler months of the year
this means he cannot try bigger props to get more speed out of this RTR [:-]

hyrulejedi86

Oh yeah definetly, I am just interested to see how this all will pan out.

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

I think they should have just made this a 6s boat to start with and had a 1250-1300kv motor
the heat issues would not be there

asupervee72

183* holly hell batman, I consider my set ups to be on the hot side if they get past 130. I have a micro brushed motor i'll let get up to 150, but 183 is smokin. Stock MG on 5s wasn't producing heat in that range, i stayed well below 120 on everything. I messed around with Y connectors, my theory is that the water is not on the esc long enough to significantly heat it and make cooling on the motor less efficient. One cooling line with good flow should be plenty of cooling for a properly set up FE boat

@ OKCIS are you sure you are temping out and not just hitting the lvc? Do you have a temp gun or are you just feeling it and thinking it is warm? 20 min of run time in a FE boat is somewhat unheard of, especially if you are only running a 1p set up.

Diesel6401

My Feedback: (1)

Y connector don't make a big difference with a singe water pickup. Water flows the route of less resistance. If their is the slightest pinch or obstruction water will flow the opposite route meaning their is no true way to verify the water is actually going to both the esc/motor and because the lines meet again at one cooling outlet their will be a sign of positive water outflow but you can't tell that both systems are being properly cooled. The 6s thing is going to kill Traxxas on this boat. And 2 pole motors are really not forgiving if over-propped won't be long before people start changing props and Poof goes the motor and or esc. They should have stuck with 5s on this boat or a lower KV motor motor. On 6s that's 35k+ on the rpm, starting to get into SAW style rpm ranges after that.

Agreed 20+ minutes in FE is def un-heard of.

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

A second pickup will help

asupervee72

maybe, i ran two in my SV

wilsta67

well it seems you guys were corect the boat over heats and not to mention does not even do 50mph lol false advertising on traxxas behalf.
Hi all well i took the spartan out for its maiden voyage today and i managed to gps the thing.
i think traxxas will need to look at the over heating issue! my first run i got 3 minutes out of it before it cut out from over heating. i noticed that the boat has a water flow issue there isn't a lot of water coming out the side of the boat very strange its barely spitting out.
the motor was red hot i could not even leave my finger on the thing for more than 2 seconds is this normal?
i tried again after 30 minutes but the red light was still flashing.then again at 40 minutes and it was ready to go. so into it again and 2 minutes later it cuts out again. grrr! oh i also gps it and guess what it doesn't do 50mph! sorry traxxas but how do you get 50mph out of this thing. i clocked it at 67.7kmh which = 42.07mph flat out in race mode using 35c 5000mah lipo packs.
other than that the boat handles beautifully and its a shame we are have these problems because you cant enjoy the thing
proof you ask!
here you go! ;-)
[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HLl0hlM4wdU[/youtube]

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

That's sad considering a SV27 with a decent prop will get those speeds and on 4s

what should be do being that this boat does not do the 50mph claim [:-]

Stinger9d9

Most new boats have a problem or two (heck my SV27 fried it's motor on the 2nd run) but that was a problem limited to only a few units - not ALL of them.

I think more troubling is Traxxas' habit of boldly posting top speeds on the boxes of their products when it's just not that simple. Those big numbers trick the fanboys into blindly buying these things, thinking they'll have a 50mph boat without even needing to know how to adjust trim, center of gravity or anything..

Just like the Venom KoS, it's nice to see these companies put out more boats. More products on the market are always better, but don't expect a company that has never put out a decent boat to put out a product that can compete with Mike Z's Aquacraft boats or Daren Jordan's ProBoat boats. Boats like those have WAY more design into them (by guys with years of experience) than you could imagine.

It just makes me wonder what the big wait for this thing was. They obviously weren't taking the time to "get it right".

Diesel6401

My Feedback: (1)

AMEN!

Seems the wait was for Traxxas to get their fancy stickers and name together, I rather a boat have more R&D time and less Graphics time. I guess they accomplished their goal, they have the nicest box

srt10

My Feedback: (20)

Yes Amen!

wilsta67

hehe! yeah deffinatly is a sexy looking boat it handles bloody nice too just a crying shame about the heat issue.
i have a new 60mm aluminium water jacket comining this week ,that will cover just about the whole motor so will see how that goes.will test it on the week end.

Diesel6401

My Feedback: (1)

I don't think the new jacket will make a huge a difference maybe a few degrees but nothing dramatic. At the end of the day the problem (in my eyes) is simply a poor setup. The motor selection is all wrong size, pole count, kv rating all wrong. All these other cooling tricks are band-aids for a poor setup. 6s on the kv rating with that can is just very very bad idea. It's a cheap 2 pole motor, it's not made to handle what everyone is trying to put it through. Propping down will help, less amp draw on the motor the better. I new motor will help, 4 pole would be better. People are starting to look at the 540xl leopards which should fix the heating issue. The leopard 540xl 1300kv 4pole will help this boat a WHOLE lot. The 4 pole motor will be more forgiving then the 2 pole with prop selection. That fact that per the Traxxas manual doesnt recommend anything bigger then a 42mm prop let's people know very quickly that the motor they have is just not the right choice for 36"+ hull. I have a 32" pursuit I run a 47mm prop on and the temps on the motor at their highest have been 105F. The fact that the boat needs 35K+ unloaded RPM to break 50mph is not impressive. I am just being very honest here and I hope the issue everyone is having with this hull doesn't discourage people to leave the hobby, hopefully it encourages them to get more involved and find out how to properly setup and run boats. I am not a export never even raced and only been in FE for a little over 1.5 years but I know what a poor setup looks like....

Dirt_hawg

LOL..Ive noticed this with their rc cars over the last 10 years..There was a point when the Traxxas cars looked really really generic..Then they must have hired a graphics guy because they pretty much Slapped on some chrome wheels and better graphics to cover up a turd..Of course I do like their VXL3 systems,2.5r and 3.3 engines and these pretty much came around the same time. There ok but if you look at the chassis on most of there cars they are pretty generic looking..I think they are more of a beginner based platforms that they spend ALOTTT of time dolling and talking up..Thats why the last delay on the Spartan took so long.

JPriami

My Feedback: (21)

The delay on the spartan was due to licensing on the name titan. Aeromarine makes a boat hull called the titan already.
I feel traxxas dropped the ball on this boat and the QC. The rudder inlet hole isnt sufficient to allow enough flow for the cooling. And apparently some are having problems with their esc not running right, surging, blowing up even catching fire! From what I read this seems to be a common problem with traxxas and their esc's even on other vehicles.
But traxxas has some cool stuff in my opinion. The revo for one is pretty awesome. And they even took that platform and shrunk it down. then made it universal for about 9 or so other vehicles this reduces the cost of making something when it works with and is compatible with other vehicles. Pretty good thinking and business strategy.
But they have lost sight from my perspective. They want so bad to boast the fastest in radio control trade mark. That they talk up stuff and then marketing gets involved and you want to believe what your being sold because you have that stand point of you want to trust what seems to be a reputable company thats been around a good while.
I think there are lots of variables involved in hitting an advertised speed of something. But it should at least come pretty darn close or surpass what its being sold saying it does. But then you throw in all the problems on top of that and it makes a bad name for yourself.

My Spartan has been a project from day one. first modifying the rudder inlet to make sure it got enough coolant through the system. That worked and kept my boat running cool. But made the silicon jacket leak. Long story short its all good now.

losifiend

I saw this boat run this Sat and I was pretty impressed. They guy was running a smaller prop than stock due to breaking his and getting a loaner. It wasn't blistering fast on 6S and the motor only got up to 110*. They guy took off the trim tabs though and said it made a noticeable difference. They boat was very stable and did not prop walk or chime walk.

But honestly, I don't know why Traxxas went with a cheap 2 pole motor on this boat, for the price. I'm sure they could of got a 3674 Leopard 4 pole motor in there for about the same price, considering they are buying in bulk and are made in China anyways.

I would definitely pick up a hull if I found one reasonably on ebay. I love the size of the boat. My LHS has 10 in stock and they aren't selling how they expected. I'll keep an eye on their stock and try and see if I could get a low ball deal on one. Even getting $50 off would offset the price on a 4 pole motor like this one.[link]http://www.hobbypartz.com/96m812-3674-1700kv.html[/link] It would FLY on 6S!!! A buddy of mine bought one. They are made by leopard and are 4 pole.