The key is the motor kv... and at only @1750kv the 9XL should pull that gear easy. I still run a lower gear for racing but really I don't have to.

That's one of the things I want to experiment with: how temps and efficiency will be effected if I race with this taller gear, vs. the 14-16t pinion I normally race with.

Cheers for the info guys, forum is very helpful

isnt the 9xl 1864kv? its the 540c can that I am running. anyways good to know that I should be able to gear higher. I probably will do that when I go back to a 4s pack. currently I am running a 5s pack with 16/46 gearing but am picking up a 4s 5000mah pack because I dont want to puch the MM to hard.

If you're looking at the specs of the Feigao motors, I believe that they are unloaded ratings. To get a better idea of a loaded rating for a Feigao motor, look at the specs for the BK Wanderer. The Wanderers are the same motors, but their kv ratings are under a load. 1864kv is more along the lines of what the 8XL will do under a load, IIRC.

But of course, make no mistake, the 9XL is a great motor and will probably do what you need it to. You just have to gear it a bit more. I run a 7XL/MM combo in my buggy (Sportwerks Turmoil) and my buddy runs an 8XL/MM combo in his Losi 8ight and he easily gears to match my speed on the track. If I'm not mistaken, he also gets a bit better runtime, but that might be because his buggy is lighter than mine.

mine is in a losi 8ight too. I also have a 7xl motor so if the 9xl is not fast enough then I will just put that in. thanks for the info on the motors I was wondering why the wanderers and feiago c had different kv rating. seems odd that they wouldn't use the same method though.

I think that the 9XL with about an 18T pinion will do you nicely. Not too crazy on the bottom with a top to keep you ahead of the nitros. BTW, we're running a 46T Kyosho plastic spur on the 8ight. It did take some doctoring to make it fit. I had to turn the bearing standoff down by about 30/1000ths, I faced that side off by about 10/1000ths and opened up the back for the diff cup by about 20/1000th on a lathe. The whole operation only takes a couple of minutes. It's really just a matter of having the right tools.