I just had a good nap and am feeling better. LOL.

I put the MM/8XL running 12/46 gearing with the truggy tires. Instead of having start power turned all the way down, I turned it all the way up and reduced timing to lowest. Cogging is minimal and only sometimes.

Assuming that the Compro is a "better" controller than the MM, in terms of capability, I should be able to start with this gearing and tune for it. I'm going to go through all setting again. If I still can't get it to free wheel, it's going back, because that's the biggest issue for me. I can live without reverse, until I can afford a Quark, which is what I should have gotten in the first place.

Heatsinking the Quark isn't a problem for me since my esc rides on an aluminum pedestal which is bolted to the chassis, so in essense, my whole chassis is a heat sink. With a setup like this, I probably won't have heat problems.

I am still learning this stuff, but... so if I put the ESC towards the center of my buggy on the aluminum chassis (not on plastic mud guards), it will act as a heat sink, and will run cooler than if it were on plastic?

The Quark really doesn't need much. I usually use a 1/16" or 1/8" thick piece of aluminum with a little extra heatsinking on it. The case is all metal, but it's fairly thin and there isn't much surface area on the few and shallow fins. All in all, it probably has as much surface area as a MM heatsink, maybe less.

Also, be aware that the FETs are internally secured by a ~0.5mm thick thermal pad. After a while of running, the "sticky stuff" may let go. One user had that happen and the ESC thermaled quickly (of course). Once my ESCs are out of warranty, I take them apart and replace that sticky pad with thermal epoxy and it cools much better and faster. But since the thermal epoxy is permanent, it aint coming apart again.

No matter what ESC you get, there is always a chance that something will go wrong. There doesn't seem to be an ESC on the market that meets all needs - a holy grail if you will.

Yes. Plastic is a very poor conductor of heat. Or you could leave it where it is and attach an aluminum angle to the underside of the Quark and them attach a heatsink to the other part of the angle - similar to what I did on my Revo (see link in sig for pics).

I think you did not get the updated version of the MGM, AAngel.
The new MGMs have no freewheeling program like the older ones.

Captain,

You've got to be kidding! I just got this thing. I mean like yesterday. I got it from Mike. How could I have gotten one of the older ones? The sticker on the controller says that it is version 2.32, which I believe is the latest version.

I just got an email telling me that I need to complete the auto programming before any other settings will take effect. Is that right? How do I do the auto programming?

Am I to understand that the reverse problem and free wheeling problem were indeed fixed, but I just got an older version? I'm gonna email Mike back again and see. His last email didn't mention anything about my getting an older version. He only told me that the reverse problem is there to stay and that I had to lock out reverse. As for the drag brake and free wheeling, I'd have to do the auto programming and then program my other options.

Exactly what is it that I have to do to "auto program" the controller. Do I drive it, or do I just pick the truck up off of the ground, hit full throttle and brake and then turn it off?

The instructions only say that auto programming is recommended, and says nothing about HAVING to auto program.

Oh, about the heat sinking. Aluminum is a good conductor of heat. When you run a fan on a heat sink, the purpose is to help the sink dissipate the heat. Unfortunately air is NOT a good heat conductor. The best way to get the heat away from the controller is to use a big heat sink. The biggest heat sink available on an RC car is the chassis. Lots of mass and surface area. If you have the space to mount the Quark on the chassis, you'll likely not even need a fan on it. That's just what I think anyway.

On my vehicles, I turned aluminum standoffs that bolt to the existing engine mount holes. I then used a 1/8" thick piece of aluminum and bolted that to the standoffs. The whole thermal pathway is made of aluminum and that stuff moves some heat. Just make sure that you use some quality thermal grease, like arctic alumina and the secure the esc to your sink (whatever it is). I say to secure it, because the thermal grease will "set" and get really thick. If the esc moves around after the grease has set, it will become less effective.

Take a look at this short video on how to program the quark. I think this may help you:
http://www.quarkbrushless.com/media.htm
Click on "Car Set up Video".

How is programming the Quark going to help me? I'll watch it anyway.

I just thought Mike sent you one of the older ones.

That's really bad!!!

Captain, it sounds like I got one of the older ones, although mine has a 2.32 sticker on it.

AAngel, I just purchased a neu 1515 1y and 16016 controller from mike too. I didn't get to use mine for more then 45 seconds. The BEC burned up on mine and destroyed both my servo's as well. Fortunatly the reciever is ok. I converted my t-maxx to 4s lipo with the said controller and motor. I had a hitec hs-945 servo for steering, and a traxxas 2055 servo for brakes. The truck never made it to second gear because it was having cut off problems like you were experiencing, which was somewhat surprising since i have 2 2s2p 6000mah lipo's in series to the controller.

The esc still works, but will not seem to supply power to the reciever to make other servo's work. I was hoping mike might exchange this for me (waiting to hear from him) but if he doesn't, i'll probably try to get a UBEC and replace the servo's and see what happens.

I have an MGM 8012 on my touring car with one of the mamba 540 brushless motors and am pretty pleased with it. It was because of my experience with the MGM i decided to get another.

EDIT: my 16016 is ver 2.32 also

Is the 8012 of the old or new version?

the 8012 is a much older version. its about 2 years old. it was the version right before they came out with usb programming support

I see.

AAngel,

How did you get the feeling that your esc might be of an older version?
Did you receive some info from Mike?