so whats the final say on rx8 vs mmm...
 

been gone over 7 months or more from RC in general curious what is the final say who has the better setup the mamba monster maxx or the tekin rx8 esc/motor combos. Last I heard mmm was catching fire on version 3 still or something they on version 4 now?

I think Castle is number 1 still. They caught the market by getting out months before the Tekin. I haven't heard of many issues lately and the few that have had issues with their MMM v3 have mostly been their own fault. I have witnessed a RX8 go up in flames first hand for no apparent reason, half way through a qualifier. Now when you start looking at the combos and put the motor in the picture it's Castle all the way! I honestly don't recall reading about anyone on here having any problems with there CC/neu motors but with the Tekin there still seem to be issues with the rotor. Just ordered a new combo for running 4s in my truggy this year and I went with the Castle creations combo.

Id say it depends on what you are doing with it. For a general bashing setup the CC is dependable and a little cheaper and a great stuo. But it you are planning to seriuosly race it, the Tekin is the better way to go IMO. Motor selection from Tekin and the more refined feel of the esc (with or without sensors) makes it better on the track.

Both are great. I do think that both are targeted towards slightly different applications, but both can cross over and work great too so thats awesome for all of us.

+1 on that. Tekin is awesome on the track. MMM better in the paddock and the bigger cars.

IMO the MMM is still as reliable as Tiger Woods in a bordello. Do a search on MMM and fire and there are quite a few results, despite the pr "spin" that's peddled around, there is an increasingly long turnaround time on MMM repairs.

I credit the MMM solely for me giving away the whole 1/8 electric game, it's no fun going for a bash with a remote in one hand and a fire extinguisher in the other.

MMM - FAIL.

Castle's failure rate is quite a low number but I don't know the exact value, pdelcast posted it somewhere in the Castle section in a thread. Chances are if you consistently had problems it was user error, not Castle's fault. You could just as well have "NOW LEFT 1/8 ELECTRICS THANK YOU TEKIN" in your signature.

I'm sorry you feel that way, but how long have you been away from this sector of the hobby? Sounds like a long time. I'll admit, the MMM V1/V2 were pretty bad when it came to reliability. But look at all the V3's out there now.....nevermind the units powering the Savage Flux and E-Revo BL edition. How many "Help! My MMM Kerploded!!!!1!" threads have you seen lately? Exactly. Your entire post is based on your last-known bad experience, which doesn't hold a candle to the current standards of the MMM system. I take it you never ran the Tekin system- Chances are you would have had as many rotor failures as you had MMM fires if you did.

The RX8 has had a sililar failure rate just it's fewer units because they haven't sold as many as the MMM because they where second to the market and primary appeal is to racers. Once you put motors into the equation MMM looks a lot better. Look at all the newbs that are using the MMM combos in ERBE and Fluxs' as Whats_Nitro mentioned. I'm sure there have been failures from the newbs pushing the E-revos with the batteries Traxxas includes. I run my MMM in my Maxx on them batteries but I have it geared for less than 30MPH. I wouldn't mind trying a RX8 but after buying the pc link it's about $50 more and I have had good luck with Castle products, also the TRX holddown for the MMM is very convienent. I race and bash and since the release of the v3 my only failure was water related and my MM and Mamba 25 have been going strong for over 2 years without a hiccup

I only parted with my Savage Flux yesterday so I would say my experience is very recent. I have heard of some clubs running a 1/8 class disallowing them as they are considered unsafe, a quick google search will find many pictures of a MMM turned into a pile of liquid plastic and scorch marks. Failure rates are one thing, but the way they fail is also relevant. From a club point of view, where OH & S is a consideration, an ESC that dies by simply not turning on or letting out a bit of smoke, is preferable to one which has the potential to cause a fire.

Well, club racing concerns aside- No matter how/why/when it fails you can't run it when it does. I don't think what put you off was the way the MMM failed, only that it failed repeatedly. If 1/8 electric is going to continue to evolve then clubs are going to have to realize that there is always the potential for fires when dealing with this much power. Powerful systems can have powerful failures. I can understand safety being a huge concern. The clubs in question should invest a few dollars in some extra fire extinguishers, instead of banning the 1/8 classes, if they're that concerned. IMO they should be there anyways...and the clubs will lose lots of business.

It's not so much banning the class as it is banning unsafe elements. Just like insisting on hardcased lipos for safety a club can ask that ESC's be regulated, am yet to see many RX8's or Xceleron's become fireballs but I could post up at least a dozen pictures of melted Monsters. ESC's don't have to have ROAR approval, and perhaps it's a result of this lack of regulation we have potential fireballs disguised in a black plastic case.

I´ll take the RX8 over the MMM. It runs way cooler in the trucks I have and runs very smooth.

I like the MMM as well, and have them in my Losi Aftershock and Savage Flux. The RX8/2000 kv. combo I have in my RC8Te, so ofcourse some of the cooler running, is because of the lighter weight, but anyway it just seems smoother.

If the MMM wasn't working out for you, then you should have sold your MMM combo and bought a tekin rx8/losi/hobbywing/reedy combo...it's kinda steep to blame ONE company for your disinterest in 1/8 electric when there are plenty of other motor/esc combos put there...and if you were having all of these "fire-ball" MMM's there has got to be some sort of "setup" problem that either contributed to the failure or caused it entirely...and I agree that there should be fire extinguisher's at the track anyways...and by calling the MMM a "potential" fireball, you might as well call your 5b/t a "potential" wrecking" ball lol...ever been hit by a 1/5 scale at full speed?lol...anywyas, not flaming you or anything but THIS hobby always has potential risks bc everthing is getting bigger/faster/more powerful...I'm just saying that you gave up on 1/8th scale too easy and there are other options out there.... :)

The fact is that there is no empirical data showing one type of ESC being more likely to fail or dangerous than any other. Everything is just anecdotal: "There's more pictures on the internet of this one melted down" or "Well 3 guys at my club had this brand of ESC smoke on them". Even failure rates reported by Castle or Tekin have many variables that are unaccounted for, so it's questionable to call that empirical data also, but it's the closest we'll get.

well after doing some reading on the "net" I found out that folks consider the perfect combo would be the mamba 2200kv motor paired with the RX8 ESC. I bleieve I read somewhere at multiple forums that the RX8 is a higher rating than the mamba esc dont know what the heck that means, but also the RX8 is 30 dollar more expensive also. I still need do a search on rx8 and fire...see if any exist..

I'd say they are both 8th scale ESC with great support from US vendors...

If your car is Black with Green or Yellow get a MMM if you like Red then get a Tekin...

If you want a sensored motor then get a Tekin.

I think we need to make a distinction between failure and potential for injury. My point is that the MMM doesn't seem to only fail, it seems to do it in a rather dangerous (and thats the V3, I haven't even begun to look at the V1 and V2 disasters). Suppose there is even a 0.1% failure rate. Now out of the million say, Toyota Corollas made each year, if 0.1% caught alight, that means there are 1000 fireballs. I can tell you right now, there'd be a public outcry if 1000 Corollas blew up in a year, but with the MMM people seem to tolerate it and even justify it. That makes no sense to me. Perhaps people don't place as high a value on personal safety and the safety of those around them that I do. So many of these brushless "experts" are chiming in on "misuse" but it's for sale in RTR packages, and with that the assumption has to be clear that not many RTR runners are experts and the electronics should have some sort of tolerance as a result.

Tell me is this misuse?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z4GbTiqeS-Q

RC clubs (at least around here) do not want potential fireballs, that's why we run hard cased lipos, and why IMO if an ESC is proven to be susceptable to combustion in the event of a failure, then banning the use of it is perfectly reasonable in the interests of safety. I am yet to see a picture of an RX8 burnt to a crisp.

Sorry but this is:

http://i128.photobucket.com/albums/p...eadhorse-2.gif

What are the chances CC would make a flame-retardant plastic case for the MMM? I'm not suggesting this as an excuse to make it seem like it's "OK" for them to fail, or as an insult to CC, but as a safety measure. A little poof of smoke/flame is fine, IMO, but it needs to be kept from propagating away from the source. Actually, I think all MFG's of larger ESC's should do this....

Both systems seem to be pretty good. They each have their own place and usage.
But, just from the limited experience I have had with Castle, I really hope to never have to deal with them ever again. And long waits for their turn around times with all kinds of excuses for it.
No thanks.
Just my humble opinion.

If continued failures aren't a problem, then turnaround times reduce as the number of warranty claims drop. A 3-4 week turnaround or whatever it is now sort of indicates a failure prone unit doesn't it? That's just rubbing salt in the wound of someone wanting to participate in a "fun" hobby, first having a fireball, then a 3-4 week wait for a replacement which could well fireball as well.

I'm sure there are other variables for the long turnaround time. Keep in mind that Castle have to supply both Traxxas and HPI.

To me, it's personal preference. I like Castle and have 4 combos. I also had to shipped back three of them after they failed because of the BEC. I haven't experience any fireballs and hoping it will never be. I just ordered 2 Tekin combos (1 each for buggy and truggy) and another ESC so we'll see how it performs.

I don't feel sorry for you but it seems that your personal experience put a sour taste on your mouth. I had to wait longer because I am stationed overseas with the Navy. At least, you can get your packages overnight if need be.

No matter what, I'm going to continue supporting them because of their support for us in the military.

Actually the turnaround time to Australia is brutal. So it's probably still quicker for you than for me.

Well then, I feel sorry for you :neutral::neutral:. Anyway, what city in OZ? We'll be going to Brisbane in a few months.

Other end of the country mate, I'm near Perth.

Want to know what we deal with (cost wise?) check this out:


http://www.stanbridges.com.au/shop.SR300

They are what, $49.95 in the USA now?

Current exch rate is $1 AUD = $0.90 USD

mine was 53us from ny to sa in 8 days most hobby shops in aus couldn't have got it to me in that time frame never mind double price tag

Perth is a nice city. I was there (for the 2nd time) from July2-6 last year when our ship was anchored off the coast in Fremantle.

I didn't have a chance to go to the track but we had fun riding the bus that takes people around the city :party::party::lol:.