Novak HV 4.5 any good?
 

Hey guys,
Got offered a pretty sweet deal on a Novak HV 4.5 system, any opinions/insights into the quality and power of these units or are they just poop? :intello:

Cheers
Simon

opinions.
 

Most of what I have read has been good. There are always going to be haters no matter what the item is:na:. I have one coming in from Tower Hobby and I paid about $230 for the complete system. I won't know for myself how good or bad it is until I get it installed and run it, but almost anything is better than the stock setup:yes:. So if you can get a better deal and it is good equipment go for it. Then we will both be on here sharing info on how the system works for us. Good luck with that deal.:lol:

It can be great or the poop that you describe. It depends on what you're putting it in.

Will be going in a converted Savage running on 12-14 cell nimh.

Well, its fast- 43mph is the fastest its been clocked at so far with GPS (traxxas forum, with photo evidence). But, it does run hotter than the 6.5motor, and does tend to thermal in anything much heavier than a stock Emaxx (9lbs). If the converted savage is much heavier than that I would say its not the best option, since the need to gear down alot will kill your top end rather baddly- 30:1 reduction ratio for 14 cell operation....

I have one in my E-savage.....

And it is fast but you do need to gear down lots (as Neil said) to keep the motor cool.....

Its not a good motor for BIG trucks thats for sure......I would not put it in anything larger than my little E-savage....

In a BIG truck at 14cells (max input) you would kill one pretty quick i would say...

Just my 0.2 cents worth...

For the savage i would go for the 6.5 if you want to stick a novak into it.

You might be better off waiting untill they released their 5mm upgraded motors.

Thanks large for the help guys, a friend of mine works for the Novak importer over here so I can get a pretty good deal. Any idea when that 5mm upgrade is coming out Serum? I already have 5mm mod1 pinions would be nice to stick with em :yes:

If I went for another setup what ESC/Motor combo would you guys recommend for a Savage with 12-14cell nimh?

Personal experiences can vary...

But I put a 4.5 in this truck to test out the electric conversion and have yet to remove it as its running quite well on a pair of 2s2p Hyperion LCX packs. This is an old picture but you get the idea:

http://i19.photobucket.com/albums/b1...3/IMG_0143.jpg

I keep waiting for the motor or the ESC to give me problems so I have an excuse to upgrade but so far...zero thermals and not a single other problem - and I would say this truck is heavy, certainly heavier than an e-savage and probably heavier than a converted savage. Gearing is middle of the road, not conservatively low, not aggressive on the top end.

Thanks Steve, do you use a UBEC with the novak ESC? Sweet truck btw :intello:

Nope, 4s is within spec.

So I shouldn't need to use a UBEC with 12-14 cell nimh either?

Nope...the BEC will work fine at the ESC's max input (14 cells)...

Awesome thanks guys, much appreciated :intello:

Jindabyne? Not far from Public Service town :party:

No.....Not far at all...

A bit of topic but do you drive at the Narabundah track?

No the job doesn't really allow me to race on weekends :( just bashing mainly. I've been there for a few bash sessions, it's a nice track for MTs.

Where???
 

Hey guys what part of Auzie land are you in? My wife and I may be moving there next year, living in Canberra. So what RC tracks are near there? How far of a drive?? Just trying to get a heads up on the layout of the area. Thanks.:lol:

I'm in Canberra Jerry, there's a few tracks in suburban Canberra itself. Narrabundah for offroad is about 5km from the centre of the city. Kambah for onroad is about 15km south of the city. About 2km north of the city there is an indoor onroad carpet track at Mitchell.

Well the track we just mentioned is the only track i know of and its not a long drive from anywhere in Canberra...

If you and your wife do decide to move down under i'm sure you will love it....

Yes
 

Yea we are awaiting a decision on our next post, and should have an answer by 10/Jan/08:whistle:. If all goes well we should be in your neck of the woods sometime mid to late 2008:yipi:. We would be posted there for at least 3, maybe 4 years with the US Embassy. I am praying that this all works out. I have always wanted to visit Australia, but to live there for a few years would be just awsome. Knowing that there are tracks to race at near by gives me even more rasons to move down under.

Pullstarter - just one more comment... I've driven the 4.5 on 12/14 when I mocked up my truck and it really wasn't that interesting. If I was sticking with that general battery setup, and I wanted novak product, I would go for the 6.5. The 4.5 REALLY craves good batteries as it pulls a lot of juice. Top of the line 14 cell nimhs would be the minimum I would run with it. The difference from 12 cells nimh to good 4s lipo was unbeliveable.

Thanks Steve, I'm sorta thinking I may have to go for a different setup, maybe a Feigao and MM? I'd like to stick to 12 cell tho as I have heaps packs from my TC racing.

so is this a worthy setup for a revo?truck isnt too heavy. im going to put the FOC in it. shave down some chassis too drop some weight. do you think the 4.5 on 4s would run good in it?

mine ran good in my stock chassis conv., used 15/40 and close ratio 2spd, with mech. brakes and a center diff, i would say that 13 or 14 tooth would be fine, just avoid long grass and heavy tires

i only blew it up after i put it in a g3r(heavier chassis) and had the wrong gearing


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M0q7l8_5x2Q

what kind of speeds did you see with stock chassis? what temps did you get? this will be with stock chassis and tranny, FOC, probly locked in second. mechanical brakes.... you think it would need the close ratio? i see that its quick.. could it lift the wheels off the ground? at any speed like the feigao?

speeds... 35 ish??
temps ... 100-120 on the components
foc and center diff w/300k, and not locked(no reverse this way) and mechanical brakes
close ratio really helps the small motor run this truck as well as keeping the 2 spd.(makes it easy on the motor when starting from a dead stop)
wheelies.... no , not even on b-top, but i had the ext. chassis and ext. rear arms and a center diff. which allowed alot of the power to be lost through the frt. tires(diffed out)

center diff may be ok for racing but i didnt take much time to test it much (5ook+ may be better), i got a g3r instead, and sold off the stock chassis version

unbelievable.
 

I just had to share this with some one. I had ordered the HV Maxx 4.5 system from Tower Hobbies with a discounted price of $239, and was so excited when the box arrived today:party:. I picked my wife up from work on my way home and she had the box with her and was excited for me as well. So we arrived home and as we settled in for the evening I cut the tape open and began to empty the contents of the package only to find a 9oz 5 minute epoxy kit, which has almost the same size and weight of the system. The paperwork was correct, but no 4.5 HV Maxx system:gasp:. I was horrified and worried about how to handle the matter. I called them immedietley to get to the bottom of my nightmare.

To the honorable efforts of the T/H customer service staff they jumped right on this with a sincere apology for the mistake, and corrected the problem by over nighting a replacement HV Maxx system. I was very pleased with their response, and hopefully this will have a good ending:mdr:. The only thing that was obvious was that their warehouse staff who pick and pack the orders have a procedure which requires them to place their ID# and initials on the order form that is packed into the boxefor shipping. This step was porposely avoided as well. So someone there has a (free) brand new HV Maxx system worth $270. in hand and is probably placing it on EBay as we speak. That is just plain shameful, but cudos to T/H for the great job with the customer service efforts.:yipi:

no wheelies at all? thats a bummer. whole purpose of going to brushless is to have somethign that can outrun a nitro in speed. and do wheelies past them at any speed. i had the same thign happen to me when i ordered my VXL system. so the novak isnt really the way to go? and only 35? ive seen it break 40 in a maxx...

:sarcastic:
may have been close to 40 , never put a gun on it or gps so dont know

i was being conservitive.....:rules:

and is why i said.....35ish:oops:


:rofl:even though its a traxxas , it didnt come with the speed listed on the box:rofl:

yeah i mean they claim it can make an e-maxx 40-45 with standard gearing... so i figured with the revo it be around that too. and vids of maxxes ive seen with it wheelie on demand. but if it wont do that at all then apparently isnt as strong as the feigao

with a center diff , like i had, anything over 1/2 throttle would make the frt wheels brake loose and not allow it to wheelie, which is why a center diff is good for racing, and not bashing

so without the center diff... do you think it would be a wheelie truck that could do about 40?