Brushless motor/ESC combo??
 

Have: #3905/16.8/EMAXX.Want to eliminate one motor,have the option of running nicads/nimh,and,LIpo.
Am thinking about : Novak HV 6.5,or,the Castle Monster Mamba.(However,I've heard many things said about Castle stuff...mostly melt-downs due to thermals:diablo::diablo:),have never had problems w/Novak.
Any suggestions for ESC/motor combos that'd work with single 8.4v packs??

Any help with these issues would be much appreciated.

I dont know where your hearing of Castle Meltdowns ?
I can garuantee you 99% of them are from user error (over gearing or low qaulity batterys)

I think pretty much anyone here on the forum will reccomend the Castle befor anything else, The Tekin systems are also doing very well. I'm not saying anything bad about Novak for I have owned many myself but customer care is certainly lackluster with Novak and they aren't nearly as powerful as a MambaMonster combo.

You can't run a single 8.4volt pack in a Emaxx w/any BL system (you could but it'll be grossly underpowered) These systems are designed for 14.8 to 22.2 volts

If your set on running (1) 8.4 pack you'll have to gear waaaaaaaay down to not have issues such as cogging and excessive heat ?

I think more info might help us out more; What exactly do you inspire to do with your emaxx, Make a crawler of some sort ?

Bondonutz: Thank you for the "Heads up". I've heard about Castle's esc's failing due to thermals (ing)? from a couple of hobby shops that had customers complaining about fires...(There's probably a lot of merit to what you said,I don't know...).
The single 8.4 pack was a cost-cutting idea,based on the fact that ESC's with lower cell counts-(NIMH/LIPO),tend to cost less....
Bashing is what mine's going to be used for...there are not a lot of good rocks where I live.High speed is not an issue-I don't need the kind of speed the truck is "supposedly" capable of from the factory...so,the 2 12 turns are out,(I want "quick",not fast.) So,if 2 packs(NIcad),or,2 2s packs are the way to go...so be it,right?

Part of the problem is if you go brushless, the ESC's and motor demand lots of amps to run properly. If your basically gonna crawl you'll still torque, to get that power you'll need voltage and amps, I would recomend at least 11volts 9-10cells of NiMH or a 3s lipos at the very least. Again, ideally 14.8volts will not be to much power for what you want to do, you can gear down or set the EPA on your TX down a bit to compensate.
Your truck will weigh close to 8-10lbs, the higher voltage (14.8) will help run much more efficently than what your talking about doing with a single pack.

The smaller crawlers, Axials etc can run a single pack because these trucks are 1/2 the weight or less than your maxx.

Well I have have had them all in my E-maxx's, and here is my opinion.

Novak 6,5: Great set on 4s lipo and for me it had the power I needed and there were never any problems. Could have used some programming unit like Tekin Hotwire/Castlelink, but overall a good combo, and now also for a decent price.

Mamba Monster: Lots of power, running quite cool on 4 or 5 s lipo, and in general a very nice system. I have had 4 of these systems, and never had a single problem.

Tekin RX8/2000kv: This is my current setup, and so far the absolute best system I have tried. It runs way cooler than the 2 other systems, and is just a real pleasure to have the feeling of response in the whole range of the trigger.

Overall: Tekin best, but the 2 others are definately also great systems.

Is this what you are looking for?

Addition:To,ESC/motor combo for EMaxx 16.8
 

In a"tutorial",Jason from Max Amps,had suggested that the 4s LVC from Novak was a good "universal" add-on to any speed controller---allowing lipo batteries to be used.Novak says the same thing on their site...(Shown for the wiring details is the blue,EVX2"waterproof" esc.)
Can 27 turn 540 motors be used in this truck? 21 turn motors are a pain to find around here locally...on line,yes.
Next question:Can lipo/life cells be used with brushed motors?

Maxamps, pfft. Most BL escs have built-in LVC devices these days- it'll say in the specs. Brushed escs not so much, evx2 doesnt, thats true, but a 4s LVC isnt really the best option- read the LVC section of my tutorials page:

http://robotwars.00server.com/tutorials.html

Silver can 540 motors will be really weak and slow on an emaxx- thats what the tamiya TXT-1 comes with stock it its anything but impressive for bashing. Buying online is pretty much required- the stock 21t titan motors will be fine, but there are plenty of other options for brushed motors, check out www.kershawdesigns.com, or hit up ebay for some dewalt 12v- 14.4v motors...

Yes, lipo & Life cells can be used just fine- electricity is electricity is electricity after all, you just have to observe the voltage of the cells vs the rated voltage of the esc. The evx2 is rated for 16.8v/ 14 nimh cells, so 2x 2s lipo is fine ( 4.2v per cell fully charged ), as will be 2s+3s LiFe ( 3.6/3.7v per cell fully charged )- just plug the 2s LiFe cell into the BEC side of the esc ( see: tutorial page again ).