MGM 16018-3 VS. Mod1 MambaMax (dun dun dun)

[rootar]

OK i have yet to see a side by side comparison of these too and ALOT of people run them well i have them both sitting here and i decided to list the pros and cons of each along with the settings im using.

the test car= Xray 8xb, 5s 5000mah flightpower, 1515 2.5d, spectrum dx 3.0, geared for 42 mph electric brakes

Mod 1 MM:
1.16 firmware
-novak 30mm fan
-cc bec
-16.5v cutoff
-medium startpower
-no punch control (exp. curve at 20-30%)
-60% brake / custom curve
-25% reverse
-5* timing
-no drag brake

MGM 16018-3:
-3.22 firmware
-Car <=I=> (forward and backwards)
-Brake / deceleration hard 1 / 1,3s
-Acceleration 0.26s
-Timing automat
-behavior when battery voltage is low going down reduce RPM
-Battery type 5 Li-pol
-Range of the natural zone 3%
-Automatic correction of neutral No
-Freewheel NO
-automaticbrake in neutral NO

-uses internal bec, and no fan
-pulled a 320.4 amp peak during last run

(ive been playing with the settings on the mgm for 4 hours now and these were the BEST i can come up with for RACING)


Now that you know the setup and settings here is my unbaised opinion since i payed the same price for each of these (mod1 mm new and mgm used) its comparing apples to apples for me.

MGM- well first off the heavy SOB broke the plexiglass mount that metalman made upon landing my 30 foot double, As i expected the temps were awesome only 131 degrees after running a full pack (27-30mins), i like that the bec is built in and it does not need a fan, it is rather big and bulky and i would prefer it to have a sealed case rather than be open on the ends, speaking of which the programming cable is hard to get plugged in and i dont even have big fingers, the throttle control was VERY nice, the starts are just a hair jumpy but anything over 1mph is gravy, now the brakes are another story first off i can not get rid of the delay its only maybe a 1/3 of a second but when coming 40+ down the front straght that 1/3 of a second means alot in how you end up in the corner.....the brakes are also not very progressive either it kinda feels like it has 3 steps in the brakes, as for reverse its useless its so uncontrolable, the thing will pull the back tires off the ground on concrete with the slightest use of reverse.

these are my thoughts so far, i will continue to work on changing the settings on my transmitter to get rid of the delay in the brakes, i do think its plenty raceable as is but it bothers me, the wiring is much neater also due to not having a fan or external bec.

Mod 1 Mamba Max
the CC programing wins hands down, its just flat out simple, i think it has better starting throttle control (can drive a 1/4 mile an hour) around my room and never jitter or jump or nothing it acts like a brushed motor, now on up in the throttle 3/4-full it is kinda like a burst really tends to tear the tires loose coming onto the front straight (the mgm was smoother in the high rpms), The temps are great after a full pack at only 129, keep in mind it has a fan so take it off and it prolly would have been around 150-155, dont think the MM doesnt have a couple of quirks, it has only happened twice but with a fresh pack if you use the brakes within the first 30 seconds - a minute it will shutdown with the over voltage warning flashing i cant recreate this everytime but its wierd, im guessing it just doesnt like a FULLY charged pack because if you bench run it for 30 seconds its golden, but in its defence the brakes are killer the only thing they dont do better than mechanical brakes is front and rear bias.


thats all i have for now, let me know if you have any suggestions or opinions.

thanks and hope this can help someone.

[BrianG]

Cool comparison, but a little unfair given the MM is technically a 4s/100A ESC while the MGM is a 6s/160A ESC.

About the overvoltage thing on the MM; when braking the motor can send some pretty high back-EMF pulses into the circuit, then to the battery. This is probably what you are seeing. It's apparent that 5s is kinda pushing it IMO. Maybe back off on the brake force, or use mechanical brakes to help with that.

[brushlessboy16]

Originally Posted by rootar

Mod 1 Mamba Max
the CC programing wins hands down, its just flat out simple, i think it has better starting throttle control (can drive a 1/4 mile an hour) around my room and never jitter or jump or nothing it acts like a brushed motor, now on up in the throttle 3/4-full it is kinda like a burst really tends to tear the tires loose coming onto the front straight (the mgm was smoother in the high rpms), The temps are great after a full pack at only 129, keep in mind it has a fan so take it off and it prolly would have been around 150-155, dont think the MM doesnt have a couple of quirks, it has only happened twice but with a fresh pack if you use the brakes within the first 30 seconds - a minute it will shutdown with the over voltage warning flashing i cant recreate this everytime but its wierd, im guessing it just doesnt like a FULLY charged pack because if you bench run it for 30 seconds its golden, but in its defence the brakes are killer the only thing they dont do better than mechanical brakes is front and rear bias.


thats all i have for now, let me know if you have any suggestions or opinions.

thanks and hope this can help someone.

thats because the braking voltage spike pushes the mm past the overvoltage limit, i have the same problem
great review

[BrianG]

lol, too late; I said it first!

[brushlessboy16]

:P its lagg i swear

[rootar]

i know thats whats causing it but its totally random ive ran maybe 10 topped of packs in it and its only done it twice, (one in the first corner of a race, and once the other day in practice) and i always start every run the same, haul ass down the straight and barrel into the first corner why it hasnt done it the other 8 times i dunno because it clamp up the brakes just as hard everytime.

[magman]

rootar, about your delay issue....I am having the same issue. That is my only complaint. (1 more gripe, you cannot adjust LVC...I would prefer to run at 3.3v/c. ) I have not quite ironed that out yet...other than that it is a v/smooth controller.

The mm line of controllers have the MGM beat w/programming hands down. It is so much simpler to program and understand.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by rootar

i know thats whats causing it but its totally random ive ran maybe 10 topped of packs in it and its only done it twice, (one in the first corner of a race, and once the other day in practice) and i always start every run the same, haul ass down the straight and barrel into the first corner why it hasnt done it the other 8 times i dunno because it clamp up the brakes just as hard everytime.

Could be a number of things. The back-EMF pulse is proportional to the amount of voltage in. When the batteries run down a little, there will be less of a back pulse. Also, the amount of tire grip at specific points will change too. Less grip will not tend to spin the motor as readily, so the pulse is less as well.

[rootar]

and yea brian i see your point on the comparison but as i said they cost me the same so i will compare them as equals, now obviously this equal comparison applies to 4-5s setups only as the mm wont run 6s.

[rootar]

i can say that i wouldnt trade one for the other or sell one to get the other for my setup. agian it applies to 5s and below. but for now the mgm will stay in the buggy, and i will give the mod1 mm a life of easy duty in my LS10 on 3s, and retire the stock mm to my slash.

now i gotta get busy making me a new esc mount from 2mm 6061 t-6 aluminum, maybe itll support the mgms fat arse

[TexasSP]

Well I am glad you got the MGM okay and sounds like it all went well. Hopefully everything is to your satisfaction.

The brakes took a little trial and error for me to iron them out. It just doesn't have the feel or ability to be adjusted like the CC controllers do. You also have to learn to brake differently than with the Mamba controllers but you will get the hang of it.

[Just go Play]

I had the same brake and startup problems with my mgm initially until I discovered that it needs to be calibrated different then most controllers. Once I re calibrated with the throttle and brake EPA set to 120% they both smoothed out much better then before. I know I am not the only person that failed to catch this when first setting up the controller so figured it was worth mentioning.

I also found that the braking seemed much more controllable when using the ABS setup on my 3PM tx and enabling the freewheel setting on the MGM. This I think may be more of a personal preference specific to this vehicle though.

[rootar]

yea im happy with the mgm thanks brian,

as far as the freewheel setting, i tryed it but it had a huge delay when setup to freewheel, i dont have a ultra nice computer radio just a dx3.0 with the basics. I also already set my EPs at 115 throttle and 125 brake.

[BL_RV0]

The MGM 16018 has problems running 6s I hear, so I think it's a fair comparison, because the MM is so good at handling alot of amps. The MM is basically a easier, lower-amp, cheaper esc with niche programming and is tough as nails. I'd take the MM over the MGM any day. I want someone to do a test between the MGM 22418 and the MMM. Now That's fair.

[brushlessboy16]

now all brian needs to do is sell me a MMM :D