Rusty w/ MMax 4600 .. 2s, 3s, or 4s?

[kulangflow]

I'm pretty sure that I'll go with an 8000mAh MaxAmps battery, but I need to figure out which voltage I'll be most happy with.

Background:

-My Rusty has the 4600kv motor and Anaconda tires.
-Drivetrain is already beefed up for power.
-I enjoy bashing, jumping, speed runs, and taking long walks on the beach.

Questions:

-Is 4s really okay even though CC says it's not?
-It seems like 3s with gearing options would be a good happy medium, but is it controllable at lower speeds? (ie no cogging, smooth)
-On that note, is 4s controllable at all?
-How about temp considerations?

I've searched through tons of threads and I'd really appreciate tailored info for my situation.

Many thanks in advance!

~Brian

Castle does NOT say that 4S is not ok. What they say is that 4S is out of spec. The deal is that the internal bec of the MM can only handle 3S (and not very well IMO), so you'll have to disable the internal bec and use an external one. Just remove the red wire from the harness that plugs into the receiver. I run all five of my MM controllers on 4S. In fact, none of the MM controllers that I have now have ever seen anything less than 4S.

The 4600 on 3S is the best deal going for all around running. With the 4600 you can go to 2S for a nice controllable track setup, 3S for general bashing with very good speed, and 4S for "OMG something's gotta break" speed. I've found that with MOST MM controllers cogging usually isn't a problem. If it cogs, it's overgeared.

Whether the 4600 on 4S is controlable is subjective. What one finds controllable, another might think is out of hand. Personally, I think that the 4600 on 4S is stupid, but in a good way.

The 4600 on 4S geared for any sort of real speed (over 55 or so) is going to get hot. On 3S, you can likely run all day. A friend of mine has the 4600 in his stock (save for upgraded tranny) emaxx and he runs it on two 3S 6Ah packs. He runs an integy heatsink/fan on the motor and doesn't have any heat problems. As for runtime on the 12Ah setup, most times, he doesn't even bring a charger out with him. By the time the batteries are gone, he's ready to pack it in.

I believe the MM 4600 system to be the best of the line. It is the most flexible and the fastest. Just don't go too nuts on the gearing.

[kulangflow]

Thanks for the quick reply!

So, with 4s I would need something like the UBEC, right?

It sounds like I should go for the 3s for my all around purposes.

So, with the 3s, what do you think would be a good pinion/spur range of combinations? - Basically a good range to stay within?

Also, as I'm picking the lipo, what are the minimum recommended settings for Constant, Sustained, and Burst amp ratings for my set-up?

Thanks again!

Yes, you will need a ubec. As for a starting point, I'd start with the stock gearing and work from there. If the motor is hot, but the esc is cool, that would generally mean that the motor is under geared, so you could go up some with the pinion. If the controller is hot, but the motor is relatively cool, then you are probably overgeared. Go with a smaller pinion. If the motor and esc temps are pretty close (15 degrees or so) you are probably in the zone and where you want to be.