Motors - Hmm

Lost in a confusion of 12T, 20T, 8T etc etc etc...

I have a traxxas rustler, still with the stock 12T Titan motor. I've rebuilt it (transmission coming shortly) completely with FLM Aluminum... and now can barely get it to crawl around the yard. I figured the extra weight would cut down on speed but I didn't expect it to be THAT bad.

I'm usually pretty good at reading things and understanding them but looking over various motors has confused me senseless.

I want torque... to climb. I want speed to race/jump etc... Do I want to go with a lower T engine, or larger? I cannot afford to go brushless so I would appreciate any advice from anyone who has upgraded to aluminum and found a good quick but strong enough to climb motor...

I have to keep up with a Duratrax Evader to save face... :027:

I have tried both pinion gears that came with the traxxas rustler, 19 tooth and 28 tooth (I think) neither offer any speed.

I have 6 cell battery packs, 4 1900mah, 4 3000mah...

[mwe-maxxowner]

For torque, you want a higher turn(T). Lower turns yield more speed but less torque, and vice versa. Sounds like you could use better packs too-this makes a huge difference. If you're gonna run 6-cells, just get some of the gp3300's at radioshack, it's the best deal for 6-cell packs you'll ever find.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by mwe-maxxowner

...Sounds like you could use better packs too-this makes a huge difference. If you're gonna run 6-cells, just get some of the gp3300's at radioshack, it's the best deal for 6-cell packs you'll ever find.

Yeah, those are what I use in my Revo, except I pull the packs apart and use bus bars to create one 14 cell pack. I get around 15 minutes on the track and the charger puts just over 3.3Ah back in. Even though they aren't matched, they seem to heat evenly during charge and discharge. Pretty good deal IMO, especially considering they come from Radio Shack.

Ok... I've doubled my battery packs... made a Y connector so I could use 2 3000mah packs. it does seem a slight tad faster but no real noticable improvement. Would buying two 3300mah packs via radio shack be any better?

should I look into a motor with more torque then my 12T 550 Titan?!?

[squeeforever]

Yea. Your battery packs are one serious problem. A good BL setup will only run you about $200. Thats money well spent, but you would HAVE to get batteries as well since those packs wouldn't provide the power it needs. Your probably having the same problem with your current setup...

[mwe-maxxowner]

If you wired those in series, you only increased runtime. If parallel, you seriously overvolted that thing. You just need one better quality pack. One rs 3300 pack would improve your performance a lot.

[skellyo]

Originally Posted by mwe-maxxowner

If you wired those in series, you only increased runtime. If parallel, you seriously overvolted that thing. You just need one better quality pack. One rs 3300 pack would improve your performance a lot.

In series, he increased voltage, not runtime. In parallel, he increased current capacity, not voltage.

Example: Two 3300mAh 7.2V Packs

In series: 14.4V, 3300mAh
In parallel: 7.2V, 6600mAh

This is how I have my battery packs wired. Like I said I noticed slight speed increase when I connected the second battery... but... also added weight from a second battery pack.

I'm using two 3000mah packs. I don't see how a single 3300mah battery would make much of a difference. I am still wondering if they're fully charged or not. runtime is still very short. I am almost ready to recycle the aluminum and go back to stock plastic! LOL!

Anyone who can suggest an engine/battery combo that will bring my rustler back to the speed it once possessed while still being aluminum will be my hero.

[mwe-maxxowner]

Originally Posted by skellyo

In series, he increased voltage, not runtime. In parallel, he increased current capacity, not voltage.

Example: Two 3300mAh 7.2V Packs

In series: 14.4V, 3300mAh
In parallel: 7.2V, 6600mAh

Yeah, I get that mixed up all the time. I know one way is one, and the other way is opposite, but I never can quite remember which is which. I had it the other way to begin with, then switched it, hence the edit lol. Guess I was right to begin with.

purchased two 3300mah batteries at Radio Shack. Also bought the charger they had there. It's a simple kinda charger... plug the battery in, charger in and when the red light goes out it's charged...

MAJOR DIFFERENCE!

Truck ran almost as fast as it used to... very impressed. I'm gonna try running a second battery mainly just for longer runtime. I had a pretty impressive runtime with single battery... double should be sweet.

Much thanks squeeforever & everyone else who responded.

[squeeforever]

LiPo batteries are they way to go if you can afford one and a charger, but Radio Shack GP3300's are the way to go. Your packs seem like there dieing....Try one of the RS GP3300's and then report back as to how it runs. It should be better. By the way, do you have a peak detection charger or a timed charger?

Timed chargers... 3 of them...

Should I charge til the meter hits 0?

box says... for 1700-1900 mah batteries... charge 18-22 mins. which is roughly 2 cycles on my charger. I charge the 3000mah batteries 3 cycles of 15 mins.

meter usually shows between 2 and 3

[squeeforever]

Definately get a peak detection charger. Do the packs get warm at the end?

sometimes they do... sometimes they get outright hot.

[squeeforever]

If they get that hot, then there getting over charged....Which probably could/did damage them...Invest in a good peak detection charger. There are tons that can charge 2 or more 6 cell packs at a time as well, so you wouldn't have to get more than one.