Brushless Truggy and Brakes

[BrianG]

I think it depends on your goals and usage.

If the goal is a simple setup that has as few parts as possible and/or ease of disassembly, then motor brakes is a no-brainer. No servo, servo mounting, linkages, discs/pads, and wires to worry about. And, fewer parts means fewer points of failure. However, the back-EMF spikes tends to be harder on the ESC and batteries.

If the goal is to achieve maximum tuning, then use mechanical brakes. Gives the ability to change front/rear brake bias. However, there is brake fade, not to mention more wear items.

As far as runtime, I think it's a wash either way, or any difference is neglible. This was discussed TO DEATH in another thread and I don't think it ever went anywhere.

If anything, try it both ways and see which one you prefer. I personally voted for motor braking - not because it is "better", but it fits what I use my vehicles for.

[lincpimp]

Another thing to think about with mech brakes is that you really need a 3 channel radio with mixing and epa to get the best out of the setup. If you just use a y cable to split the throttle channel the brake servo will be moving the entire time you on throttle, and if you go from full throttle to full brake you will have lag as the servo has to go thru its full travel to apply full brake. If you mix the 3rd channel you can set the epa so that the servo does not move until you go from neutral to brake. This speeds up braking quite a bit. I noticed this with my revo that used mech brakes, and eventually changed to a 3pm radio that would allow for mixing. I have gone back to motor braking for everything now, just do not think mech brakes are necessary for my uses. I will have mech brakes on the baja, but that is due to waning front brakes, and the baja is heavy. Plus I plan to use an air esc as nothing car based is available in 12s (and my budget).