Traxxas "V"

[suicideneil]

* Two-stage thermal shutdown protection protects the VXL-3s from overheating.
* Locked Rotor Protection™ prevents system damage by cutting power if the vehicle is stuck or the motor is bound.
* Sensor Phase Detection™ protects against improperly wiring aftermarket sensored motors.
* Sensored Motor Backup protection causes the VXL-3s to switch to sensorless operation if a motor sensor fails or sensor wires become disconnected. Sensored motors can be used without connecting the sensor wires to the sensor port on the ESC.
* Battery Over-Voltage Protection™ causes the ESC to go into failsafe mode if the maximum input voltage is exceeded.

Sensored & sensorless..... give me that in a bigger esc and I'll be a happy man- I could run all kinds of weird * wonderful BL motors..... A few redemming features then but I want a higher voltage model still- hurry up Traxxas. Right, now Im going to bed before me eyes drop out.

[jhautz]

After looking at this system a little closer I don't think they did a bad job here. No the esc doesn't have the programmability of the Mamba Max, but the target for this esc is different than the MM. Its pretty much brushless for dummies with some really nice foolproof features. Like the setup to run sensored or sensorless motors. (cool feature that I haven't seen anywhere else) Makes it a possible esc for legal racing and a high powered basher all in one. A 200Amp constant rating with a nice size heatsink and a water resistant case. The water resistance is huge IMO. 2 of the 3 ESC's I have fried was due to water. Once a huge puddle in the grass I didn't see and once some left over dew on the grass. Water resistance make it a posible good candidate for a winter snow basher too. They are offering a "clip on" fan with a port for plugging it directly into the esc. Thats a sweet feature IMO. Sounds to me like they know in the extreme mode with the 3s battery that they will have thermal problems. But they fact that they rate it for 3s and a "optional" (probably oversize) pinion is great. It shows that there is headroom on the esc when running in a more normal useful range of speed. They probably should just include the fan though, people are stupid and wont even realize they need it. Even the new traxxas plugs looks to be a pretty solid design. As good as deans from a connection stand point. Just wondering how they will hold up over time, and they dont look to be reusable like a deans that you can unsolder and resolder if you want. Once you solder it and snap the connector into the case its on there and to get it out you need to rip the barbs that hold the gold bar in place out, probably ruining it. And the price is a little high at $4 a set. I can see this being one of those things that gets cut off IMMEDIATELY! But some interesting concepts in the design none the less.

All in all it looks like they did a pretty nice job designing a brushless system for the casual hobbyist.

As far as the price, if you drill down into the ESC pages at the bottom it says suggested retail for the esc is $300, which probably puts it at around $225-250 street price. Thats a little steep for a 3s esc. But it is 200A rated so if it delivers it could be a really nice little system for the 1/10 market. It sure looks like it delivers more power and flexibility than the Novak stuff. The mamba is rock solid though in 1/10 applications so its gonna have a tough time carving out a place at those prices IMO.

Downsides I see from my perspective is the software built in over voltage detection will prevent us from really testing what it can do unless its "hackable". No settings at all other than reverse or no reverse. The trainer mode is useless IMO unless you are buying this for a 8 year old in which case save your money and get the XL5 version.

Now we just need to see if the system delivers in the real world what it shows on paper. If it delivers and they sold a 5s or 6s version of this I'd give it a whirl and see what it could do. I dont care if the esc is made by traxxas, CC, Quark, or whoever as long as it delivers what it says it is supposed to deliver. I'd die laughing if Traxxas beat CC to the punch on the MMM.:D

Cant wait to see one of these in real life. I'm sure that someone around here will get one just to "see what its made of".:007:

[crazyjr]

Originally Posted by jhautz

. I dont care if the esc is made by traxxas, CC, Quark, or whoever as long as it delivers what it says it is supposed to deliver. I'd die laughing if Traxxas beat CC to the punch on the MMM.:D

I agree, but i think they will have to get to 200.00 for the system in order to shake the walls of castle. What would be really funny is if someone uses the traxxas esc with a novak motor and wins the nationals with it