fried traxxas stinger

[dave]

All,

I'm new to this game, so some help(read education) is in order. I have
two stampede's with the XL1 esc. I've noticed that motor and
batteries(3000mah nimh) get really hot(motor will burn you). This
weekend, one of the stingers died, so I start reading the owners
manual, and it states that if the motor or batteries get too hot, the
truck is probably over geared. I accept that, as I run the trucks in
short grass, or dirt most of the time. It came stock with a 18 tooth
pinion, and a 87 tool spur gear, both 48 pitch.

Now, since the motor is fried, I want to do the right thing. Mind you
I just play with these things with my young daughter, we're not racers.
We mess around with them mostly while we are camping. I want to
replace the motor with a better one, *and* I want to get the heat down.
Reading the forum it sounds like the better motors run more
efficiently, which I think means cooler.

Here are my questions:

1) What motor(assuming similar speed, nothing too hairy) to replace it
with?
2) What pinion gear, spur gear?
3) What about heat sinks?

I want a good all around motor, nothing too fancy, but something that
is reliable.

Thanks, Dave

[Techpriest]

Like everything else you need to start with the most important thing
first, "How much do you want to spend?"

If you have the money a brushless is the way to go. The Novak Super
Sport can be bought from their website for $165 now. Your Rustler will
go much faster, but you will not lose much run time. Maintenance is
little to nothing. I was cautious at first, "Is it really worth the
extra expense?" Yes, yes, yes! Mod motor speed, stock motor runtime,
little maintenance. I was hooked the first time I tried one. Heat is
not as much an issue with these motors. The only physical contact
between the motor casing and internal shaft are through the bearings.
A normal motor has metal brushes rubbing on the metal comm, yeah that
creates some heat! After running my SS with a 3300 pack the motor is
warm, the ESC is hot, but not so bad I can't hold my finger on it. I
don't wait very long before slapping in another pack and going back
out.

If you can't afford that then your looking at a new brushed motor.
There are hundreds to chose from and if you ask 12 people they will
each pick a different "best" motor. Most any rebuildable motor will be
more reliable then the Stinger, so start there. When you look at
motors you will see they are rated in "turns". A 55 turn motor will
run your Rustler for almost an hour, but it will be VERY slow. An 8
turn motor will drain your battery in under 5 minutes, but it will be a
FAST! The faster you go the more parts you will break and the faster
things will wear out. Too slow and it won't be any fun so whats the
point of driving it? You need to figure out where in that scale you
are happiest. With the XL-1 you can go down to 17 turns without
cooking your ESC out-right so let that be your bottom limit.

Personally I like 19 turn motors for bashing. Faster then stock
motors, but still enough runtime to make it fun. Find your own "happy
place" though, 19 turn may not do it for you.

If it was me and I could not afford brushless (shudder at the though!),
this is the motor I would get
http://www2.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/wti0001p?&I=LXGCH1&P=ML
I have an older version that I like, and I have seen tons of those at
my local track in the 19 turn class.

Regardless of the motor you get, keep the motor clean, replace the
brushes and have the comm turned often and that will keep the heat down
as well.

Beware of cheap motors. Sure that $20 motor has 17 turns, but what
kind of magnets does it have? How good are the bearings? Will the
brushes crumble as soon as they get warm? Is the comm balanced or will
it wobble when spun? Was it shimmed or does it have a lot of
side-to-side play? How well was it tested before it left the factory?

Great Rustler Sites
http://www.ultimatetraxxas.com/
http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/ <-Has how-to articles on heat-sinks

[sonofabitchsky@hotmail.com]

dave wrote:
> All,
>
> I'm new to this game, so some help(read education) is in order. I have
> two stampede's with the XL1 esc. I've noticed that motor and
> batteries(3000mah nimh) get really hot(motor will burn you). This
> weekend, one of the stingers died, so I start reading the owners
> manual, and it states that if the motor or batteries get too hot, the
> truck is probably over geared. I accept that, as I run the trucks in
> short grass, or dirt most of the time. It came stock with a 18 tooth
> pinion, and a 87 tool spur gear, both 48 pitch.
>
> Now, since the motor is fried, I want to do the right thing. Mind you
> I just play with these things with my young daughter, we're not racers.
> We mess around with them mostly while we are camping. I want to
> replace the motor with a better one, *and* I want to get the heat down.
> Reading the forum it sounds like the better motors run more
> efficiently, which I think means cooler.
>
> Here are my questions:
>
> 1) What motor(assuming similar speed, nothing too hairy) to replace it
> with?
> 2) What pinion gear, spur gear?
> 3) What about heat sinks?
>
> I want a good all around motor, nothing too fancy, but something that
> is reliable.
>
> Thanks, Dave

Yes, I own two Stampedes and a Rustler. They are overgeared. I think
Traxxas tries to squeeze the most performance out of what they have.
That being said. If you don't want any better performance, and just
want a low maintenance motor, new Stingers can be picked up used for
cheap. I have seen then for $5 on ebay. Gear it 15/87 or 16/87. This
will lessen the heat on the ESC and motor. I know many here will say
they Stinger is junk. But for low maintenance-you can't do anything to
is- I have had good luck with them lasting a long time. You can also
buy a motor. I would get a 19 turn Trinity motor if you want to go that
route. Trinity makes nice motors IMO. Gear it two less the number of
turns. 19 turn means gearing it 17 tooth pinion. Just my 2 cents.

[dave]

All,

thanks for the reply, and yes you both are right, there are hundreds of
motors to choose from. I ended up buying a Peak Performance Raven S
19T Double Motor. I know its low end compared to the higher priced
motors out there, but it is rebuildable. I also bought a couple sets
of Robinson Racing Pinion Gear 6-Pack Odd 15-25T, so that I can play
with the smaller pinion gears and see what happens. I had run the
stinger only about 10 times before it burned up. It got so hot the
decal started to wrinkle, and come off...... This is my first setup,
so I am new to all of this after flying R/C nitro airplanes most of my
life. I thought electric would be easy......hahahaha

Dave

[colinnewsgroup@hotmail.com]

If it got that hot, that quick, perhaps there was/is some added
friction somewhere?
Ensure that the wheels will spin freely and easily when the motor is
out of the truck (should coast well, right?) and then ensure that the
gear mesh between the pinion and spur is not too tight. Too tight could
cause overheating too. You do want a little bit of play between the
pinion and spur gear. Enough so that the gears actually have some play.
Can anyone clarify?


dave wrote:
> All,
>
> thanks for the reply, and yes you both are right, there are hundreds of
> motors to choose from. I ended up buying a Peak Performance Raven S
> 19T Double Motor. I know its low end compared to the higher priced
> motors out there, but it is rebuildable. I also bought a couple sets
> of Robinson Racing Pinion Gear 6-Pack Odd 15-25T, so that I can play
> with the smaller pinion gears and see what happens. I had run the
> stinger only about 10 times before it burned up. It got so hot the
> decal started to wrinkle, and come off...... This is my first setup,
> so I am new to all of this after flying R/C nitro airplanes most of my
> life. I thought electric would be easy......hahahaha
>
> Dave

[dave]

I figured the gear adjustment out. Too tight, and the gears make alot
of noise. The wheel all turn easily. The problem is I believe two
fold. 1) user inexeperience, by running two back to back 3000mah
battery packs(about 45 minutes runtime total), and 2) running on dirt
and short grass where it sometimes gets bogged down. I plan on running
a smaller pinion gear to fix #2, and we'll see what that does for the
heat. If it becomes more manageable, then maybe #1 won't be such a
problem.

Dave

[sonofabitchsky@hotmail.com]

dave wrote:
> I figured the gear adjustment out. Too tight, and the gears make alot
> of noise. The wheel all turn easily. The problem is I believe two
> fold. 1) user inexeperience, by running two back to back 3000mah
> battery packs(about 45 minutes runtime total), and 2) running on dirt
> and short grass where it sometimes gets bogged down. I plan on running
> a smaller pinion gear to fix #2, and we'll see what that does for the
> heat. If it becomes more manageable, then maybe #1 won't be such a
> problem.
>
> Dave

If you gear it properly you can run the truck 45min no problem. Keep
gearing it down untill its not so hot. Here is a link to a site with a
ton of information.

http://www.misbehavin-rc.com/pit-lane/pit-lane.asp

Has many how to's and specific info on Stampede, Rustler, General info
on electric rc cars, etc.

[dave]

sob,

thanks for the link. I just ran a test with a 17 tooth pinion, and it
wasnt bad, I am going to try a 15 tooth one too. High end speed is
not as big a deal for me.

Dave

[sonofabitchsky@hotmail.com]

dave wrote:
> sob,
>
> thanks for the link. I just ran a test with a 17 tooth pinion, and it
> wasnt bad, I am going to try a 15 tooth one too. High end speed is
> not as big a deal for me.
>
> Dave

Forgot to mention. Its ok if the ESC and motor are warm to a little
hot. If you can keep your finger on either for a few seconds then your
ok. No need to gear it so low that they stay luke warm or cool.

[dave]

sonofabitchsky@hotmail.com wrote:
> Forgot to mention. Its ok if the ESC and motor are warm to a little
> hot. If you can keep your finger on either for a few seconds then your
> ok. No need to gear it so low that they stay luke warm or cool.

sob,

I realize that, thanks. I ran an entire battery pack yesterday, and I
was able to keep my finger on the motor for about 5 seconds. The esc
has never gotten that hot, just warm. I still may gear down more, just
because we frog around so much in dirt/grass. Even dropping from a 18
to a 17, I was much faster than before because of the new motors. So
losing a little speed is no biggie.

thanks again,

Dave

[sonofabitchsky@hotmail.com]

dave wrote:
> sonofabitchsky@hotmail.com wrote:
> > Forgot to mention. Its ok if the ESC and motor are warm to a little
> > hot. If you can keep your finger on either for a few seconds then your
> > ok. No need to gear it so low that they stay luke warm or cool.
>
> sob,
>
> I realize that, thanks. I ran an entire battery pack yesterday, and I
> was able to keep my finger on the motor for about 5 seconds. The esc
> has never gotten that hot, just warm. I still may gear down more, just
> because we frog around so much in dirt/grass. Even dropping from a 18
> to a 17, I was much faster than before because of the new motors. So
> losing a little speed is no biggie.
>
> thanks again,
>
> Dave

Sweet. Those trucks are great fun. I have a Stampede that has a Novak
Brushless SS5800 in it, my son 3 has a Stampede stock and daughter 5
has a stock Rustler. I put the RPM large front bumper on all the
trucks, really helps from breaking front end parts when you hit
something. Also, FWIW, I have found through research and trial and
error, the Proline Masher 2000 tire is by far the best all around
traction tire out there. Leaps and bounds better than stock.