will gearing down help heat in a ESC?

[dhauch]

Hi guys,
If I drop one tooth on the pinion gear, would that help reduce some heat in a ESC?

I'm running a Novak 5800ss.

Thanks,
dave hauch
mich.

[glassdoctor]

In general, yes. Gearing down will reduce the current and the heat of the ESC. One tooth may or may not be enough... you have to experiment and find what works best for you.

Depends on what you are "doing" also... your driving habits, etc. If you are bashing... yard and street, etc. it can be different than racing.

What car and gearing are you running, and where are you running it?

[dhauch]

I'm running a Losi BK2, 2 wheel drive buggy 1/10.
Not sure off the top of my head I think it's a 78 tooth spur gear
it's what comes stock anyway, pinion is a 22 tooth, I do have a 20 tooth, I'll give that a try, and take some heat readings, good thing I kept my temp. gun. :-)

ESC temp readings tonite where 208 degress with body on, ran it with the body of and was getting 180%.
So I am going to be cutting lots of holes.

I'm backyard bashing, but this track is as good or better than anything at any race facility. Pretty tight, lots of timing doubles & triples. Good traction, running Step-Pins on rear.
We push them hard.

I'm a Nitro guy switching over so I really appreciate your help.

Dave Hauch
Mich.

[glassdoctor]

I have run my Novak in a XXX and XX4... haven't put in my B4 yet. Other guys at the track have though. I ran a lower gear than others at the track. I think I ran a 19T-20T in both mine.

Some others have run 22 and 23T but it depends on driving style and the track. So you are right in the ballpark. I have noticed that the Bl Novak can run well on a wide range of gearing, so you can experiment to see if you can lower the temps while keeping enough speed.

With electric, you can be very smooth and easy on the throttle and still be very fast, especially compared to nitro... on/off switch style racing. So, some gear up and use a smooth style, easier on the esc/motor.

For a reference, 180* is a good temp for the Novak. I temped mine at 220*+ after a hard run in the summer. I was running it pretty hard. :D It seems too hot, but I have never had a thermal, or a problem at all. The motor always stayed pretty cool... like 115-120 or so.

I cut cooling slots in the body too... it helps.

[dhauch]

Thanks ''bud'', for the your time and the usefull info!

dave

[End Overend]

Dropping a tooth can make a difference in the temps of your ESC, how much is debateable.

I recently sent my Novak in for warranty repair/check because I couldn't stop it from thermaling. I went down two teeth from the recommended gearing and still had thermaling problems.

Two teeth down from the gearing recomendations also slowed the car down a lot, which wasn't great either.

If the ESC is getting hot but not thermaling don't worry about it. If however you are geared correctly and it thermals on you on a consistant basis, send it for warranty repair. It seems that a recent batch of Super Sport ESC's may have an overheating problem (or maybe the thermal protection temps were dropped down?).