What to look for when purchasing a BL system

[marca]

Well i will be purchasing around 3 Bl systems pretty soon one for me, one for my brother and one for my uncle. So I need to know what to look for when buying a USED system. Anything in particular to look for? some parts for fragile than others? Do BL systems have a lifetime like nitro motors? Cause if you ask me they seem like a few magnets and wire.
Thanks MarcA

[chilledoutuk]

To be honest a sidewinder with a 5700 system is a really good deal and you would struggle to find something for sale 2nd hand that is as good for the money.

At $127.46 for each combo from castle themselves you have a very nice brushless system which can be programmed using your pc if you also pick up the castle link which is 24 dollars you would only need one.

In my opinion an alternative would be to get the sidewinder controller only and pick-up some german made motors ie a hacker, lehner, plettenberg or kontronik motor as most of these are more effcient than the stock castle motors.
In fact if you wanted to race you could pickup one of new feigao motors which seem to be nice rebuildable units.

But in reality to really offer useful advice we need to know what rc cars these are going to be used in and whether its for bashing or racing.

[marca]

Well they will all be used for bashing. one will be going into a stampede and the other two into a tamiya dark impact df-03. although i know lipo is a heck of a lot faster we will only be running NiMH due to cost. as for buying them used i have found a deal for a mamba 7700kv for 120$ esc and motor included.

[chilledoutuk]

yeah the 7700 is not ideal for offroad vehicles as the current it draws in that situation heats things like your batterys and esc up very quickely.

the pede could handle the 7700 power but i think the df-03's diffs would melt with that kind of power.

The mamba max esc is a great esc and i recomend it too anyone but the sidewinder is smaller and thus easier to install in some vehicles with limited real estate like the df-03.

The sidewinder with the 5700 castle motor is a very good deal and suite an offroad application nicely also getting 3 sets would be easy as your getting them brand new and not 2nd hand.

Also you get warranty with the new units which is worth a lot considering how fast castle is at warranty repairs.

Also i would point out that if you do get the 2nd hand mamba max be sure to update the firmware to the latest version as its a vast improvement.
The sidewinders and new mamba controllers tend to come with this firmware stock.

[marca]

Alright thanks great info!! helps a lot. so i guess i will just buy the used 7700 for the pede and the other 2 new off ebay for 120 +shipping.

[ElectricThunder]

I personally think the 7700 is too much for a 'pede. I run a 5700 in a Rustler (the 'pede's cousin so to speak), and even that is a lot of power for such a heavy truck. I would rethink the 7700 motor for the stampede, because that motor will probably get hot, and if you're using only NiMH, you may or may not end up killing your batteries if they're not up to the task of such a high Kv motor pulling around such large tires, even if it is geared with a smaller pinion.

Just my opinion.

[rccardude04]

I have a 6900 in a pede and it's TOO MUCH MOTOR. It's not undrivable, but I'm running a 14/90 pinion/spur setup. It barely meshes, and the truck still is overgeared. With the NiMH batteries, it'll probably be quite slow to be honest. They won't be able to supply the current required and maintain a reasonable voltage. You REALLY need a 5700 at the most. I'll be buying a Sidewinder 4600 for mine, which should be about perfect.
I'll be putting the 6900 in probably a Durga or Lazer ZX5. I still haven't made up my mind yet. It's probably still too much motor (too high of kV), but it'll be better than it is in the Pede... That's for sure.
-Eric

[chilledoutuk]

Also i would like to point out that it is at first tempting to go for the fastest most powerful motor but quite often the biggest limiting factor is the tracktion you can get with your setup.

The sidewinder systems are a great deal and if you want moore power you can always use 3s lipo or 8 cells nimh.

[rca]

The mamba max esc is a great esc and i recomend it too anyone but the sidewinder is smaller and thus easier to install in some vehicles with limited real estate like the df-03.



you mentioned sidewinder is smaller? what is the measurement of the size? thanks.

[z-man280]

what about the Velnieon system? All over Ebay for $139.00 n.i.b.

[marca]

the castle measures 1.9" x 1.3" x 1.2"

and the sidewinder 1.8" x 1.4" x 0.87"

got the specs off tower

[chilledoutuk]

the velineon is ok but the controller is the size of a small house and may be difficult to install into some cars.

when i said the sidewinder is smaller that the mamba max I meant its not as high which makes it easier to install in some cars.

One thing i will point out is that a the best RTR truck at the moment has to be the new HPI E-Firestorm 10T Flux which has all metal transmission and durability but with much better handling than the vxl rustler.