# Updated 1/8th Off-road motor & cell selection guide



## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

Based on real life testing, racers opinions & testimony on this forum and many other forums I have put together a chart to help new people decide which T8 Motor (or any brand with similar KV ratings) might suit their needs. As well as avg. mah/min to help some determine what size packs for what situation might be needed. This is only a "general guide" so please feel free to chime in comments to assist in its tweeking.










and guys this is for information purposes, to help people with KV selections. I'm using the Tekin line here cuz they got a large KV selection and I have lots of data for them. If you got an agenda to push certain motors or denounce others please use other threads.


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## Verti goat (Jun 16, 2009)

Jason, that's an awesome guide. Thanks for taking the time to put together an easy to understand chart for folks going electric. It can get really confusing with all of the numbers and this chart makes it simple to determine which combo is right for you.

Great job!


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## hotrodchevy_77 (May 9, 2009)

whats the diff. between the truggy motors and buggy motors?


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

Truggy motors have a longer can and generate more torque. Truggy motors usually gobble up more mah/min and are a tad heavier too.


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## jelias (Sep 7, 2004)

It's been a while since this chart was put out and I was wondering if opinions were still the same about the lipo/motor combos or if they had changed with additional testing.

Would you say that a 4s/1900 combo work well at Houston's tracks or would a 4s/2050 be a better choice? I wouldn't be looking for a combination that would tear the tires off the wheels but rather a combo that would allow a car to be competative on the track.

Thanks for any additional info that you may be able to provide.


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

I would personally recommend a 4s/1400 combo. It is what I run and it is extremely smooth and doesn't lack on top end at any of the tracks we have in Houston.


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

I see you lookin' Jose!!!  I told you, you'll be racing with us eventually!

Don't listen to Nick, he likes slow cars.............training mode slow LOL

4S / 1900KV combo with a Tekin, or Castle Creations still has their 1800KV motor on clearance for $60, which is perfect for 4S as well. 4S / 1700-1900KV, or 3S /2650KV both will keep the RPM range on the buggy similar to where a nitro buggy motor would be. So if you're running a converted buggy, then you gear the same as recommended by the manufacture for clutch bells. Clear as mud???


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

lol it blows my mind you run that motor nick. I have to drive your car sometime and see what your talking about, cuz your not slow. But what pinion do you use, temp and battery C rating?


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

I run a 19t pinion, 25c battery, and my motor runs about 150ish. Esc fan never comes on.


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## jep527 (Jun 19, 2009)

nik77356 said:


> I run a 19t pinion, 25c battery, and my motor runs about 150ish. Esc fan never comes on.


 thats cuz you fan is broke nick lol


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## mwbmod74 (Dec 9, 2009)

Any of you guys running 6s anymore??


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## nik77356 (Jun 8, 2007)

I think Earl might be. I still have my 6s batteries, but I don't run them anymore.


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## tebone626 (Apr 25, 2010)

i run 5s


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

earls running 5s. I would run 6s if money wasn't an option but I got too much invested in 4 to switch. Plus, 4s allows me versatility if I need borrow a pack or motor in the rare event my gear goes wrong.


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## B4Maz (Aug 9, 2009)

The lower the number of cells you use, the cooler you are. 4s is cool, 3s is awesome, 2s is a [email protected] and 1s is a crazy fool.


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

Well you may be a cooler hip guy to run lower cells but generally the higher the voltage the more efficient the system runs. Hi C ratings can also result in higher temps. Many times low cell batteries run 30-50c vs. 5-6cell packs running 15-30c also contributing to the heat differences. 

I would like to try Crazy fool mode on 1s just for fun though. For Ebuggy you'd have to run like a 8000KV motor with a 1s 20,000mah 50c pack to be equivalent to a 4s 5000mah 30c w/2000kv motor. Lets do it Nick.


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## mwbmod74 (Dec 9, 2009)

Can anyone of you electric gods direct me to a place I can purchase a delrin spur gear to fit a xray 808 diff.. And also how about a motor mount and battery tray for a 808 as well.. I know about rc monster, but I was wondering if there is anything out there better... Thanks in advance


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

you can use a losi battery tray and straps.........like $15, but you'll have to drill holes and countersink them in the chassis. The RCMonster tray requires no drilling.

As for the motor mount, it's RCMonster or EliteRCD or you can use the factory XB808E mount.

Will a Kyosho delrin spur work? Mike, I ran my stock steel spur gear without any issues as long as the mesh was set good.


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

EliteRCD motor mount if your looking for the best man. Hands down.


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

Folks,

I'm going to update this chart on page1 to reflect more updated stats from fellow 1/8th BL users. So chime in on your set ups and what your AVERAGE stats are. Do not put best case or worst case, just avg with the given stats provided. 

Include:
Your Car: Buggy or Truggy
your Motors make and kv
your battery's: Cell count, Constant C max C and total MAH used on full run
avg time obtained on your runs
Tracks size

For argument sake I'll state a small track has 3000-6500sq ft, Medium track 6000-10000sq ft. and large track 10000+ sq ft. Multiply length x width; so a track 120ft wide by 70 deep is= 8400sq ft and would be considered a Medium sized track.

example:
I run a 1/8th Buggy
I run a Tekin 1900kv
My battery is a 4s, 35c constant 50C burst with 5000mah capacity
I avg. 17min
And run on a Medium size track.


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

-1/8 Buggy
-Castle ESC
-Tekin 1900 Buggy Motor
-4S 20C/30C 5000MAH
-AVG 18 minutes

Although I don't have it anymore, I ran about 10 packs total through a brushless truggy and came up with:
-1/8 Truggy
-Castle ESC
-Tekin 2000KV Truggy Motor
-4S 20C/30C 5000MAH
-AVG 17 minutes


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## darrenwilliams (Apr 21, 2008)

Running the same setup as CV except I,m now using the Mamba Max Pro Esc.
-1/8 Buggy
-MMP ESC
-Tekin 1900 Buggy Motor
-4S 20C/30C 5000 mAh Battery
-Average about 18 minute run
-Typical 13 minute main and a good 2 minutes of warmup and I usually burn about 3850-4000 mA.
I am setting up a truggy right now. It will have:
Castle Mamba Monster ESC
Tekin 1700 Truggy Motor
and I am hoping to use the same batteries.

If you have not tried the $22 Turnigy batteries, you really should. Jake ran one of my packs at Katy this past weekend after running his $300 Max Amps and said he could not tell any performance difference. His only complaint was that the Turnigy is hardcase and a little larger/heavier becuase of it. He was trying real hard to get me to bust one out of the case.


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

Keep em coming guys. CV do you recall any runtime and battery capacities when you were running 3s in the beginning?


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

Here was my 3S setup........it was nearly identical to my 4S setup. So much so, that I'm thinking about going back that route because the batteries are cheaper and it ran cooler. 

1/8 Buggy
Castle ESC
Castle 2650KV Motor
25C/35C 5000MAH Batteries
17-20 minutes, depending on track conditions, outside temps, and driving style


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## jasonwipf (Feb 23, 2009)

bump


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## pimprice (Jul 27, 2011)

1/8 scale
Castle mamba max
Castle 2650kv motor 
4s 5000mah 40c
Avg about 20-25 min run time


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## hotrodchevy_77 (May 9, 2009)

In my buggy:
Tekin 1900 short can buggy motor
MMM esc LVC set @ 3.3v
14/46
Turnigy 4s 4500mah 30c
Practice 18 min
Race pace 13-15 put back 3500-4000 track/pace depending

Working on a truggy with:
Tekin 1700 long can truggy motor
MMM esc
Racer edge 4s 5000mah 50c
?/46 pinion undecided yet
Will update when I have run results


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## Mantisworx (Dec 30, 2010)

a little advice please! im running the Castle 1515 2200kv 4pole 4s. using a 14t pinion but it just doesnt seem to have the pull that it should. from what i understand it is more of a truggy motor than buggy due to the 4pole. It feels to me that i need to gear up at least two teeth as the ESC is hotter than the motor (140/125). At katy it is out of gear before mid straight. i have read that you can be aggressive with the gearing but i have ZERO experience with 1/8 scale!


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

Undergearing can cause excess heat and short run times JUST like over gearing. You've obviously got it undergeared. Go up 2 teeth on the pinion and you should have your problem fixed.

Just as a side note, I tried that 2200KV motor one time, and the extra torque made it to where when you just barely hit the throttle it would spin out, so it might be a little tricky to drive with, but it will be FAST! The extra weight also made the back of my chassis slap everwhere and made it leave jumps a little funny and land a little funny sometimes. Runtime was just over 12 minutes with a 5000mah pack for me. 

Be looking at an 1800KV Castle, or a Tekin 1900KV or 2050KV buggy motor in the near future and you'll be much happier with it.


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## Mantisworx (Dec 30, 2010)

Thanx CV, i got a good deal on the combo used which is why i got it. my car uses dual saddles so the balance seems to be ok although i havent scaled it yet. right now i couldnt get over the dual tables at Katy yesterday without a good run up to it. as far as chassis slap, im running the RCshox 2 stage pistons and they dont slap!! as soon as i get my charging arsenal upgraded i will look into another power train.


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## Courtney Vaughan (Apr 11, 2007)

Cool, then just gear up a couple of teeth. I think you'll be surprised how much of a difference 1-2 teeth will make on your pinion with these large mod1 spur gears!


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## Mantisworx (Dec 30, 2010)

well kit was supposed to come with a 14 but it was a 12, i never even looked at it, so i put a 15 in it since i cant find my 14, huge difference already!


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## mofreaka (Feb 4, 2009)

Hey Marcus how is the quality of the caster 1/8. Do u have the ex1.5? Or are u making ur own chassis like ur 1/10?


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