I've wanted to get into rc hobby for years, but I was focused on aircraft. Talk about a quick way to trash a whole lot of money. I've never been real interested in fast rc vehicles so I just stayed on the outside wishing I had the bank account. That was untill I stumbled onto scale crawlers. Now I'm obsessed and working towards my first tenth scale crawler. These videos help me to learn before I even get my hands on one. Thank you so much for sharing all this technical information so freely. It is much appreciated.
Brother, start with a Traxxas TRX4, you just can't go wrong with that Crawler! If you like building kits, you can start modding from the ground up. And there are a crazy amount of upgrades, motor/esc's, servo's, light kits, wheel/tire combos, bodies,,, etc. Though the model is a bit dated, it still holds it's own with the best out there. Happy Trailing!!
@@jackking5631 id recommend getting the scx10.3 I find ot better than the trx4 but that's my opinion it all depends on what and where your going to take it on the trails
I easliy spend twice as much $ a year on my cars than I do my planes or fpv drones....the only time they need fixed is when you crash. Also way less wear items on aircraft vehicles from my 5+ years of experience.
Been crawling longer than some of your viewers have been alive. 15 years ago, ran an outrunner, loved it. That being said, I've taken a stock axial honcho rtr, stock plastic links and electronics, (including servo & radio) and out crawled brushless/ high torque servo set ups. Just by changing tires and shocks. Why? How? Driver control. Throttle control. Seeing a line. You can dump as much money as you want into a rig, but if you can't drive, you can't drive. Learning your truck is critical. And, with a stock rtr set up, I see 4+ hrs from a spectrum 5200 2s. All in how you drive.
True, but that is true for everything with regards to equipment. 80-90% of it is driver skill. But the best way to look at it is you competed with a person of equal ability as you (such as yourself) and they had a way better motor/esc system, they'll do better each time.
@@RCReviewChannel.. I totally agree, Francis! Once you have "outgrown" your stock rig, it's time to fine tune your abilities with a more competent rig! I've grown to get excited when you release new videos, you're one of my favorite!
I agree mostly. On 3s we run 4 1/2 hours then run out of sun light. Some rigs I’ve had no problems with box stock form with stock tires. I don’t have any crawlers in brushless but I do want one with a brushless. But there’s none that I seen with 100% drag brake and higher wheel speed together.
Your comparison holds true ONLY if you had a less skilled driver around. At same skill levels you would not have outrunned anyone. I'm happy you are happy with your driving skills but don't underestimate the importance of the hardware though, cse it can change A LOT.
This is a FANTASTIC video! I had seen people tossing the tern around but honestly had no idea what it meant. The excitement for the topic is palpable in this video. Thank you so much!!!
I purchased a HW 2100kv Axe for my Knightrunner after watching your videos for info. I haven't looked back since it was such a good investment for me. Being from the UK where the majority of the time its raining or wet, not having to worry about the brushed motor going up in smoke out in the field is a game changer. I'm far more confident in pushing the truck into places I wouldn't have considered before simply because I no longer have to worry about the electrics surviving or not. Also the run times are amazing, getting around 2+ hours out of a 5000mah 2s pack. I own 3 packs, that's a whole day sorted pretty much. Thanks :)
I’m using the brushed Chameleon motor and the Iguana pro ESC with the blue tooth that allows me to program any parameter like throttle curve and drag brake. The Chameleon has butt loads of slow torque. My SCX24 crawls perfectly. I don’t think it could get any better. Love your channel.
I’ve always been fascinated by why the crawler side of RC uses brushless motors. I always assumed crawlers were meant to go slow so since I’ve recently got into crawling I’ve always used use brushed motors in my crawlers where as for my other cars and trucks (so racing, speed runs, bashing etc etc) they all run a brushless set-up. Thanks for explaining the pros of a brushless setup…and especially the out-runner motor, helps me understand why so many use brushless systems and it’s def something I can get into when I’m ready to change systems. Many thanks for all your informative videos, past, present and future. They’ve helped me get back into the rc hobby and explore other areas in this case the crawling scene 👍😎
Really a great series of arguments!! Only those few personal arguments more: - Brushless in crawilng has the big advantage of cooling better because the electricity runs in the stator and not in the rototor and this cause a really better dissipation - Brushless also resists really bette to get hot when your car stays a lot nest to be stuck manoeuvring on slopes, foe a similar reason you can use long gears on slopes at low rpm for a long time without getting hot (in mountain patterns is really useful and visible) Finally I Don't agree completely with statement that Brushless are less controllable, this is true for many of them, but not for Fusion that is a feet over all others Brushed even with Hobbywing 1080 well mapped ! For Hobbywing AXE I recently discovered that setting high join between throttle and rpms... changes completely motor response and makes it much more similar to Fusion. As always thanks for your Job that has been a fundamental part of our Crawler culture!!
Thanks for you good video, most rc channels do not address the reasons for using brushed motors, however the reasons why one works better then other one in certain situations are much more complicated then you explained. I have worked all my life with electric motors and drives and it still baffles me how much the rc motor/esc companies screw us hobbyists around by not giving the data about the motors they could give....
True, but I have to outline it for the most easily understandable and watchable summary for most folks. My least favorite statements from 'experts' is: "it's all personal preference." :)
I'll always run brushed in my crawlers for a number of reasons however, the number one for me is SOUND. my brushed motors are QUIET AF! Love it. Thanks for the video!!
Great Video, Many valid points. It seems to be a personal preference and based on competition. I bought a crawler to have something to do and make me want to go walking more. I bought upgrades for the tires and Holmes Hobby 27T trail and will buy the Hobbywing 1080. If it can not make the trails I walk I will further upgrade it. I may end up going brushless some day just for the water proofness before winter is in full swing. For now I hope I am happy with the upgrades I have. Enjoyed watching.
I just replaced that exact HH motor and 1080 with a Spektrum Firma 2300KV. It is better in every way. Price is the only reason not to choose brushless now. You will love this Francis. I put it in my TRX. I know how you fanboy over that model crawler. 🙂
Hobbywing and Spektrum have really changed the game with the 2 in 1 setups now. A Hobbywing/Spektrum Fusion Pro is $150 and the Hobbywing Fusion SE is $70- $80! You still would want the program card, which is $15 for the Hobbywing systems and $30 for the Spektrum system. Both of these systems have been game changers for cost and efficiency.
If you are working with off the shelf components then some of this might make sense and actually be real. The push from manufacturers has been profit and this means built in obsolescence, complexity, and chance of expensive failures maximised. If you have a brushed motor the power rating is its all day everyday never cause a problem rating. This is NOT the case with brushless motors and controllers. They will invariably blow up if you exceed the rated power, often even if you come close to it. Brushed motors can usually deliver 10x their rated power and much higher than their rated speed for 10sec or even 10minute bursts. Efficiency of a brushed motor is better than a brushless, because you cannot avoid the voltage drop of switching semiconductor junctions with an electronically commutated synchronous AC motor. That is what they are. They are not brushless dc. With a brushed motor you can use switches or relays to directly connect to your battery for maximum efficiency and power. Do you see brushless electric starter motors in full size cars? No. Because they can't produce the torque, power, and reliability of a brushed motor running at high speed with reduction gears. They are sealed units too. As are many ebike, industrial, light electric vehicle and things like forkhoist motors. You can't make any sort of decent power without cooling. So that will tell you immediately that a sealed motor of whatever type is capable of a fraction of what one with forced air cooling. Unless of course it has liquid cooling via circulating ducts. I would never consider brushless for powertools, transport uses, harsh environments like marine ones, anything but GENERATING Electricity where all you need is a bridge rectifier to make it into something useful. The high frequency of ESCs will cause corrosion and failur anywhere near salt, or geothermal gases in days. It is also very bad for human health and brain function. Perhaps why so much of this review is nonsense. 🤭 I've seen too much heart and wallet breaking from people trying real world applications with brushless. Would you rather replace a 50cents brushset that can be trusted for at least a decade, or thousands of dollars on a esc that burns out the first time you power up, or something goes wrong somewhere in your electric or mechanical systems. The manufacturer wants that second option, and that is why they overhype and fraudulently describe them as brushless dc motors and claim that anything about them is new. They are Nicolai Teslas mistake.
@@aaronfranklin324 can I see video of some brushed motor drones? I think thats what I wanna get into. All these fradulent people thinking they can push supposed newer technology just to steal money from us. I refuse to go green and buy an electric vehicle until they make one with a brushed motor, world is going to be sucking my carbon forever I think.
Hi. Love how u've done this review. You forgot about one thing: 2 pole vs 4 pole. in practice a four pole has both torque and power density advantage, so it's faster in races (SCT, Buggy...). Though it is energy less efficient. I use brushed motors for crawlers and slow (mostly "stock" cars), and mostly brushless for fast cars. I have 4 pole 35T in CC-01 and it works great ( i thing I found the middle to have it all) As for outrunners: They have more torque, but les rpm / volt. They don't spin as fast as inrunners. We tried them, maaah, maybee for crawlers yes, but for other cars..nah.
That's what it's all about... testing and outlining of pros and cons. Personal choice comes at the end when enough knowledge is gained to make a choice.
Maybe show some more budget options for the brushless ? There are pretty good cheap motors , a lot of people say that Surpass Hobby motors are really good and they are 25$ or 50$ for a motor+esc+program card combo .
I've been looking at brushless systems for a while but just can't get past the cost. My hobby wing 1080s have been bullet proof and even with 0 maintenance and tons of creeks ponds sand I've only had to replace the motor on my trx4 2 times in 4 years.
@@RCReviewChannel hello Francis. Great vids and info. New subscriber to your channel and somewhat new to rc in general. I have a question and I’m not sure if it relates to brushless vs brushed motors. I’m building a rig with HUGE tires and wheels. Each wheel and tire set will weigh about 2lbs each…so about 8lbs total for tires and wheels on my rig alone! My rig will have 2 uses: - when it’s sitting on the huge tires/wheels, it will not be used for bashing or racing. Maybe not even crawling. The main reason will be for a show here and there, when I have time. Mostly it’ll be for my viewing pleasure 😂 but I still want to be able to drive it. - when not in “show” attire (body, bumpers, wheels and tires) I do plan on running it on standard 1/10 scale tires and wheels as a monster truck with some light bashing. With all that being said, I have 3 questions… 1) Does it even matter if it’s a brushless or brushed system? 2) What type of system would you recommend? 3) What type of servos would you recommend for the weight? (I may decide to make it front and rear steering rig) I’m building this all on an Axial SMT10 raw builder kit. I know it’s a lot of info, sorry. But your input will be greatly appreciated. Thank you!
I ordered the ISDT 70 esc. AliExpress February 8 for delivery 📦 thank you for sharing that “. Huge thumbs up 👍 I can’t wait building a jeep xj. Enduro Jeep five shot motor too :) a good one
I'm looking at a couple HBX 4wd trucks and the brushless one is much cheaper. This video gives me information to help me choose more wisely. Thank you. I am a novice.
a third reason to go brushed is they are easier to regulate in formal racing. keep everyone running with 24 turn stock brushed and its up to their tuning and driving skill from there. otherwise, great video and great collection of cars and trucks behind you!!
I learned to hate brushed motors from my early helicopter days and having brushed motors without replaceable brushes. Constantly burning out and having to replace the motors. I’m surprised brushed motors still exist and are still commonly used. Brushless should just be the standard. I do agree with your crawler / when not to use brushless though but I’d still rather go brushless just to avoid replacing motors / brushes
I have been flying planes, helicopters and drones for 10 years. Brushless is the way to go with those period! Crawling? Nah, the brushless systems to me just cant go slow enough. With brushed motors you can creeeeeeeeeeep so smoothly to where brushless requires a certain amount of power just to spin the motor and it causes cogging where the motor starts/stops/starts/stops really fast. Not good with crawling. Stick to brushed motors for crawling and you will be happier in my opinion. I have about 5 crawlers and they are all brushed, I have been driving them roughly 2 hours every other weekend for the last 3 years and I have yet to replace a brush. This is my 2 cents.
@@explod329 yep. I remember brushed motor hell in the 80s with the r/c10 cars and the quick change brushes and hand winding commutators… first came the electronic speed controllers that killed the servo motor wiper throttle and then the brushless motors. But ya with crawling I guess I could see the point since at that point a brushless would start acting like a stepper motor.
great vid👍 glad someone still understands the value of a good brushed setup. 4s on some of the higher turn holmes 20$ cans can produce about 80% of the power, and near equal control of the bl system if just crawling. cant wait to try an outrunner on my trx6...
@@RCReviewChannel Limitation is not the brushed itself, rather the availability of rc ESCs that can do that. For example in robotics it is quite easy to find one.
I'm sticking with brush for now until the brushless systems can mimic the brush motor identically if asked to do so. That would totally justify switching to brushless.
yes if you are a trail truck or rock crawler person no need to waste money on brushless. get heavy rims some brass and get good tires. i love my crawlers and trail trucks, and to have duratrax deep woods or showdowns for the trails best tires i ever used. and hobby wing 1080 speedo and holmes hobbies motors are all i will use... all has held up to being 4ft under water pulled out and back on trail rain sleet snow they love it all. now for brushless there is nothing like castle creations and holmes hobbies. the sidewinder sct with a 3800kv motor is 12x more power than you can use in a traxxas slash or any other s.c.t... and the copperhead with a 3300kv sensored is what the redcat wendigo wants for rock bouncing/racing having the sensored motor speedo combo is some thing redcat should give option too on wendigo. i think they should have put an axe brushless system in it ..
Loved the video! Gives me hope for my TRX4 which is annoyingly weak under load. I'm looking for low end power and smooth modulation, hopefully pretty light as well. Currently using the Firma 2100kv in the VS4 10 which has tons of power in comparison. It's great and all, but seems like a pretty weighty combo for a 'super light' style crawler. Looks like the 1080+Holmes combo is a winner!
Try the Spektrum Firma 2 in 1, 2300KV. It is awesome. Fast, powerful, butter smooth oozing crawl with big torque and immediate throttle response. It is also completely silent.
I'm a newbie.. at this time I'm my life a can afford a hobby. And It's gonna be rc cars. I have drones for work. And I was thinking any getting a chopper. But I want a car. Eventually I want a choppers and a plane. But I had no idea the complexity in the hobby. I really think I'm going to enjoy it. I'm going brushless. I want to get a buggy.
Thanks for the info! More maintenance but I can see the modulation argument. Perhaps a sensored brushless would be good for that application. Smooooth!
In Europe it's close to impossible to get the Holmes you mention for my trx4. And if so I'll probably need to pay the same amount in importation taxes as the motor itself.... A bit of a pity. The stock motor runs better now with the hobbywing 1080, but I'm still looking for a valid upgrade for it. And I'm not quite sure what to get. I looked at your other videos but I'm not sure I can make something out of it. Either the motor s you recommend are not available here or it would mean upgrading everything and I want to stick to my 1080. What would you recommend? Your point of view is trustworthy for me. Keep up your good videos and content. Your passion is contagious 😀
Very good info and nice vid. Can you make a vid explaining what escs are required for what motors (brushed/brushless) .. Thinking of the HH 1800kv revolver but have read that the becs blow out on some.. 🔫😅
Since I don't care for rc crawling, I think brushless is the best. There's nothing like making a tiny car zip across an entire parking lot in seconds or driving through mud, snow, ice, and water. And rc boating is so much better with waterproof brushless motors and minimal heat. Trust me, it is so worth it!
Excellent job. I wish there was more sensored brushless motor for 1/8-1/5 scale ect. Instead of just castle Creations with super large ESC and motors for such a high PRICE!!????
From my experience it's quite the opposite tbh. You can run a brushed motor literally completely submerged under water just fine, no sealing needed. Also, even the cheapest brushed ESCs come fully sealed most of the time. The components in a brushed ESC can be speced pretty low, since there's no fancy frequency switching stuff going on and the power draw is lower, so they don't need as much cooling and therefore can be completely cast in resin. Just clean the brushed motors by running them fully submerged in some clear tap water from time to time and spray some WD-40 into the cooling cutouts afterwards.
Helps me to selection of a treadmill, effect of the size of the motor Vs power generated. It looks like although some treadmills have smaller motors, say about 0.85 HP, manufacturer gives longer warranty on motor may be the motor is brushless and produce higher or same torque than 2HP motor with brushes.
I enjoyed watching the video. And I have a request. Arrma has announced that a new RC car has been released. I enjoy reviewing RC cars here in "RC Review" and get a lot of reference. If you have time, please rib by all means. The name of the RC car is "FireTeam". Please review. thank you.👍👍👍
Pour s’amuser avec les amis, un combo brushed a 50€ fonctionne aussi bien qu’un brushless a 150€. Pas d’entretien sur le Brushless, à part un gros nettoyage. Petit entretien sur le brushed, avec le gros nettoyage. En plus aujourd’hui, les esc brushed sont aussi moderne que les esc Brushless (ISDT esc 70 sur Amazon) car reliés au smartphone. De plus, passer un brushed au Comm lathe (le sien ou celui d’un ami), c’est faire un peu de mécanique que le Brushless n’a plus.
Interesting overview and has cemented my reasons for sticking with brushed motor. I am away to start building a RC4WD Beast ii kit, what motor would you recommend for it? I'll be getting a HW 1080 esc and have a mixture of 2S & 3S lipos. I was thinking about the HH CrawlMaster Sport 550 12t (1700kv) or 15t (1250kv)?
Francis!!! This was a GREAT video!!! Do you think you could do a similar one about censored v.s. non censored? If you haven't already... if you have could you provide me with a link to it? Also could you explain some technical stuff about motors... such as what KV means? and how to determine how much top speed and/or Torque you will get before buying to help us choose the best motor to buy for a particular application? Thank you and keep up the great work!!!
I’m running a Tenshock 1750kv 6 pole sensorless motor and a castle sidewinder ESC, ESC was 79.99 USD and motor was 37.99 USD, I will never go brushed again! Super low crawling speeds tons of torque/drag brake, and really nice top speeds! No cogging at all aswell!
i use brushed on crawlers because it most closely resembles the behavior of a gas engine. brushless motors are too robotic and they jerk when the center of gravity changes and when it reaches the end of the slack in the drive train from the gear mesh backlash.
I have an Axial Wraith rock racer that i bought years a go and was wondering what it would take to switch it from brushed to brushless and what motors would work well with this truck? things sure have changed over the years. I just had to buy a new battery 52000mah , 2c , 50c, Lithium . and need some advice on updating my truck.
Hello all I’m new to this hobby. I watch this video and it helped. I was looking at Holmes hobbies motor. There is numbers and a T, 21T, 45T etc. what does that mean.
I just burned my hobbywing 1080 esc few days ago after using it for 2 years. Should I go for the fusion or just brought new 1080 ? Im just so confuse now. I really want the fusion, but the price here in Malaysia just cost a lot.
my Traxxas Summit stock motor overheats when doing high speed and jumps on tracks even just doing 2 laps, should I upgrade for a brushless motor? will this fix my problem?