How to fit a Brushless Motor to a Tamiya Konghead & TBLE-02s Set-up 

Great to hear, Cat! Remember, any sensored motor of or over 13.5T will be fine without a fan, just make sure to get a sensor cable! :O)

Hi Carmine - nice to read you again! Thanks for the comment mate! If I could afford it, I would put a brushless motor in most of my Tamiyas - mainly because they are inherently more efficient than their brushed counterparts. More bang for your volts, and so much more run-time, what's not to like? And don't worry about all those plastic gears - they mesh up very nicely and are very robust - they handle the power no problems! However, in my CC-01 'Freeder, I have stuck to brushed. I think a crawler needs the low-speed, high torque of a high-turn brushed. Mine is fitted with a $10 - 55 turn HPI crawler motor, and drops the top speed down to a fast walking pace. Easily copes with 1:1 climbs - did you see my Landfreeder Sea-Wall climb? ( just in case you are interested, its here : ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-GxerZgkqsXc.html ) Other RC guys also swear by fitting the Freeder with an 80 turn brushed to really lower the speed and increase climbing power, I think I will try one in the future. Anyway, whichever route you end up taking with it, the very best of luck!

Yeah Mate, I've just really discovered Brushless (I know right, I've been in the Hobby for over 37 years, and just NOW!!). I've been running Brushed, for so long, successfully, that I never gave it a thought...... I was given a Brushless System by a Friend at Wounded Warriors! A Hobbywing Brushless ESC, and a TenShock 6 Pole 9 Slot Sensorless Motor. Mate, if you've run 4 Pole Brushless, and think THOSE are Smooth... You should see HOW smooth these 6 Pole Motors are!! 😱 Stunning slow speed performance, MORE Torque than ANY Brushed Motor I've seen. The best feature - on a 4000mah 2S Lipo, IN a 15 Pound Axial Wraith - I can run almost *two hours* on a Charge!!! 😱😎👍👍 This one is a 1750kv, which specs out to about a 65 Turn Brushed. They also have a 2400kv, like a 45 Turn Brushed, and a 1250kv - which is like a 90 Turn Brushed Motor!!! They recommend at least a 3S Lipo or a 8 Cell NiMH for the 1250... I don't mean to sound like a Salesman, I'm just that excited about these! I want 5 more!! They're roughly around $40-45.00 each, US. These days, that's probably about 32 quid!!! WORTH IT!! They haven't become mainstream yet, which is probably why they're not more - Yet. I have seen plenty of Brushless Motors running at the Park or at our Crawler Course. The ONLY thing that ran smoother than mine at crawling speed, was a $400.00 Tekin Sensored System. The TenShock IS Sensorless, but because of the 6 poles, if it had ANY Cogging, Nobody noticed!! 😀 So...... IF I can ever afford it, I'm definitely getting one for the 'Freeder. The one thing we've learned about very high Turn Motors, is that they Burn Out easier than others. Especially if you should get the Wheels jammed. It's taken a LONG time, but this Old Fart has been Sold on Brushless - Full Stop! ...... Since I've still got a working TBLE-01 in my Holiday Buggy, I might try a 13.5 or 15.5 Sensored Motor with it. I'm fairly sure that the Tamiya ESC will NOT work with Sensorless. Things are so rough lately, I'm almost going to have to HOPE that someone Gives me a Sensored Brushless Motor. It's a Sad place to be my Friend. I am Absolutely going to check out your Landfreeder Video!! Cheers Mate, Carmine 💥 ⛽

Sorry I missed this reply, Carmine - seem to be having notification problems with RU-vid at the moment! Thanks for the detailed comment. And, no, I haven't heard of those 6 pole motors before - thanks for the heads up! They sound awesome mate - and the run times? Wow... You are correct, the Tamiya ESCs will only run sensored motors :-( Best of luck with your search for a motor - hope you can get one. Enjoy the weekend, Mark ;-)

Thanks a lot John - it's pretty easy really, isn't it? I hope you go brushless soon - you will not regret it my friend - more power and longer battery life - what's not to like? And if you already have a TBLE-02, you don't even need to buy the ESC (I picked up 2 brand new TBLE's off eBay last week for 15 quid each - bargain!). Thanks for the support mate :-)

Hi Lee - haha - don't go ripping the cable out of your walls - it's much easier to cut it straight off your kettle lead! Yeah, the 13A cable works just fine on my brushless motors, and if, like me, you have the odd scraps in the shed (old extension cables etc) then it could save you a couple of quid! :)

Cheers my Black Country friend! Glad you liked it - but I bet you could have done a video just as informative mate! Yeah - the speed test is coming very soon - do not hold your breath - as you can guess, the speeds are really not too insane! Thanks as always, your mate Mark... :-)

Many thanks for the kind words, Nordic RC Visions! You are correct, my wise friend, I have been running my Konghead with the Trackstar brushless for a while now - ever since Rob fitted his 13.5 turn brushless, I needed more speed to keep up with his Konghead! However, in the interests of our little hobby, I wanted to do a speed test, and thought it really needed a comparison with the stock setup, so viewers could decide for themselves if it is worth upgrading. Hence I recently reinstalled the stock silver can. I already tested the (stock) top speed, and was going to fit the brushless motor for the comparison speed run, when I though "why don't I make a video of it for people who have never fitted a brushless motor?" I hope this makes sense, Mikael !!! As for the soldering iron, and the station (with the useful holding clips) - well that was only about 7 Euros from Aldi - as you say, an essential cheap little gadget that would be so useful to anyone into this RC hobby. Thanks for the support mate :-)

Many thanks for the kind words, The Contractor! I hope it will help anyone new to the brushless brigade! Not too difficult, but if you have never done it before it can be a bit bewildering - especially if you read the Tamiya blurb - "you can only fit a Tamiya brushless motor to a TBLE..." and "do not ever fit a non-Tamiya part..." Hehe - complete rubbish! Cheers for the continued support my friend - you know how much I appreciate it :-)

Thanks for the informative comment, Neil Fastfreddie Anderson ! Yes - I hope other viewers read your wise words - you are correct (I think I called it a cardboard mount!) but the motor plate is indeed made of a fibre material that plays an important part in mounting the motor - it certainly is designed to isolate the hot motor from the plastic chassis which could be adversely affected by heat. I also find that it can act as a seal - covering holes on certain motors that would otherwise be open to the gearbox internals and preventing dirt and debris from entering. Anyway - the advice is DO NOT THROW THEM AWAY! By the way, your RU-vid name reminds me of another "Fast Freddie" back in the 80s - Freddy Spencer! Do you remember him?

Mark Bryan RC I always use to wear a red and black jumper when RC buggy racing so it was a Freddie Kruger reference

Ahh - that explains it then - I thought it was a reference to Fast Freddie Spencer - multiple motorcycle grand prix champion - he was amazing :-) I like the Freddie Kruger reference though - scare the opposition!!! =D

Thanks a lot Remote Addicted! Hehe - your comment really made me laugh! "Lebanon cheese" I wonder what I said that made it translate to that! I imagine that the translator struggles with my thick English Midlands accent! I don't know if you have ever watched UNBOXING RADIO CONTROL videos with the subtitles on - we have such a laugh reading them as the translator struggles just as much with Ady's Irish accent! Yeah, the TBLE is a great (cheap) ESC, but I don't think it can handle 3S - I think it would either melt or explode! Glad you watched this one Charlie - cheers mate :D

It definitely can handle a 15t brushed motor on 3s. That's what I drive on my GH II. ESC stays handwarm after 30 mins of hard bashing 🤘

WOW - rip up the instruction booklet! It's definitely not supposed to be able to do that - great tip though mate - I have a "spare" 15 turn brushed that I thought I had no ESC for - now I will give it a try - thanks a lot Charlie :D

I'll do a speed run this weekend - hopefully. I'll check the temperatures which you'll see in the video soon :)

Nice- Charlie - I look forward to that one!!!

Cheers Pete - as I think I said before, soldering is almost second-nature to me, as I used to do a LOT of soldering every day when I was in the telecoms profession. With a little practice on some old wires you would soon get the hang of it! And the Turnigy Turbo Esc and programming box sounds like a nice hop-up for the future - thanks for the info - that one is on my wish-list! Enjoy the sun this weekend mate :-)

Mark Bryan RC I'm sort of OK with the thinner wires but putting deans plugs on really thick lipo battery wires was always a nightmare. It maybe that my cheap ebay soldering iron wasn't really hot enough (or that maybe a bad workman blaming his tools). I'll invest in a better one when I'm back in the hobby room which won't be any time soon. Anyway I have some beer from the local microbrewery and am just sampling it out in the garden where it feels like 30c. You up to much this weekend? I'm not a follower of football but might watch it tomorrow so long as there is a drink involved 😁

Hi Pete - sorry for the late reply - missed the notification! Yeah, soldering the thicker gauge wires is trickier, and you are right about needing a good soldering iron - the trick is to get plenty of solder on the iron tip before you start, it conducts the heat to the joint better. My cheap Aldi iron has been magic! Sounds nice with the beers - sweltering up in the Midlands too. I did watch most of the match for a change - simply can't believe it so far!!! Not doing a lot with the leg in that big boot - so beers and the F1 GP for me today! Enjoy your Sunday Pete - all the best mate :-)

Yeah put your feet up mate. Can't do much in this heat anyway ! Having said that I'm going to meet Ric down at the park in a bit as he has finished his Titan and wants to test it out. We are having the usual dilemma about tyres. The ones from the kit aren't much cop and we want ones with a light spike like Blitzer rears so there is sideways action but not too much so it's uncontrollable. What do you reckon are the best DT-02 tyres? I'm thinking Rising fighter rears and maybe Holiday Buggy fronts. The golf course is really brown apart from the greens that they water. Could really do with a spot of rain but none forecast. Anyway enjoy the afternoon and rest your poorly leg mate :-)

Thanks matey - lazing around as we speak! Watching the British GP soon - so beers at the ready!!! Great to hear you are out to test the Titan - enjoy! As for the tyres, I reckon you are spot-on. The Rising Fighter tyres work well on my DTs. Another option, if you can find a set, are the Fastrax Turf Rippers they are really good and very cheap - you can get the narrow fitment for the fronts, too - here is a link to get you started www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Fastrax-1-10-Turf-Ripper-Rear-Tyre-T1-Compound-Part-FAST0212-T1-/382495254218?hash=item590e7e66ca Enjoy the RCing with Ric :-)

Thank you Del, for another fine comment! I will pass your camerawork comment on to Rob - I think he did a superb job too, considering my Sony Handycam he was using is new to him and has a few handling and usage "quirks". Focussing is quite tricky and the zoom function is hard to control smoothly, but get it right and the pictures are crystal clear! As I said to IT'S ALL ABOUT RC! , the Konghead is geared very low, so don't expect big speeds, I just wanted to show what difference spending just £20 to £25 on a motor would make to the standard monster truck. Yes, I think the Konghead tyres are exactly the same as the Midnight Pumpkin and Lunchbox. We have looked at the wheels on Rob's Lunchie and the size is the same, however the offset is different and hole for mounting the axle is deeper, meaning they wont fit the Konghead unless you change the axles too (quite an expensive conversion). It's really interestin that you mentioned this Del, as we were looking to mount some black Lunchie wheels on the Konghead. This is because, although the "posh" plated wheels look nice at first, the plastic is harder (presumably to take the "chrome" plated finish) and hence brittle - both Rob and I have several chips in the outer rims where the plastic has snapped off, causing tyres to pop off the rims every now and again! Anyway mate - glad you enjoyed the video, and I enjoy reading your excellent feedback. :-)

So, my silver-painted (over yellow) "poor man´s" Lunchbox/Pumpkin wheels are structurally stronger than the chrome ones - that´s made my day. I´ve just ordered a 27T brushed motor to replace the 35T example that seized on holiday; if I´d seen your video I might have got a brushless motor. My M 06 came with a TBLE-02S, and I couldn´t get it to work with a silver can so I chucked it in a cupboard and used a brushed-only one. I still have it, and after seeing this vid I wonder whether the problem might be that the ESC came set up for brushless.

Yes Del - your painted wheels certainly are much more durable than the chrome ones! As for the TBLE, you can do a very quick check to see what mode it is in - simply plug it into a battery, turn it on (no other connection required) - if it flashes orange, it's configured for brushless, if it flashes green, it's set up for brushed. :-)

I just did it - it flashed orange, which explains why I thought it wasn´t working when I plugged it into my silver can. I don´t remember there being any setup sheet supplied with it - presumably if one had been included I´d have summoned up the wit to read the thing. Still, I have a brushless Ninco Slider which needs an ESC, so I think that the simple act of watching your video has fixed one of my RC cars, and I´m suitably grateful : )

Oh - so pleased the old TBLE sparked into life - you can never have too many spares! Good job it wasn't resigned to the bin, at least you can get some use out of it - I rarely throw anything away either - you never know! :-)

No worries, Stephen! Glad you caught up with this one - thanks very much for the great comment, look out for the Konghead speed test coming very soon! Have a cracking weekend bro :-)

Sorry mate, but I found this comment bloody amusing! :)) Yeah, I know where you are coming from my friend! The red and orange LEDs look exactly the same, and I too have had so many frustrations trying to set up the TBLE! Your words ring so true in my ears, I think I have said exactly the same, but my good friend Rob has helped me many times to set this ESC up, and after a while it does get easier, after MANY attempts. So funny to read your frustrated words, from someone who has been there too! All the best with setting your ESC's up in the future - but probably a hobbywing! :))

Thank you very much for your kind words, Galih Argo! I hope you enjoy a very good weekend :-)

Mark Bryan RC yes thankyou tooo for sharing this video sir, cant wait to see that big girl to rip the trails haha

Thanks, Galih! You are welcome - if you want to see the "big girl" ripping the trail, check out this video mate: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-0qMmhFZjqR8.html Thanks for the support :-)

Thanks a lot, Tony, for sticking with this rather long "how-to" video! I hope it may help some RC fans that are new to fitting brushless motors - not really aimed at a seasoned pro like you, but many thanks for watching mate, much appreciated :-)

Mark Bryan RC ,my friend I am nowhere near a pro, thanks anyway lol, I do try my best, that's a nice confidence booster my friend, I still learn alot from you my friend, keep up the great videos brother 😊😁😊😁

Hi Tony - you certainly seem to know your stuff - from your vids I have watched anyway! You keep up the good work to my friend - BOOM!!! :D

Mark Bryan RC thanks my friend really appreciate that comment still learning as we all are 😄😄😃

I'll drink to that comment, Tony!!!

Hi George it's a great truck and I'm sure you would be happy with one! I've just had a look and the the cables need to be about 6 inches long, or 15 cm in modern terms! Best wishes from Mark. 🙂

Thanks so much Steve! You won't have to wait too long - I tested the 'stock silver can' Konghead top speed already, just need to go and get the brushless equipped Konghead tested with the GPS speed meter and the video will follow shortly, The support is much appreciated, as always mate :-)

Many thanks for the comment and for watching this rather long video, IT'S ALL ABOUT RC! I really appreciate the support mate! Don't hold your breath, the Konghead is very low geared so I don't expect big mph figures, but I thought it might be interesting to see what difference spending just £25 on a motor would make! To be honest, I'm actually quite interested myself to see what happens! All the best, Mark :-)

Hi Jeroen, I too have had this problem, if you are using the TBLE02 sometimes the reverse function is disabled - you need to follow the manual and switch it back on. If it's not that, sometimes the throttle neutral position is wrong, if you set the trim backwards a bit then it may work. Remember you need to stop completely before engaging reverse. Hope this helps! :)

@@MarkBryanRC Hey mark it works my son (and i) are very happy ! ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-jz2yH3rVhYg.html thank you

Hey - I just watched and left a comment - I see the reverse works OK, good work, what was the problem? Regards from Mark... :)

Hiya - the crimps didn't come with any specifications, but all I can say is after 3 years running, I have not had any issues! All the best my friend! :)

@@MarkBryanRC thats good to know thanks

Oh yes the manual is so confusing! You should be able to use that motor as long as it is sensored and you have the sensor cable! 😎👍

@@MarkBryanRC Thank You!

Thank you, JiJii san! I am very pleased that you enjoyed the video, have a good day! :-)

Thank you again! What motor do you have in your Konghead? The new chassis will look great - I will watch to see if you have a video! Thanks for the comment and for watching JiJii 365 san :-)

Mark Bryan RC san Thank you return comment. My motor G Force 13.5T. This motor is shutting tightly. Dust and dirt don't enter. I want 8.5T of this series. ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-2ChdQSJx0fQ.html www.gforce- ↓G Force 13.5T My motor hobby.jp/products/G0094.html ↓G Force8.5T I want 8.5T www.gforce-hobby.jp/products/G0057.html

Hi JiJii san - thank you for the links - I have watched your excellent video and left a comment and a like on your channel :-) I think the 13.5 is fast enough for me!!! I am not a brilliant driver! The 8.5 turn brushless would be very scary! Thank you, and enjoy your weekend :-)

Hi RC PATAPOUF, Thanks for watching my friend, your comments are always appreciated! Have a nice day, I hope it is sunny in France :-)

Mark Bryan RC a little cloudy but sunny yes

Nice =D

Thank you my friend :-)

Thanks for the information 👍 and yes I find the standard plastic covered wire does a good job 👏 👍

Right got brushless motor and tamyia tble-04s set it to brushless mode but the instructions say if flashing red and green means the sensor is not connected motor doesn't have one any ideas

I'll try!

Hi - the Tamiya TBLE ESC's will only work with sensored brushless motors. You need a sensor cable plugged into the little white socket on the ESC and the other end of the cable into the motor. If your motor doesn't have a sensor socket, I'm afraid it won't work.

@@MarkBryanRC thank you just needed confirmation

@@tuffbadger7342 Any time, dude!