Newbie to 1/10 touring - MOTOR choice 19T limit

[chrisbryan800]

Hi folks

I have purchased an MI4 schumacher, and am going to run the thing a little old skool until I get a hang of racing. I have an LRP quantum 2 ESC and will be running 4500nimh as opposed to Lipos and Kopropo 40mhz electrics. The local racing scene has an indoor "super stock" category, which states 10.5 T limit for brushless and 19T limit for Brushed. I assume there isn't a modified and stock difference these days? I would like to run a brushed motor.

Am I better with an older modified style 19t (i.e. reedy modified), or one of the new cheap ansmanns, hpi etc 19T motors? My attitude is that the old touring cars of 6 or 8 years ago are surely fast enough for a beginner, particular given a 19T limit.
thoughts most welcome, plus anyone with a cheap motor for sale please let me know.

[terry.sc]

I'm sure there are plenty who will come here to tell you brushed and nimh are useless, but there's nothing wrong with them to get you going.

Race spec brushed motors have more or less disappeared entirely, the main manufacturers have all moved to brushless so it has killed off brushed motors and the ones available from Ansmann, Etronix, etc. aren't designed for all out performance. It does mean they do last longer than the old race spec motors though.
Your best bet is to pick up a motor second hand. Just posting a wanted ad on here might throw up a choice of motors as there are still plenty of racers with 19t motors kicking around that they would be happy to pass on and a rebuild will get it back to good condition.

[Mad-Wolfie]

19t is probably as quick as you'd want to go as a beginner. The trick is to not go for big motors & try to compete with everyone, but the 1st thing is to get round the track without crashing... i've seen umpteen people who try to start racing, then because they are bimbling about at the back with a slow car, drop in the biggest motor they can but then they don't go quicker & crash more so they finish in the same place as they did before & then try bigger motors again until eventually they give up, when if they had gone for a slower motor & learned to drive round the track they would be OK.. there is nothing wrong with taking a step backwards to come forwards, i know when i started racing, silvercan motors were what i started with & even when i switched to 19t motors i would still drop in a silvercan every now & then if i needed to as the trick with RC is not to go fast, but to be consistent.. you could run with a silvercan & not hit anything & keep out of people's way as they pass you, but still end up doing well because those that are quicker will make more mistakes. To give you some example there is a guy at club i know who races a basic Mardave on cells with Ansmann clash 21t or 23t silvercan type motors & usually finishes 1st or 2nd in the championship, simply because his car never needs to be marshalled & he never hits a barrier but to look at the car going round you would think it would be quicker to push it round. Likewise i remember running a TRF415 with a 19t Checkpoint motor at club one night & a guy who races regular (& to be honest is better than me at driving) came along with a near standard TT-01 with a 27t motor & wiped the floor with me, just because i was making more mistakes & he wasn't.

The Ansmann thrasher is a good motor to get you started, Etronix do a Sport tuned motor (with "Sport tuned" written in the exact same font as the Tamiya black can motor) which they do a 19t version of, these are probably as good as anything out there today. Another good motor & i used a couple of these myself are the Venom fireball motors.

You could look around on ebay or the RC sales places on forums etc & see if anyone is selling something like a 2nd hand Checkpoint money motor, a Peak Dynasty or a Reedy challenger which were probably the 3 best 19t motors out there that came along for 19t racing, however i would advise against buying 2nd hand & suggest you forget about it & go straight for a new one such as the Ansmann Launcher, the Etronix Sport tuned, Venom fireball or similar which are about half the cost or below of what the top motors cost 4 or 5 years ago so now fetch about the same price 2nd hand... when buying 2nd hand you never know what state they are in. I've seen someone buy a 19t motor 2nd hand off ebay & it ran but was a bit sloppy, on closer inspection the comm was shaped like a banana & had chunks missing out of the contact material so it couldn't even be lathed. Sometimes you can get get lucky & get one that has only had 1 run, but often these motors have been sat in a box somewhere or left to rot & end up on ebay etc when people are having a rid-out, so i'd always say go for something perhaps not as good, but fresh out of the box so you know there are no problems with worn comms, knackered brushes (you can replace brushes, but what is the point spending £5-£10 on a set of brushes for a dead 2nd hand motor when Ansmann Launchers cost £15 brand new), cracked magnets or rotor windings that are burning out etc etc which you can't see until you strip the motor & tinker about with it & often the more powerful 19t race motors fail because they haven't been run in before going in the car, so it's always a gamble if you drop on one that has been looked after & runs sweet or one that has been used by a complete ape that is only 1 run away from going into the bin.

[chrisbryan800]

Thanks for feedback...really was expecting a barrage of brushless and lipo's as the only way to go, so quite refreshing. I'll keep my eyes peeled for a 19t modified...quite like the idea of maintaining the motor too!

[qatmix]

I would back up what is said above. A silvercan and basic speedo is all you need to get started. I hated maintaing the motors etc so Brushless were a godsend, and obviously much cheaper in the long run.

I wouldnt suggest spending a lot of money on a brushed esc and motor though, it would make more sense to get a cheap brushless system.

Just have fun and enjoy racing. Onroad is still the best way to experience close racing in RC.

[SlowOne]

A big for Mad-Wolfie's post - spot on! I've recently watched young drivers at both club level and at the Clubman's trying to pedal a 13.5 boosted car and been amazed at their lack of skill, technique and finesse. Their cars are an uncontrolled crash waiting to happen, and you don't have to wait long!

I cannot think of any other sport or hobby where any competitor would dream of going straight in at the top. Even golfers start with a limited range of clubs in the bag on a simple course. They all practice and let their talent take them where they can go. There are some Formula Ford racers in their 40s and 50s who still race that class because they can do it, and don't rush off to buy a drive in F3 or Formula Renault.

Chris, I have a Corally Black 19T motor with spare brushes lying in my box that could do with a good home. It's in excellent condition, trued comm, etc. You will have to true it after every meeting as these things do eat brushes and comms if you're slack on maintenance. I would be delighted to think that someone is getting some use from it so, although this is probably not good form to give things away, if you're interested please PM me.

Having watched some excellent racing at the Bedworth Clubmans from drivers in the 17.5 blinky class, that's probably your next step up if the mood takes you. The best motor/speedo combination I saw was a Hobbywing Extreme Stock and a Reedy Sonic motor. That's less than £140 as a combo and it will be as fast as anything else.

I hope you enjoy your racing, as you certainly have the right attitude to it!