Fantom Ion Works spec motors
 

So, I was checking out Fantom's spec motors with all of their options and selected magnets, and they sound pretty awesome, but are they really something that you can feel on the track? We all know that marginal improvements add up (rotor, bearings, stator, shimming, etc), but with a price tag of $168USD these are not cheap motors. Of course paying a bit extra for complete peace of mind could be worth it. The Ion v.5 has just been released and it would certainly be very interesting to try one out.

Thoughts on these hand picked motors from Fantom?

Short of trying to find the last second or two you'd need to win every week, it's hard to justify spending that much money for 1 motor. You'll find most of your gains from hard work directed towards learning chassis setup and driving techniques.

Could you notice a difference in power? Most likely, you would; however, if your chassis doesn't allow you to use that extra power, there's no real sense buying something you can't use.

Short answer probably yes. But the difference is small and it is somewhat track dependent.

I have been running Fantom motors for years and I love the idea that a motor can be built to a specific class/application. The motor has been tuned and overlooked so you know it will run good

I think the $168 motor he is talking about has ceramic bearings, been shimmed, and ran on the dyno. Here is my take on it. Ceramic bearings in TC would be very hard to notice, in 12th scale it may take less then a second off your entire run. Being shimmed is good, as it will allow the motor to be free usually, but something most racers can do themselves. The dyno testing will get you a print out, and to the average racer it won't mean anything. And finally, if you have trinity motors now with a rotor you like, it will work in the Ion5/D4.