CCH1978

iTrader: (27)

HI GUYS...I RECENTLY BOUGHT A MO3-R AND LOVE IT TO DEATH. MY SETUP IS GREAT BUT I JUST DONT HAVE ENOUGH MOTOR TO RUN WITH SOME OF THE GUYS THAT HAVE BEEN DOING THIS FOR A WHILE, I HAVE HEARD THINGS ABOUT A ZAPPED MOTOR AMONG OTHER BREAK IN TIPS. WHAT I NEED TO KNOW NOW IS WHO CAN ZAP A MOTOR FOR ME AND WHAT ARE THE PROS AND CONS OF RUNNING A ZAPPED MOTOR.

THANKS IN ADVANCE

monkeyracing

iTrader: (10)

Zapping a motor is a bit of a misnomer. What you're actually zapping are the magnets. This requires that the motor by disassembled, and the motor can itself get's "zapped."

The problem there is that if you're running mini, you're running a spec class, using sealed motors. No modifications or alterations to the motor are allowed in this class.

If you're running with minis using non-sealed motors, then go for it, but don't expect huge improvement, unless your motor was tired in the first place.

Jim

#88driver

Zapping magnets is basically just like taking the car out and running the motor a while getting it broke in, only faster. this gives the motor shorter life. We had a guy who had someone zap a motor for him and his burnt up into smoke after 2 races

VenturaDC

iTrader: (32)

you have a PM

CarbonJoe

Once your brushed motor gets hot, the magnets tend to lose a little bit of their magnetism. Zapping the magnets can (in theory) restore some of the lost magnetism. It can make a tired motor feel almost as good as new.

Some of the faster guys around here will run brand new motors for 5 or 10 minutes out of the car with no load on them at 5 volts specifically to "heat cycle" them. They then zap them to restore the lost magnetism.

Contrary to what was posted above, it won't shorten the life of your motor. They get zapped as a bare can, with the armature, endbell, and brushes removed.

However, if someone that doesn't know what they are doing zaps them incorrectly, it can actually *weaken* the magnets. Think of the magnet used to magnetize screwdriver tips. You can also use it to remove the magnetism.

CCH1978

iTrader: (27)

WILL DO...THANKS FOR THE INFO

cannon

iTrader: (35)

You can zap sealed cans with the right brand zapper.

And if your zaper is smart they can be zapped slightly off centre which produces an effect like more timing .. means a fast motor but reduces the life

MOTHER FOCAR

who in the hell still runs brushed motors?

my gawd man it's 2008 buy a brushless system asap!

Bigshades

iTrader: (28)

Real racers still run brushed.

Lol!

Three

CCH1978:
Greetings and welcome to the world of "TCS race legal Minis". Most of the faster Minis in Memphis use either a Sid prepared motor or a "Doc" prepared silver can motor. If you like to try one, see me at the next MSRA electric race at Hobbytown (I'm the one with the red #3 Mini). I'll let you try a "Doc" prepared Red Dot motor.
From my dyno I show an increase of about 3-4,000 rpm with a prepared zapped motor. I have been using the same motor for about 4 months now without a decrease in performance.
And this is not an illegal mod as the motor is not taken apart.
PM me if you need more info.

Low_E

Three,

can you give some more info on how you prepare these silver-can motors?
I would like to try this myself.
Thx

Three

I don't prepare my motors (I'm too lazy). I just know the results.
The person who does my silver can motors uses the name rccardr on RCTech. You can usually find him on the Tamiya mini cooper thread. He could explain the process much better than me.

wingracer

iTrader: (24)

Just to confirm what a few others have stated.

With the right kind of zapper you can zap a sealed motor without tearing it apart.

Zapping should not shorten a motors life. In fact stronger magnets often run cooler.

rccardr

iTrader: (8)

Tuned motors (no matter how they are messed with) run faster, and faster means hotter unless you mess with the gearing which, on a Mini is pretty limited.

Although some of my customers prefer to run an 18 tooth pinion with their Red Dot motors for a little more punch out of the corners without losing any speed on the straights, we see very little temperature differential with the 18 tooth. And heat is indeed the enemy, because when the ceramic magnets in a Johnson motor get really hot, they lose some of their ability to hold magnetic force (gauss) and no amount of magnet enhancement technology will ever bring that back.

Best thing to do with a tuned motor in a Mini is to run a Novak 5 volt fan right off of the battery at 7.2 volts. It pushes a lot of air, lasts a season or two, and we just Shoo Goo 'em to the chassis right above the motor.

CCH1978

iTrader: (27)

YOU CAN ONLY RUN A SILVER CAN MOTOR IN THE MINI CLASS LEAGALLY!