litlemac26

Just to let everyone know. It is a very inpressive ESC. Came off the track after 8 mins at 110degrees and very smooth. I have not even touched the settings yet. This is in my Jammin SCRT10 with the Ballistic 550 4.5turn motor. Turned some of my fastest laps ever and won by 3 laps.

ShortCourseOnly

I was just going to start a thread on this. I am looking at getting the Havoc Pro SC and wanted to get some feedback from the first wave of drivers. What I want to know is how does the new Dynamic Timing work out. It looks like it switches at a selected speed. Is it noticeable? Is there any jump in performance?

I'm glad to hear that it was better but what were you running before this? I have a Havoc Pro/HV4.5 in my Jammin SCRT10 now.

I have a Havoc Spec in my SC10 and want to get the timing advance for the stock class. In my area they allow it so all those Tekin and MMP guys are killing the long straights.

ShortCourseOnly

Are you saying it was better than your Tekin RS Pro?

litlemac26

It seemed to be alot smoother on the powerband than my Tekin. I also drive very hard so the heat on my RS Pro was always high. 6-7 lights all the time after a race. I never got a chance to do a 10min race with it and was scared i was going to fry it. The new ballistic motor is nice also because i can replace the parts that wear out.

ShortCourseOnly

I have done an extensive comparison on the Tekin RS, MMP, and Havoc Pro SC. What I have found is that the MMP seems to have much more flexibility than any of them. The key features I am looking for are; Timing Control, brake control, and throttle curve.

Timing Control: They all have timing advance with motor speed and the Tekin and MMP have a two point ramp that has various settings. The Havoc is a single point system which implies a timing switch and not a ramp but I am not sure. But what is really needed? I think the Novak application is OK for my needs. The Tekin Turbo feature is unique to thier RS system. Most people I know are not using it cause it is just too much. In stock racing I would be at 100% throttle all the time. For my Jammin SCRT I would not so maybe it would be a feature worth considering.

Brake Control: They all have the standard brake control for dead band and amount but they differ in the method they apply brakes. Castle has a significant control scheme. They include a brake curve with multiple points that you can shape the curve. With this you can control initial brake effort as well. Novak is standard Havoc design which has frequency control which limits current. The Tekin has the least amount of available knobs, no curve or EPA settings.

Throttle Control: If the Novak throttle frequency controls current then the Havoc Pro SC is very comparable to the Tekin. The 7 selectable throttle curves of the Tekin offer more options than the Havoc. The Castle Link software provides a means to shape the throttle curve. This is way more than either the Tekin or the Novak. While the Castle doesn't have start power control like the Tekin or Novak you can shape the throttle curve to provide the same function. I was very impressed with the Demo mode for Castle Link and if you know what you want the castle link should offer more than the others.

So based on only these areas I find the Castle Creations, Mamba Max Pro to be a better choice. But, like many people out there, cost, size and weight all play into our decisions. The Castle and Novak systems compare fairly close in price with $150 for the MMP+Castle Link software and $144 of the Novak Havoc Pro SC without the need for software. The Tekin is much more up over $200 with software. Then when you look at warranty support then your decision may shift as well. Other aspects are also related to what systems you have in all your cars.

Since I have Novak in both my race vehicles I may just stick with Novak and get the Havoc Pro SC. I have seen some details on the new Novak Kinetic that make me also want to wait for that one. It should cost about $200 without Novalink so it will compare in price with the Tekin systems. One big bennefit of the Castle is the throttle/Brake curves which I know the Kinetic will have.

I still want to understand the new Havoc Pro SC Dynamic Timing more to help me decide what I want to get.

litlemac26

I have had 2 MMP and both of them had to be sent off to fix the Sensor port. If you get the MMP make sure you secure the sensor cable close to the port so it does not damage it with all the bouncing around we do in SC racing. I like not having to connect my car to a computer. You can do all the adjusting on your bench in about 3 minutes.

ShortCourseOnly

I do like that about the Havoc. I am very interested in the throttle curves. So far I am leaned toward the Havoc Pro SC cause of the cost, weight, and service as long as the dynamic timing can get me the top speed I want in Stock 2wd SCT class. The Tekin and MMPs are way faster in the straights.

Do you have any experience with the dynamic timing feature? I think I will send a PM to Novaktwo or e-mail [email protected] on the function.

NovakTwo

I have subscribed to this thread. Although, I cannot answer technical questions, I can see to it that your questions concerning the Havoc Pro SC are addressed by Engineering/Tech Support and posted in this thread.

In addition to this new esc, our SC Systems including our Ballistic 550s are attractively priced. We will also be comboing this new HP/SC controller with our Ballistic 540 motors at some point.

NovakTwo

I'm bumping this thread to encourage those forum members with questions relating to our new Havoc Pro SC to post them here.

Amoeba

iTrader: (2)

I missed this thread the first time around before the bump but wanted to say thanks for a comprehensive and excellent write-up of your testing. Very well explained and closely matches my not-as-thorough testing and gut feeling experiences. If only more posts were like this

Amoeba

iTrader: (2)

NovakTwo: Is the Kinetic programmable-settings approach going to be the future for Novak products? I certainly hope so. I run Novak motors exclusively now but have dabbled in Tekin and Castle ESCs since the flexibility they offer allows for much finer-tuning options than the Novak products. I'm sticking with Castle for now because it has the tuning options I want that you don't currently offer aside from the Kinetic. However, my Novak SLYDR, HV, and other Novak speed controls have been absolutely bulletproof. That, and the slightly smaller sizes, would make me switch to all Novak again if the Kinetic programmable approach is where you'll be going moving forward.

-R2-

iTrader: (4)

Novak Havoc sc pro is stout with performance, I can say that the timing does make a difference in speed I only need to go to stage 3 in timing and see the difference, you don't need anymore than that. Shoot I would like to see this bad boy run in a tc sedan in 13.5 and blow some doors off. I remember when my favorite esc was the Temepst, now I have the N-H-SC-P it's a solid pc.

NovakTwo

Most of our nextgen escs will feature PC programmability. Just as we are replacing our earlier style BL motors with the Ballistic design, we will be replacing many of our older escs with these new options. Sometimes, it is necessary to continue certain products because they are speced into a series or for cost reasons.

Cain

iTrader: (285)

maybe this can be answered here since this is being used in a short course vehicle:

For the Ballistic 540 motors in 2wd SCT racing, what are you guys using for timing settings on the motor can, assuming a motor at 8.5T, 13.5T, and 17.5T ?

From what I understand the N setting is basically 30 degrees of timing, I have been retarding this based on some recommendations by 1 tick (5 degrees?) to keep temps reasonable and have a bit more torque in 2wd SCT.

Does anyone have a better recommendation?

I run this using Havoc 2S ESCs (13.5s prior, and soon 8.5T)

NovakTwo

If you need assistance, [email protected]