Chris_McLaren

Hey Guys, a newbie here. So I've been racing RCs for a little while now, and I'm looking to replace the 540 in the back of my Tamiya F104 chassis. I'm currently running the stock 540, with Tamiya Finespec No. 53 running gear, and standard pinion and spur gear (17T and 63T respectively). I'm looking at a Tamiya Sport Tuned or Torque Tuned motor, but I want to know whether I'll need to change my pinion and spur gear and/or my Finespec running gear. I don't want to spend money on a new engine only to find out that its incompatible. Any help would be greatly appreciated.

eR1c

iTrader: (2)

I don't have that particular car, however all 540 sized motors are compatible in size, you can swap one brushed motor for another. In your case you should be fine w/o any change to the gearing. (If you go from that brushed 540 to a brushless you may have to change the ESC). -but doesn't sound like that is your intention.

the rc guy

yes 540 motors are similar in size. beware they are not the same in turns,, I race and still race many classes with brushed motor and fdr or spur to pinion ratio is very important. sounds like the stock motor might have been a 19t and mod will be less but have more rpms to offer so.. make sure on a few short tests what the temps are .and gear accordingly..if new motor is 15 turns then you will have to gear down in pinion size...

jgil089

Just checking, you mean the stock 540 silvercan that Tamiya supply in many kits right? And their Sport Tuned motor.
You should be fine without any changes. The silvercan is 27T, the Sport Tuned is (I believe) 27T with advanced timing to give more rpm. Some people say the Sport Tuned is 23 turns. Either way, I haven't seen a Tamiya ESC which the Sport tuned isn't in spec for.
As for gearing, just check the temps but I doubt you'll have issues just swapping the motor over. If it gets hot then drop a pinion size, but from what I know the sport tuned shouldn't have any problems.

I haven't run a sport tuned in many years but from memory its a nice upgrade over the stock silvercan. Showing my age here but that was the first upgrade to my original Boomerang in the early 90s

sosidge

A couple of bad answers in this thread... obviously there is a desire to be helpful, but if you don't know the answer you can end up being the opposite of helpful

jgil089 has got it right.

Sport Tuned is 23 turn, Torque Tuned is 25 turn, kit motor is 27 turn. The difference between them is not so great, not enough that you must change gearing, although motors always benefit from careful gearing to get the most out of them.

All Tamiya ESCs will handle the Sport Tuned motor.