viva-la-brushless!!

No. Don't worry about the ESC. Just make sure that you have calibrated everything so you are getting 100% throttle when you pull the trigger all the way.

-thanks, this is good to know.
going to focus on the motor.

KO VFS-1 Competition v3 is the speedo of choice for silver can mini racing, followed but the LRP Competition Quantum 3. Yes, speedo's will make a difference as you can adjust the frequency of power delivered to the motor. The frequency will make a significant difference in comm wear which will effect the overall power and longevity of the motor. Too high of a frequency will burn out / pit a comm. its not a bad idea to have some comm drops at the start of every main. Let us know what you motor is spinning on a dyno

sorry to throw a wrench into your concern… worry about the motor first! Get yourself access to a dyno and let us know what the motor is spinning at.

No. Too LOW a frequency will wear the comm faster, since the inductance of the motor won't smooth out the current for low fequencies. Almost any brushed ESC made in the last decade has an output frequency high enough to avoid this on a silvercan.

EDIT: The Slash ESC PWM frequency is 1.7kHz.

-Thanks Carl,

...yeah, since I have a few extra Silvercans laying around I am going to start there. -just see if what I have makes a difference (over the kit motor).

After that if no difference then i'll check out the ESC route and your suggestions. I'll let you know what I find (stay tuned)! -I may have an extra LRP esc, -just have to check if it is a quantum 3 (that sounds familiar though)

Thanks, Carl. All things considered, I'll probably stick with the stock diff and extra shims (3 per side) in my M03. It's reliable for 6 months at a stretch of racing twice a week. Even then it doesn't really need more than a cleaning. Besides, I'm finally going to focus on a single car this season and that's the 05 v2.

Trying to decide where to go with the M05 diff. Think I'll run the 3Racing with some heavy silicone and see where it goes. May look at the putty option later, depending on how stable the car is.

No, not 3 per side, two on one side and a single shim on the other, so three in total. I try a fourth shim (two and two) and it too tight plus the plastic side doesn't close down all the way without being warped. If the gearing is too tight, you may have to run the gears in a drill with some polish. Build the diff and put on side of the out drive in a cordless drill and spin at a slow speed while holding the gear. Once completed clean out the gears an pack with diff putty.

That's right I made a mistake. The KO allows one to adjust the frequency throughout the entire range of the throttle curve. I would always set the frequency very low for the low and mid section and only kick in high frequency at max throttle. A speedo without the adjustability and single level frequency throughout the throttle curve will pit the comm.

But then again it's a silver can motor and cost $12 to replace. Run the most power!

eR1c you have a PM

+1

Nope, I've been running 3 per side with a little a/w grease in the 03. It ends up feeling about the same as the 3Racing diff with 500,000 wt silicone in it, but you can't fit that to the 03, of course. I was curious about the putty, because I thought it might be possible to get about the same feel out of it. I'm not a huge fan of really locked up diffs. They're harder on tires and harder to drive.

Interesting stuff on "pitting" the comm. I've been very lucky to have never seen it. This is on a "stock" Silvercan. It could happen if the motor was abused for long periods of time. The drive frequency is moot from a practical standpoint as related to motor wear. Besides, buying a $160 KO, with a card and plugging it into your computer to adjust it ------?????? With that being said, that's what's in my cars, but for being able to adjust the drivability rather than anything else. The LRP Q3 is a good esc, but the Tekin is as good. The main problem with the LRP is that it's no longer available and can't be serviced. Also the cases had a tendency to come apart.

For comparison testing, using old motors complicates things quite a bit. There are different production "runs" of these motors and they vary. Some had hard brushes and others had a much softer brush. The current ones have a CS initialed on the brushes. These seem to be the most consistent and IMO the quickest in stock form. Also, the amount of brush wear can give you misleading info. Another factor is whether the motor was overheated or abused in any way.

You'll hear of many "old school" tricks to make these motors go faster, but most don't amount to much. Some even lead to more problems. Among these are breaking in the bushings, centering the comm to the magnets, etc. Fun to "play" with tho.