Hello,

I purchased a Traxxas E-Maxx back in May and put twin Velineon VXL-3s on it when the original brushed motors burnt out. I was very pleased with performance, but it has turned into a bit of a nightmare with the VXL-3s ESC's lately. One of them has been no problem, but the other had one of the bullet sockets come loose (which I then read and discovered "happens"). I tried soldering, but managed to burn it out. I acquired a replacement ESC and it no longer powers the motor after some water got inside it (which I then read up and discovered the "waterproof" claim is a bit iffy).

So really I wondered if the VXL-3s is not very good, or if it is user error (water not good?), or if it is something to do with buying them second-hand on eBay... As I am in the UK, I struggle to locate the VXL-3s and can't currently get another replacement. Is there another ESC I can use with the Velineon brushless motor, and would have to then change both ESC's?

I'm using 7-cell NIMH 4600mah batteries. I've not altered the gearing from new.

Any help/advice would be greatly appreciated. I've done a fair bit of googling, but it just gets me confused in the end

Thanks
Steve

Well you could buy a mamba max or mamba max pro ESC. My advice is to sell what you have on ebay and buy a mamba monster ESC and a 2200 neu castle motor.

get that combo with somme good lipos and you will be set for a long time

Velineon is bottom of the barrel electronics. They come with the RTR kits because they dont cost that much, and are kind of cheap especially when compared to the aftermarket.

I would suggest buying a HV system, like the Mamba Max, or the Tekin RX8. You will have one esc and one motor, just larger. It will have more power, cost less, and is better in the long run.

Sell your motors on ebay to offset the cost.

The problem with buying used Velineon's on ebay, is that your buying lower end electronics, that some one else has already used and decided it needed to be replaced in there truck or buggy.

Look at the new BL eMaxx on the Traxxas site. Im sure it will help.

A dual brushless setup is mostly bling and or novelty. A single motor/esc weighs less, is less complicated and is def faster. You need to decide if you're going to stick with a dual. If thats the way you decide, then just get another VXL, but consider buying new and staying away from trouble.

The Castle 2200 Combo is a proven setup in the Emaxx (brushless Emaxx uses that setup) so consider going that way if you decide to simplify. You couls sell your working VXL and put it towards the 2200 setup.

i would just buy a mamba monster 2200kv

also for durablitly get aluminum bulkheads

How can you compare, the VXL to a RX8 or MMM. The VXL is a 1/10th scale system it's in the same category as a Mamba Max or Tekin RX/RX Pro, but the Tekin are made for racing not bashing.

Compareing the the VXL to the MM I would get the VXL for bashing since its the motor has more torque than any other 540 BL I've ever ran and you can gear it to the sky.

For your E-maxx though I'd run the Mamba Monster Max in either 2200/4s or 2000/6s. It's a great combo and almost half the price of the RX8. It's also the same system that Traxxas and HPI are putting in their RTR MT's.

Thanks for the replies. So you're saying that Castle Monster Mamba Max with 2200KV motor will perform at similar or better torque/speed (modelsport.co.uk/?CallFunction=ShowSpecification&ItemID=32310) than twin velineon? The only problem is, the Castle Creations ESC doesn't seem to be waterproof, so this would render the E-Maxx dry use only?

I can get a brand new VXL-3s for £130, but then I could end up having to buy two if my other second-hand one breaks down as well.

I'm just a bit reluctant to give up wet running I guess. With all the torque coming from a single motor, would the stock spur gear be able to take it? I guess I need a Y-harness or something to run two 7-cell batteries in parallel also?

Sorry for being a bit slow, but I feel like I've probably made a mistake with the twin velineon and I want to get it right this time as I can't keep spending money on this lol.

Thanks

The CC 2200 powers the new brushless emaxx, E-revo brushless edition and the HPI Flux. All are single motor arrangements, and the spurs seem fine, never thought about it, but my Flux uses steel and the others prob do as well. I've had probs with my old 3906 Emaxx melting spurs using the twin Titans and had to upgrade to a steel spur to stop it. You'll prob have to upgrade to hardened pinion and steel spur to make it reliable.

The wet running could be an issue for a MMM combo - there are ways to "waterproof" one (search utube "waterproof mamba") look for the one done for Proline, its impressive - at the end he puts the esc in a glass of water while running the motor. It will kill the Castle warranty however.

I built a FLM Ext Emaxx that runs a CC 2200 combo and its as fast as I want it to go, but I'm running lipos or a123 packs. NiMhs have to be side-by-side construction and pretty good quality to run a MM combo.

Running a dual BL setup is a challenge, most I've seen do it quit after fighting probs for a while.

As Duster knows, I'm in the process of rebuilding my E-Maxx. I had just switched to a Mamba Monster ESC and was running it with my Hacker C50 motor, but turned out to be too much juice for the motor. I was running a pair of 2s 5000 Mah Lipos as well.

While the motor did run, the Mamba Monster ESC was night and day better than what I had before. The truck was much much faster.

I have no doubt that a Castle Creations 2200 motor will be the bomb. I've just gotta save some money up first. I already have the steel spur gear, and can tell you that you really need the hardened steel pinion as well with this. Otherwise it eats the pinions in less than two battery runs.

ben

I was not comparing the two. I simply suggested that he replace his dual 1/10th scale motors, for a single 1/8th scale motor and esc. Thats all.

With the 1/8th motors you will need a hardened steel pinion, but you can get that when you buy your motor.

The single 1/8th motor will be more powerful and faster than the dual motors that you currenlty have.

The only system that claims its waterproof is the Traxxas esc's, though you can see where thats getting you. (lol) No other esc is water proof, though you can do things to help sheild it from the water.

Though you dont want to get away from driving in the wet, you may want to reconsider. Electronics and water dont mix.

As for the harness, you can buy them for under $10, and I believe the pinions are around $12.

The best quality hardened pinions I've used are those made by Monster Mike at RC Monster and they're $10 -

http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...=5mmmod1pinion


I can understand your wanting to run in the wet. I'd never do it, but here to get into dry enough conditions to run it may be only a day or two wait, where you are, I suspect its a lot diff. You can make it happen and prob do a better job that what you were running. Lots over here have found 'waterproof' to only be water resistant.

I have a E-Revo and I'm putting a Castle Mamba monster combo in it, I'd highly recommend it. I've had friends who have waterproofed their Mambas http://forums.londonrc.com/showthread.php?t=33831 not sure if it works