ESC Testing and Comparisons
 

I'm not sure if you all seen my latest video. I am working on testing and comparing ESC's. Before I do, I need to put together some notes on what all you racers look for in an ESC. I will only be testing the stock class ESC's because, I have to limit the testing due to available funds. So you are all aware, I only have basic knowledge of ESC programming, So, I will keep the testing simple.

Here's what I want to test and need to know:

• Top Speed with a load
• Acceleration to top speed with a load
• What adjustments need an external programmer vs what can be programmed at the ESC.

If there is anything else you would like to see, let me know. It will be a month, or two, before I start. I'm working with WMH Racing on the equipment I will use for this project.

It's a noble idea but I think it may be a waste of your time and money. If the criteria for determining if an ESC is good or bad is how much power the motor it's hooked up to makes, they are all the same.

The reason they are all the same is two factors. First, they all have near-zero internal resistance, the second is that at full throttle an ESC is effectively an analog system, there is no drive frequency to consider, when the sensor says the motor is at the correct angle, it energizes the winding, then when it clicks over the next 120 degrees it clicks off. Things like drive frequency are part-throttle only.

You can select an ESC based on other features, or a higher capacity one if you want to race modified.

Max amp BEC? Just some variable load on it and a scope/voltmeter to see when the voltage becomes unstable.

This is my theory on ESC's as well, and the reason why I haven't been too anxious on getting into it. However, there are still way too many people claiming one ESC is faster than another and/or one ESC is too old to be competitive. It's exactly why I got into testing motors, but I know motors are all differently built.

goes back to what I l’ve mentioned previously. 90% of the racers locally dont know what benefits a tuned motor or esc settings actually do. Load or no load on a motor on the bench wont help if the actual gearing at the track is off. At best a racer will gear up one or gear down one and say it feels better one way and really not know why. Too many variables in esc settings to perform a which is better comparison IMO. Over the last year or so I’ve played with both Hobbywing and Tekin and I like them both but I feel I get much more useable info from the Tekin datalog that helps me fine tine the motor timing and gearing. I definitely need to be at the track the same time as you and observe your process and learn something new myself ………TICK, TICK, BOOM

I'd be interested to know the brake strength. Top speed is unlikely to be a factor.

Maybe interesting regarding the ETS rules, how well is the RPM limiter?

As I started to drive clubraces with FWD I did follow the club rules to get my electronics. Later it became clear the club rules were a bit outdated. I bought an HW juststock G2 while at the moment the G3 is used. I thought I was fooled but then some people said the G2 runs just a little bit more RPM giving a 1 to 2km more top speed so I was lucky.

I think it would be great to know which ESCs can be programmed without an external programmer, and what settings can be adjusted with and without one. It’s not the easiest info to find.

That should be in the instruction manuals which can be downloaded. It doesn't make a lot of sense to purchase a bunch of ESCs to check that part out.

The biggest difference I felt between various ESC was when running partial throttle. At the same frequency, some feel a little punchier and others feel a little smoother. Never felt a difference in top speed per see, but I think that in stock, an ESC with more punch at partial throttle helps to get out of the corner and navigate through technical sections quicker. I can definitely see that in mod, you would want more smoothness to help with throttle control. Now, I'm pretty sure that pretty much all high end ESC can be tuned and will end up pretty much equivalent.

Martin Paradis

I do believe that just about all ESC's will work the same if they are programmed properly. I also believe that the moto used will greatly affect the brakes. I have seen this by swapping motors on my buggy to test this. I found a torquier motor had stronger brakes.

I'm curious about this. In my very limited experience, one seems to have quite a bit more punch than the other. Speed is the same but I'm curious about time to target w/load

Can you check the accuracy of zero timing (blinky) and timing setting?

At this point, I cannot. I never thought of that, but maybe I should.

In case of blinky some degrees off in the positive direction could explain why some ESC's are more popular than others.

I fee that's overrated in stock. If you're at partial throttle and feel like you need more, pull more throttle.

Being some degrees off in the positive direction would fail ROAR testing.

Gigga is correct on this. In order to meet ROAR regulations, the ESC's have to be set to zero degrees.

Yes, as the blinky code should say that it is in zero degree timing but how accurate zero is it?

The ROAR testing equipment ensures it's accurate.

Interesting, how is ROAR testing this?
Is it with a same setup as used on the worlds many years ago with the use of a scope?

So far I have seen over here only the blinky code is checked and with RPM limiter ESC's there are different blinky codes.

I'm not referring to scrutineering at events. To get put on the approval list the manufacturer has to send samples. I'm not sure the specific equipment they use but I believe oscilloscopes are involved.

I'm sure they have some pretty cool tools to check this stuff. I wish I had the knowledge to create these types of gadgets.

It's not so much the speed as how quickly it reaccelerates when you get back on the throttle. It may be completely imaginary but it's something I felt going from one ESC to another. Same motor, same battery, same gear. Basically, what happened is I plugged my ESC backwards, had to replace it with another brand. Set the new one as close as I could with what I had on the old one. The new one wasn't faster in top speed, but the car definitely accelerated quicker out of the corner. And it wasn't because the ESC I smoked was old, I had only 2-3 races on it.

Again, you may have had different experiences, but that's what I meant by being punchier.

Martin Paradis

I can't lay my hands on it (there's a ROAR document on this) right now, but I have the recollection that there is an upper limit for the time the motor phase must fire after the sensor is tripped. I think it's 8 microseconds. Zero tolerance (pardon the pun) for firing early. Testing is done with an oscilloscope.

I have tinkered with a field-usable tool for doing this, but too many distractions...

Hoping you can squeeze an elceram g2 oxide into the budget, mean’t to be smoothest on the roar scope

I would like to know if the Low IR claims for esc’s are real or a marketing gimick.Tekin RS black edition and Hobbywing X come to mind. I don’t think you need to compare all the esc’s but compare justock and Cayote crest 60/80 amp esc against their top dollar sibling.

Measuring that would take some rather specialist equipment, we're talking microohms. Most brands don't even bother advertising that spec anymore, I can't find it on Hobbywing at least.

If you know what FET's are used and how many parallel you can determine it by the datasheet. You can be pretty sure this is how the ESC spec is determined.

That's another thing you can do with internet researching instead of buying a bunch to test.

I want to take them apart and review the components used. However, doing so will void the warranty and make it really hard to resell.

I tested 3 different ESC with the same motor on my Minipro dyno. One was an entry level Hobbywing, next was a Hobbywing Pro and finally a off brand ESC. They all produced the same acceleration curve. As was mentioned, acceleration doesn't really test anything on a modern ESC that can be compared. Braking is probably one thing you could test.

I think when someone say their new high priced ESC performs better, it's because they just spent a bunch of money and they want to believe it made a difference.

The differences between ESCs are in programming options and as an individual knowing what settings to change.

People are probably asking you to test different ESCs in hopes you'll find something that will give them an advantage. If such an advantage existed, every racer would use that ESC unless they were forced otherwise by sponsorship.

Yea...
I'm not expecting to find a big difference in ESC's, like there are in motors. I'm guessing my testing will only last for a few tests every other year. I would like to test the brakes, but I will need a flywheel, which is something I'm working on. The biggest reason for the tests is show if there is a difference at all. I see way too many people claiming one brand is faster than the other.

. Trophies

At the end it is all about the whole package.
The best car is nice to have but it is still te driver who needs to find the for him best working setup. And that counts for all parts like tires, battery, ESC, motor and most important the driving skills of the driver.
And then you have fanboys.... The reason why "what is the best" questions will not give the perfect answer. That is why I love where the ETS has become today with one ESC/motor combo, an RPM limiter and handout tires determined by the organiser to make it as best as equal possible.

friend attended an other country esc and motor controlled (hand-out) race, a foreign x-ray sponsored driver complained his car was being out placed in the main srtaight when they were coming out from the main straight and seems that was not possible by skills/car handling. everyone was surprised at site.
a moment later after the complaint/callout, the local sponsored (hand-out brand) driver ran with a "slower" motor as others,......

Trophies only show that equipment as being capable of winning a race. For example, if one brand was better than all other brands, then that brand would lead, and win, every race with no other brand ahead or between them. However, this is not the case. Also, when you compare sponsored racers to regular racers, then that isn't a good comparison. Sponsored racers get the top motors while the average sportsman gets the basic over-the=counter version of that motor.

this is not the case so much these days depending on manufacturers.

With gas racing it is pretty normal the factory drivers get the faster engines you can not buy in the shops, sometimes they even get the better pistons.

I can imagine the teamdrivers do get the better motors with maybe precise handwound stators, better strength/balanced rotors and ESC's with better spec FET's

This is mainly only the case with these companies that offer their tier structure when it comes to motors. Bronze, silver, gold type platforms mean you will sell poop to customers and charge a higher premium for motors that should be your standard. I’ve tested quite a few and been on teams when the cherry picking for team drivers were common practice. Take a companies lowest motor offered compared to their bells and whistles motor. 98% of the time the only difference is the rotor strength. Sensor phases arent better between the two.