Tekin vs. Hobbywing
 

I need to replace an esc. can get a new RSX for only $135 as a trade in/repair, or a new hobbywing stock spec v3.1 or used/like new v3.1 120 amp for the same price. I will be running stick and mod.

Looking for some honest, objective opinions between the two. No fanboys please. All I seem to hear is Tekin fans ripping hobbywing for being cheap chinese crap with no service. Or hobbywing fanboys saying Tekin is absolute junk, always blows up on track etc.

I'm sure there are honest opinions about the differences in the 2 which relating to differences in feel, performance, driving style, etc. This would help me make my decision. I hope I can get some feedback.

Thx

I run Hobbywing exclusively. I race 1/10 and 1/12 on-road, 1/10th off-road and 1/8th off-road.

I have seen too many Tekins fail. Although I have also seen a lot of Tekins replaced by Tekin no questions asked. Including a few that have been hooked up incorrectly. That says a lot about customer service of Tekin.

I personally have had one Hobbywing replaced under warranty, no questions asked. I have never had one fail that was not through fault of my own. Mostly Justock ESCs being hooked up backwards and one being overloaded with a 4 pole motor.

The choice is yours. But IMHO most of the times you can buy 2 Hobbywings at the same or similar price of one Tekin. I would rather have a spare on hand at all times.

Its no secret that Hobbywing manufactures for a lot of other companies. You don't see people bashing them companies do you? I like to call them Hobbywing haters.

Really.... I have seen everything blow up at the track. HW, Tekin, Orion, LRP...it happens. Electronics, no matter how well they are built or by who, will fail. Whether its tomorrow or next year. I have had a 1 month old one die at the track, but I also have a 6 year old one I run every weekend. What I see that causes failures more often is people soldering on them a lot ( Why, I don't know:weird:) or lack of padding ( thin tape). I soldered mine once and ran a double layer of thick foam tape and have not have any problems. Maybe Im just lucky:sneaky:


But here is a better question for you.... Why HW or Tekin only? There are other companies that are just as good as those 2.


I have used both and can say that they are both pretty equal. But most ESC's ( top of the line anyway) are all so close to each other in performance that its hard to say one is "better" than the other. So besides performance, I would look at something where you can get some support. Either at the track from others, or thru the company. And something that's easy to adjust. Some are "not as easy" as others. I like to keep things as simple as possible.


Good luck.

I used to be all Tekin myself until the RX8 v2 came along. 5 blown up escs later I thought nah....

I've now been using Hobbywing exclusively for the last 2 years in all my cars from Modified TC to 1/8 buggy and all have been bullet proof. I haven't had one piece of HW kit fail on me. Not one. HW have just released their new 1/10 speedo the XR10 Pro which is an incredible piece of kit and is all HW proprietary unlike most other escs on the market. It's predecessor the v3.1 is also a cracking speedo - it has never failed me no matter what I threw at it!

Re
 

The reason for the choice between Hw and Tekin is that 1 track services Tekin and another HW. They are equidistant. Confusing as they both share similar disdain for either HW or Tekin. I've only personally witnessed people with issues with the RSX. I've got a dud bought online here but couldn't confirm if it was the installer, the esc, or the seller that did he damage. I have the option of getting a new/refurb for $135. For an expensive esc, it's a good deal. But, if the HW is more reliable with just as good performance I may go that route also.



One

I used to be very Tekin loyal and it was all I ran, but after having issues with 3 ESCs, I'm done with Tekin. I now run only Orca and Hobbywing. I've gotten rid of most of my Tekins but still have a few left to sell.

People talk about Tekin support but honestly, if they made a more reliable product, you wouldn't have to deal with sending crap in and getting your credit card instantly charged. I've had no issues with any other ESC manufacturer so it is not user error. Seen too many RX8s go up in flames too, all experienced users. As for online support, you have Angelo who is just as good as Randy from Tekin. Angelo is quick to answer any emails you have about settings or troubleshooting.

Ok, performance wise? I was incredibly impressed with my $50 Hobbywing Justock that I went out to replace all my Tekin RS ESCs which I paid $120 each for. More smoother and linear power delivery. The V3.1 was even better.

Now, supposedly the Gen 2 of the RS, RSX, and RX8 version are much better, but the damage has been done. Tekin has lost a customer.

Re
 

Clarification: if I send in one of my Tekins for repair they will not notify me of the charges before charging and starting the repair? EX: or, I send in my rsx with an error code, they can just charge $135 automatically and send me a full price refurb without quoting? That can't be true and is a strange business practice

From the 3 ESCs I have sent, they had not once contacted me on the issue. I doubt they looked into it or bothered with repairing it. They just charged my card and sent me a new unit.

With the prices they are charging for replacement, it does not make financial sense to actually investigate and fix the product. It is easier for them to charge your card and replace it with a new unit since you are offsetting the cost either way. This is the Tekin business practice. I'm not sure how other companies do things since I haven't had any other ESC failures yet from my other brands.

Re
 

Interesting. The business model is almost like a subscription business. Guess if I'm already with Tekin I have to decide if I'll continue using them forever for steep discounts.

QUOTE=Dan;14505967]From the 3 ESCs I have sent, they had not once contacted me on the issue. I doubt they looked into it or bothered with repairing it. They just charged my card and sent me a new unit.

With the prices they are charging for replacement, it does not make financial sense to actually investigate and fix the product. It is easier for them to charge your card and replace it with a new unit since you are offsetting the cost either way. This is the Tekin business practice. I'm not sure how other companies do things since I haven't had any other ESC failures yet from my other brands.[/QUOTE]

HW all the way, try one and you will see why for yourself

Per the service form, when you send in a damaged product, include your credit card information and don't claim it is under warranty, you authorize a charge to your card in the amount specified under the replacement pricing. It's been that way for quite some time now and lets us turn service around as fast as we possibly can.

We look into everything that comes through our service department, determine what may have caused the failure, determine whether or not it can be fixed and take the appropriate actions necessary to get the customer a replacement as quickly as possible. We then take that failure into account when working on software updates and new products because we don't like seeing our products fail any more than our customers do. We are all RC enthusiasts here and failures get a little personal because this is what we do every single day. We strive to provide the best products we can for our customers and back up any failures with superb customer service and provide assistance wherever needed.

Re
 

Thanks for the clarification. There are many loyal Tekin fans at the track who speak of great service

Yea and where are all the HW reps on this forum. Great job Tekin love your products. I have only had 1 speed control fail and that was because I plugged the battery in backwards. Still have my old Tekin G-10 pro and it served me well for years until brushless came out and HW was still wearing diapers

Re
 

In all fairness, in the longrun Tekins are going to be less expensive after the 1st initial buy. Hobbywings are no longer priced as that low with the justock exception

I have used a variety of ESCs from Tekin, Viper, Hobbywing, Castle, Speed Passion, Novak, etc. same with the motors in both 1/8 and 1/10 classes.

For the topic being discussed, my opinion is based on my experiences just like others, so bear that in mind.

I have had a Tekin ESC fail on me, an RX8 Gen 1 that after a jump just died. Tekin replaced it no prob. Few other Tekins I used I had no issues but know people who did, pretty much like other brands. But customer service was always good.

For Hobbywing, I have had one esc pop on me. the V3.1 SS died 3 laps in on its maiden voyage. Bought it new so no worries, I do the RMA stuff and send it in.

Well, I find out after that HW has a policy that you pay to ship it to them, and then to ship it back to yourself. It wasn't something I could easily find on there usa sight, it was on the chinese one and the hobbywing support person was not helpful in finding it either.

Next, they tell you in the RMA two different types of instructions on how to do your return, one says send just the esc, other says send the esc and connectors (this section is "sectioned" off as the "official instructions") so I send the esc like that.

They later tell me that they won't send out the connectors, and come across as saying basically I don't know how to read even though the instructions say two different things. They also made it sound like the damage was my fault, or at least, they prepped themselves for any other issues like that by replacing the unit but not being willing to cover another faulty one for that reason. Now, mind you, I spoke with someone in the industry on general ESC failure issues and what I experienced is exactly what he would have expected to occur if there was a problem with the ESC, 3 laps, and bam, dead. On top of that, talking to another driver at the track he had been hearing that a variety of people he knows had the same issue with the particular model of esc, like a bad batch or something.

So after all that, to be honest I was looking strongly into changing over all my gear to hobbywing as to be fair the performance of the gear is great, and in general has been quite reliable. But to me to buy something new, I expect your customer service to be there, as if its not, why would I buy new in the first place?

So for the treatment I got and the cost of a $6 connector set, they lost out on about $500 or so of ESC and motor purchases.

Does this mean their gear is not good, nope. I have 2 of the 1/10 escs powering vehicles right now, and there HW 3656SD "545" sized motor is probably one of the best out there for 1/10 4wd SCT racing. However, I can't really honestly say buy the gear new if customer service matters to you based on my experiences. Just the nature of things. used however, yeah, i'd be open to it for sure.

Right now, I am waiting to see what maclan does here going forward. My past experiences with them as "Viper" were really good, so curious what they have coming next.

Lastly, one thing to also consider is if a company feels they are the best, they really should back their product with the best warranty. I would think that a company who feels there stuff is that good should be more confident in their stuff than say 90 or 120 days, but thats just my hang up.