Originally Posted by
Juglenaut
This is mostly true. However a lot (or mostly all) motors go into a different version per efficiency sake or durability reasons like thicker solder tabs which are heavier but then remove metal from where the screws are drilled and tapped or few other areas or updated standard rotor or some sale pitch like that.. second and third generation motors are top notch some gen 4 motors are there in this version designation due to rules like the trinity monster debate and the supposed winding issues..
Mod motors usually have adjustable timing.
And all of those tiny differences only mean something when there is a turn limit on the motor (spec racing). In mod, if the newest 8.5 is faster than your old 8.5 you can buy an old 6.5 and it will still be faster than the newest 8.5 because the power difference between a 6.5 and 8.5 is enough to overcome the tiny gains made between motor generations. Spec motor development drives the rest of the motor development, while the mod motors get the updates for continuity and ease of parts supply chain infrastructure.
Almost all sensored brushless motors have adjustable timing. Locked timing was something abandoned when stock racing switched from brushed to brushless. Locked timing motors are still used for some spec classes but ROAR rules allows adjustable motor timing on 17.5/13.5 classes.