Originally Posted by PutAwayWet

Some have enquired after the 23t/13.5BL comparison. Well, I ran my new Brood Atlas 23t in the Wednesday night 13.5 class at our track. The track is 400+ feet, indoor carpet. Races are 8 minutes. For the first qual I geared pretty conservatively, 6.75 or so. I came off the track after 8 minutes at under 120 deg. so I lowered to a 6.5 for qual 2. Better. Against the 13.5's I was outmotored on the straight in the first qual, but in the second I was close enough to call it good. I don't want to abuse the motor too much. I'm happy to turn a comm or replace brushes, but I do want the arm to last awhile. I had no problem with battery capacity. I was running my 4500mah club night packs.

The main difference, in my opinion, is the feel of the motor. Brushless is well accepted at our track (Seattle Indoor Raceway), with most bypassing stock for 13.5. (Sintered rotors, of course. Bonded is history.) So I've run a Novak 13.5 a lot. But I've got to say, the brushed motor has a better throttle feel for me. With the 13.5 I feel a lot more on/off with the throttle. The 23t felt "fuller" I guess. Into turns with the 13.5 I think I'm completely off, enter turn, back on. With the 23t, it's more mixed. Maybe it's the natural drag brake. But I'm using the throttle range more. Plus, I think my MSXX was literally built for the 23t motor, it balances perfectly and lays down the power beautifully. I love the car again. LOVE IT.

I'm not interested in blowing everyone away with motor. (Not that I could, necessarily. Like most clubbies, I can always improve my driving line.) I could probably gear it for one run and dust off the 13.5's on the straights. But that's not the point. It's pretty much even now. I think the 23t is the actual brushed complement to the 13.5. Provided the at-any-cost-motor-tech-freak ethic isn't overly indulged.

So to sum up. 23t vs. 13.5BL. Even on power. Different on feel. Run them together. Feel the love. Share the land. Peace out.