The amperage rating is generally completely irrelevant to blinky classes, as they don't pull enough current to get close to those ratings.

Ok, if that's the case then again the questions posed by BP:

What is the opinion on this in 2024? Do you really get anything from a high end ESC when you only race in blinky mode?

Brake strength, tuning options like PWM etc can make a big difference to the feel even if it's not delivering more power. Current rating is pretty much the last thing on the list that matters for blinky.

​​​​​​So, basically the same answer as ~13 years ago.

PWM, everyone I know runs low (1k - 4k) and those settings are on stock spec ESCs. I agree on the brakes.

By "stock spec" do you mean the Hobbywing? That's a pro level ESC downsized for small footprint and weight. Their Justock range does not have PWM adjustments.

Actually, higher current ESCs generally tend to have mosfets with lower RDS on resistance and will parallel more of these on the pcb than lower amperage ESCs. For example the Hobbywing just stock uses a mosfet with an RDS on of 1.1mΩ. While the XR10 Pro G2 has mosfets with an RDS on of 0.6mΩ. When you combine theses in parallel you drop that resistance even more. Mind you, these resistances are at 25°C, as the mosfets heat up from that resistance, the values increase. Ultimately, a 160A ESC will have a lower RDS on because they have to be better at dealing with heat than the lower current ESCs. When it comes down to it, the limiting factor is how well the ESC deals with heat. Even the Just Stock esc has mosfets that are capable of well over the specified ESC rating. But it can't deal with high currents because it can't dissipate the heat generated by the high currents due to a higher RDS on resistance. So yes, there will be a difference in blinky going with a higher current ESC even though you will not hit the current limits. The question isn't is there a difference though. The question is whether or not you are a good enough driver to notice the difference, because it isn't going to be much. You know the saying, tap the board once and the advantage is gone...

As I stated in an earlier post it is an Orca stock spec totem which also can adjust the PWM.

Have you guys run multiple escs with the same motor back to back? Real world test instead of just going by the numbers and all speedos essentially having no resistance?
It’s been a couple years now, but I ran a tekin rs pro black escs with 13.5 spec r motors and they were significantly faster than when running the same motor with a different esc.
I ran the setup for a little over a year and could run “stock” and mod with the same motor/car. No timing, no boost, no adjusting the timing on the motor from how it came and the car was as fast as mod cars on a track where a mod motor made a big difference.
After a year there was a malfunction with the esc. It kept shutting off, some times it would flash indicate thermal and others would show Lipo cutoff. It happened a few times in the main and I got tired of it. Our mains were 8 minutes instead of 5 so heats/qualifiers were fine but the mains were a toss up. I decided I was going with a different esc so I tried a rsx with that motor and it was significantly slower. At the time I assumed there was a difference because the rsx probably didn’t have the same low resistance as the rs pro black because the black is marketed for spec racing. I picked up a xr10 pro and it felt the same as with the rsx. At this point I thought something happened with the motor and maybe it was pulling more power for some reason causing an issue with the esc. I threw the motor in with my other rs pro black and nope nothing wrong with the motor either. It was just as fast with the other rs pro black edition.
That motor and esc combo was super fast. I reached out to tekin about the esc and they recommended not running the esc with 13.5 because with 4wd it was a lot harder on it.
I’m not sure if it was just that esc and motor combo or if other motors would have been as fast because I only had tekin motors at the time, but that setup was fast and I’d like to have that feeling again.
Before I spend a few hundred on some new tekin stuff I figured I’d ask the group to see if anyone noticed something like this with a certain motor/esc combo.

I’ve been away from the hobby about as long as this thread has been. I was wondering if things have changed I decided to give the new Elceram ESC a try. Thanks for all the information guys👍🏻

Yes, I've tried a few ESCs. No speed difference.

Some of the ones I've tested:
Hobbywing Justock
Hobbywing Stock Spec
Hobbywing XR10 Pro G2 and G2S
Team Powers Radon v4 and v4.1
R1 Works Digital 3

I'm always sceptical when someone claims a blinky ESC is significantly faster. If it was, everyone would be running it and/or it'll be flagged by race control for scrutineering checks.

I’ve only noticed a difference in take-off delay. The justock one had a bunch, maybe a half second. The orca had a nearly no delay, both were set to the same neutral zone and around the same punch settings. I think the orca is just a little faster at picking up sensor position readings. That’s the biggest difference. Other things like weight and footprint are secondary thoughts. OTA changes are nice but not necessary. I kinda prefer using the set button since it’s all built in.

The older Justock punch setting seems to add a delay, did you try it at max punch?

be skeptical… try it though and see for yourself. I actually spoke with someone at the track and he said the same thing. He switched and everyone thought he got a new motor.

Here’s something else I noticed with my hobbywing stuff… I calibrate the esc at 100% brake and throttle. If I calibrate it at 100% and bump the epa to 110% it lets the motor run faster. Try it with your xr10 pro g2s. Calibrate it at 100% then run it at 100%. Pull over bump the epa up to 110% on your transmitter and see if it’s faster down the straight. It should never get faster if you go over 100% but it does.

Someone else try this too and tell me if you notice it or not.

Now I know you're talking placebos. Telemetry on the G2S proves the motor doesn't run faster. Once the LED on the ESC goes solid at full throttle, it's at 100% duty cycle. Giving it 110% input just means it hits full throttle earlier in the trigger range, acting like a throttle curve. The motor absolutely does not run faster.

Try it on the track and see what happens. 17.5 blinky calibrate it at 100 and then bump it up to 110. 1 you can hear the motor wind out more on the straight 2 Check your lap times. Then put a tekin rs pro black edition in with the same motor. You think I’m crazy, you think it’s a placebo effect, but do a real
world test and you’ll see.