Hello all,
I have some 12 gauge automotive wire in the garage can i use that to wire up my motor to my ESC, or do I have to get silicone wire.
I am mating a hobbbywing xerun 1900kv to a hobbywing g8 esc. FYI i havent soldered in at least 15 years so im a little rusty

Wire = wire, if it does not have to be very flexible then why not?

The electrical differences between different types of 12 gauge wire are not worth worrying about. The mechanical differences can be important if you need flexibility or smaller bend radius. The cosmetic differences are entirely to taste.

You can. It'll get hot though. Generally automotive 12g wire is only good for 25-30 amps.

The multistrand RC wire is good for 50-ish easy.

Can you explain more? If it is copper wire I can not imagine the one can stand more than the other with a same thickness. Also keep in mind if a wire is rated for 30A on a length of over a meter than it can withstand much more over the length of 10cm.

As stated, copper is copper. If it's copper clad aluminum, it will have less current capacity than copper wire of the same size. More strands = more flexible and a silicone jacket will also be more flexible than PVC, plus has the advantage of not melting near the solder points.

It's kinda hard to test with RC dischargers, since they conduct heat into the wires. But cheap 12g wire melted right off my discharger. Deans 12g holds fine.

Fine multistrand can carry more current. Generally its because its simply a better, more expensive wire with highet quality metal. I have no doubt of this as frequency increases.

Science can poo poo it. But in the field, the stranded stuff is noticeably better, unless low frequency DC.

Soooooooo, op here, you lost me at the attractive (cosmetic) Wire. WHat is the general consensus, automotive wire is ok to go from my motor to my ESC or put it back in the garage where it belongs. Do I just need to go out and buy silicone rc wire, 1/8 is way more expensive than 1/10

1/8 flexes a ton. Softer wire will be less wear and tear on the motor tabs, and esc posts.

Generally I use 14g on the motor and 12g to the battery.

12ga wire PCV insulator or Silicone, Solid or Stranded. They all do the same. Your anal enough to check by test equipment, go ahead!! Took me a couple projects to make the decision.

I'd probably solder it up before asking anything on the forum... but I am not a patient man.
Then order a meter of silicone wire for future endeavours.

Try out your soldering iron (and skill) on something else first. It's not that simple to get a good joint on big fat heat-soaking components.

Science doesn’t “poo poo it”. It is known as the “skin” effect.

The quick rundown. The higher the frequency of the power delivery, the more the electron flow rises to the surface of the conductor. Stranded wire of the same gauge has a larger surface area vs solid wire. More strands, more surface area, so it can mean higher current flow. This also means that stranded wire is thicker than solid wire of the same gauge due to air gaps between strands, since the same cross section is needed.

Now let’s examine how this applies to RC cars.
BLDC motor is kind of a misnomer, while the controllers in RC rely on DC power, the motors themselves are more like AC motors. I’m not going to go into specifics here, but the motors are powered via a 6 step commutation, which means current is constantly being turned off and on in the different phases of the motor. Suffice it to say, if your “stock” motor is running at 20,000rpm, your commutation frequency is around 2kHz. There is also PWM to consider at partial throttle, and there is also the consideration of grabbing a trigger full of throttle out of a 180.


To answer the OP, you’ll be fine using your automotive wire.

EDIT:
Sorry, 20,000rpm will equate to 666Hz in each phase.