What options are out there for racing with brushed motors? Something thats capable of like an 8 or 9 turn motor and maybe some tuning.

I remember I had some esc a few years ago that was brushed compatible but I cannot remember what it was. Hobbywings latest race escs dont list as brushed compatible.

If I have to stick with vintage ESCs I guess thats fine, it'll just limit how often I run them to even less frequently that I hoped.

American made Castle creations mamba x has tons of tuning options and data logging. A is positive and c is negative for brushed. Awsome esc I have used for many 1/10 and 1/8.
https://youtu.be/Zq7QCnpWpJA?si=gBBA4nEZVTwJtv23

The major downside with the Mamba X is that it's huge for a 1/10 ESC.

Its bigger. But the performance is probably worth it. I had it mounted in many 1/10 scale. Its only like two mm longer than xr10 with caps. Not sure any other esc comes close in performance? I think a awsome orange old novak and using expo on throttle/ break is maybe best and cool.

Tekin's brushless controllers can be used with brushed motors, Their RS Pro series are limited to 6 turn motors, while the RS series is limited to a 10 turn.

As above - Tekin is the only one I am aware of that currently still supports low turn brushed motors.
I use them for all my fastest brushed builds.
https://www.teamtekin.com/rspro.html

Oh yeah an RS pro sounds great, but its quite expensive.

The mamba is barely cheaper and its massive. Maybe its close in size to a HW with its capacitor, but thats only on paper. You can even see in your pic that the cap sits under the steering system, where the mamba would hit it.

Thanks for the suggestions. I'll keep it in mind once Im closer to running my vintage stuff.

What about the hobbywing 1080 g2. It’s listed as a crawler brushed esc but I know they are very popular for brushed racing touring cars. They also have a bunch of programming features and adjustable drag brake setting via this channel that can be changed on the fly.

I would second the Hobbywing 1080 G2, it has enough features to keep most racers happy. The Tekin brushless ESC can be converted to brushed but it more complex to setup.

Lastly do not waste money on the ISDT brushed ESC. While it may look good on paper, the ESC has some strange quirks, eg braking when you let go of the throttle when drag brake is disabled makes it useless for racing.

I noticed that the Furitek Python X is compatible with brushed motors. I have a couple of these in my crawlers paired with brushless inrunner and outrunner motors and love them. They’re one of the smaller escs, have a great bec, and can be tuned through Bluetooth on your phone while powered on. They’re usually $90 and I often see them on sale for about $20 less. Might be worth a look see.