200sxr

Not sure if this is the right forum to ask question about motor option but I feel this is the most appropriate.

For those racing stock / blinky class in my case 17.5t 4wd buggy my question to you is what motor do you run when you practice?

To be competitive in blinky you run the motor hard (ie aggressive can timing and geared aggressively) hence the motor gets hot! I know some people gear their buggy so that the motor is at it's thermo limit at the end of the race.

For practice we can run for much longer and if you keep the same setting as the race set up there is a good chance the motor will overheat.

Would it be wise to run a say 13.5t with less timing less aggressive gear oppose to 17.5t during practice so that I will get a similar speed / feel without having to worry about the motor cooking itself?

loaba

iTrader: (1)

I practice with the same rig that I race with.

heyscottn

Once the timing is set, I avoid changing it. I don't have the funds to push my motors to the limit, so I can't completely address your question. However, I would probably practice with the same motor with the throttle set to 90% or so. Another alternative would be to practice shorter sessions with frequent breaks. Or even alternate laps - 1 easy, 2 hard or something.

A different motor would have a completely different feel.

loaba

iTrader: (1)

Set a timer on your phone for 6 minutes or however long your club's mains are set for. Pull the car after that and let it rest. Also, when practicing, don't push the car as hard on race day. Take it easy and work on simply keeping the car wheels-down and running clean laps.

EbbTide

iTrader: (39)

I agree with Loaba. Set a timer so you know when you should come off the track. For practice I can do 10 minutes without hurting my motor because I am working on different corners and not going full bore as I would in a race or quali session. Only thing I suppose to worry about is if you use a rear motor setup and like to land on your rear-end often lol. Then maybe a cheap practice motor would be handy

racer1812

iTrader: (31)

Practice with what you plan to race. Other wise you're wasting your time.

ptracer13

Overthinking it a bit, have your motor tuned/set, add a fan, find the gearing that works for your scenario and have fun! So as long as your motor temps are in check you can sit out there for 10/15min if you'd like. It's said you practice fast and race slow.

buster8787

I thought spec classes were supposed to be cheaper to run. I guess running two motors blows that idea to hell.

gigaplex

iTrader: (2)

Yeah... spec classes usually aren't cheaper to run.

EbbTide

iTrader: (39)

For the average Joe, you don't need to spend a fortune in stock racing to do well. Just be consistent. I used to be competitive in sportsman 17.5 with a b4.1 that ran a cheap Speedo, a decent motor and almost zero lightweight parts. It was a cheap stock racer and it did really well for my driver level. It's only at the higher levels where the whole motor of the month, cut gears, titanium everything, starts driving people crazy and broke lol.

slodsm

iTrader: (33)

Spec classes are always the most pricey. Now they're cheaper than they were 15 years ago though with brushed motors and matched cells. We spent a small fortune on motors, com lathes, brushes every couple of packs, matched cells from Pro Match and SMC charged at ridiculous rates.

Spec racing will always be a war between skill and wallet. Taking the rules as far as you can afford to so you can have the tiniest advantage.

And I love it, wayyyy more than mod.

loaba

iTrader: (1)

As long as we're talking mod vs spec... Friend in stock 17.5 was running more/faster laps than B-main mod. So, I dunno, more power is nice if you can use it?

tobyzhang

iTrader: (15)

practice with a detuned 13.5 is a great option, just mess with timing, gearing, and reduce punch on esc or use milder throttle curve on radio to achieve the feel.

jkaetz

iTrader: (1)

While I run on road blinky classes, I've never found a situation where my motor was faster by running it hotter. Typically I am faster if I turn down the timing or gearing and let the motor run cooler than trying to max everything out. With that, I practice with the same gearing and timing that I race with.

jbrow1

iTrader: (28)

My question for the original poster is this: when you talk practice do you mean you show up early on race day and practice, or do you have the ability to practice on a track during the week? Some good info in this short thread, and some that I disagree with also.

OP, do you race often? PM me a pic of you next race finish, laptimes is what I'm looking for.. Yours and the person who won, or all, doesn't matter. I will put it into a spreadsheet and break it down to consistency and deviation between laps. That takes away any excuses, and lets you contemplate on how to actually improve. I can tell you it's not $ that's going to help. It can, but time will help more. And making that time useful and efficient helps the most. We all have a ceiling we can reach, but many never do b/c the mantra "slower is faster" is just a mantra talked about by many, but not often understood.