Castle Sidewinder 8th experiences?

[GotNoRice]

My trusty old Mamba Max Pro in my Stampede 4x4 died recently and I'm trying to decide which ESC to replace it with. I'd like to stick with Castle just because I have the whole castle-link logging and programming routine down pretty well at this point.

The Mamba Max Pro was an older 6s ESC. I got it as part of combo with a Castle 1415 2400kv motor a long time ago and ran that in my original Stampede 4x4. When I converted the Stampede 4x4 into a larger Slash 4x4 Monster Truck, the Mamba Max Pro was out of it's league at that point and I put a Mamba Monster X and Castle 1515 2200kv (sensorless) into my Slash 4x4 Monster Truck instead. When I built another Stampede 4x4 using spare parts, I put the old Mamba Max Pro in there with a 2400kv 3674 motor and it's worked fine in that lighter truck for years now, even on 4s. The Mamba Max Pro only died because it took a big hit and the heatsink apparently came loose.

The reason why I'm considering the Sidewinder 8th is because it seems like you can get it for a reasonably good deal in a combo with a Sensored Castle 1515 2200kv motor (Even though the Sidewinder 8th esc itself does not support sensored operation). I would split the combo apart, use the Sidewinder 8th to replace the Mamba Max Pro and pair it with the 2400kv 3674 motor, and then put the sensored Castle 1515 2200kv in my Slash 4x4 Monster Truck, replacing the old sensorless version of that same motor that I already run in there. That would give me two upgrades in one, as I'd finally have a chance to run the Castle 1515 2200kv in sensored mode with my Mamba Monster X.

But if the Sidewinder 8th isn't a decent ESC, then that plan won't work. I could instead just get another Mamba Max X for my Stampede 4x4. Or maybe get a Cobra 8 for the Slash 4x4 MT and then move the Mamba Monster X to the Stampede 4x4. I've even seen the older Mamba Monster 2 for some tempting prices.

Any idea how the Sidewinder 8th compares against the older Mamba Max Pro? How much worse is the Sidewinder 8th compared to other 8th scale Castle ESCs like the Mamba Monster X, Mamba Monster 2, and Cobra 8? Again, this would be for a Stampede 4x4 (fairly small 1/10th scale truck) running 4s.

 

[Greywolf74]

My trusty old Mamba Max Pro in my Stampede 4x4 died recently and I'm trying to decide which ESC to replace it with. I'd like to stick with Castle just because I have the whole castle-link logging and programming routine down pretty well at this point.

The Mamba Max Pro was an older 6s ESC. I got it as part of combo with a Castle 1415 2400kv motor a long time ago and ran that in my original Stampede 4x4. When I converted the Stampede 4x4 into a larger Slash 4x4 Monster Truck, the Mamba Max Pro was out of it's league at that point and I put a Mamba Monster X and Castle 1515 2200kv (sensorless) into my Slash 4x4 Monster Truck instead. When I built another Stampede 4x4 using spare parts, I put the old Mamba Max Pro in there with a 2400kv 3674 motor and it's worked fine in that lighter truck for years now, even on 4s. The Mamba Max Pro only died because it took a big hit and the heatsink apparently came loose.

The reason why I'm considering the Sidewinder 8th is because it seems like you can get it for a reasonably good deal in a combo with a Sensored Castle 1515 2200kv motor (Even though the Sidewinder 8th esc itself does not support sensored operation). I would split the combo apart, use the Sidewinder 8th to replace the Mamba Max Pro and pair it with the 2400kv 3674 motor, and then put the sensored Castle 1515 2200kv in my Slash 4x4 Monster Truck, replacing the old sensorless version of that same motor that I already run in there. That would give me two upgrades in one, as I'd finally have a chance to run the Castle 1515 2200kv in sensored mode with my Mamba Monster X.

But if the Sidewinder 8th isn't a decent ESC, then that plan won't work. I could instead just get another Mamba Max X for my Stampede 4x4. Or maybe get a Cobra 8 for the Slash 4x4 MT and then move the Mamba Monster X to the Stampede 4x4. I've even seen the older Mamba Monster 2 for some tempting prices.

Any idea how the Sidewinder 8th compares against the older Mamba Max Pro? How much worse is the Sidewinder 8th compared to other 8th scale Castle ESCs like the Mamba Monster X, Mamba Monster 2, and Cobra 8? Again, this would be for a Stampede 4x4 (fairly small 1/10th scale truck) running 4s.

The CC Cobra 10 (CCC10) is essentially the replacement for the MMP. Its specs are virtually the same and is even about the same size as the MMP. It's also $50 more than the Sidewinder 8 (S8).

The S8 is more capable than the CCC10 in terms of the amount of power it can handle but the S8 lacks sensored mode, comes with a fixed 5.5V BEC (CCC10 is adjustable between 5.5V - 8V in .1V increments), and has a slightly larger footprint than the CCC10.

Personally if I were going to run an S8 in your situation I'd have to buy a standalone CC 10A BEC to run with the S8 which last I looked is an additional $25 so that price would put you within $25 of just buying the CCC10. That being said, if you don't care about running sensored, and the slightly larger footprint isn't an issue, then the S8 with standalone BEC would be a better option. Hope that helps.

 

[GotNoRice]

The CC Cobra 10 (CCC10) is essentially the replacement for the MMP. Its specs are virtually the same and is even about the same size as the MMP. It's also $50 more than the Sidewinder 8 (S8).

Yeah I've looked at some of the 1/10th scale ESCs including the Mamba X, which was the replacement for the Mamba Max Pro before the Cobra 10 was released. While the Mamba Max Pro was pretty reliable in the smaller Stampede 4x4, I'm not really dealing with any significant space constraints that would necessitate the smaller ESC and I'd rather have extra thermal headroom by going with an 8th scale ESC if possible. I originally got the Mamba Max Pro back in 2010-2011 or so as a replacment for the stock velineon system, back when I never ran more than 3S LiPo. Now I run 4S LiPo most of the time.

The S8 is more capable than the CCC10 in terms of the amount of power it can handle but the S8 lacks sensored mode, comes with a fixed 5.5V BEC (CCC10 is adjustable between 5.5V - 8V in .1V increments), and has a slightly larger footprint than the CCC10.

I'm not too concerned with sensored mode in the Stampede 4x4. I ended up snapping the shaft on the Castle 1415 2400kv (3670) motor that came with the Mamba Max Pro after a hard landing (right after they stopped selling the shaft/rotor replacement kits...). On a whim, I snagged a cheap 2400kv 3674 motor that someone had parted out of an 1/8th scale buggy, which was especially nice because it came with a massive pre-mounted heatsink that really does a great job keeping the temps down. That motor has worked so well for me since then that I'd like to keep it for a while, and it does not support sensored operation.

Personally if I were going to run an S8 in your situation I'd have to buy a standalone CC 10A BEC to run with the S8 which last I looked is an additional $25 so that price would put you within $25 of just buying the CCC10. That being said, if you don't care about running sensored, and the slightly larger footprint isn't an issue, then the S8 with standalone BEC would be a better option. Hope that helps.

The BEC issue is something that caught my eye. My plan if I go that route is to try it first, and if it's actually a problem, then go with an external BEC. I have an older Sidewinder 2 in my 2wd Rustler that also had an underpowered BEC, which caused some servo glitching. I added a ~$10 BEC and it fixed the issue, so it wouldn't be a big deal to do it again.

I guess i'm just leery about the fact that the Sidewinder 8th is a budget ESC. I know that if I end up hitting thermal shutdown using the Sidewinder 8th with the small Stampede 4x4, i'll for sure wish that I had held out for a Mamba Monster X or similar.

 

[Greywolf74]

I guess i'm just leery about the fact that the Sidewinder 8th is a budget ESC. I know that if I end up hitting thermal shutdown using the Sidewinder 8th with the small Stampede 4x4, i'll for sure wish that I had held out for a Mamba Monster X or similar.

As long as your gearing is reasonable, I wouldn't expect you to have any issues at all using the S8. It has higher power rating than an MMP and that worked fine until it got damaged right?

 

[GotNoRice]

As long as your gearing is reasonable, I wouldn't expect you to have any issues at all using the S8. It has higher power rating than an MMP and that worked fine until it got damaged right?

Yeah it mostly worked fine, although the fan had a habit of sucking up dead grass until it jammed. It definitely worked a lot better in the smaller Stampede 4x4 than the larger Slash 4x4 Monster Truck, but I could still hit thermal shutdown on a hot day (especially if the fan jammed).

The Stampede 4x4 is geared 17/54 which is pretty close to the lowest gearing that I can use with this motor in this chassis while still allowing the gears to mesh.