Do shorter electrical connections from the motor to the ESC improve performance?

[Yankeedoodle30]

A R/C YouTuber video suggested moving the Shredder's ESC closer to the motor for improved performance, which would shorten the cables by ~4 inches. Would this 4 inches of less resistance make a significant difference in the speed or response of the motor?

 

[Heisenburg]

I have heard they do not. I actually move my ESC further from the motor on my HPE Rustlers. But shortening the battery to ESC cables does.

 

[tntpoof]

No that will do nothing to help performance.. but changing the 4mm cage to a more solid bullet will...
from this 1
https://www.hobbytown.com/protek-rc...rm=4584688614100666&utm_content=cars & trucks
to this 1
https://www.amainhobbies.com/castle...rm=4585513247924052&utm_content=Cars & Trucks

 

[AClegg]

I agree with all of the above. 13g wire is more than sufficient. Especially if you are running higher voltage. The higher the voltage, the smaller the wire recommended. You can tell if your gauge is too small if temp your wire after a long run. It the wire is about 5 degrees warmer than ambient, then you need to up your gauge. resistance generates heat. The biggest amp draw is acceleration. That's where a capacitor comes in handy. However, these little caps are more for show than go. They discharge at the blink of an eye, literally.

 

[Yankeedoodle30]

I agree with all of the above. 13g wire is more than sufficient. Especially if you are running higher voltage. The higher the voltage, the smaller the wire recommended. You can tell if your gauge is too small if temp your wire after a long run. It the wire is about 5 degrees warmer than ambient, then you need to up your gauge. resistance generates heat. The biggest amp draw is acceleration. That's where a capacitor comes in handy. However, these little caps are more for show than go. They discharge at the blink of an eye, literally.

You wrote, "The higher the voltage, the smaller the wire recommended." Is this what you meant to say, seems like you want a larger diameter wire for higher voltage, or were you talking about the gage of the wire, where a smaller gage means a bigger diameter wire?

 

[AClegg]

You wrote, "The higher the voltage, the smaller the wire recommended." Is this what you meant to say, seems like you want a larger diameter wire for higher voltage, or were you talking about the gage of the wire, where a smaller gage means a bigger diameter wire?

Nope. I was accurate. Current/amperage is the flow of electrons. Voltage is what pushes the current. look at it this way... Current is jelly and voltage is considered to be pounds of pressure. you can push more jelly through a 1" pipe with 12 pounds of pressure than with 4 pounds of pressure. To flow the same amount of jelly with 4 pounds, you will need a bigger pipe. Does that make any sense? This is how you can have the same gauge wire for on a 6s esc that is powering a 550 high performance motor. More voltage... same amperage.

Therefore, if you have 7.4v and you are drawing 40amps, you will need a bigger wire than if you had 14v and drawing the same amount of amperage. However, then you get into wattage which would actually be 40amps with 7.4 volts = 21amps with 14v. Class adjourned, so it is time to wake up and go play.

I am Master Certified in automotive electronics, which means nothing in the real world except I know that W=VA.

 

[D3MON]

Nope. I was accurate. Current/amperage is the flow of electrons. Voltage is what pushes the current. look at it this way... Current is jelly and voltage is considered to be pounds of pressure. you can push more jelly through a 1" pipe with 12 pounds of pressure than with 4 pounds of pressure. To flow the same amount of jelly with 4 pounds, you will need a bigger pipe. Does that make any sense? This is how you can have the same gauge wire for on a 6s esc that is powering a 550 high performance motor. More voltage... same amperage.

Therefore, if you have 7.4v and you are drawing 40amps, you will need a bigger wire than if you had 14v and drawing the same amount of amperage. However, then you get into wattage which would actually be 40amps with 7.4 volts = 21amps with 14v. Class adjourned, so it is time to wake up and go play.

I am Master Certified in automotive electronics, which means nothing in the real world except I know that W=VA.

i am curious though, i have some but relatively very little to no experience with electrical design and or engineering, would a larger gauge wire (within reason) negatively affect the amount of power to be transferred through high voltage, low Amperage circumstances through? or just recommended as an economical reason for that large of wire not being required, in effort to save room/cost.

 

[AClegg]

Too big of a wire can also have a negative affect. Nothing that you will ever notice or measure and nothing even close to having too small of a wire. It will cause your battery to drain faster because electrons will flow throughout the entire wire. Think of a drop of water. If you put two wires in a drop of water, you will see continuity between the two wires. If you put the ends of two wires in a pool, you will not read any continuity. Even if the wires are a millimeter away from each other.

 

[D3MON]

Too big of a wire can also have a negative affect. Nothing that you will ever notice or measure and nothing even close to having too small of a wire. It will cause your battery to drain faster because electrons will flow throughout the entire wire. Think of a drop of water. If you put two wires in a drop of water, you will see continuity between the two wires. If you put the ends of two wires in a pool, you will not read any continuity. Even if the wires are a millimeter away from each other.

I do understand that, I guess more or less my question would be if you were to use say 8 or 10 gauge wire instead of say 14gauge. I definitely understand for the extremes lol.

 

[AClegg]

If you go with a high strand, the more the better, and quality wire, you will be just fine with nothing bigger than a 13g. What are you running?

 

[Yankeedoodle30]

Nope. I was accurate. Current/amperage is the flow of electrons. Voltage is what pushes the current. look at it this way... Current is jelly and voltage is considered to be pounds of pressure. you can push more jelly through a 1" pipe with 12 pounds of pressure than with 4 pounds of pressure. To flow the same amount of jelly with 4 pounds, you will need a bigger pipe. Does that make any sense? This is how you can have the same gauge wire for on a 6s esc that is powering a 550 high performance motor. More voltage... same amperage.

Therefore, if you have 7.4v and you are drawing 40amps, you will need a bigger wire than if you had 14v and drawing the same amount of amperage. However, then you get into wattage which would actually be 40amps with 7.4 volts = 21amps with 14v. Class adjourned, so it is time to wake up and go play.

I am Master Certified in automotive electronics, which means nothing in the real world except I know that W=VA.

I wasn't sleeping, I was listening. Good analogy, now I understand the current/voltage relationship better - without throwing watts at me at the same time. Thanks.

 

[D3MON]

If you go with a high strand, the more the better, and quality wire, you will be just fine with nothing bigger than a 13g. What are you running?

more or less was just for the sake of knowing, and trying to understand it, i know a little, but just that, a little, on electrical components and wiring. typically just enough to get me in trouble lol.

 

[Arrmajunk]

I’m not an Electrician, but I can tell you I frizzle skinny wire on 3s like I have 10awg from the sac but I have changed my plugs I bought presoldered 14awg the plugs got melted . I’ve changed them and made an attempt to solder my plugs straight to the 10awg my speed improved a little and the plugs haven’t melted .

 

[AClegg]

I’m not an Electrician, but I can tell you I frizzle skinny wire on 3s like I have 10awg from the sac but I have changed my plugs I bought presoldered 14awg the plugs got melted . I’ve changed them and made an attempt to solder my plugs straight to the 10awg my speed improved a little and the plugs haven’t melted .

The plugs melted because there wasn't a good enough connection. when there is a poor connection, that causes resistance. Resistance causes heat. There was a large electronics firm that made a fuse holder that was known to melt but not blow the fuse. The I was talking to a company rep who told me about the issue. I told him what the problem was. He relayed it back to the engineers who slapped their foreheads because they couldn't believe they missed that. During manufacturing, the assemblers were not tightening down the cables good enough. therefore, they would get hot and melt the fuse holders. As a reward, all I got was T-shirt. My boss took the shirt down and had "I fixed a companies Million Dollar Problem and all I got was this T-shirt" put on it.

 

[Yankeedoodle30]

This unnamed company should have at least bought you your choice of a 1/5th scale R/C car, a state of the art transmitter, free Lipo batteries for life and a set of the finest R/C tools that money can buy. (Yeah, I know, dream on.)

 

[Arrmajunk]

The plugs melted because there wasn't a good enough connection. when there is a poor connection, that causes resistance. Resistance causes heat. There was a large electronics firm that made a fuse holder that was known to melt but not blow the fuse. The I was talking to a company rep who told me about the issue. I told him what the problem was. He relayed it back to the engineers who slapped their foreheads because they couldn't believe they missed that. During manufacturing, the assemblers were not tightening down the cables good enough. therefore, they would get hot and melt the fuse holders. As a reward, all I got was T-shirt. My boss took the shirt down and had "I fixed a companies Million Dollar Problem and all I got was this T-shirt" put on it.

Wow gratitude for you?
So in my instance the connectors were already soldered on the plug T deans. So I cut off the Ic5 from the ESC and I soldered the pre soldered plug 14awg onto the ESC 10 AWG ,
Would you suppose my solder join was the problem then ? I’m using lead free solder it’s a real pain in the arse to work with .

 

[AClegg]

My guess is that the contacts, in the plugs, were not make a good connection. If you soldered it and you are not able to pull the wire out or see gaps, chances are, your solder joint would be good enough. It wouldn't allow enough heat to melt your connector.

 

[Mr Wizard]

You wrote, "The higher the voltage, the smaller the wire recommended." Is this what you meant to say, seems like you want a larger diameter wire for higher voltage, or were you talking about the gage of the wire, where a smaller gage means a bigger diameter wire?

I feel like the statement is incorrect in general. Voltage doesn’t care about wire size. Current is what will heat up the wire. High voltage will travel through any size conductor. Add load and small wire will heat up. You can literally put 500,000 volts through a piece of 22AWG without a problem, but when you add amperage (current) it would overload it.

I agree with all of the above. 13g wire is more than sufficient. Especially if you are running higher voltage. The higher the voltage, the smaller the wire recommended. You can tell if your gauge is too small if temp your wire after a long run. It the wire is about 5 degrees warmer than ambient, then you need to up your gauge. resistance generates heat. The biggest amp draw is acceleration. That's where a capacitor comes in handy. However, these little caps are more for show than go. They discharge at the blink of an eye, literally.

I feel like the statement is incorrect in general. Voltage doesn’t care about wire size. Current is what will heat up the wire. High voltage will travel through any size conductor. Add load and small wire will heat up. You can literally put 500,000 volts through a piece of 22AWG without a problem, but when you add amperage (current) it would overload it.

 

[nino]

^ what he said, recommended wire cross section (gauge) is dictated by current only.