Is there performance gains with thicker gage motor wires?

[RetroThutmose]

Some of the oval guys had used thicker gage wire than the 14 awg wire that comes with a just stock hobbywing setup. Is there any science to back this up with any gains?

 

[Littlemotor]

Only if the current is limited by an insufficient wire. Same as if your daily only requires 87-you will benefit absolutely nothing by running 93.

 

[RetroThutmose]

Only if the current is limited by an insufficient wire. Same as if your daily only requires 87-you will benefit absolutely nothing by running 93.

I guess I would need to check the data log to see if it's a bottleneck?

 

[Littlemotor]

I guess I would need to check the data log to see if it's a bottleneck?

Or use a multimeter, and do some math.

 

[Serea71]

12 gauge for battery connector wires, 14 gauge for the motor. Idk why but that’s what I was taught.

 

[Littlemotor]

12 gauge for battery connector wires, 14 gauge for the motor. Idk why but that’s what I was taught.

Doesn’t work that way… Too many factors/variables. Motor kV, ESC amperage, driving surface, vehicle weight, tire rollout, load, etc..

For example-take my Tekno ET48 2.x; Tekin RX8 Gen 3 ESC, Tekin 2250kV truggy can, kit spur w/15T pinion, Tekin Graphene 7700mAh LiHV… 12awg from ESC lugs to motor tabs, and 12awg from ESC terminated at 5mm race bullets is more than sufficient.

If we went by what whoever told you said would work, then prepare to waste a bunch of money replacing a whole pile of race grade electronics, and battery pack..

Gotta know what the minimum requirement as far as proper electrical wire goes for a given setup. The setup varies between different manufacturers’ motors, and ESC’s.. What you said may be a decent “starting point/rule of thumb” for say; 1/10 carpet 2wd buggy, it certainly won’t be alright for my 1/8 competition truggy.

 

[Serea71]

Doesn’t work that way… Too many factors/variables. Motor kV, ESC amperage, driving surface, vehicle weight, tire rollout, load, etc..

For example-take my Tekno ET48 2.x; Tekin RX8 Gen 3 ESC, Tekin 2250kV truggy can, kit spur w/15T pinion, Tekin Graphene 7700mAh LiHV… 12awg from ESC lugs to motor tabs, and 12awg from ESC terminated at 5mm race bullets is more than sufficient.

If we went by what whoever told you said would work, then prepare to waste a bunch of money replacing a whole pile of race grade electronics, and battery pack..

Gotta know what the minimum requirement as far as proper electrical wire goes for a given setup. The setup varies between different manufacturers’ motors, and ESC’s.. What you said may be a decent “starting point/rule of thumb” for say; 1/10 carpet 2wd buggy, it certainly won’t be alright for my 1/8 competition

In oval pan car racing you do go through a ton of lipo packs. Once the pack loses some internal resistance it gets replaced. A single lipo only gets maybe 2-3 races. That’s why you use a thicker wire for the battery. It’s an advantage to have albeit expensive.

 

[Littlemotor]

In oval pan car racing you do go through a ton of lipo packs. Once the pack loses some internal resistance it gets replaced. A single lipo only gets maybe 2-3 races. That’s why you use a thicker wire for the battery. It’s an advantage to have albeit expensive.

I’m not following you… Please explain what any of that post has to do with your previous post, and my reply.. And in general.. Never heard anyone say they wouldn’t run thicker wire because “it’s expensive” either.

Like I said-maybe there’s a miscommunication here, because I’m flat out not following anything you said after “12ga for battery, 14ga for motor”; which I disagree with, and replied with why.

 

[xjtorc]

Some of the oval guys had used thicker gage wire than the 14 awg wire that comes with a just stock hobbywing setup. Is there any science to back this up with any gains?

If there are any gains, they're not noticeable when running a blinky ESC on 2S.

In oval, everybody is trying to find a way to bend the rules to the benefit of going faster. "Thicker wire = less resistance = more power/more efficiency" ...is what they are thinking. If the guys with thick wires are winning every race, they may be on to something...but I doubt they are.

 

[CertifiedMike]

There are no advantages to thicker wire.
There ARE disadvantages to running too thin wire.
The 'gains' to be had can be found in saving as much weight as possible by keeping the runs as short and as small guage as possible while still providing necessary current to the motor.

Stock set ups pull less current than a mod set up so can use a smaller wire which would be lighter.

 

[Lumikko]

If you have to be mindful with the throttle to avoid loss of control, you already have the answer: your acceleration is limited by available traction, not current.

If you can floor the trigger and have to kind of wait for the car to accelerate, it is possible there is a bottleneck on the way from the battery to the motor. But it could also be a weak battery or motor, wrong gear ratio, or something else.

 

[CertifiedMike]

Be sure you are using a nice, super flexible silicone insulated wire ultra fine strand type stuff, not the stuff used to wire speakers.
There ARE advantages to using good wire!

 

[RetroThutmose]

Be sure you are using a nice, super flexible silicone insulated wire ultra fine strand type stuff, not the stuff used to wire speakers.
There ARE advantages to using good wire!

I've only used what comes in the hobbywing package, which I assume isn't the best but not the worst

 

[CertifiedMike]

I've only used what comes in the hobbywing package, which I assume isn't the best but not the worst

I imagine there have been studies done...
For our purposes, I believe HW wire is more than sufficient.

 

[Greywolf74]

Using thicker wires on a brushless RC motor only improves performance if your current wires are too thin for the power draw. Thicker wire lowers resistance, which reduces voltage loss and heat, allowing the motor to receive more consistent power. If your wires are undersized and getting warm, upgrading to a lower-gauge wire can yield a slight efficiency and speed boost.


However, once your wiring is already adequate for the motor’s amperage, going thicker won’t make your RC faster. It just adds weight, makes routing harder, and may not fit into your connectors. In most setups, 12–14 AWG wire is sufficient for brushless motors drawing up to 80 amps.