It's been a while

[NTX77]

Ok, the last time I raced RC Cars was about 1993, so let's just say thing shave changed. Airtronics used to be my radio of choice and I ran Novak for my ESC, both of which are gone. There were no brushless motors and forget about sensored anything. So, I'm trying to decide what electronics to put into my new B6.2D and I was wondering if there's really any difference in the quality of anything from company to company. What about customer service....are there companies to stay away from?

 

[tntpoof]

no a days customer service is a big factor in my choosing of rc car electronics. some people like hobbywing esc( i do not) I like good ole Tekin.. motors are the same.batteries well now thats a whole new thin there..Lipos are the newer batteries.id learn as much as you can about those.Radio gear .radios. there again what do you want and need in a radio .do you want a radio that has options? again o you need all options to work 100%..Id say 2.4 ghz radio...battery charger.do you want ir readings on your battery?.I have a few high dollar chargers in my fleet. but I do like the 35$ charger also..Sanwa is todays airtronics.. sorry slow vack is no more(i never liked there products ).smc batteries have never done me wrong.
http://www.tjinguytech.com/charging-how-tos

 

[NTX77]

I've seen people complaining about Hobbywing. Wasn't sure if that was more "operator error" though. From what I can see by researching online the Tekin ESC's have more of the cheap plastic look. Any issues with durability? I have seen that Tekin seems to have one of the better reputations as far as customer service goes.

I have already purchased a Futaba 4PM radio. At least Futaba is a name I recognize from my past, had a nice Futaba radio when I was flying.

 

[tntpoof]

ntx . I've never had a issue with tekin now or way b4 tekin does have some beefier esc..did you get a drop down or a different wheel grip for your futaba?.I ordered 2 of these steering wheel grips back in the mid 90's just great for me as my sweat eats the foams wheels..
http://www.pprslots.com/
they are the reptile grips or ppr 1's

 

[NTX77]

I got the regular foam grip, I'm going to have to check out the reptile grips. I do wish that futaba would include a rubberized grip on the radio though.

 

[AClegg]

How's it going NTX.
I started out with the Hobbywing because of the price point. For the money, it's a pretty good ESC. I haven't had any issues with it and it seems to be the most popular brand out on the track when racing stock classes. However, I just bought a couple of Tekins and I am excited to get them in installed.

Tekins don't have the heatsinks exposed. They run a lot cooler than other brands, so I'm told. I have never heard of anyone having issues with Tekin, but then again, I haven't heard of any issues with the race versions of Hobbywing. The best thing about the Tekins, they have reverse for when you out practicing on the track or bashing around the yard. I just heard that you can program reverse into the Hobbywing Justock ESC's, but I will have to look that up.

I have always been a fan of Tekin. My first one was a 310 and my last one, back in the 90's, was a 411G. Even my charger was a BC210.

 

[olds97_lss]

Are you intending on racing again or just bashing? From what I've read, there aren't many Tekin's that are waterproof. For racing, that's not likely an issue, but for bashing/cleanup it could be.

I'm just a basher, so waterproof is a must for me. I've only had one tekin and it was a long time ago on a brushless mini-lst. I didn't have it long, got it on trade for a savage I think. Kind of wish I kept it now, that was a long time ago before I got into electric running. For bashing, I prefer the hobbywing esc's so far due to being able to plug the program box into the fan port. My other esc's were/are castle MMv1, MMv2 (traxxas MXL-6S), MMX, sidewinder sv3 and a traxxas vxl-3s. I still run the MMX in my savage flux hp, but I don't drive it much, parts availability. My 4 trucks that I do run frequently all have hobbywings. The max6, max10 sct and BLX185 which is a limited arrma rebranded hobbywing. No real issues with any of them so far and I run my stuff pretty hard.

 

[NTX77]

Are you intending on racing again or just bashing? From what I've read, there aren't many Tekin's that are waterproof. For racing, that's not likely an issue, but for bashing/cleanup it could be.

I'm just a basher, so waterproof is a must for me. I've only had one tekin and it was a long time ago on a brushless mini-lst. I didn't have it long, got it on trade for a savage I think. Kind of wish I kept it now, that was a long time ago before I got into electric running. For bashing, I prefer the hobbywing esc's so far due to being able to plug the program box into the fan port. My other esc's were/are castle MMv1, MMv2 (traxxas MXL-6S), MMX, sidewinder sv3 and a traxxas vxl-3s. I still run the MMX in my savage flux hp, but I don't drive it much, parts availability. My 4 trucks that I do run frequently all have hobbywings. The max6, max10 sct and BLX185 which is a limited arrma rebranded hobbywing. No real issues with any of them so far and I run my stuff pretty hard.

I am more focused on racing, not so concerned about the waterproofing. I started years ago with a Traxxas buggy, then moved to AE, even though most at my local track were running Traxxas. I just finished building my B6.2D, but it seems this area is bigger on 1/8th scale. So it seems that a RC8 3.2e is in the near future.

 

[NTX77]

How's it going NTX.
I started out with the Hobbywing because of the price point. For the money, it's a pretty good ESC. I haven't had any issues with it and it seems to be the most popular brand out on the track when racing stock classes. However, I just bought a couple of Tekins and I am excited to get them in installed.

Tekins don't have the heatsinks exposed. They run a lot cooler than other brands, so I'm told. I have never heard of anyone having issues with Tekin, but then again, I haven't heard of any issues with the race versions of Hobbywing. The best thing about the Tekins, they have reverse for when you out practicing on the track or bashing around the yard. I just heard that you can program reverse into the Hobbywing Justock ESC's, but I will have to look that up.

I have always been a fan of Tekin. My first one was a 310 and my last one, back in the 90's, was a 411G. Even my charger was a BC210

How's it going NTX.
I started out with the Hobbywing because of the price point. For the money, it's a pretty good ESC. I haven't had any issues with it and it seems to be the most popular brand out on the track when racing stock classes. However, I just bought a couple of Tekins and I am excited to get them in installed.

Tekins don't have the heatsinks exposed. They run a lot cooler than other brands, so I'm told. I have never heard of anyone having issues with Tekin, but then again, I haven't heard of any issues with the race versions of Hobbywing. The best thing about the Tekins, they have reverse for when you out practicing on the track or bashing around the yard. I just heard that you can program reverse into the Hobbywing Justock ESC's, but I will have to look that up.

I have always been a fan of Tekin. My first one was a 310 and my last one, back in the 90's, was a 411G. Even my charger was a BC210.

I’m leaning towards Tekin or Reedy at this point. Not really interested in pouring money into a product that isn’t supported by their manufacturer, maybe that’s just my perception. Buying a better ESC is cheaper than buying a cheaper one now and an expensive one later, at least that’s how I see it.

 

[AClegg]

I’m leaning towards Tekin or Reedy at this point. Not really interested in pouring money into a product that isn’t supported by their manufacturer, maybe that’s just my perception. Buying a better ESC is cheaper than buying a cheaper one now and an expensive one later, at least that’s how I see it.

Hobbywing has a pretty good support team. They sell more ESC's than anyone. Tekin would be next, then Reedy. They are all good and you can't go wrong. I only chose Tekin because... well... It's Tekin. The best part about Tekin is it's adjustability with the Hotwire Bluetooth module and the fact that Tekin has the smallest footprint. Reedy doesn't really have any features that causes it to stand out. It's a great ESC, just doesn't stand out. What class/motor size do you plan on racing/using

?

 

[NTX77]

Don't all of the manufacturers now have the option of purchasing a unit for adjustability similar to the Hotwire? The more that I think about it, the more I wonder if there really is any difference. I'll be racing 1/10th stock buggy (17.5) and also looking to get into 18/th scale buggy - looks like the norm is a 1900kv motor.

 

[AClegg]

They all have something. I have only had experience with the Hotwire and it was pretty flawless. Some units use wifi, which doesn't work as well unless you have wifi.

1/10 17.5 2wd buggy will will work great with HW or Tekin. You really couldn't go wrong. I would only choose the Tekin for it's smaller footprint. The if you take the fan off the HW, it will take up less space, but it's still not as small as the Tekin. Again, it doesn't really mater when it comes to performance. I guess the biggest difference would be the price. Is having the Bluethooth feature worth $125 for a Tekin RS G3 Spec, vs the HW Justock for $52. They both handle the same motors. The brakes on the Tekin are a little better.

 

[NTX77]

I understand your point of view, but if both will handle the same motors then my thought goes to who will back their products better. From what I have heard, Tekin has much better customer service. So I’ll probably end up going that route.

 

[Rcmtby11]

I’m leaning towards Tekin or Reedy at this point. Not really interested in pouring money into a product that isn’t supported by their manufacturer, maybe that’s just my perception. Buying a better ESC is cheaper than buying a cheaper one now and an expensive one later, at least that’s how I see it.

I thought the same. Tekin support was basically garbage in my opinion. I have an RSX pro, that I zapped by accidentally reversing the polarity on my battery (it was dark and still 100% my fault) so I contacted Tekin for a repair. Well, the only offer was we will just sell you a new one for about 15 % less than what I originally paid. I didn’t want a new one, I just wanted the one I had repaired. It seems that tekin has adopted the throwaway culture of the modern era which is weird for a hobby where half of it is literally fixing things. I also asked if they could just sell me components for the board and I’d just repair it myself. Hard no and they said they were custom proprietary bits. So, not liking that, I just decided to switch to Hobbywing because the support can’t be worse and they have polarity protection and some water resistance on some of their models which is not a feature on tekin ( but I think should be on a 200 dollar top of the line speed control. Also, as for those proprietary parts, I fried a mosfet and a short Google search of the code on the component reveals nothing proprietary so I ordered a pack and will have a go at repairing it myself. Certainly nothing to lose. If I fix it, I’m selling it and buying another Hobbywing.

I understand your point of view, but if both will handle the same motors then my thought goes to who will back their products better. From what I have heard, Tekin has much better customer service. So I’ll probably end up going that route.

Can confirm, they do not. See below.