Need motor opinions for my build !

Welcome to RCTalk

Come join other RC enthusiasts! You'll be able to discuss, share and private message with other members of our community.

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

KenBossio

RCTalk Member
Messages
28
Reaction score
11
Hey guys. So I'm in the middle of a project. I am building a 2wd stampede from the ground up. I haven't started building yet , I have been collecting the pieces for my build. Every piece will be brand new. So far I'm gonna be using all aluminum. Suspension shock towers everything that I could buy. Lol. The only thing Traxxas is a brand new chassis and speed control plate. It will have a hot racing aluminum transmission housing , aluminum half shafts .. you get the point . I plan to run it on 4S lipo. I have so far bought a Castle Copperhead 10 special edition 4S speed Control. I want your guys opinion as to what motor to run in it . It will be mostly driven on dirt/ gravel and some grass. Some pavement also. I want this thing to be a rocket ship ! I was thinking maybe a Castle 14 series motor ? What Kv should I be shooting for ? I want it to almost have too much power and I like to drive full throttle most of the time . Lol also planning on probably running duratrax hatchet tires on it. Yes I know it's gonna be heavy cause of all the aluminum but that's what I wanted so that's what it has. Let me know what you guys think I should use for a motor . Thanks !
Also I haven't purchased yet but was thinking going with hot racing 32P spur and pinion. 56 tooth spur or something like that . Also open to opinions on that one. I'm a newbie lol first custom build from the ground up !
 
id look into a 1800kv then you can have torque n speed.
 
Sounds like a fun build. I would stay away from aluminum a-arms though because if you plan on running her hard, aluminum will bend with a hard hit but plastic for the most part will return to its original shape. I highly recommend RPM arms.
 
I've heard that but I've already bought the aluminum so they're gonna go on and if I bend them then I'll get rpm ones .
 
I've heard that but I've already bought the aluminum so they're gonna go on and if I bend them then I'll get rpm ones .
If you're lucky, it will only bend the arms. Likely the shock of an impact will transfer to the hinge pins and bend or break things farther up the mounting locations. Aluminum arms are really only good for shelf queens. It's not so bad on lightweight buggies and such. But on a monster truck, it's just not such a good idea.
 
Hey guys. So I'm in the middle of a project. I am building a 2wd stampede from the ground up. I haven't started building yet , I have been collecting the pieces for my build. Every piece will be brand new. So far I'm gonna be using all aluminum. Suspension shock towers everything that I could buy. Lol. The only thing Traxxas is a brand new chassis and speed control plate. It will have a hot racing aluminum transmission housing , aluminum half shafts .. you get the point . I plan to run it on 4S lipo. I have so far bought a Castle Copperhead 10 special edition 4S speed Control. I want your guys opinion as to what motor to run in it . It will be mostly driven on dirt/ gravel and some grass. Some pavement also. I want this thing to be a rocket ship ! I was thinking maybe a Castle 14 series motor ? What Kv should I be shooting for ? I want it to almost have too much power and I like to drive full throttle most of the time . Lol also planning on probably running duratrax hatchet tires on it. Yes I know it's gonna be heavy cause of all the aluminum but that's what I wanted so that's what it has. Let me know what you guys think I should use for a motor . Thanks !
Also I haven't purchased yet but was thinking going with hot racing 32P spur and pinion. 56 tooth spur or something like that . Also open to opinions on that one. I'm a newbie lol first custom build from the ground up !
There is a few things wrong with this "build". I would not run on 4S, I wouldnt go any higher than 3S. On 4S you're going to have to use a larger pinion to have any real speed that you're liable to run in to issues with gear spacing on the transmission. You can mostly achieve the same result on 3S with different gearing. For that Id recommend the Castle 1414 3800kV motor with that copperhead ESC. You'll actually get more RPM out of a 3800kV motor on 3S than you will out of an 2400kV motor on 4S. 3800kV on 3S = 47,880RPM. 2400kV motor on 4S = 40,320RPM. 2400kV is the lowest kV you can get in a 14xx series motor from Castle. The bigger 15xx series (if it fits in the transmission) is going to be heavier than a 14xx series and will just make the Pede wheelie more than it already is going to.

Additionally I would strongly advise against running aluminum arms or metal spur gears. A couple of areas on an RC car are meant to be "weak points" if you will. This keeps you from damaging other more expensive and potentially harder to replace parts of the RC. For example Id rather break a $5 a-arm than to bend/break an aluminum shock tower, bulkhead, etc. Likewise Id rather mess up a $5 dollar plastic spur gear than something a lot more expensive in your drive line. The RPM A-Arms really are tops btw, They rarely break and RPM has a pretty amazing warranty also if you do manage to break one.

Just my :2cents: worth. Hope this helps.
 
Hey guys. So I'm in the middle of a project. I am building a 2wd stampede from the ground up. I haven't started building yet , I have been collecting the pieces for my build. Every piece will be brand new. So far I'm gonna be using all aluminum. Suspension shock towers everything that I could buy. Lol. The only thing Traxxas is a brand new chassis and speed control plate. It will have a hot racing aluminum transmission housing , aluminum half shafts .. you get the point . I plan to run it on 4S lipo. I have so far bought a Castle Copperhead 10 special edition 4S speed Control. I want your guys opinion as to what motor to run in it . It will be mostly driven on dirt/ gravel and some grass. Some pavement also. I want this thing to be a rocket ship ! I was thinking maybe a Castle 14 series motor ? What Kv should I be shooting for ? I want it to almost have too much power and I like to drive full throttle most of the time . Lol also planning on probably running duratrax hatchet tires on it. Yes I know it's gonna be heavy cause of all the aluminum but that's what I wanted so that's what it has. Let me know what you guys think I should use for a motor . Thanks !
Also I haven't purchased yet but was thinking going with hot racing 32P spur and pinion. 56 tooth spur or something like that . Also open to opinions on that one. I'm a newbie lol first custom build from the ground up !
Traxxas stampede is short, tall and lightweight, it wheelies even with brushed xl5 sistem. Pretty much 3s would be hard to drive, 4s not driveablle.

I don't know do you want your car just to look nice and shiney or you want to use it? Lighter it is, better it will drive. I would rather buy a better truck instead of spending all of that money on useless upgrades that will make truck behave worst than stock.

If you would buy every part aftermarket I am sure you will not be far from the price of new Maxx v2. Or if you are, you can buy used deal, for example I recently bought erevo 2.0 in good shape with batteries for 200$
 
There is a few things wrong with this "build". I would not run on 4S, I wouldnt go any higher than 3S. On 4S you're going to have to use a larger pinion to have any real speed that you're liable to run in to issues with gear spacing on the transmission. You can mostly achieve the same result on 3S with different gearing. For that Id recommend the Castle 1414 3800kV motor with that copperhead ESC. You'll actually get more RPM out of a 3800kV motor on 3S than you will out of an 2400kV motor on 4S. 3800kV on 3S = 47,880RPM. 2400kV motor on 4S = 40,320RPM. 2400kV is the lowest kV you can get in a 14xx series motor from Castle. The bigger 15xx series (if it fits in the transmission) is going to be heavier than a 14xx series and will just make the Pede wheelie more than it already is going to.

Additionally I would strongly advise against running aluminum arms or metal spur gears. A couple of areas on an RC car are meant to be "weak points" if you will. This keeps you from damaging other more expensive and potentially harder to replace parts of the RC. For example Id rather break a $5 a-arm than to bend/break an aluminum shock tower, bulkhead, etc. Likewise Id rather mess up a $5 dollar plastic spur gear than something a lot more expensive in your drive line. The RPM A-Arms really are tops btw, They rarely break and RPM has a pretty amazing warranty also if you do manage to break one.

Just my :2cents: worth. Hope this helps.
Would the higher Kv motor have a tougher time accelerating than a lower Kv motor with a bigger pinion? Thanks for the help
Ken
 
Hey guys. So I'm in the middle of a project. I am building a 2wd stampede from the ground up. I haven't started building yet , I have been collecting the pieces for my build. Every piece will be brand new. So far I'm gonna be using all aluminum. Suspension shock towers everything that I could buy. Lol. The only thing Traxxas is a brand new chassis and speed control plate. It will have a hot racing aluminum transmission housing , aluminum half shafts .. you get the point . I plan to run it on 4S lipo. I have so far bought a Castle Copperhead 10 special edition 4S speed Control. I want your guys opinion as to what motor to run in it . It will be mostly driven on dirt/ gravel and some grass. Some pavement also. I want this thing to be a rocket ship ! I was thinking maybe a Castle 14 series motor ? What Kv should I be shooting for ? I want it to almost have too much power and I like to drive full throttle most of the time . Lol also planning on probably running duratrax hatchet tires on it. Yes I know it's gonna be heavy cause of all the aluminum but that's what I wanted so that's what it has. Let me know what you guys think I should use for a motor . Thanks !
Also I haven't purchased yet but was thinking going with hot racing 32P spur and pinion. 56 tooth spur or something like that . Also open to opinions on that one. I'm a newbie lol first custom build from the ground up !
Hi, I got an ECX Amp buggy that when I got it, I did the aluminium upgrades which actually cost me more in parts,(ie: chassis, shock tower, bulkhead, ect). But when I went to RPM parts, they are stronger, lighter. And more importantly, able to take a 45-50 mph head-on with a tree stump and not break anything. I agree with staying with a 3s much more power and better handling. I'm building another buggy from chassis up and using everything I learned to make it as indestructible as possible. Best of luck!! Experience is the best teacher!!
 
What about a 3500kv on 4s though ? Why not ?
 
Why are you dead set on running a Stampede on 4S? It is not going to run well on 4s, no matter what motor you put in it. Nobody is going to tell you "yeah, go for it". All it will do is wheelie. This is a stock Stampede chassis on 2S with a brushed motor. Even with a Castle 3800kv with 2S, it is going to be just fine.
 
What about a 3500kv on 4s though ? Why not ?
I agree with greywolf that 1410 3800kv motor on 3s would be the best castle for stampede. Stampede is very light weight rc and every gram saved will drastically improve handling. On one of my rustlers I had 3660 or 3665 motor, don't remember. A lot of power but it was not balanced, every time I jump it would land rear first, and it was just not stable driving it. I swapped to much lighter 2pole sensored motor and it was night and day difference.

I would assume that you don't have a lot of experience yet, but stampede is the worst platform if you want fast rc. If you want fast car and you want to stay on pavement I would strongly recommend almost stock rally. It's probably the most stable and nice to drive Traxxas platform. If you want to go off-road, and you want a car with all possible meaningful upgrades you can't beat slash ultimate. But for that money I would rather buy Maxx v2 or erevo.

3500 kv is not really recommend for 4s, probably could work, but if it's a small motor it may overheat or rotor explode. I see that castle has new 1412 3200kv motor, 4s capable but again, that's way to much power and a lot of weight for stampede, 1410 3800kv is definitely a better match. Even fitting 4s battery is impossible to fit in stampede battery compartment except if you use straps to hold it.
 
Would the higher Kv motor have a tougher time accelerating than a lower Kv motor with a bigger pinion? Thanks for the help
Ken
acceleration and top speed are all in the gearing. The motor plays a part but that part is tuned with gearing. smaller pinion for more torque/acceleration or a bigger pinion for more top end speed. Just make sure after any gear change you keep an eye on your motors temperature and never let it exceed 160F

What about a 3500kv on 4s though ? Why not ?
I've never seen a 3500kV motor that was rated for 4S. Plus the Pede wasn't designed to hold a 4S lipo. Not that you can't mod it to hold one I suppose.
 
There is a few things wrong with this "build". I would not run on 4S, I wouldnt go any higher than 3S. On 4S you're going to have to use a larger pinion to have any real speed that you're liable to run in to issues with gear spacing on the transmission. You can mostly achieve the same result on 3S with different gearing. For that Id recommend the Castle 1414 3800kV motor with that copperhead ESC. You'll actually get more RPM out of a 3800kV motor on 3S than you will out of an 2400kV motor on 4S. 3800kV on 3S = 47,880RPM. 2400kV motor on 4S = 40,320RPM. 2400kV is the lowest kV you can get in a 14xx series motor from Castle. The bigger 15xx series (if it fits in the transmission) is going to be heavier than a 14xx series and will just make the Pede wheelie more than it already is going to.

Additionally I would strongly advise against running aluminum arms or metal spur gears. A couple of areas on an RC car are meant to be "weak points" if you will. This keeps you from damaging other more expensive and potentially harder to replace parts of the RC. For example Id rather break a $5 a-arm than to bend/break an aluminum shock tower, bulkhead, etc. Likewise Id rather mess up a $5 dollar plastic spur gear than something a lot more expensive in your drive line. The RPM A-Arms really are tops btw, They rarely break and RPM has a pretty amazing warranty also if you do manage to break one.

Just my :2cents: worth. Hope this helps.
@KenBossio , Sound advice here from Greywolf74. Do what Greywolf74 has pointed out. The Castle 3800 is a beast on 3s in a 2wd traxxas platform. It will be too much power I assure you. Also, aluminum suspension parts are expensive and will just transfer the crash forces to other more critical and expensive parts such as the chassis.
 
would a Traxxas rustler 4x4 hold up to 4s powwaaa? I plan on putting a copperhead 10 ESC with the 1410 motor. would the rustler hold up to the abuse? or would I need to fork out the same amount of money that this guy is spending on a FULL ALUMINUM Traxxas stampede 2wd? my two cents is just don't do it. don't run it on 4s you will break important parts. I did that with my ecx torment 2wd and I broke so much stuff it wasn't worth it. just my two cents. hope you return those aluminum a-arms and get rpm ones. it will be way more cost-effective.
 
it comes in a combo though.

would the 1406 hold up?
The ESC is 4S capable but the 1410 is 3S max. The 1406 motors are also 3S max with the exception of the 6900kV and the 7700kV are 2S max. The 1415 is the only 1/10 scale motor that Castle makes that is 4S capable.

Dont assume just because the ESC can do it that the motor can too. :)
 
Last edited:
The ESC is 4S capable but the 1410 is 3S max. The 1406 motors are also 3S max with the exception of the 6900kV and the 7700kV are 2S max. The 1415 is he only 1/10 scale motor that Castle makes that is 4S capable.

Dont assume just because the ESC can do it that the motor can too. :)
okay thank you!
 
My Rustler 4x4 gets sloppy on 3s but does take it well (was Castle 3800, now Castle 3200). I wouldn‘t bother putting anything more powerful in a 4x4 Rustler unless you are willing to spend some money replacing parts and making modifications. When I ran the 3800 in it on 3s it was a rocket and that was as fast as I wanted to push it.

I put a Castle 2650 in my LMT and even though its not much faster than the old Hobbywing 3200 it accelerates and breaks traction with much more authority but I also seem to break more stuff too.
 

Similar threads

Back
Top