Recommendations for motor/batteries/ESC/charger for drifting?

[Amoeba]

Hey you electric-types. I was hoping I could leverage your brains.

I'm going to be building a drifter and was thinking of picking up an HPI Sprint 2 Sport Drift rolling chassis. Since this would be my first foray into electrics (My Stampede doesn't count) I was wanting to get some recommendations for a full lipo setup with motor, batteries, ESC, and solid charger that would be top notch. Let's say the budget for the motor and electronics/batteries/charger is $300.

What would you recommend? I'm willing to put down the cash needed for quality gear so don't be afraid of recommending $100+ chargers etc.

 

[Amoeba]

Anyone? Bueller? Bueller?

 

[ohmygahitscoby]

Have no fear, Coby is here!

Well, I see you've picked the Sprint 2. Great chassis. I also see that the battery is mounted horizontally on the chassis, so that helps.

First off, ESC and motor. For brushed, you can pick up a good ESC that can handle 15T, and the Yokomo D1MN 15T motor. This is a great motor, just ask H8z2luze . If you want to go brushless, here's your options: Novak Havoc or Speed Passion Drift Master. Both are relatively at the same price, and both perform well. I don't understand why some people bag on Novak stuff. I'm running the Havoc in my TC4Drifter and it's superb. The Speed Passion seems to be a great drift setup for others. If you want to save up some cash, get a Novak Slyder. If you want a CC, get the Sidewinder 4600/5700kv sets. Those are also good. I ran the 5700kv in my old TT01, and it worked great.

For batteries, you will want NiMH or LiPo. If you have the cash for a LiPo, go for it, but I will say that going LiPo WILL take up your whole $300. For NiMH, many people like to run a battery pack that uses Elite cells. These are a great option that are cheap and throw out the energy like a LiPo, but the lifespan of an NiMH. You can order one of cheapbatterypacks.com for $40 shipped. On LiPo, you can get the Yeah Racing packs. These are LEGIT PACKS! 3200MaH for only $35. They are made with Kokam cells, which is the same cells used in Orion LiPos.

For a charger, I'd get a Duratrax Piranha Digital Peak charger. This is a great charger. Never ever false peaked me. Unfortunately, it can't charge LiPo's. If you want a good LiPo charger, get the Duratrax ICE. You will need a power supply for it though.

So let's see:

Brushed kit: No more than $100
Battery: $40
Charger: $50.
Near 200, not bad .

Brushless: $150
LiPo: $35
Charger: $150
$335, not bad either. Not much over the spending limit either.

 

[sweetdiesel]

Hey you electric-types. I was hoping I could leverage your brains.

I'm going to be building a drifter and was thinking of picking up an HPI Sprint 2 Sport Drift rolling chassis. Since this would be my first foray into electrics (My Stampede doesn't count) I was wanting to get some recommendations for a full lipo setup with motor, batteries, ESC, and solid charger that would be top notch. Let's say the budget for the motor and electronics/batteries/charger is $300.

What would you recommend? I'm willing to put down the cash needed for quality gear so don't be afraid of recommending $100+ chargers etc.

If you are looking for top shelf equipment it's going to run you much more than $300 for the electronics, batteries, and charger. What are your long term plans for electric? How many cells max do you foresee yourself using in the future? 3s, 4s, 5s etc. Do you currently have a power supply that is rated for at least 15 amps?

 

[Amoeba]

If you are looking for top shelf equipment it's going to run you much more than $300 for the electronics, batteries, and charger. What are your long term plans for electric? How many cells max do you foresee yourself using in the future? 3s, 4s, 5s etc. Do you currently have a power supply that is rated for at least 15 amps?

My home office/lab/workshop building has a 220v hookup and 3 50a circuits, and I'm running 2 APC Switched, Zero U, 30A, 120V, 24 port Rack PDU's each NEML connected to separate bridged 50a circuits... power won't be an issue.

As far as long term, I'm looking for a setup (charger, LiPo) that would be good for a variety of uses. So the ability to run a 2 or 3s on the 1/10 drifter, and a 4s+ if I decide to go/convert 1/8th would be nice. I'm willing to spend more on the charger since I'll be using it to replace my existing NiMH charger for recv. hump packs, and radio & other stick packs. The plan is to eventually replace the existing NiMH packs with LiPo down the line for weight & runtime anyway.

Ignore brushed and concentrate on brushless. It's a better tech and where things will be going as price points drop so might as well go all-in. I figure that for ESC & motor would be dependent on usage. I've been looking at the Mamba Max/Monster setups but no clue which would be a good entry point with flexible usage application.

 

[sweetdiesel]

My home office/lab/workshop building has a 220v hookup and 3 50a circuits, and I'm running 2 APC Switched, Zero U, 30A, 120V, 24 port Rack PDU's each NEML connected to separate bridged 50a circuits... power won't be an issue.

As far as long term, I'm looking for a setup (charger, LiPo) that would be good for a variety of uses. So the ability to run a 2 or 3s on the 1/10 drifter, and a 4s+ if I decide to go/convert 1/8th would be nice. I'm willing to spend more on the charger since I'll be using it to replace my existing NiMH charger for recv. hump packs, and radio & other stick packs. The plan is to eventually replace the existing NiMH packs with LiPo down the line for weight & runtime anyway.

Ignore brushed and concentrate on brushless. It's a better tech and where things will be going as price points drop so might as well go all-in. I figure that for ESC & motor would be dependent on usage. I've been looking at the Mamba Max/Monster setups but no clue which would be a good entry point with flexible usage application.

The reason I asked about the power supply is because most of the top shelf chargers require a separate 12V power supply.

For a charger I recommend the Hyperion EOS0610iNET DC Balance Charger. They run new about $130-150 shipped online. It will charge all your packs with room to grow in the future. 250 watts max output and up to 6S lipo.

For 2S packs I would run the Yeah Racing 5000mah 25C packs. $65 each from

http://www.ultralinehobbies.com/index.php?p=product&id=707&parent=56

I am not familiar with the power requirements of drifters so I can’t suggest a motor for you.

But, I would think that ultra smooth throttle control is what you need in a drifter, so I would recommend a sensored ESC. Novak, LRP, and Speed Passions all make great 10th scale sensored set-ups.

 

[Amoeba]

Thanks SD!

Dumb question from a electric n00b: What's the difference between a sensored vs non-sensored ESC? T position sensing only or are there other benefits?

This looks like a good combo, thoughts? http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/products_id/29761

 

[sweetdiesel]

Thanks SD!

Dumb question from a electric n00b: What's the difference between a sensored vs non-sensored ESC? T position sensing only or are there other benefits?

This looks like a good combo, thoughts? http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_info.php/products_id/29761

A sensorless ESC uses the pulses read from the stator coils to detect rotor position and speed.

A sensored ESC uses a seperate sensor on the motor itself to detect rotor position and speed.

In general, a sensored system has much smoother throttle response and accurate braking.

The Novak combo you linked is a very nice system and (according to the description) uses the same internals as the GTB ESC.