RTR 60-120A 1/10 brushless ESC comparison.

[biggman100]

I'm just curious as to which RTR brushless ESC in the 60-120A 1/10 scale category people like most. Yes, I know that most almost always go aftermarket (my personal choice is Hobby Wing), but, you never know what people's preference will be. Personally, I have had bad luck with the Arrma BLX100 and the Spektrum Firma ones, but had very good luck with Reedy, HPI's Flux EH-3S, Losi's Dynamite Fuze (the older 60A, haven't used the newer 130A yet), and Traxxas, it has always been hit or miss. What is everyone else's opinion on them?

 

[DavidB1126]

I haven't really used any of the RTR escs besides Traxxas XL5s.

Currently running hobbywing in the cars. Max10 SCT 120a sensorless in the slash. And Max10 G1 60A in the rustler. Been running them for almost 2 years now and never had an issue. Although the fan/program port died on the max10 sct, but that was my fault so can't blame the esc. I do in the future planning on switching in a 10bl120 SL G2 esc in the slash so I can actually program the esc. Or finding the same max sct on eBay since those are discontinued now.

 

[Greywolf74]

The only RTR ESCs I've ever used that I didn't think were garbage, were the Traxxas ESCs that are just rebranded Castle ESCs.

 

[biggman100]

The only RTR ESCs I've ever used that I didn't think were garbage, were the Traxxas ESCs that are just rebranded Castle ESCs.

I honestly have no clue who rebrands what, except for the Redcat stuff, since most of those are typically Hobby Wing. As for Castle stuff, I have had the worst luck with the two I had, so I have never owned another one.

 

[Greywolf74]

I honestly have no clue who rebrands what, except for the Redcat stuff, since most of those are typically Hobby Wing. As for Castle stuff, I have had the worst luck with the two I had, so I have never owned another one.

I'm kinda neutral toward the rebranded HW ESCs. They tend to be ok in terms of quality but lack a lot of functionality that I'm used to in an ESC.

Did those two Castle ESCs happen to be the old School Mamba Monster Max v1s? I remember Castle had to warranty those left and right about 15-20 years ago cuz people were burning them up quite frequently. Just curious.

 

[biggman100]

I'm kinda neutral toward the rebranded HW ESCs. They tend to be ok in terms of quality but lack a lot of functionality that I'm used to in an ESC.

Did those two Castle ESCs happen to be the old School Mamba Monster Max v1s? I remember Castle had to warranty those left and right about 15-20 years ago cuz people were burning them up quite frequently. Just curious.

No, they were both Castle Sidewinder SCT's. One was my fault (found out the hard way it wasn't waterproof), and one let out the magic smoke after about 6 months of racing outdoors in the summer. I have also had 2 Arrma BLX100's burn up from water (one went poof the first time it got wet), and the other lasted 3 days in snow and water, and a Spektrum Firma let out the magic smoke after going through a puddle. The best overall RTR ESC I have found was the older Dynamite Fuze 60A that came in my Losi 22S SCT. It survived water, ice, snow, mud, everything I threw at it for almost 2 years.

 

[9x19]

(In more ways than this) I'm the odd duck here. I've had good service from my Traxxas VXL-3S ESCs, although I run them all with a fan, and I don't make long runs of wide-open-throttle (WOT) on 3s. In fact I most often run 2S packs with them, with the Hoss seeing the Most 3S. I have two VXL-6S and again they've been fine for me, but those modesl (E-Maxx and Summit) usually run on 4S, as 6S is simply over-kill for their use.

Next up, I have Spektrum Firma ESCs in several models, the 100A, and 150A models and again, I've had no issues. The 150A also sees mostly 4S batteries with their 2050 kV motor.

I recently bought (on sale) some of the Hobbywing 10BL120 ESC/Motor combos with future projects in mind, but haven't installed one in anything yet.

 

[RustyUs]

The only RTR speed control that I've used, and kept, is the Spektrum Firma 100A Smart ESC. It works as it should. 'Nuff said. I will add, it has never seen the rigors of off-road use/abuse though. Would I ever buy one just to buy one? Surely not for the Horizon's asking price that is associated with them. Buying an actual Hobbywing Quicrun ESC is cheaper and has more adjustability.

 

[biggman100]

The only RTR speed control that I've used, and kept, is the Spektrum Firma 100A Smart ESC. It works as it should. 'Nuff said. I will add, it has never seen the rigors of off-road use/abuse though. Would I ever buy one just to buy one? Surely not for the Horizon's asking price that is associated with them. Buying an actual Hobbywing Quicrun ESC is cheaper and has more adjustability.

I have heard that before, that the Spektrum Firma ESC's work great, until you are hard on them. However, my brother has a couple in 2WD SCT's, that he is extremely hard on, and they seem to work just fine. For me though, Spektrum ESC's seem to dislike me, just like the Arrma BLX100.

 

[RustyUs]

I have heard that before, that the Spektrum Firma ESC's work great, until you are hard on them. However, my brother has a couple in 2WD SCT's, that he is extremely hard on, and they seem to work just fine. For me though, Spektrum ESC's seem to dislike me, just like the Arrma BLX100.

I'm pretty sure Hobbywing makes a crap ton RTR rebranded speed controls for many companies. What components are used inside them is a mystery. I highly doubt it's the same components as their own brand. That being said, my very first Hobbwing ESC/motor combo that I bought was an EZRun 35A ESC/4300kv motor.

That was back in 2013-ish. That tiny 35A ESC has been through a lot over the years. The little red setup button hasn't worked in years, and the fan gave up long ago as well. I still use it today in my T4.3 ride. On 2S she doesn't get hot... no need for a cooling fan. I gotta use a paperclip if I ever need to do throttle calibration. That little EZRun 35A ESC putting up with dust/vibration and surviving is the reason why I like Hobbywing stuff in my RCs.

 

[Greywolf74]

I'm pretty sure Hobbywing makes a crap ton RTR rebranded speed controls for many companies. What components are used inside them is a mystery. I highly doubt it's the same components as their own brand. That being said, my very first Hobbwing ESC/motor combo that I bought was an EZRun 35A ESC/4300kv motor.
View attachment 199435
That was back in 2013-ish. That tiny 35A ESC has been through a lot over the years. The little red setup button hasn't worked in years, and the fan gave up long ago as well. I still use it today in my T4.3 ride. On 2S she doesn't get hot... no need for a cooling fan. I gotta use a paperclip if I ever need to do throttle calibration. That little EZRun 35A ESC putting up with dust/vibration and surviving is the reason why I like Hobbywing stuff in my RCs.
View attachment 199439

Just dont buy a combo with a 540 motor that has those deep ridges/fins (or whatever you want to call them), they arent really 540 sized motors, Its a 380 sized motor stuffed in a 540 sized can.

 

[WickedFog]

Just dont buy a combo with a 540 motor that has those deep ridges/fins (or whatever you want to call them)

Heatsink

 

[RustyUs]

Just dont buy a combo with a 540 motor that has those deep ridges/fins (or whatever you want to call them), they arent really 540 sized motors, Its a 380 sized motor stuffed in a 540 sized can.

The "F" in a F540 stands for finned. The combo in my earlier post did indeed include a F540 4300kv motor. shhhh. For a lightweight 2wd platform they're fine.

It was actually too much motor for me and my Evader ST.

And my T4.3 from earlier post is running a "no-name" F540 3100kv motor, not by choice mind you...

...seller sent the wrong motor , but refunded money . Motor has been great, but definitely would not recommend one of those finned motors in a heavier 4wd platform.

Speaking of which, and thread is about RTR ESC stuff, Hobao used to (as my jaw dropped in disbelief) put a Hobbywing 60A/F540 motor combo in their Hyper 10TT RTR...

I don't think that version of the RTR lasted long though. Hobao eventually outfitted the 10TT with a full size 540 motor.

 

[9x19]

I have some of the (now discontinued) Onyx 70A ESC/motor combos in my 2wd Traxxas RCs (Stampede and Raptor (Slash)). They too have been about perfect on 2S.

 

[biggman100]

I could probably write a small book on the list of cheap off brand RC stuff to avoid. I used to have a habit of buying whatever was cheapest that I thought would work. All that taught me was to stay away from cheap, especially the off brand ESC's. I burnt up 6 of the GoolRC ones in less than a week. I have however had really good luck with the cheap 3650 and 3660 motors.