sensor or sensorless

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brett 250r

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I got my son a sc10rtr I was looking at upgrading the electronics he uses for racing at our local indoor carpet track and outdoor clay track do u guys recemend sensor or sensor less electronics I
 
Think you trailed off there :D

I personally am a sensor-less guy. Not sure why, since they arent something new and not proven to work great but I've never had much luck with sensored esc/motors. I'm not a racer and never ran on a carpet track, although I bet it is awesome but Id suggest going with a good ol Castle Creations sidewinder combo or mamba pro. Sidewinder would be more than enough though.
 
Sensored pros:

Smoother starts and low speed operation, virtually zero lag

Sensored cons:

More expensive, more delicate electronics

Sensorless pros:

Simpler, more robust, cheaper

Sensorless cons:

lag (they use EMF feedback to determine rotor position, will sometimes turn the wrong way momentarily), low speed cogging (for the same reason), generally less tuneable.

Ultimately, in most applications, there is little real world difference. In upper echelon racing it matters, and you would definitely want sensored for a low speed crawler or scaler. For bashing and club level racing? If you're on a budget like most of us are, you're better served to spend the same amount on a higher quality sensorless system.

Having said that, the difference in cost is pretty negligable in many applications, sometimes only $20 or $30.
 
My first and currently only brushless system is the one that came in my mERV, yes it's sensor-less, and the this cogs like a mother at low operation speeds. I have other motors but nothing to power them so there they sit....waiting.

My next system is going to be a tekin system. Yes it'll be for my wraith, and crawling stuff. It will be a system with a sensor.
 
I would give sensored a serious consideration for those track surfaces. My local track is also clay, with a layer of loose dust on top, always. I'm also running an SC10 and for now have the stock AE SC700 / Reedy 3300kv combo and it can be a handful in the tighter turns. A good sensored setup not only has better low end resolution, but finer throttle control / more of a direct link between your trigger finger and the amount of throttle applied as they use hall sensors to constantly monitor the rotor position relative to the windings in the can.

As far as being delicate, I've never heard any complaints about that. And my pro4 / MMP combo in my Wraith gets the living daylights beat out of it on a regular basis, and I've never had an issue. And there are many, many guys running the same setup in Wraiths, and 4X4 SC trucks, and lower KV setups in 1/8 buggies and truggies with no problems whatsoever.

You can get a nice Hobbywing Xerun complete system for a very reasonable price, and from what I've heard / read, they are very good systems for the money. Get him a 4 pole motor, they have a lot more low end tq for better acceleration.
 
I'm also running an SC10 and for now have the stock AE SC700 / Reedy 3300kv combo and it can be a handful in the tighter turns.

The Reedy motors are good, but the Associated ESCs are crap (coming from an Associated guy here). Coggy, glitchy, poor tuneability, too much punch on the lowest setting, brakes are an on-off switch. Grab a Hobbywing EZrun 60A with a program card for ~$50 on eBay, you'll be amazed at the difference.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Hobbywing-E...Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item43beaa204f

Run that while you save for a nice sensored Tekin system or similar.
 
Make sure you buy good batteries! I'm running a sensor less system in my Merv and with a good battery on it there is little to no cogging. When I run the cheap packs in it then it more prone to cog.
 
If you have cogging from sensorless you have something sucky on there. I dont even get cogging from the cheapest of the cheap esc/motor combo's. I agree with Smaxxin, make sure you have a good pack. I never had cogging on my merv either. Nor any of my sc trucks that I've run sensorless.
 
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