Leccy 8th - Caster Fusion
 

Well t'other day I had a parcel come, and it was a Caster Fusion leccy 8th buggy.

Looks awesome! I got it to review for NeoBuggy so will be busy with that over the coming weeks in between work.

Anyone else got/getting one of these?

What esc, motor and lipo's you going for??

Was thinking about one of these when I sell some of the other cars out of the garage.

Peter

No idea.

I am hoping to approach some companies and see if I can get some discounted stuff.

Ideally I am going for two TrakPower 5400mAh 2S packs, a Tekin R1 Pro and a Neu 1512.

Ive seen a tekin speedo in action, it didnt seem great :eh?: maybe theyve improved them now ?

i'd try the mamba monster or speed passion when its out

trakky cells will be dialed though :thumbsup:

Jason, PM me if you would like to borrow an R1Pro for the review. I can make sure the latest software is on there for you, they go real well.

Thanks for the kind offer.

I already have a R1 Pro in my CAT SX though (they are the nuts!) but was hoping to get the caster its own esc and put it in an alloy case to help with the cooling due to load of 8th. If worse comes to worse I will just swap my R1 Pro between my CAT and this until something permanent is sorted.

The Tekin Rx8 is not due out in time for my review sadly.

This 8th electric business not cheap, unfortunately :(

It does look a good piece of kit :thumbsup:

G

:)I'm running an MGM 16025 Z Series in my Tekno/Losi 8T with a Neu 1515-1Y motor & Thunder Power V2 5000mah 4S lipo's. The MGM is expensive but waterproof which I thought essential for racing outdoors in our weather.
The 4S is pretty quick (pretty much the same as my nitro 8T but I haven't had chance to try different gearing options yet) but I'm going to try the TP 5S at some point just to see what difference it makes. Apparently if you go to 6S it's just totally ballistic and overkill for most tracks.:)

What sort of run times are you getting???

From what I've seen on forums then Mamba had many problems, probably newest series doesn't but I'm not sure. Losi esc looks good. Caster uses in their buggy Hobbywing esc which you can know also under brand Speed Passion.
For me, Losi and Hobbywing looks as best choices. (Don't know much about Novak for 1/8)

http://www.rcmart.com/catalog/rc-tea...cPath=420_1264


Any one Tried one/\/\

What are they like?

Matt

Yep - we had the ESC`s land yesterday for the RTR spec car. It is indeed the HWing 80amp unit. Just waiting for RTR motors to land this next week then I an set a demo car up prior to the RTR cars landing with us.

hobby wing, we got a few running them at the club, not the easiest to set up in the world, and you get what you pay for, with them.

Hobby Wing have a big range of ESCs and make them for quite a few different people that you may not straight away think of as Hobby Wing..

The V1 and V2 monsters were apparantley iffy but the V3 appears to be the biz..(the V1 and V2 were never released in the UK) I saw the Tekin at southport and it thermalled pretty quick, they might be better now though

Hobbywing make the Losi systems right?

And yes, the Castle MMM had a few issues. With a dodgy batch of transistors and also their software had a bug in on the BEC handling causing it to mess up and fry. Sorted now though (v3 I think).

The Speed Passion is a crazy size, as is the Losi system (MMM not much smaller mind!). The Tekin R1 Pro is already better than all those systems (more fets and higher quality ones too) and a fraction of the size. Fairly high cost though and needs the new alloy case to stay cool in an 8th system. I along with lots of people on here run the R1 and RS and I don't think any of us have any problems, especially with thermalling! With a 4.5 turn motor in my CAT SX, the internal sensor shows a heat of around 4/10 on the LEDS after a 5 minute run and I'm geared fast! So I have 6 LEDS (60%) more capacity before it would even think about thermalling.

The Tekin Rx8 is going to be THE system when it is out. Not as high FET count as the R1 Pro, but spread out more and with a heatsync. Less FETs mean it will be priced cheaper than the R1 Pro and yet still plenty capable of pulling a 8th buggy or truggy around a track. The fact that an R1 Pro is winning 30 minute+ races against nitro in truggies shows that it is exceptional... especially when you consider it is a 1/10th esc (again no thermal problems). Hence I have every confidence in the Rx8 and from the images I have seen it looks wicked too!

I am going to stick 4S for this. 5S will give a little more effciency, however at weight and maybe cost (although you can get away with lower quality packs when you go 5S). My main reason however though is due to standards and regulation. ROAR's preview rules are 4s limited, so i think maybe EFRA and BRCA will follow.

Nope Hobbywing makes esc for many companies but not for Losi. They have their own.

I am almost certain Losi don't make their own. Horizon don't have expertise and wouldn't likely spend that kind of money of hiring a whole team to design it and the cost of tooling (home or abroad) in making it.

They are made for them, I just can't remember who by. I was told on good authority who by, but just can't remember. Hobby Wing just sounded very familiar when it was said hence I questioned.

Hi guys,

I'm new to oOple, but was just reading this after Glypo linked me, and thought I'd drop in my thoughts.
Losi don't make their Xcelorin ESCs. They have a contracted company to design and make their ESCs as far as I know. They don't appear to be on sale under any other brands, so it's probably a custom design. It takes a tremendous amount of specialist skill, design time and equipment to build a brushless ESC (especially the software), so it's huuuuugely unlikely that Losi have the ability.

HobbyWing make ESCs for loooads of companies, as you guys have said. Speed Passion and Venom, to name a couple. Their new (massive) ESC looks pretty poor to me, though. It's only rated to 4S, only 80A constant (which is going to seriously limit motor choice), and it's the size of a house lol. It might be ok, though.

The Mamba Monster has definitely had it's problems too, but they're pretty much all sorted now...and it's an amazing ESC. Verrrry smooth, and incredibly powerful. Castle actually tested the Losi 1/8th ESC on the Monster's 120A constant bench-test at their facility. Wheras the Monster can sustain 120A constant current for literally minutes on end, the Losi - which is stated to handle 150A constantly - thermalled within a few seconds. So many companies exaggerate current specs... :S

The Tekin RX8 is looking pretty sweet too. Glypo knows I'm a Castle guy, but if the R1 is anything to go by, it should do well. I still think you should go with a Monster, Jason...but there ya go lol. Can't wait to see the review of the Caster!

And I just want to say, "hello". This looks like a great forum. :-)

DT, you lost your oOple virginity! Congrats.

This is THE forum to be on, welcome. Everyone - DT is a leccy genius. Should be a real asset to the forum. Top bloke too :thumbsup:

Welcome DT

I agree with Glypo here, being in the electronics design game, it is highly unlikely that Horizon/Losi made their own speedo. However why does it look so much like a GTB? Do they buy it from Novak or did they simply give a GTB to someone and said "make me one of these!" :confused::woot:

G

Well I hoped that you'll understand what I mean that they have their own esc (it's clear that they don't design and produce them).
About HobbyWing they don't have only 80A spec esc but also 150A esc which run up to 6s.
80A esc marked as Stock http://www.hobbywing.com/english/Art...?ArticleID=431
150A esc marked as Modified http://www.hobbywing.com/english/Art...?ArticleID=429

The 150A Hobbywing unit doesn't look that bad to me :confused:

G

Good find...I wasn't aware they were releasing a higher-powered version, although it certainly makes sense for a unit that size lol. HobbyWing ESCs aren't at all bad, so that'll probably be a decent unit IMO. It's just that an 80A controller in a 1/8th application is a bit frugal; you'll be able to run low kv motors, but probably nothing much faster (or in a bigger vehicle) without heat issues.

Sorry, I kinda misread how you meant that last night. I know what you meant now :-)

Lockness may be from Slovakia - but his English is mostly better than ours. :woot:

Are the Hobby Wing specs anywhere near realistic though?

I honestly can't see it being anywhere near 150 amperes for real.

Running an R1 Pro in my RC8 and have to say they are pretty impressive performers. Only pushed it to 21 mins so far but no thermal issues. Add the hotwire into it and it makes quite an attractive option. Even when the RX8 comes out i think you will still find the R1's a popular choice due to size. :thumbsup:

What motors are people using? They all seem to be big money? :(

G

There's obviously no way to be sure without having one to actually test, but I'm doubtful. It might be able to handle 150A continuously for a few seconds, or maybe even half a minute, but I personally can't see that being a genuine continuous rating. 150A is a LOT of current; you'd need at least 8-gauge motor wires to actually handle that (120A is about the limit for 10-gauge). I'd say the 150A is likely to be a short-term rating, but I could be wrong. No way to know until it's tested.

Northy; most people using sensorless setups right now are using either Neu, Medusa or Feigao motors. Neu are the creme-de-la-creme of brushless motors, being really efficient, but also quite expensive (you can also buy Tekno-Neu motors, which are specifically designed for car use):http://www.neumotors.com/2008/Root/Site/Welcome.html They're around the $250 mark for a "1515" class motor, which are suited for truggies and monsters. The "1512" class motors are good for buggies, and more more like $220. Not good for us brits.:thumbdown:
Then there are the Medusa "Afterburner V2" motors, which are excellent: http://www.medusaproducts.com/motors/036-V2.htm They come in various can lengths (and of course, winds) and are almost as efficient as Neu motors, but considerably cheaper. A 60mm Medusa motor is equivalent to a Neu 1512 in terms of power, but comes in at around $130. Not bad.:)
Then there are the Feigao motors, which you should stay away from. They're cheap, but very inefficient and poorly made. If they don't overheat on you, the rotor will separate or the can will fall apart, lol.

Castle will be bringing out their own motors very soon, though, which are based on the Neu design. They'll be just as efficient and well made, but built tougher with larger bearings and a stronger can. They'll have 1515 and 1512-sized motors coming out, and should be around $150. I'm picking one up myself lol.
Basically, there's a wide price range of motors out there...it just depends how much you can spent. A bit of efficiency goes a long way.:)

Sorry for the essay...I get a bit carried away with this stuff!:woot:

From Slovakia? I'd never have thought he wasn't English, by the quality of his text.;)

DT, you forgot the most important of all. Tekin...... :thumbsup:

Tekin will have 8th motors out too with the Rx8 :)

Yes! Good point, sorry Jay. Tekin will have their own large motors too by early next year. :)

Well there are few threads about 1/8th electric on rctech.net forum (one has over 11000 replies) that I try to keep eye on (you can find them in both electric and nitro buggy section). It's really interesting reading.

To my english - it quite clear it's not as good as I wish, but I try to keep it as good as I can. I don't have almost any oportunities to use it here in Slovakia, so I'm practicing only by watching films with english subtitles and reading/writing on forums.

:)Sadly it would appear that even the V.3 Mamba Monster isn't without it's issues, apart from the MGM I'm running now the only B/L speedo's I've had previously have been for 1/10 (Novak/LRP/Nosram). There are a lot of good reviews from people using the Tekin speed controllers.
As I said I went for the MGM as it's water proof, I don't know about the Tekin but the Castle one's certainly aren't. The other thing that steered me towards the MGM was the fact that Tekno, who's chassis I'm using, prefer to use these. Thermalling shouldn't be an issue as it comes with twin active cooling fans.
Someone asked about run times, I've got the LVC set on the conservative side at the moment so it's 13 - 15 minutes.:)

I ran a V3 at Worksop today in a leccy X1CR, it was totally awesome :thumbsup:

There have been a few Monster V3 failures like you say, but literally only a few if the RC-Monster forums are anything to go by...a lot of people there are running the V3s (or V1\V2s with the new firmware) without any problems now. Most of the problems so far have actually been due to a poor setup (one guy was seriously overstressing his LiPos, resulting in a lot of voltage flutter, which killed the Monster). I've got a V1 with the new firmware and a V3 case, which I'm waiting to run.

As far as waterproof-ness...the Monster isn't officially water *proof*, but it is water resistant. All of the electronics are clear silicone coated, so it can handle splashes with no problems. :)

The MGM's a good choice, they're nice ESCs. What model do you have? :)

Cool! Smooth as silk, aren't they :)

Some great info here - thanks :D

What is the Losi stuff like? I'm guessing that it is just someone else's re-badged.

G

bally had the losi system in his eight,pulled the shell off after the running at worksop yesterday and it was clap cold,motor was aired.

Check rctech.net. There is topic about losi 8ight-E in electric buggy section. Most ppl there use Losi BL system (some uses also MMM). Reaction about it are mostly positive (only few ppl had problems - in comparison to MM v1 or v2 none ;))

The MGM's a good choice, they're nice ESCs. What model do you have?

:)I went for the 16025-3 Z Series, I thought about going for the 28025 but mine should still have 45-50 amps to spare on what the Neu motor will pull. From what I've heard it's not as smooth as the MMM although I haven't noticed any cogging as it spins up prior to the Tekno clutch engaging. I've got some long shank pinions to try direct drive as well which will probably show up any cogging more than the clutch will.
If the V3 is sorted it should be excellent for the money and if it is indeed sorted I may well get one to try.
As far as waterproofing goes I had a Novak GTB before in 1/10 TC that was supposed to be 'water resistant', was it hell, first drop of water and it went up in smoke! The MGM should hopefully be better in this respect as it's also suitable for use in R/C boats, time will tell I've only run it in the rain once so far.:)

Is bally around?

just wondering what your runtimes were like with the 8 and the flighpower 5000 ?