Motor quality?
 

Up to now I have always run Speed Passion motors and have typically run 13.5 or 10.5 in my 2wd - usually with a bit of boost for on the straights.
I know SP is pretty cheap but I’m wondering what benefit a more expensive motor brings? Any thoughts and if so, any recommendations?

I used a speed passion motor in my vintage buggy, it was a 10.5 and all the other cars I was racing against had a 10.5's as well.
The speed passion motor just seemed a bit lifeless compared to the cars I was competing against, it didn't seem to have the acceleration / pull, or the top speed of the other 10.5 I was racing against.

I am guessing the magnets are not as strong, maybe components are cheaper / lower quality, and less R&D goes into their motors compared to Maclan, Hobbywing, LRP, etc.

I mentioned it to a couple of people I was racing against about how slow the motor felt and it seemed to be common knowledge that they were not as quick as other manufactures and people seem to refer to them as Slow Passion.

I ended up switching it out for a Sky RC Ares, but the 10.5 that seems to be popular at the moment is the LRP X22

The only issue I ever had with speed passion motors was the female plugs for ABC used to work loose and unsolder during races. I ended up soldering them directly to the motor. But have since gone to reedy which you solder directly to.

That was what I had on Sunday. Someone wizzed past me on the straight and I thought I had my 13.5t in when they said they were running a 10.5t but then I checked and mine was also 10.5 (even with boost!)

The R&D for the Speed Passion motors stopped in 2010, when they first released it. Even it's replacement that Speed Passion released in 2011 had a 10% increase in performance over the cheap V3 motors they sell.
Speed Passion have decided to not bother with the high performance end of the market and have just kept on making this 10 year old design as it's more profitable for them.


Other manufacturers spend time and money on constant development just to keep up with the competition, making the motors expensive, and if their motor isn't the fastest they don't sell any. Speed Passion chose to keep making a 10 year old motor range so they have no extra costs to keep the price low. They spotted that there was a gap in the market for cheap motors so have a constant income when they don't have any competiton in the price range.

The V3 motors are seriously underpowered compared to any modern race motor. When R&D means even this year's motors have a 5-10% improvement over last year's motor you can see how far behind a 10 year old motor design is going to be. I recently bought a new motor to replace a 4 year old one that is still competitive, using a motor tester the new motor showed it had 30% more speed with much more torque straight out of the box compared to my old tweaked and tuned motor.

You don't even need the latest motor to see a performance difference, I would recommend buying a second hand motor over a new Speed Passion because the second hand motor will be faster.

Thanks all
So my next question is... stock or mod? What is the difference and does it matter for 1:10 buggies?
Never had this trouble with speed passion 😂

So stock class racing is usually 13.5 or 17.5 and its popular in America.
Mod class is any motor below 13.5 I think.
If you have been racing with a speed passion 10.5 I would probably move to 8.5 and get something like a Hobbywing, Maclan, LRP, etc will have tons more power.

Don't forget that the motor timing, gearing and ESC settings are important too. I run a team powers 13.5 in my pr s1 v3 Evo and it's very quick with a touch of boost. I use a 10.5 and 8.5 also in my 2wd sometimes with a touch of boost if needed. Don't matter how good your electrics are .......if not set up correctly you won't get the best from them. I did use a speed passion 7.5 motor a while ago and in fairness it's was quite a bit slower than i expected.

Chris, you're getting keen on power suddenly..😂...you've always done well, despite being down on power as you are often quicker through the twisty bits with a " slower" motor.
The stock motors have fixed timing and are normally for " blinky" class, as per Batleys 13.5 stock class. However, if you don't use the timing feature on the motor itself, I don't think there would be any difference.
I have found that Reedy motors are very smooth with good speed and LRP very fast..! Limited experience though..!
Where were you racing recently then..?

I need grounding Alan 😂
I like my smooth motor, but at Manor over the weekend it was noticeable how slow my cars was on the straight. I am used to the fast chaps leaving me for dead, but didn’t expect it from another 10.5t

Blimey, you're still alive you ole dinosaur? yes we are now officially dinosaurs. How's it going Terry, I can't believe you have had the passion of keeping this whole thing going, passion for RC. I took a major break from RC but I think's of getting back on the saddle, not too sure yet but I have started to buy some old RC stuff and may get my ole TamiyaClub account back up and running. Hope all is well. :thumbsup: