# Brushless Motor Life ???



## NCFRC (Aug 4, 2005)

I've been into RC for the last 20+ years but am a total rookie about this brushless stuff.

- how long a life does a brushless motor have compared to brushed ?

-We're looking at the new 13.5 Novak motor for a 4 cell oval class ?

-Hows the amp draw compared to brushed ? I'd assume easier on batteries,, making them slightly less in the equation ?

Thanks for any feedback


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## pmsimkins (Nov 4, 2004)

Motor Life = Years

I have been racing my 13.5 all year with no loss in performance. I have one 4300 motor That has 15 months of use and one 4300 motor that has about 2 weeks of use. I could not tell the difference.

All you need to do is throw a drop of oil in the bearings every couple of months and check their condition. Otherwise you are good to go for a very long time.

Like anything else it is possible for something in a motor to malfunction and for the motor to go bad, but as far as simply wearing out the BL motors pretty much don't.


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## badassrevo (May 8, 2006)

I run a 13.5 in stock truck on an offroad track and the motor is awesome. I have close to 100 packs through it and it is just as fast as the day it was installed. It will make your old crappy batteries feel new again!


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## ta_man (Apr 10, 2005)

badassrevo said:


> I run a 13.5 in stock truck on an offroad track and the motor is awesome. I have close to 100 packs through it and it is just as fast as the day it was installed. It will make your old crappy batteries feel new again!


What do you gear your truck with the 13.5? Please tell me type of truck (so I can factor in trans ratio) and whether you run foams indoors (and if so what diameter) or standard size truck rubber tires?

Thanks, Mark


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## badassrevo (May 8, 2006)

I run a Losi MF2 with Losi pink taper pins on a dirt/clay offroad style track. My truck is geared with a 19/86. I might move up to a 20 the new layout has a big straight with a high speed sweeper.


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## OvalTrucker (Dec 14, 2003)

NCFRC said:


> I've been into RC for the last 20+ years but am a total rookie about this brushless stuff.
> 
> - how long a life does a brushless motor have compared to brushed ?
> 
> ...


NCFRC,
Motor life has yet to be determined. I know guys that are still running 4300 motors that are a couple years old. They have upgraded to the sintered rotor which will give you cooler operating temps and longevity.

I have my original 4300 motor which is 3 years old and I would not hesitate to put it up against any other 4300 motor and expect a fair race.

I have been racing only 13.5/4 cell oval this year. It is the most fun I've had racing in years. I have 2 13.5's. Only because I have 2 cars. Both motors are identical in performance.
I did see one 13.5 motor burn up this year. But the speedo went at the same time so we don't know which one caused the initial failure. Probably the motor though in my estimation.

I can't help you much with the amp draw question. Except to say that all of the brushless motors have alot of torque. You do get longer runtimes.
I have participated in a couple local enduro races and have ran consistent lap times for over 8 minutes with a 4 cell 4200 pack. And I was geared just like I was racing a 4 or 5 minute race.


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## The Stig (Sep 25, 2005)

I just got a brushless system myself and I have to say it's made things even more fun for me. I never liked having to rebuild a motor after several runs and tinker with it all the time to get max performance. You just charge these and go. Like was mentioned, be smart about dirt getting in there and use some bearing oil once in a while and you're good to go. Battery run times are definitely longer, but I couldn't tell you specifics on amp draw.


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## BullFrog (Sep 24, 2002)

I've been running the protype 13.5 for over a year. I asked your question to Novak yesterday basically ,The bearings .


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## NCFRC (Aug 4, 2005)

Sounds great guys ,,, I appreciate your feedback :thumbsup:


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