Inexpensive but reliable 17.5 brushless

[kaiser]

85edinger are you the kid i gave the sleeve of bearings too?

just trying to figure out who you are.

[85Edinger]

Yeah, it turns out those bearings don't fit. I should've checked sooner. Do you want me to send them back to you?
Oh, wait, I've blown my cover. Dang.
How is the oval car coming?

[kaiser]

really, don't fit where? should fit wheels and rear hubs. odd.

you don't need to send them back, i don't need'em, i don't run flanged bearings on anything.

nothing new on the oval car, been spending my time on that durango i won @ the vonats.
i did race @ rchr last night, with my b4 in 17.5 class, good times!

[85Edinger]

Oh, the outside diameter fits the rear hubs. The inside diameter is small for the stock stub axles, but maybe some modern axles will fit.
The ID fits around the stock front axles, too large OD for the wheels.

[kaiser]

weird.

it's the thought that counts right?

[85Edinger]

Anyway,
The Novak SS may be a great motor, but spending less money is always nice. Any suggestions for a competitive, reliable motor in the $60 range?
I could probably get an SS off ebay.

[kaiser]

the one thing that's a problem is that in your first post you said you want good customer service.

while IMO the best customer service is the one thats not needed, if you want good service you are limited to usa based companies.

i did have an issue with a 1/8 scale hobbywing system and the customer service is garbage, not to mention you need to ship it to china.

how much is that novak club system? it may be a good option.

[85Edinger]

That's one reason I was looking at Brushless Hobbies. It's cheap, from a US based company, and a proven design. I'm just wondering about cs.
The Novak gtb2/Ballistic combo squeezes into my price range, but I'd like to spend less. The $120 one doesn't have some features I'd like. I'm looking at doing local club racing with this motor, so boost would be nice.
With a Hobbywing/BH esc, you can buy a second one if #1 fails and only come off slightly worse than a name bramd esc. Some good reports of Stan's customer service would seal the deal.
If I were to go buy a system now, it would probably be a BH 120 esc and a Novak SS.
Why is the HW customer service bad? Did they refuse to replace the esc? Were they rude?

[kaiser]

long story short:

about a year and a half ago bought xerun 150amp esc w/2250 kv snesored motor.(1/8 scale system)
on the second battery about 2 minutes in the sensor came loose inside the motor, dropped into the motor, taking out the motor and esc.
took me 3 weeks to get a reply from them. they had the nerve to tell me that i used the wrong battery (4s), clearly the esc is rated up to 6s.

i wasn't about to pay to ship the thing to china with a good chance of them not fixing it under warranty.
and only god knows how long it would take to get back.
i haven't bought a hw since.

the day it happened i bought a tekin rx8 1900kv combo and have been a happy camper ever since. the 1900kv tekin is faster then the 2250kv hw to boot!

[JK Racing]

Some good reports of Stan's customer service would seal the deal.
If I were to go buy a system now, it would probably be a BH 120 esc and a Novak SS.

I dont know if anyone else on this board has BH speedo's but myself. I did have some cogging issues when using boost on my 80a/17.5 Novak SS combo. Turned out (after e mails back and forth with Stan over the span of a few hours), I was pulling too much from my batteries and hitting the LVC shutting the system off (brown out). I changed the LVC and went to a higher C rated pack and was happy afterwards. I have e mailed him other times asking about ROAR certification, he only responded with "in the works". My speedo's have worked flawlessly, I havent had the need to seek out his CS. I have read the same complaints you see on RCTECH, and feel for those racers. I will probably order another one or 2 from him, but I wont be getting the 120a model. I have asked in the thread (on RCTECH) more than once and no one reported an 80a failure. That makes me personally feel comfortable.

On your decision about the motor, purchase what you feel most comfortable with, d3.5 has a separate sensor wire that can be replace the SS doesnt. I personally like both, so I wont offer up one over the other.

[85Edinger]

It's possible that the failure rate is equal for both esc's, but more people bought the 120. Maybe the lower capabilities of the 80a meant that no one pushed it past its breaking point because they were more cautious.
Oh, who am I kidding? Something must be up with the 120s.
Think a 5000mah 25c SPC would be adequate for a 17.5 with boost?
The Xerun esc's are roar approved, why not the same ESC with better FET's?

[JK Racing]

not knowing the exact scenario, the BH speedos, even though they are clones, must be submitted to ROAR and tested to ensure they are legal. I dont know where they are in that process.

I regularly run my 10.5 on my 80a speedo, no fan on either motor or speedo. No issues for me.

Heck, in the end, who knows. I am happy with mine.

[Mr. ED]

Well I know the feeling, runner up is never fun.

I'm already real happy when I'm second to last

[Hcp22]

Well I know the feeling, runner up is never fun.

I'm already real happy when I'm second to last

Exactly what I meant to

[85Edinger]

Anyway, it'll be a few months before I can buy it. I'll post a review.
Those motors that come with the cheap Novak Club Spec look a lot like the SS. Are they the same?