Copper motor connectors?

[vwjuice]

Does it really make that much of a difference when you use the copper bullet connectors? Just the standard ones that come on some rtr brushless setups? I have been using them on my trucks just for ease of swapping motors when needed. I'm curious just to how much power do they really rob?

[madweazl]

You'd have to be racing on a pretty competitive level to notice any difference.

[vwjuice]

That's what I was wondering. I'm just racing on a club level. I didn't think it was that big of a deal.

[filzemail]

R/C Car Action did a comparison of battery/esc connectors. Saddly my favorites were third ranked. Deans were tied I think with Astro connectors. The expansion bullet type used in brushless motors were midddle line only. The worst were stock Tamyia types that were many times more resistant than the best.
Basically, today's high output lipo batteries demand a better connector to make full use of that output. Better connectors because of their lower resistance help losses at that point giving you more of what you paid for in performance all around.

[wmcwings]

You'd have to be racing on a pretty competitive level to notice any difference.

I'd have to agree. Yes, better quality connectors will yield less resistance and as a result more current passed through, and less heat loss. But we are talking such a minute level that it is hardly noticeable.

Sadly, a lot of this hobby exists because of the notion that different, wiz bang, is sooo much better than what I have. For more than the vast majority of R/C hobbists, the normal factory equipment is more than suffiecent for normal every day use.

That said though, bling and wiz bang sure is neat!!!!!

[Coelacanth]

I thought Deans were the deal a while ago but I'm switching everything over to EC3 connectors, for several reasons. Soldering Deans is always a righteous pain-in-the-ass, you can't do it without a third hand, pliers, rubber band, or some other apparatus. Soldering round wires to tiny flat spades that are only 5mm apart can be a bit frustrating. Hold the iron too long and the spades loosen and move within the connector plastic. It's also very easy to accidentally short out the 2 wires as the spades are so close together. Also, it's not impossible to reverse-connect Deans connectors; you can physically reverse a connection and *fit-zit*. Furthermore, the soldered parts need heat-shrink to cover the exposed solder joints...how many of you have been in a hurry and made that solder only to realize you forgot to slip on the heat-shrink section? To be honest, I wonder why Deans are so popular?

EC3's can be soldered without any heat-shrink or special tools, there's no exposed wiring after the connectors are soldered in and pressed into the connectors with nothing more than a small flat-bladed screwdriver, soldering is easy as the wire ends solder into cups instead of flat spades, they're similar in their performance as far as current capacities go, they're possible to remove from the connector housings without de-soldering, and it's impossible to reverse-connect them...and far less likely to short the 2 wires while soldering/installing in the connector housings.

[wmcwings]

Personally I like the Deans 4 pin connectors. I always pull 2 pins out from each side and swap them so they become polarized, thus preventing plugging them in wrong. I essentially make a "male" and "female" side for each pair of connectors. A little more work but I like it. As for the heat shrink, it's just part of doing business. I just take my time and have everything laid out and ready to go.

And YES, I have been accused of being a little OCD!

[Coelacanth]

Personally I like the Deans 4 pin connectors. I always pull 2 pins out from each side and swap them so they become polarized, thus preventing plugging them in wrong. I essentially make a "male" and "female" side for each pair of connectors.

Those look a bit small to me, I checked the current rating on those and it's only 20 amps...as opposed to the 40 - 50 amp capacity of the Deans Ultras. Soldering those Deans 4-pins looks to be even more annoying than the Ultras.

I wish I would've gone with EC3's a few years ago when I got back into RC. Now I'm re-fitting all my cars and friend's cars with those. You simply solder the wire into the connector cup, insert it into the housing, and snap it into place with a precision flat screwdriver. The outer wire sheath inserts nicely into the housing so there are no exposed wires or need to heat-shrink anything. Since you solder each wire individually before inserting it into the housing, there's no risk of shorting out between the 2 spades as with the Deans Ultras, and the housings don't permit reversed connections.

Debates rage on everywhere when it comes to connector preferences, and I stayed on the fence figuring Deans Ultras were the shiznit because most people were using them...but now having experience with them, I don't understand their popularity and cannot recommend them over the EC3's, which are simply a better design. Easy to solder, clean & tidy appearance without heatshrink, easy to connect, comparable current capacity and (almost) idiot-proof.

[kaiser]

EC3's are a bit small for batteries that have 10 and 8 gauge wire. ec5's would be needed, that's why i still use deans, they work for all my batteries.