Brushed vs Brushless

[Sethman29]

looking to pick up an arrma granite. I feel like the brushed motor would be fine but ive been hearing stories of 2S Lipo's killing them.

If wanting to run a 2S Lipo, is the BLX brushless granite my only option really? Any input is appreciated!

 

[ssmiljanic]

Hey Sethman29,

This brushed motor will either fail or bore you in very short order...I have only kept brushed vehicles in my "stable" for my kids to keep the power low and the costs minimal to replace until they grow into better drivers. In saying that, you should be prepared though that this car needs lots of work after purchase to make it reliable partly due to the brushless power and partly cheap components. I have an Arrma raider xl which is similar to a brushless granite. There are many threads devoted to these upgrades, but I think the minimum upgrades required are...

-BLX metal gear upgrade - the composite gears are not appropriate for brushless
-Shock cap/shock body upgrades - as stock caps pop off
-Front bumper (Tbone or I think RPM makes one)
-Rear Ball Stud upgrade (or they constantly pop out and you lose your dogbones)
-Plastic spacers in dogbone cups (may have been remedied on current models - if not dogbones are too short)

Others may chime in with other suggestions - but this at least a bare minimum upgrade list for reliable 2s running. My Raider XL is pretty kitted up and by now has cost me $$ more, but it is fairly indestructible. You don't need to go with all aluminum, 4 gear diff, better servo and tires but if you do all of the upgrades your car will be a beast. I'm not sure what your familiarity is with entry level hobby grade RC's, but upgrades out of the box are not unusual. Traxxas, Arrma, ECX, etc all require some immediate upgrades to allow you to run pack after pack without constant failures. Look at it as an opportunity to get to know your vehicle!

Here are links to relevant videos...


https://arrmaforum.com/threads/upgrade-mega-bls-plastic-transmission-to-blx-metal.596/
https://arrmaforum.com/threads/raider-xl-blx-build-log.3299/
https://arrmaforum.com/threads/rear-camber-link-mod.321/

 

[Sethman29]

Thank you very much Sir! I am very new to the hobby but i'm trying to do my homework first. I really appreciate the informative input. Ideally i'd like to have the upgrades waiting on the truck to arrive so i can add them. I think my problems will fall into the installing department, as i don't know what alot of the things you said are or what they do lol. But i'm sure some searches and youtube videos will get me in the right place. It sounds like i should start with a brushless truck like maybe the granite blx? Thanks again!

 

[ssmiljanic]

Agreed! And don't worry if the learning curve may feel steep. These forums, Google, and your local hobby store if one is available will get you up to speed pretty quick.