Hobbywing MAX 4. 12S ESC!

[Megasty]

I'm really hoping this ESC has some grunt, I've been kinda waiting for a decent alternative to my MGM so I can swap the MGM into a MCD XR5.
Mildly concerned about the motor mount spacing though, hopefully it's either the same or not too different.


My MGM ESC handles 12S @ 800kV (Castle 2028) no problem, the problem is trying to mount the damn thing, they really put no effort into making a reliable way to mount it.
Honestly with the torque of high voltage systems being as it is, the ESC is the least of your concerns, I basically had to abandon the Baja platform because I not only broke teeth in the gearbox, I managed to crack the gear itself.

Lesson learned there, 4WD to distribute the power is the way to go.

Spoiler

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The sintered gears of the Baja was a major turn off. Might as well be overcooked cookie dough.

 

[KevinC]

haha Yea I was thinking k8s. I actually use double sided tape and zip ties on all my basher esc and I've never had a problem. K8s is a lot heavier though so I dunno.

Under any side load landing, this ESC would rip off due to its weight if it was zip tied on its side IMHO. It’s 3/4 of a kilogram.

Upon further inspection of the dimensions,I have to take back what I said about fitment in the K8…… it looks like this thing will fit in this rig…..laying flat like it’s supposed to. It will be tight against the outer side guard, the inner chassis brace, and the battery tray, but it looks possible……I’ve been into the whisky so caveats are in order.

It will overhang the servo saver and RX tray.…..possibly the battery tray too. I have an M2C ESC plate for the max5 in my K8 and I don’t think one could continue to use this thing due to its stock mounting holes that attach to the stock Arrma servo/ rx tray.

All that being said, the Max5 is plenty for me in the K8 but I may look at this system in the future for my DBXLE.

cheers,
kev
I can’t say if the servo arm will cause conflict with the footprint of the Max4 …..I’m 5 whisky’s down the rabbit hole.

 

[Surchaufeur]

At the same time as i get my first hobbywing esc at full price(max8).

 

[brettjun]

Wow . What a beast of set up with the motor as well.

 

[limitless202+]

But the real question is… is it better then the XLX2 for speedrunning?

 

[TL01magic]

I wonder if this would fit in the Axial SCX6?

 

[tylerfullerton]

Definitely not cheap. I don't have anything to use it for but I want one. On a side note prices of everything seemed to have just gone up. I was looking at another XLX2 combo w/ 1100kv. It's $500 now. It was just $469 a couple weeks ago. Didn't even realize it until I was talking to the owner of my LHS on Friday.

I just picked up an xlx2 combo for 441$ shipped off towerhobbies.com. used their promotion codes with the premier membership and its not bad.

 

[Sandracer_NL]

I wonder if this would fit in the Axial SCX6?

You want a 12s crawler?

 

[ARRMA King]

You want a 12s crawler?

I saw Exocage already did his on 8s.

Shift to 2nd gear and it scoots like a basher. Best of both worlds imo.

12s sensored… would only make it better in my book!!!

Plus that chassis has the room for all those cells. Then it’ll exactly be like the 9,000 lb Hummer EV! Maybe time for a matching body

 

[LicketySplit]

I just picked up an xlx2 combo for 441$ shipped off towerhobbies.com. used their promotion codes with the premier membership and its not bad.

Hook me up!! I'd buy that on Monday for that price.

 

[TL01magic]

You want a 12s crawler?

omg, I would need to somehow incorporate the SCX6 into a lawn maintenance vehicle of sorts to justify the price of it + the HW max4.

was just musing an RC it could maybe used with.

I saw Exocage already did his on 8s.

Shift to 2nd gear and it scoots like a basher. Best of both worlds imo.

12s sensored… would only make it better in my book!!!

Plus that chassis has the room for all those cells. Then it’ll exactly be like the 9,000 lb Hummer EV! Maybe time for a matching body

lol of course he has, thanks for mentioning; will check out the vid

 

[RC-Dude]

Think the big plus for12S is that you can use two 6s Lipos.

Got 3S, 4S and 6s Lipos. 12S would eliminate the need for 4s Lipos.

But the price....

Just seeing the specs:
Don't need a 300AMP sensored 12S ESC. (But that is just me)
200 Amp 12S and unsensored would do. That would bring the price down too.
Would just use a different pinion to keep the AMPs down. More than enough power anyway.

Guess I will wait for the "MAX3" 200AMP 12S unsensored....

But:
Two 6s 6000mAH would give the same driving time as two 4s 9000mAH if the pinion is adjusted for the same top speed.
The price of two sets of 4s 9000mAh is perhaps better invested in this ESC long term. (When you have enough 6s Lipos anyway) Basically you need at least two sets of lipos (4x 4s 9000mAH) for the Kraton 8s or DBXLE to have some driving time.

 

[Radiocontrolsoul]

But the real question is… is it better then the XLX2 for speedrunning?

Wouldn't think so

 

[Armarookie43]

But the real question is… is it better then the XLX2 for speedrunning?

I'm sure someone is going to try to push the Max 4 to its limits like that. But to me, it looks like it's designed more for bashing than speed runs. The opposite can be said about the XLX2 and their motors.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

Tommy posted a video.
I guess those are not proper speed run tires as he is not pushing it high speeds.

Seems interesting so far but still have my reservation for high speed use. Only time will tell, but love the mobile phone data log function.

 

[TL01magic]

oh wow! data via BT!! I would love to have that; I bought b-link mistakenly thinking it did data via bt, it even says "Coming soon!" lol for years now.

hopefully this competitive pressure gets castle putting some effort into getting that going for blink...

hopefully HW puts that feature in the other models eventually as well. I would consider selling my mmx8s / 1717 and going HW just for that feature.

 

[SrC]

Yup. In general, everything is more expensive
Dimensions of the Max 5 :
Size (L.W.H)
mm93.35/58.12/47.81

Dimensions of the Max 4 :

Size (L.W.H)
mm125 x 85 x 61.7mm

So it's longer, wider and taller than the Max 5 indeed.

Funny how the USD money is worth less, buys less and things cost more on top of that.
Squeezing us all dry.

A have a couple of big 40lb gassers that will love this system, especially my 5T with that tired old XL2 system in it. That Rovan XLT450 might be a perfect fit for this thing. It's definitely not going in any Arrma. The gears & drivetrain are way too small. My Rovan F5 is already a serious nut with a max5 system. I might have to buy a planetary orbit if I drop this in it.

As for the XLT450, when I look at it, all I see is a upgraded 5T. I'm kind of surprised they didn't go with the aluminum bulkheads since the plastic literally self-destructs. Another sweet thing is that they have conversion kits too. Might be the way to go considering I have nearly 3K in parts in my 1st K8S making it look like this thing.

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Yeah, don't even bother putting this into any Arrma 8s rig and running 12s.

 

[SrC]

oh wow! data via BT!! I would love to have that; I bought b-link mistakenly thinking it did data via bt, it even says "Coming soon!" lol for years now.

hopefully this competitive pressure gets castle putting some effort into getting that going for blink...

hopefully HW puts that feature in the other models eventually as well. I would consider selling my mmx8s / 1717 and going HW just for that feature.

CC has the best Data logs. Just need to run the CC PC link to get access them. BT ( B-Link) wont get you it. It is best used for ESC value's setup.
I have 3 sensored HW rigs here, (XR8 Plus) I get limited data with the BT app/adapter by contrast. But it is there.
Min/Max temps for the ESC and Motor, Min/Max lipo volts, Max RPM's for each run. Each ESC On/Off cycle creates a separate event.( log)
Only CC offers Ripple Volts, % of max power etc and other operating log parameters. All In a graph. Probably overkill for a basher rig.
For serious speed running, CC data logs are best.

 

[LibertyMKiii]

CC has the best Data logs. Just need to run the CC PC link to get access them. BT ( B-Link) wont get you it. It is best used for ESC value's setup.
I have 3 sensored HW rigs here, (XR8 Plus) I get limited data with the BT app/adapter by contrast. But it is there.
Min/Max temps for the ESC and Motor, Min/Max lipo volts, Max RPM's for each run. Each ESC On/Off cycle creates a separate event.( log)
Only CC offers Ripple Volts, % of max power etc and other operating log parameters. All In a graph. Probably overkill for a basher rig.
For serious speed running, CC data logs are best.

It appears the "new" max4 HW logs are similar, although I have not seen them in detail other than what was shown in that video above.

 

[SrC]

The max4 can probably drive an E bike or skateboard.