Speeding Up A Nikko - Island Cruiser

[latinwindow]

I think that what you want to do is fairly easy.At least for 15mph anyway. It will get bouncing rather hard though. Ten mph would be good and smooth.
You have a large boat so a good sized motor could be usefull. A 550 motor could easily fit in . I beleive the whole thing could be done for under $100 starting with nothing. You would need a different radio , a esc for the motor and a motor. None of which has to be new. A used hobby type radio off of ebay can sometimes be had for as low as $15. I bought a Traxxis for that all ready to go . A car type esc can be had for about $25 to $35 from Tower. I have a lot of 550 type motors to sell cheap .New for $3.50 plus shipping. I do make custom couplers to fit any motor to shaft size.
P.S.
Hi Rex good to see you on the computer

Out of curiosity, what about a brushless motor? I do like the techonolgy around them from what i have read. i.e. faster, longer battery running time etc.

[Chris S.]

Dont waste the money!!!! Listen to everyones advise, if you want to go brushless scratch the hull you have and build one that can handle more power, or just upgrade to a 480 or 550 motor. I would say those are the best options.

[latinwindow]

550 brushed motor it is!!

Ok, Chris S. it was just a question about brushless tech. But I definitely realized after some reading (online study) - that brushless motor in this toy boat is like putting a Formula 1 car engine in a very standard car! Not worth it!
Please bear with me - I am new to this r/c world - which I find fascinating btw - so every now and then I might have a question that may be "obvious" to the experts but not so "obvious" to me.
I am making lots of progress... reading forums and web pages (info) from the web and getting myself educated.
This project, not only is my first one, but a starting point for more to come!
Thank you all for all the time, advise, patience and support so far!!

So the 550 motor it is... now, n.h.schmidt said he had some 550 motors available, however he hasn't been online for few days...

Does anyone know what type 550 motor I should be looking for? rpms? volts? etc?
As to give me a "north" to go for... rather than searching in zig-zag all around the web?
Any suggested web links can be greatly appreciated!!!

Thanks guys!

Sam

[Eodman]

Hey Sam where are you located,what country?

[n.h.schmidt]

Motors

Hi
I can't always get on line everyday. I do have some 550 motors. Actually one of them is a fair amount longer than a 550 and might work out well with this boat .Its not real hi rpm.s on 6cells but I think this boat uses more ,maybe 8 cells (9.6 V) . It could work. The coupler would hook the motor shaft to the prop shaft. I would recommend a Flex coupler type . You would have to know what your boat's prop shaft is. I think maybe 3mm or 2.3mm.
n.h.schmidt

[latinwindow]

Sam's Loaction

Eodman,

Excellent question - didn't cross my mind til now.
I am located in Australia!! City: Adelaide
The thing is I've lived here for 8 years now... but I was born and raised in Colombia! South America! Small world eh?

One thing I know is that Asia is just around the corner and the technology access is quite good. I really don't mind buying from overseas - as long as i am getting the right thing that is!

So any links to get that 550 motor with the right specs (need your advise on those specs as well guys) will be a massive bonus!!

Thanks,

Sam

[latinwindow]

Hi n.h.schmidt,
Thats ok! Thanks for that -
truthfully speaking - i am not expert in motors yet. So I guess one important part is to have a motors with the right specs and also one that can run for a descent time. I good performance vs battery run time balance I would say.
As mentioned before, the batteries i currently have are 8 cell 9.6v nimh 2300mAh
If i need to change the batteries for something else.. then i am willing to take that step.
I trust you advise..
Sam

[n.h.schmidt]

motors

These motors I have were bought from a surplus place.No specs at all. Just LAR (looks about right). For the cells ,maybe what you have will be ok .You will not get ten min runs with the higher speed though. If you went with some sort of lippos you can get a good set for speed and run time.
n.h.schmidt

[latinwindow]

550 Motor...

Hi n.h.schmidt,
Thanks for the info. Please take no offence, but I guess that it's relatively important for me to know the specs of the motor. Not that I know exactly what they mean, but I guess it has to do with my "own" learning curve. As I engage this and future r/c projects - using different motors with different specs will gradually give me an empirical understanding of all the variables in place.

I am sure that I dont need a high RPM 550 motor, as this will (more than likely) draw more current out of the batteries unders resistance, and also implies that to get a balanced/optimum performance, might even need a gearbox in place.

I have done some "fishing" around regarding motors. But guys, if you have a "recommendation" on brand, rpms, volts etc for any particular 550 motor please let me know... I am still looking...

Cheers,

Sam

[GregS]

A motor with more turns like 23-27 might be what you want. More turns means lower rpm, more torque, lower amps, cooler equipment, and longer run times.

Greg

[latinwindow]

no luck with finding the right 550 brushed motor

Hey guys,

After an extense, intense and draining process of looking for RC parts in Australia I have come to a conclusion that you guys over there (USA) have more access to it (perhaps there is a bigger community of r/c modelers).

After much thinking about it, these are some conclusions I have made:

* Currently upgrading to a 550 (23-27 turns) brushed motor, as recommended so far here in the forum - involves: changing the motor mount, changing the ESC, buying a radio/servo, potentially changing the prop shaft to fit the right coupling, and potentially upgrading the battery pack to achieve greater running time.

I am still 100% for upgrading the boat (and yes! I know that with all that money I could BUY a new boat that is faster, with a better hull, etc etc etc - BUT that's not the point here... The point is that I want to enjoy upgrading THIS boat! Not buy another one specially R2R!)

* Here in Australia (Adelaide) the few suppliers of R/C modelling parts have a vast variety of brushless motors! (Just very few brushed motors in stock!) I know that the boat is "a toy" model and cant handle big power, speed, torque that some brushless motors have to offer.

HOWEVER, I have concluded that if fitting a 550 brushed motor involves changing ESC, radio/servo, batteries, etc...
I might as well just fit in a brushless setup! I know it will cost more but thats decison I am willing to take!

Rather than upgrading from the current 380brushed to a 550brushed - I will be upgrading from a 380brushed to a 380brushless! The size will be fairly similar and i can adapt the current engine mount to fit the new motor etc.
I really like the technology of brushless and one thing that got stuck in my head that I read in this forum somewhere that says "buy cheap - buy twice!"
Even if the brushless is too powerful I can gear it down to be easy on the prop etc (if needed).

I am by no means rejecting all the comments so far on the forum. actually thanks to you guys posting all your opinions and advise here has pushed me twice as fast in gradually learning (still learning) all the things about r/c modeling!
Please feel sure that every single comment/contribution has been greatly and extensivley capitalised!!!

Sam

[latinwindow]

A motor with more turns like 23-27 might be what you want. More turns means lower rpm, more torque, lower amps, cooler equipment, and longer run times.

Greg

Hi Greg,

You recommended a 23 to 27 turns brushed motor because more turns means lower rpm, more torque, lower amps, cooler equipment, and longer run times.

I have decided to fit in my boat a 380 brushless motor system - but i am struggling in determing the Kv of the motor to achieve that same result (i.e. more torque, lower amps, cooler equipment, and longer run times).

Could you be able to advise?

Thanks Greg,

Sam

[GregS]

Sam,

kv means rpm/volt so a motor with a lower kv would give the results I mentioned - brushed or brushless. I have no experience with brushless motors so I can't recommend what specs to get in a brushless motor.

I read your post about the reasons for choosing a brushless system but I'm still inclined to think a brushed system would be more suited to what you're doing. The brushed system will cost less (particularly the controller) and the controllers also tend to be more robust. If you want maximum speed then the brushless would be the way to go.

Greg

[Rex R]

most of the solutions I've seen posted here assume that the gearbox will be one of the parts leftover after the up grade...(one reason is that finding a matching gear to fit might be well nigh impossible). with that in mind you'll prolly want your prop revs in the 15-20k rpm range, rrright, after trolling through a selection of 380 size bl motors recently, I found that mostly that the lowest kv was around 3500(which should work), for that and a direct drive you don't want to run your boat on more than 7.2-7.4v nominal(6 cell nimh). hth
rex

[latinwindow]

Its done! Phase 1 on track!

Hey guys,

Thank you so much for all the input!
Today I have ordered:

* 380 brusless motor (3300 kv) - as per Rex R valuable input
* ESC for 380 brushless (forward/reverse) - no "braking" needed
* 7.4v battery (lipo) 8000mah (plenty of running time!)
* Water cooling kit for ESC and motor (to make sure they are always cool despite long runs)

To come:
Radio/servo upgrade
Motor mount (if needed)
Couplings for prop shaft/motor shaft

Will keep you guys posted!!!

The kit will arrive in 2 weeks time!

Sam