This is what I have been doing with my MERV

[crf450ish]

Alright, hopefully I havent ruined anything yet. MERV Stock wheels/tires with the stock non speed pinion...i forgot what the size is, but its the one included(not the 23) and the stock spur gear....running 2 stock NiMh batteries in series...the esc gets HOT and the motor gets HOT!!! WHY? Is this normal? Its actually my wifes RC car and she will not drive it with the 23 tooth pinion so the smaller one that comes with it is on there and thats what weve been running. I put it on training mode for her and it still heats up pretty good....by the time the batteries are dead everything is too hot to keep a finger on for more then 3 seconds......is this normal?

[thakrazymule]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the one that cones on them is a 28t pinion, the 23t that comes with should help temps.

[crf450ish]

yes your right and i was wrong....it is indeed a 28 tooth pinion that we are not using....so we are using the 23t one that it came with. its installed as we speak and i forgot the tooth count. but anyways about the heat issue....

[jimbo74]

its normal.... pushing that much voltage through it is rough on the electronics


be careful and dont let it get too hot..... i fried my esc in series, with a 23 tooth pinion

[RC FREEway]

Hi,
Just a thought, If you are running two stock batteries in series, that gets you close to double speed. (In a perfect world) Then you set the car for training mode witch is suppose to cut the speed by about 50%.
Why no leave your gearing as is and set the car for normal mode and use 1 battery at a time. Run one while charging the other. That should also give you a cool down time when you switch batteries.
Just a thought. Should end up cooler..

[wanaBniceRevo]

23 tooth is stock for the merv

[Danzzigger]

The stock ESC is pretty rubbish compared to aftermarket ones. I fried mine after using it about 15 times, (Although it was having a hard life). I'm surprised your having issues with 14.4 volts though. I ran 2 x 3 cell lipos parallel which gave me 11.1volts at 80amps (stock electronics only take 50amps though), and I only then did I start to have heat issues. I fried it by running it in the grass.

They gear the little thing a little to much for speed from the factory (for sales reasons), tbh I don't think most people use those kind of speeds anyway. I'd gear it lower, this will also help the merv brake faster too as the stock ESC does a terrible job at braking.

Just so that you know, if I was to do it again, I'd sell the stock ESC straight away and get a new aftermarket one. With the castle creations mamba max, you get awesome braking, and you can 'adjust' a whole bunch of settings including throttle curve and brake curve. They also include something which helps you keep traction under heavy acceleration, basically a limiter which you can adjust to your preference.

Just my 2 cents

[crf450ish]

I ran 2 x 3 cell lipos parallel which gave me 11.1volts at 80amps (stock electronics only take 50amps though), and I only then did I start to have heat issues. I fried it by running it in the grass.

So, If in the future we want to run LiPos, you wouldnt suggest doing so in the grass? Cause right now she prefers the grass. should I try and get her away from the grass?

[jimbo74]

you can avoid frying things by properly building your system then properly gearing

[crf450ish]

Hey figured I would revive my own thread here and ask a few questions. Firstly what setup is recommended for one who wishes to run 2 7.4 lipos in series? The stock traxxas setup isnt going to cut it I know. I can run series lipo in non lipo mode but the rev limiter kicks in and plus i Know its bad for the system. I want to go with a castle setup.

[So Cold]

Hi,
Just a thought, If you are running two stock batteries in series, that gets you close to double speed. (In a perfect world) Then you set the car for training mode witch is suppose to cut the speed by about 50%.
Why no leave your gearing as is and set the car for normal mode and use 1 battery at a time. Run one while charging the other. That should also give you a cool down time when you switch batteries.
Just a thought. Should end up cooler..

I agree, running the nimh's in series in training mode is just a really strange convoluted set up. And I think training mode will only hurt you there, the esc with the batteries in series is only meant for short speed runs. Not for slow driving, stopping, starting and just bashing. There was a good quote from traxxas support on this somewhere a while back...

[BrabusBen]

Hey figured I would revive my own thread here and ask a few questions. Firstly what setup is recommended for one who wishes to run 2 7.4 lipos in series? The stock traxxas setup isnt going to cut it I know. I can run series lipo in non lipo mode but the rev limiter kicks in and plus i Know its bad for the system. I want to go with a castle setup.

Would have thought a MMP would be the most economical way, possibly one of the SCT systems, have you considered going the 1:10 big block route - can easily deal with what you'd like to chuck at it but will need a motor mount upgrade (Tenbol)


The Time I Enjoy Wasting Is Not Time Wasted

[So Cold]

Would have thought a MMP would be the most economical way, possibly one of the SCT systems, have you considered going the 1:10 big block route - can easily deal with what you'd like to chuck at it but will need a motor mount upgrade (Tenbol)


The Time I Enjoy Wasting Is Not Time Wasted

Traxxas has a big block mount too. Cleaner IMO

[crf450ish]

I agree, running the nimh's in series in training mode is just a really strange convoluted set up. And I think training mode will only hurt you there, the esc with the batteries in series is only meant for short speed runs. Not for slow driving, stopping, starting and just bashing. There was a good quote from traxxas support on this somewhere a while back...

So basically scratch the idea of ever running the MERV with any type of batterys for a long period of time in series? Parallel is the best route eh? Well thats ok cause its my wifes car and she cant control it well @ high speed. I just like toying with it in series....its insane