Brushless Emaxx project setup questions

Hey guys, I am hoping all can help me out and put their input on their thoughts of what I should do with my brushless setup. I purchased the link below and what you can see in the pictures is everything I have for the truck. I am looking at the novak 4.5 brushless system and am a bit lost on every single thing I will need to get it running. And also I decided not to use lipos because of the expensive costs of them. So what brushless system would you reccomend for this truck and what nessacary upgrades would I need to completely finish building the truck. Also what batteries would you reccomend using. If you could inform me on exactly every single little thing to get this truck running that would be great. Also what are your thoughts on the spektrum dx3 radio. I like the short antenna a lot. Just let me know... thanks for the help

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=120108146089&ru=http%3A%2F%2Fsearch.ebay.com%3A80%2Fsearch%2Fse arch.dll%3Ffrom%3DR40%26satitle%3D120108146089%26c ategory0%3D%26fvi%3D1

[Patrick]

What setup you get depends on a few different things.
How will it be used - Is it going to be raced/bashed or a bit of both. Do you want it to go really fast and not worry about runtimes or do you just want average speed (average for brushless, but a bit faster than stock), but longer runtimes.
How much do you want to spend - Since you don't want to buy lipo's, because of the price, I assume you don't want to spent too much on everything else (easy to do if you go for the high end stuff).

For a decent, low priced setup, I would choose a Mamba Max ESC (~ $140) Feigao/Wanderer/Nemisis 8XL (~ $80-$90) (apparentely the same motor, but with different bearings) on 12-14 cells (I prefer 14 cells).
The 8 in 8XL is for the number of turns the motor has.
Less turns means the motor will spin faster for the same voltage, but will have less torque, use more current (shorter runtimes), and get everything hotter.
You could get a 7XL, which would be faster, but you might not be happy with the runtime and you could have problem with thermaling (especially on 14 cells, which is a problem I'm having with my 7XL/Quark/14 cells).
A 9XL will give better runtime, less heat, but will be slower. Could be too slow on 12 cells.
Since the higher turn motors have more torque and less heat (for the same voltage), you can play around with the gearing and voltage a bit more than with the lower turn motors.
The XL in 8XL is the size of the motor. S cans are small, L cans are large and XL cans are..well I think you get the idea.
You need a bit motor for a big car, most people have found the XL's work better than the L's in e-maxxes and S motors are out of the question for a reliable e-maxx.

Most brushless ESC's will need a reciever pack or UBEC to run them in an e-maxx or other large car (or anything using high voltage).
I have this UBEC http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail.php?prod=6vubec It works well for me, there are cheaper ones around, but I've never used them so I can't say what there like.

Mamba Max ESC http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail..._MM_ESC&cat=21
Above where it says Castle Creations Mamba Max ESC, click controllers to see some of the others available.
The MM was not meant to be used in monster trucks this size, but a lot of people here do (I don't have one, but heard a lot about them). You just need to use a UBEC and possibly a fan, and not push it too much. The MM can be programed on your computer and is good value compared to some of the other ESC's around.
Mamba Max motors will not work well in an e-maxx only the ESC will, they are to small so the don't enough torque, and they rev too high, they will use too more current while they stuggle to get the car moving and will burn something out fairly quickly.

8XL http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...o5408xl&cat=20
Click on motors to see some of the others available.
Feigao motors are not the best available, but there probably the best value for money. They're biggest problem is they are a bit less efficient (less power out for the same power in) than the high end motors like Neu and Lehner, which means they won't be quite as fast, use a bit more current and get a lot hotter, but it's a big difference in price.
There are smooth can Feigao's and finned can ones (built in heatsink). I prefer the smooth can motors with this heatsink/clamp http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail.php?prod=RCM01
In crashes the endbells can pop off the motor, but the heatsink/clamp stops this. It will not fit on the finned motors, so the front endbell can still pop off.
The finned can motors are larger in diameter and can hit against the transmission, limiting gearing options. Some people have dremeled the fins to get aroung this, but I think it's easier to get the smooth can with a heatsink. Feigao motors have a 5mm shaft, so you will need a 5mm bore pinion. If you are going to still use the stock spur gear you want the 8th item on this page http://www.rc-monster.com/gears.php
A lot of people use the stobe slipper (3rd item) with Mod 1 pitch gears. Spur gear (item 13) with 5mm bore, mod1 pitch pinions (item 10) since they are stronger than stock.

I don't have experience with the Novak systems, but most people say they're one of the less powerfull systems.

If you stay with nimh batteries 14 IB4200 cells is what I would look for.

Revo sliders should be strong enough, but I don't know anything about your centre driveshafts, and I don't know how strong the locked rear diff will be.

There's a lot more to know, but I think I've written enough for now.

[Patrick]

http://www.rc-monster.com/forum/showthread.php?t=6499 This thread might intrest you, if you decide on a MM ESC.

what are you thoughts on the novak maxx system... the 4.4 system... thanks

[Patrick]

I don't have experience with the Novak systems, but most people say they're one of the less powerfull systems. They have smaller rotor than XL motors, so they have less torque. They also rev quite high, because of that there's not much room to play around with gearing, other wise they get too hot.

I recently got a Spektrum DX3, and so far I like, but I've never had any other decent radios to compare it to. There's other people here that have them and know more about them me. Do a search for the Spektrum and the Novak and see what you can find.

so if I got the 8xl, what batteries would you reccomend useing and what would be exactly what I would need (what you would reccomend) with prices... let me know... thanks

[Patrick]

Probably IB4200's or something like that, if you want nimh. I'm not realy sure what a good price would be though, and it depends if you get matched packs or not.