Team Orion’s new Formula SV2 series of budget machine-wound modified motors is an offshoot of its popular—and more expensive—V2 series of hand-wound modified motors. With the V2 series, Orion introduced cylindrical brushes positioned at an angle to improve brush efficiency and to fully exploit the cooling properties of the aluminum endbells for maximum brush life. The new Formula SV2 (Sport V2) motors feature a similar brush shape and angle, but they feature molded-composite endbells. Will these new motors deliver the same advantages as full-blown modified motors? We dyno’d them to answer that very question.

FEATURES

• Molded SV2 endbell. • Factory-installed capacitors. • Angled brush hoods to minimize brush bounce. • Bullet connectors for easy installation in RTRs. • Balanced armature for smooth running. • Cylindrical brushes.

BUSHINGS OR BEARINGS? SV2s are machine-wound, modified motors designed for budget-conscious racers and bashers. Team Orion created two lines: the Pro Bushing (Pro) and the Pro Ball Bearing (Pro BB). Pro motors are less expensive, but they give up features so they can be offered at the lower price. Besides using bushings to support their armatures, their endbells are fixed. Pro BB motors feature adjustable timing and removable endbells. Both versions come with bullet connectors installed, so their installation in most RTR vehicles doesn’t require soldering.

ENDBELL. The SV2’s endbell is the motor’s most significant feature. Its molded section is very similar to that of the endbells on Orion’s Core motors, but the brush hoods that house their brushes and springs are stamped into a triangular shape. The brushes are inserted into the center of the brush hood and contact the commutator at a 45-degree angle. The top of each brush hood features an area where the brush shunt can be hooked. This feature allows the brushes to be pulled out of the way when you remove the endbell for maintenance. The brushes and the brush hood make less contact than the V2’s the round brush hoods, so the SV2’s brushes may not be supercooled as they are in the V2. The angled brush hoods reduce brush bounce just as they do in the V2.

Above: The SV2’s endbell is molded with stamped brush hoods. There’s less contact between the brushes and brush hoods, so the brushes are cooled as much as they are in the aluminum endbell of the V2 motor. The angle on the brushes still prevents brush bounce.

Above: The motor can and magnets are common stock in the Orion and Peak motor lines. The can features vents in the gap between the magnets and in its base; they allow a good airflow when the motor is mounted against a flat plate.

Above: The wire on the Formula armature is machine-wound, so it isn’t as pretty and as tightly wound as the armature on hand-wound high-dollar modified motor, but it costs much less.

MOTOR CAN. The black motor can used for both types of SV2 motors is very similar to those on the V2 and Core motors. It features diagonal vents between the magnets and four pie-shaped vents in the bottom of the can. The vents allow air circulation even when the motor is mounted against a flat surface. A different can is used on the bushed Pro motors because they feature fixed timing. Their endbells don’t have timing rings, so there aren’t any ring retainers punched into the can; instead, they have an endbell that’s indexed to a slot in the motor can, and tabs secure the endbell. That fixes the motor timing, and that can be a good for beginners who aren’t familiar with adjusting motor timing and want an inexpensive but faster motor; this motor couldn’t be more “plug and play.” The timing is set to a conservative 6 degrees, and that produces better performance than zero timing, but it still allows safe operation in reverse. The motor can in the Pro BB version is more typical of a standard modified motor. It accommodates a timing ring and allows quick endbell removal and installation and timing adjustment.

ARMATURE. SV2s use the same armature as those in Team Orion’s Orbital modified motors. It features straight-stacked laminations with a full crown for maximum torque. The armatures are all balanced, even in the Pro versions, and they feature a unique method of balancing. Typically, you balance armatures that are not epoxy-balanced by drilling material from their crowns. When the armature needs a lot of material removed, the drill holes sometimes go deep into the web of the armature. If the drill holes aren’t properly centered on the web, the crown section of the laminations can separate from the armature and damage the motor. Orion cut material away from the armature using the edge of a circular cutter to leave shallow, semicircular cuts in the crown instead of thin, deep holes. The result is a balanced armature with far less risk of motor damage caused by drilling a balancing hole that isn’t quite in the center of the web.

The wire isn’t wound on the armature as nicely as it is on the hand-wound modified motors. This isn’t unique to these motors; most machine-wounds give up a little in the winding department. The wire is quite a bit thinner, and as a result, there’s a little more resistance through the windings. There’s plenty of room for a wire of a heavier gauge that would bump up the ponies, but remember: these are machine-wound motors; using big, burly wire isn’t an option.

Available winds Available Formula SV2 Pro Winds ORI21035: 10x2 ORI21036: 11x2 ORI21037: 12x2 ORI21038: 13x2 ORI21039: 14x2 ORI21040: 15x2 ORI21041: 17x2 ORI21043: 19x2 ORI21044: 21x2 ORI21045: 23x2 Available Formula SV2 Pro BB Winds ORI22031: 10x1 ORI22032: 10x2 ORI22033: 11x2 ORI22034: 12x1 ORI22035: 12x2 ORI22036: 13x3 ORI22037: 14x2 ORI22038: 15x2 ORI22039: 17x2 ORI22040: 19x2 Available brushes ORI41330: SV2 brush (41092)/spring (41392) assembly with eyelet ORI41910: round, Enduro-compound ORI41091: round, Sprint-compound ORI41092: Edge Enduro-compound ORI41093: Edge Sprint-compound brushes Available springs ORI41390: soft, 11-coil, 0.30mm ORI41391: medium, 10-coil, 0.30mm ORI41392: medium/hard, 9-coil, 0.30mm ORI41393: hard, 8-coil, 0.30mm ORI41386: 10-coil, 0.35mm ORI41387: 9-coil, 0.35mm DYNO TESTING RESULTS 10x1 BB OUT OF THE BOX Peak rpm: 45.561 Peak power (watts): 185.3 Peak torque (Nmm): 152.6 Torque @ peak power (Nmm): 82.9 Peak efficiency: 69.1% 10x1 BB TUNED Peak rpm: 49,001 Peak power (watts): 221.1 Peak torque (Nmm): 174.8 Torque @ peak power (Nmm): 89.7 Peak efficiency: 74.5% 13x3 BB TUNED Peak rpm: 37,854 Peak power (watts): 211.6 Peak torque (Nmm): 209.2 Torque @ peak power (Nmm): 107.4 Peak efficiency: 80.2% Left: Enduro-compound Edge brushes are standard in all Formula Pro motors. They’re flat on each side to give a slightly better throttle response than fully round brushes. Left: The unique brush springs are wound to taper down towards the brush. The large coil diameter at the top helps to prevent the springs from coming out through the top of the brush hood. BRUSHES. SV2 motors come standard with SV2 brush/spring assemblies—Enduro-compound Edge brushes and medium/hard springs. As the name implies, the Enduro-compound brushes last longer than others in the V2 brush lineup. According to Team Orion motor guru Cliff Black, the Edge brush configuration features flat sides instead of being completely round like a standard brush, so Formula motors have a little more punch than they would if they had standard brushes. According to Black, the blunt face of the brushes energizes the segments of the commutator more quickly, and that gives the motor a little extra snap. BRUSH SPRINGS. Round brush springs are part of what makes the V2 and SV2 motors unique. The springs latch into the triangular brush hoods and apply straight, even pressure on the brushes for more consistent contact with the commutator. I did have trouble with one of the brush springs that didn’t want to be installed securely; it kept springing out of the top of the brush hood. As it turned out, its top coil had been wound a little too tightly; a little tweak with needle-nose pliers enlarged the top coil enough to keep it engaged with the brush hood. The angle of the brush hoods makes it harder for the brushes to bounce off the commutator at high speed, so the SV2 uses less spring tension than a conventional brush spring. That could translate into less commutator and brush wear. DYNO TESTING I tested the Formula modified motors on our Robitronic Pro-Master dyno. The dyno is set to a standard 7.5 volts to simulate a 6-cell battery pack; then I run the motors. I allow sufficient time between tests to ensure that the motor is at ambient temperature at the start of each test. With just a little TLC, Formula motors can be strong. On average, the 10-turn, Pro BB pumped out 185 watts of power; that’s strong but not 10-turn strong. I gave the motors a little bit more time to break in, and then I adjusted the timing and applied just a little bearing oil and comm lube. The 10-turn then peaked at 221 watts, and torque shot up by more than 20 percent. Both versions come with a little advanced timing that increases performance, but the Pro BB is fully adjustable. I turned the 10-turn motor up to about 15 degrees of timing, and that seemed to be the sweet spot for this motor. Surprisingly, the Pro motors ran as well as or better than the Pro BBs. A 10-turn, double-wind Pro pulled off a pass at just over 225 watts with stronger torque. It just shows that when they’re fresh, motors with bushings can run as well as those with ball bearings. Over time, the bearings offer a clear advantage, but there isn’t any doubt that you can be fast with a bushing-equipped Formula Pro. A little commutator lube and increased timing bump up the power in Formula Pro motors—by about 20 percent in some cases. This 10-turn Formula Pro budget bearing motor produces very good power for a motor of this price. Its power is within just a few percent of a full-blown V2 hand-wound modified’s. TEST-SETUP SPECS Wind: 10-turn single Pro-Bearing Brushes: Edge Enduro-compound brush Springs: medium/hard, 9-coil, 0.30mm Comm diameter: 0.296 in. (7.52mm)