- Kyosho RB5 - Alex - Harry's Big 8 - Vienna - 01/07/2007 -

RB5 & Brushless

I just wanted to give a short report about my experience with the RB5 & Nosram (=LRP) brushless set for those interested. Before I used a Reedy TI 12x2 with a low budget 8-turn Robitronic ESC.

Intro - Track
Tires I tested with were Proline - front 4 Rib wide - rear Bow Tie M3
Test track - own: big 8 with crossing jump. The whole track is downwards/upwards and sidewards sloping, 7 meters width and 70 meters lenght. Total lenght is about 150 - 160 meters. European wineyard clay, very dusty in some parts almost sandy, smooth bumps. Extremely difficult to accelerate and brake due to the sidewards slope.

ESC
As I have read the Novak GTB is tricky to build in due to the size an the fan. So I decided to try the Nosram Matrix Evolution 2007 edition as ESC combined with a Nosram Storm Evolution Modified 6,5 turn brushless motor.

ESC placement
The ESC is fitting just perfect regarding width. Length is no topic at all since there is plenty of space. Included with the ESC is a heat sink which, when mounted, does not touch the body at all. The cables are placed to lead out right underneath the small body elevation near the middle of the main window.

Car setup


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ESC profiles were set at:
Mode 1 - autocell system - value 1 (automatic)
Mode 2 - XPS.2 - power and aggressivity - value 2 of 8 (smooth power 2x)
Mode 3 - initial brake - value 2 of 6 (1 minimum, 6 maximum), 85% on the steering
Mode 4 - automatic brake - value 3 of 6 (1 minimum, 6 maximum)

Power & speed
In any case enough. The car was extremely quick with a very strong tendency to go up with the nose. It could definitely use some weight up front. Yet, even though the front wheels only partially had ground contact the car was controllable in those passages.

Stability
When braking the slope of the track did not matter at all. I could use full brake and the car remained just straight.
Accelerating was much more difficult (especially in the very sandy/dusty upwards and sidewards sloping corner) due to the vast power of the car, the slope and the track condition. There I had to accelerate extremely sensitve that the car would not start loosing side grip. Once stabilized I could go to full power without problems.
Cornering was a dream. I could go around the corners however I selected to and the car remained stable. A very sharp and controlled low-power turn was as easy as just throwing the car into the corners at according speeds.

Running time & condition of ESC and motor 

First try (GP4300 - loaded abt. 4100)
2 x 7 minutes with cool down periods of about 10-15 minutes
ESC a little over body temperature. Motor a little bit warmer than ESC

Second try (LRP 4200 Big Mama - loaded abt. 4400)
2 x 10 minutes with cool down periods of about 10-15 minutes
ESC a little over body temperature. Motor warm

Third try (LRP 4200 Big Mama - loaded abt. 4600)
22 minutes without interruption or mercy for the car or the equipment
ESC warm. Motor warm (warmer than at second try but I could hold my fingers on it for as long as I wanted without a feeling of excessive heat).

Conclusion
There is no need to state that the car is running very well. This is obvious. Power and handling of the brushless combination convinced me. ESC and motor fit without problems. Temperature of the equipment stays surprisingly low.
I will definitely stay with the brushless system, maybe try a 7,5 turn Novak Velocity for less top speed at same total output.

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