Motor FAQ

How do I clean my motors?

The first thing you need to do is buy a spray can of motor cleaner. You can get DuraTrax Power Shot motor cleaner on Tower Hobbies, as well as other name brands. I use CRC Lectra-Motive electric parts cleaner. It is a 1 pound, 3 ounce can which lasts for about 4 cleanings of both motors. The price at Track/Auto was $2.95, and it should be about the same at any other automotive store. The CRC spray is NOT Lexan safe, so keep it away from you nicely painted body. To clean the motors out, simply hold the motor over a metal pan and spray cleaner inside it using the straw that comes with the can. You will see all the dirt and grime running out into the pan. After you have sprayed through every opening on the motor, spin it over by the shaft a few times to make sure the brushes and commutator connection gets cleaned up. Then spray once more through the fan opening to rinse it out. Lastly, set the motor in a rag, wrap it up, hold it tightly, and swing it as hard as you can. That gets most of the liquid out. Allow a few minutes for the motors to dry thoroughly and you are good to go.

Another method that most people are afraid to try, but works superbly, is to clean the motors in water. This does not harm the motors in any way, and it actually is great for closed endbell motors like the Titans because it will re-seat the brushes against the commutator. The supplies you will need are a container that will hold at least a liter of water, some jumper wires, a 7.2 volt battery, a rag, some motor cleaning spray (or denatured alcohol), and of course your motor. First fill up your container with water. Hook up the jumper wires to the motor, and then submerge the motor endbell first into the water. You will want to hold onto the motor during this so the fan inside it does not spray water out all over you. That is also why you need the endbell down at the bottom of the container. Now hook the other ends of the jumpers to the battery and let the motor run underwater for 10 seconds. When that time is up, unhook the leads from the battery and take the motor out. To flush the water out of the motor, you can either spray it out with motor cleaner or dump some denatured alcohol though it. Either way works. Once the water is out, put the motor into the rag and swing it as described above. Let the motor dry for a few minutes and you are done.

What motors should I buy?

Unless you decide to go brushless, stay with the stock Titans because they are great all around motors. When they wear out, replace them. Modified motors require more maintenance than the Titans such as replacing brushes and getting the commutators trued. If you absolutely want mod motors, you have several choices. The most common mod motors are the Trinity Monster Maxx (Mild, Wild, and Pro) and the Reedy Badd Maxx Mild motors. The Monster Maxx Milds are 21 turns, the Wilds are 19 turns, and the Pros are 17 turns. The Badd Maxx Milds are 19 turns. Remember that the lower the turns of the motor, the more speed and the less torque you get. Some people are extremely satisfied with their Monster Maxx motors and others say they have no advantage over the stock Titans (23 turns). One important thing to remember is the EVX has a motor limit of 19 turns, so you will not want to run anything less on the stock speed controller. That pretty much rules out the Monster Maxx Pros, so use them at your own risk.

You don’t have to run 550 sized modified motors in your E-MAXX. You can do a 7.2 volts conversion so that you can run 540 size modified motors in it. There are two ways to do this. One is to convert your EVX to run @ 7.2 volts. This was started at the Ultimate Traxxas message board by MaxxJester2. He wired his EVX to run two packs in parallel (7.2volts) and two 540 size motors. He uses Kyosho Atomic Force motors, though some alternatives worth trying are the Kyosho Magnetic Mayhem, Trinity Chameleon 2 Pro, and Trinity Speed Gems Pro Amber. This setup is supposed to give more speed and runtime than stock, but do this at your own risk. Some people have fried their EVX doing this. The safest way to do a 7.2 volt conversion is to buy a Novak Super Rooster, LRP F1 Pro Reverse, or a comparable speed controller with no motor limit. That way you can wire two motors in parallel and run them both from the same controller. Motor recommendations for this are the same as listed above.

A new method that was introduced by MK_MAXX_RACING was to buy a Victor 883 robotics controller, which can handle 20 cells and 60 amps constant. With that controller you can run the Titans @ 19.2 volts, or you can do what he is trying and buy Dewalt drill motors and run them @ 24 volts. This will produce speeds of 40+ mph, insane torque, and he says runtimes improve with that controller.

Probably the most proven way to get the speed, torque, and runtime you want is to go with a brushless motor setup. This will also be the most expensive route. See the Brushless FAQ page for more information on this.

What motor heat sinks should I buy?

There are many different heat sinks you can buy that will work with the Titan 550s that come in the E-Maxx. The most popular ones are the Trinity Heat Sink Pair and the Associated Heat Sink Set. I have found several others that will also work though. They are the Works for Competition 28mm Heat Sink, Works for Competition 35mm Heat Sink, GPM 9-Fin Heat Sink, Associated Long TC3 Heat Sink, Tamiya Heat Sink, and Traxxas Heat Sink. Note that some of these heat sinks such as the Associated Long TC3 Heat Sink, Tamiya Heat Sink, and Traxxas Heat Sink all require the removal of the decorative bands on the Titans. The Trinity Heat Sinks do not require the removal of the decorative bands, and the other heat sinks I am not sure about.