Hacker's Brushless C50S Maxx Class Motor

Hacker's Brushless C50S Maxx Class Motor
By Tony Arnold - StampedeProject.com
RC Car - February 2008

The gorgeous brunette announces, "I would like to thank everyone for making it to this week's BAD meeting. Today we would like to welcome Tony Arnold as a new member to Brushless Addicted Drivers..." As I break from my dream, I suddenly realize what the initials would have been if I would have been if I was addicted to Nitro stuff and chuckle like madman. As I stumble downstairs half asleep to my RC lair, I realize that I have an unopened box from Hacker that has been apparently calling to me in my sleep, a box with a very big motor, a big pretty purple brushless motor for a Maxx class machine - cool.

Initial Impressions
Packaging is a little generic, but held the motor securely. I hefted the perfectly purple anodized motor from its boxed cradle and gave the rotor a spin. Kind of gave me the impression that it was the Mercedes of brushless motors - I love German engineering, form and function. I immediately thought that if I were doing a show truck, a Hacker motor would be my first choice... hmm, I wonder if Hacker makes watches? The motor has a built in heat sink and is completely sealed both of which should enhance longevity. I quickly tipped the three wires emanating from the endbell with Diversity Model Aircraft's soldered 4mm high current connectors for easy plug in capability with my Castle Mamba Max ESC.

Testing Platform
So what are we going to stick this thing in for a stress test, a NTB savage? No, you are not supposed to know about that yet. One of my 1/8 scale buggies? No, to light. Ahh there it is, the Revo'Lution NTB converted Brushless Revo. Hmm, we hit 50mph with the E-Revo with the Novak HV 4.5R, guess it's time to see if we can break that record.

Mounting
Since my E-Revo has an E-Maxx transmission, mounting is the same and was eventless. The motor comes with a large spur gear to be used with the motor and the stock 18T pinion, however it was the same as the one I already had mounted and I left things alone so I didn't have to re-tune the slipper clutch. I tipped the motor leads with my standard 4mm gold male banana connectors from Diversity Model Aircraft to allow easy connection to a Castle Creations Mamba Max ESC. Last article I used A123 packs, however this time I am going to use a single MaxAmps.com 10,000Mh 14.4V pack that should deliver almost an hour of runtime, even in this beast. Thinking "shocking isn't it" and I laugh manically.

Instructions? We don't need no stinking instructions...
Ok, everything is plugged in, monster LiPo pack secure, however maybe I should just peruse the instructions before I power this up? Problem, the box was empty however there were complete instructions at HackerBrushless.com. 72T 32P spur messed with a stock 18T 32P pinion - check. 14.4V battery - check. Let's see 2500kv (RPM/Volt) X 14.4V = 36,000 RPM = a ton of torque. 3-2-1 Brushless-topia.

It's Alive!
Just to be cautious, I set start power low and punch control to 50% on the Mamba Max controller (yes it will handle it) and fired up the Hacker . Even with these settings, the Revo'Lution was a different beast that easily delivered forward and backward wheelies and more than enough power to easily flip the Revo. The Kv of the motor seemed just about perfect and should offer equal performance in everything from an E-Maxx and E-Savage to the now popular NTB (Nitro to Brushless) converted Nitro monster trucks. I would imagine since this motor is a little faster wind than typical 2000- 2200Kv buggy brushless motors, it would produce ballistic speeds in a converted 1/8 scale buggy with a 5S-6S LiPo powered system. I returned to my RC lair and strapped on a Lowrance GPS unit and went for a top speed run. Although Hacker posts a 41.7MPH NiMH powered speed, I consistently push over 55MPH in high gear with the massive MaxAmps LiPo pack supplying the juice. Could I go faster? With that kind of torque, you bet, however both the Hacker motor and Castle ESC seemed relatively happy with that gearing.

-----Call Out------------------
Hacker C50S Emaxx Specs
- 14.4V
- Approximately 2500Kv
- 3.2mm/ 1/8" shaft
- 43.2mm width
- 50..5mm length
- 248g weight
- $229.99
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What I Liked

The fit and finish is stunning... seriously, you just want to sit there and stare at it. It's like someone handed you a Rolex and you just can't help but admire the craftsmanship. Built in heatsink and a sealed design are appreciated features that will add life to the motor. Power? Uhh, yeah you could say that. You start to wonder if you could run your real car with power like this.

What I Would Change
The motor is pretty much perfect as is with one exception. I get genuinely concerned about pushing this much power through a 3.2mm shaft like the one on this motor - can it take it, I am not sure. With these larger and very powerful brushless motors, I think a 5mm shaft would have been more appropriate; however I understand that 5mm shaft pinions can be harder to find and also the easy plug-and-play idea of the 3.2mm shaft is appealing. I think it would have been easier just to include a pinion and up the shaft size. The other gripes are that of no documentation or decals in the box, a simple printout and decals would have been nice.

Conclusion
Hacker is definitely one of the oldest and is still one of the finest brushless motors available in the RC world. Though Neu and Mega have entered the market with premium performance offerings that match Hacker's performance, both lack the style and sophistication found in Hacker's build quality. Hacker custom tailored the Kv of this motor specifically to the E-Maxx and to a typical voltage and it shows. I used a Castle Mamba Max, but soon the Mamba Monster Max and Tekin's Monster R1-MT will be available as higher power options for the power hungry and a better ESC fit. It the C50S the stuff dreams are made of? Absolutely, but it would be even sexier if that brunette in my dreams had one in her hand, but that's a different dream all together. Long live the BADs.

--------------Call Out -----------------------
Highs - Beauty is not just skin deep. Integrated heat sink. A beast of a motor for monster trucks.
Lows - 3.2mm Pinon a little small for this power. No decals - I WOULD like to warn people.
Final Call - An advanced motor for someone wanting to blow the heatsink off any off the shelf system.
Competition - Neumotor, Feigao, Mega Motor, Aveox
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Hacker Brushless - www.HackerBrushless.com, Traxxas - www.Traxxas.com, Castle Creations - www.CastleCreations.com, MaxAmps - www.MaxAmps.com,