Brush-less motors?

[red73mustang]

This topic came up about a year ago I think I've not heard butmuch lately on it. I'm sure that aftermarket units are available, but are any of the "Big" Slot Car manufacturers using them?

[dr fabio]

Short answer is no. I think the added circuit complexity would kill the price competitiveness of the current motors. You need a circulating magetic field in the "stator" and a permanant magnet (or coil) in the "rotor". Where is all the switching circuitry going to reside? At less than a dollar for a current slot car motor whats in it for the slot manufacturer to add all this extra complexity?

cheers
dr fabio

[RichD]

With R/C cars brush motors have a rather short lifespan because of the huge current draw. They have to be rebuilt or replaced often when you race them. Brushless motors are more expensive to start with, but they only need to be replaced or upgraded if better ones come along. Motors for 1/32nd slot cars are not terribly expensive and they usually last a long time. At a recent 24 hour race our car went the whole time without slowing down, so I would have to say that brushless motors don't make a lot of sense for 1/32nd at least.