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The funny part of all this is I've only had one motor failure in competition, and it wasn't a burnt winding (rotor failure). I've failed a few in testing, but I also know the limits of my equipment. I don't guess and hope it holds together.
My spec boats run 85 amps average with corner spikes as high as 130. Those numbers apply to hydro, tunnel and sport hydro. I have lots of data logs for all these setups. It's the safe limit of the motor. Once you get there, it's time to work on efficiency and driving.
If the class requires you to run a stock esc, put an oversized esc and a data logger in the boat for testing. Then tune it to the survivable current level of the required equipment. No failures, no smoke, but you do need a little extra equipment and testing time. When you know the limits of the equipment, you can get very close to that edge and still have great reliability.
Those who are willing to sacrifice equipment seldom win because failures always crop up at the most inconvenient times. You have to finish to win.
The real problem is what works on one hull doesn't always work on another, finding the limit for a given boat can be a challenge. For example, Eric Bourlet and I did a bunch of testing last season to find the limits of what the motors would take. The prop that ran perfect on my Raptor would kill the motor in his JAE. The best prop on his boat didn't perform on mine.
Then there's the maintenance thing. Everything has to be maintained or at some point something will bind/fail and overload the system. Running a stock or aftermarket esc won't make a difference in this case. The most common failures are due to poor setup and poor maintenance.
Stock/spec classes have always been the most tuning/setup critical. People often make the mistake of equating stock/spec with novice/entry level. In many cases a stock/spec class is the most challenging.
You guys all know I'm an FE nut, but I've learned an awful lot from my friends running nitro and gas. To the point that I'm also running gas now. One of our great failings in FE is not doing enough testing. With the open power systems, traditionally we (note I include myself here) just throw more prop at it until we got to the performance we wanted or the smoke gets out. With the power limitations of P-spec, it's not a case of more prop, it's coming up with a better prop. Same goes for boat design. It really won't matter if the esc's are spec'd or not, the best driver with the most refined boat will have a distinct advantage. With the availability of relatively inexpensive data loggers, there really isn't much of an excuse for smoked equipment.
It truly doesn't matter to me one way or the other on the esc. I can make a boat work either way. We've run the class both ways up here since we started playing with it in 2007. The best you can do is come up with a set of enforceable rules that works for the organization. If it works and draws more participation, it's all good.
My spec boats run 85 amps average with corner spikes as high as 130. Those numbers apply to hydro, tunnel and sport hydro. I have lots of data logs for all these setups. It's the safe limit of the motor. Once you get there, it's time to work on efficiency and driving.
If the class requires you to run a stock esc, put an oversized esc and a data logger in the boat for testing. Then tune it to the survivable current level of the required equipment. No failures, no smoke, but you do need a little extra equipment and testing time. When you know the limits of the equipment, you can get very close to that edge and still have great reliability.
Those who are willing to sacrifice equipment seldom win because failures always crop up at the most inconvenient times. You have to finish to win.
The real problem is what works on one hull doesn't always work on another, finding the limit for a given boat can be a challenge. For example, Eric Bourlet and I did a bunch of testing last season to find the limits of what the motors would take. The prop that ran perfect on my Raptor would kill the motor in his JAE. The best prop on his boat didn't perform on mine.
Then there's the maintenance thing. Everything has to be maintained or at some point something will bind/fail and overload the system. Running a stock or aftermarket esc won't make a difference in this case. The most common failures are due to poor setup and poor maintenance.
Stock/spec classes have always been the most tuning/setup critical. People often make the mistake of equating stock/spec with novice/entry level. In many cases a stock/spec class is the most challenging.
You guys all know I'm an FE nut, but I've learned an awful lot from my friends running nitro and gas. To the point that I'm also running gas now. One of our great failings in FE is not doing enough testing. With the open power systems, traditionally we (note I include myself here) just throw more prop at it until we got to the performance we wanted or the smoke gets out. With the power limitations of P-spec, it's not a case of more prop, it's coming up with a better prop. Same goes for boat design. It really won't matter if the esc's are spec'd or not, the best driver with the most refined boat will have a distinct advantage. With the availability of relatively inexpensive data loggers, there really isn't much of an excuse for smoked equipment.
It truly doesn't matter to me one way or the other on the esc. I can make a boat work either way. We've run the class both ways up here since we started playing with it in 2007. The best you can do is come up with a set of enforceable rules that works for the organization. If it works and draws more participation, it's all good.
Nortavlag Bulc 
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