Got a New Boat for my 1 year Anniversary - few questions

[LarrysDrifter]

Thanks. Saw this guy at work getting gas. Hes an inactive marine moving from Connecticut to California. Just him and his dog. I took the pic at QuikTrip while working there in Euerka,MO, about 20 min west of St.Louis. Hope he made it!

[Visual Perfection]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Lots of good info in here for a someone trying to learn. BTW I updated my first post, I noticed I had listed the motor as a 1300kv, it is actually a 1700kv, not sure if that makes much difference or not.

[egneg]

Thanks for all the replies guys. Lots of good info in here for a someone trying to learn. BTW I updated my first post, I noticed I had listed the motor as a 1300kv, it is actually a 1700kv, not sure if that makes much difference or not.

Yes it does - that is a 5S motor at best.

[Make-a-Wake]

I wouldnt recommend running that hull with that motor.............but can it work.......?.......yes. At 1700kv and fairly torquey, it has some decent power and will move that hull to your speed desired. The trade off is prop here..............i would start with an x440 on 4s and see what she does.

[Diegoboy]

Leopard 3674 1700kv on 4S with an X440 should see about 33mph

[Diegoboy]

Same setup on a Prather 220 should see 38mph

[Make-a-Wake]

Leopard 3674 1700kv on 4S with an X440 should see about 33mph

Well there ya go Visual.................you wanted 35...................close enuff.

[Visual Perfection]

Nice, Thanks guys. Looks like the boat may get me by for a little while then. Love all the info you guys give me, I learned a lot just from this thread, never knew anything about motors, now I feel like I have at least a little knowledge.

Now that I know it is underpowered (which is a bummer being it has been upgraded, but he should have went bigger yet to begin with) I will be looking to upgrade it down the road.

I wonder what size prop comes on it? Can I simply measure from tip to tip to see it's size, or is there some other way I need to do it? I do have a few extra 1.6 x 2.5 props from my fastech..which would be same as prather 215 it looks like.

I will start there and move up I guess.

[JIM MARCUM]

If you want to see your second anniversary and not spend a lot of money, I suggest you run your gift boat stock for awhile & gain some experience driving & learning how to fine tune a FE boat. As your skills grow & the need for speed overtakes you (it will), this is a way to go faster - CHEAP:
1. HobbyKing KD 3674 1900KV XL motor. http://www.hobbyking.com/hobbyking/s..._Inrunner.html and matching water jacket. That will get you good torque & 28,120 RPM on 4S2P for +-$50 with jacket. I've used all 3 motors in this series at 3500KV, 3200KV, and 2800KV -small to large- as SAW test motors in >40" cats 4S2P Octura X430 prop (2nd smallest in the X series) with no failures yet. The 3674 1900KV motor would be a good place to start, and you can also save money running 4S LIPOs. Go to larger props until motor is warm but not too hot to hold a finger on.
2. Save up your money & run your stock ESC until it fries - and it will eventually. My baseline ESC is a Turingy/HobbyWing/SeaKing 180 for any 2-6 cell boat. This is a proven top quality ESC for +-$80, or if you can't wait 3-4 weeks for delivery from HobbyKing, Steven sells them on OSE for a little more & fast delivery.
3. Run 2 water pickups & outlets. One to the ESC, the other to the motor. Lots of info on that here on OSE.
4. And last but not least, take your wife along to the lakes so she can share this fun sport with you. If she would like to drive your boat, turn the TX throttle end point setting down to 50% max & get her hooked. JIM

[sailr]

I totally agree with Jim but I would stick with 4S in the beginning. Your motor and esc will last much longer and give you respectable speeds you can enjoy while tuning the boat's handling and learning to drive it! 3000+KV is rather high though for 4S! That will produce 44,ooo+ RPM. You really need to look for an RPM around 30,000-35,000 for best efficiency. That would equate to a 2000-2200KV motor.

[JIM MARCUM]

sailr, you make me happy long time! JIM

[Visual Perfection]

Thanks guys!

Jim, you said to look into those 3674 motors, the motor I am running is a 3674..it is this one:

http://www.hobbypartz.com/77p-lbp3674-b-2y-1700kv.html

Do you recommend them because of the KV? Do you recommend going from the current motor, to that one, or am I better off spending a few extra bucks and go bigger when I do swap it. Everyone else has mentioned that I have to have a lot larger size motor and that the 3674 is way to small? Since your recommendation you said is a good place to start, is it worth changing to that motor right away?

I was out running the boats today and some how got permission to order more Lipos on our drive home. (on a budget of course) She wants me to be able to have more run time and enough batteries for all the boats...when the new boat shows up

I want to stay around $60-$75 in batteries, and will most likely order from hobbypartz.com since that is where I have got a few of my current lipos. Do you suggest I order 4s lipos? or stick with 2s and run them in series? (2s can be used in all my boats) I don't mind ordering a couple 4s lipos and dedicate them just to my Outlaw, but if I can run 2s in series and get same results then I would like to get a few more 2s and be able to get higher C rating for my money

Again thanks for all your help guys.

[Make-a-Wake]

I thought you were gonna try the boat out with the 1700kv Leopard? I would NOT buy another 3674 motor which is of way less quality, has only 2 poles and runs hot.................try your Leopard out with an x440, x442 or Prather 220..............dont spend another dime on a motor until you see what the one you have does..............have you even ran it yet??????

When you decide to upgrade and want some good speed and reliablilty, go to a Leopard 4082, or 4092 in the 1200-1500kv range and run it on 6s2p.....................that would be considered an upgrade. Basing a motors performance on kv is not good................

Example: If you want to run 10 second quarter mile in an early 70's muscle car, would you throw a "9,000 rpm capable" Mazda rotary engine in it? Or would you put a 6,000 rpm V8 in it........................I'd go with the lower rpm motor in this instance and it would be much much faster....................the newb thinking of higher kv is faster is way off.

[Visual Perfection]

I am planning to run the leopard, In no way did I think a higher KV rating means more speed, being the only difference with the motor Jim suggested and the leopard it already has, asked if it was because of the KV.

No I have not run the boat...don't even have it yet, still waiting for it to get here. I started this thread to get as prepared as I could for when it does get here this week, and all you guys have helped tremendously.

As for props, the boat from what I have found comes with a prather 225 prop and I have an extra prop that is the equivalent of a prather 215

I also have a temp gun, program card for the esc, and new 5.5mm bullets all coming as I wanted to be sure I am all set to go getting things dialed in and have many of the necessary things to do that.

[Make-a-Wake]

I wasnt eluding to you thinking higher kv was better..................just newer folks in general. OK, so you have not even gotten it, just put it thru a thorough inspection when you get it, tighten all the nuts, check alignment on the shaft to the coupler, lube the flex................etc...... try the 215 out first. Here's the thing, the 4 pole Leopard at 1700kv on 4s will move that boat out fairly well, but you have to go easy on the prop and you werent lookin for huge speed anyway so it may be right down your alley! Those KD's and KB's from HK are horrible motors for boats in my opinion, they are amp hogs that run hot and are only 2 poles, your 4 pole Leopard is WAAAAY better(and more efficient). Let us know how the maiden run goes!!