Are these motors worth it? Or are some things left better untouched?

Brushless or brushed motors? I haven't tried any of the brushless motors but over the years I've run several of the Speed Gem brushed motors and they have been very fast and reliable.

Thanks for the reply. Brushed. I have tried several. Broke them in properly, cleaned, maintained, and tried so many gear combinations that I can't get a one of them to perform enough to impress me. What gives? The 10 turn reminds me of something in a toys r us toy car...only slower.

Perhaps your expectations are more than the motor can supply? :)

I bought the 9-turn Crytonite version of these motors a few years back (back when motors with brushes still seemed like an OK idea). It never ran right, either. Resistance of the windings reads like a 14-turn, and that's about what it ran like. The magnets seem good, so I'm left thinking they either used the wrong gauge wire or put too many turns on it. The original Speedworks motors (350, 427, etc.) were very good inexpensive motors. The 1st generation Gems series had some that worked well (the Diamond & Onyx, both "doubles"), others that had issues (the Sapphire and anything that was a "triple" wind). I tried one of the later "retro" series (the "427" 10-double) and it destroyed it's comm in 3 minutes, and so did it's replacement. They finally replaced the armature with a hand-wound from one of their Trinity-badged motors. Seems like the Speedworks brand has pretty much been on a downhill slide for several years.

Basically, save your $$ and buy a brushless system. Brushes are soooo 20th century. :wave:

I remember the topaz that motor was nuts! i blew up blackfoot transmissions left and right!:thumbsup:

I just purchased a Tekin brushless. Im glad Im not going nuts. Learn from our mistakes I guess

we've all done it... good choice on the brushless system.