Just wondering if anyone else has had any problems with this new system from novak? I bought mine and installed it,pulled the trigger and the thing went up in smoke! Unit was very fast for about three seconds.

What car did you put it in ? and i heard my buddy had the same problam he sent it to novak and they fixed it.

I installed it in a losi xxx-t pulled the trigger and then it smoked. One of my buddies bought one from the same hobby shop and his lasted about 15minutes then it smoked. Mine is at novak now,I am just waiting to get it back.

They were new right?

I installed it in a losi xxx-t pulled the trigger and then it smoked. One of my buddies bought one from the same hobby shop and his lasted about 15minutes then it smoked. Mine is at novak now,I am just waiting to get it back.

Thats because the last good product Novak made was the C2....This is the same thing that happened with the Gt7 when it came out. If i were you, Id get it back, sell it, and wait for the remedied version.

:thumbsup:

Yes I bought everything new. I just hope that they get this problem figured out and fixed very fast!

The one thing I've heard from the guys at my local track is this. The current software on the speedo doesn't have a protective feature to turn off the motor before you initiate setup mode.

A lot of guys would turn it on and have it go up in smoke instantly. It would hit Forward and Reverse back and forth so quick it burns up the speedo. (Because it hadn't been set up with the radio yet.)

Their new software will disable the output to the motor until you have radio on and you've gone through setup mode. This is supposedly what has been burning up so many speedos.

Three guys at our track had the same issue, and all three have been told they would get the new software rev. once it's returned.

Randy Clements
SLC, UT

Does the old rule of "unplug your motor while you setup your speed control" no longer apply?

The speedo comes factory wired to the motor and battery connector. So no, I'm assuming they don't ask you to unplug the motor anymore for programming.

I even skimmed through the manual on Novak's website, and I don't see where they ask you to make sure and desolder the motor before you set it up.

Anyways, they are fixing the problem, so that is a good thing. They seem to be a good company -- go USA!

That's very odd. I wonder if the correct operation of the motor/ESC is dependent on the length of the motor wires?

If so, it could have bad implications for some vehicles where the motor and ESC have to be rather far apart.

No you can shorten or lengthen the three motor wires to whatever length you need. That's why they have solder posts on both the motor and speedo, for easy wire replacement. However, the bundle of sensor wires (6 thin ones) are pre-terminated at a set length with plastic connectors at both ends. I am unsure if you can buy different lengths of sensor wires -- the ones that ship with it are 9" long, as are the motor wires (9").

I've been able to see three of these systems installed in three different cars. (All of them touring cars - a Tamiya EVO III, a Losi XXX-S, and Tamiya TA-04.) I believe all three had shortened the motor wires for their installation, but had kind-of looped/bundled the sensor wire's extra length since you don't need 9" of wire in a touring car.

My one comment is that they run really quiet -- especially on that EVO 3 -- it has a really quiet drivetrain.

Randy

Hello All,
I have had my brushless system for a while now, so far it has been outstanding. I too had the problem of it shorting out when I first tried it due to the fact that I did not follow directions....
After turning on the transmiter, YOU MUST DEPRESS THE SET-UP BUTTON WHILE YOU TURN ON THE SPEED CONTROL....
Since then, I have ran 15 or so packs thru it, with no problems.
Novak(Charlie) was more than helpful with the situation.
Currently I have it in a Gear-box sprint car, and with the loose dirt conditions that we race, I think that the brushless system (sealed) is the only way to go.
Only time will tell if the endurance of the whole unit, is sound and I feel that by the middle of summer we'll all have more feedback to give on this system. And by next year we will be saying you remember those brushless motors we used to run with a laugh... Just like we are doin with the Nicad/ NMH battery issue now..
E-Mail me for pic's of it in the sprint car...
Thanks,
Tom Murray
Jacksonville,IL
tmurray@jlnc.net

Hello All,
The rain finally stopped and we had our first dirt oval/ off-raod race of the season.
The Novak Brushless system scores its first win's of the season at Jacksonville R/C Speedway, In Jacksonville,IL...Saturday night May 31st.
They are:
Electric Sprint Class winner, Tom Murray
Electric Modified off-road winner, Joe Ryan..

There were 6 Novak SS Brushless systems run that night, 3 in the sprint class, and 4 in the Modified off-road classes.
All ran extremely well!!
Thanks,
Tom Murray
Jacksonville,IL.
tmurray@jlnc.net

What type of offroad cars were using the system? 2 wheel, 4 wheel, truck....etc.?

What exactly was the performance in each one? Compared to any mod motors these people would normally run?

Just by the actual usage of this system by the public, isn't impressing me with all the burnouts they apparently are having considering if you're not supposed to have the motor wired up, or to be sure you have your finger pressing the setup button before you turn the thing on, then why wouldn't they make more of a notification of this knowing that by not taking these crucial steps, $250 gets flushed right down the torlet? Or am I wrong?

I had contemplating buying one of these things myself just for s**ts and giggles in any r/c car I might have laying around which is why I was inquiring. $250 is a lot of money to be spending on something that might not be guaranteed to work.

I've noticed over the years that Novak seems to make products that either work great and succeed enormously, or they seem to fall flat on their face...such as the older Novak recievers which used to be some SERIOUS junk--remember the chrome ones??! (for the most part, not saying that at least SOME people haven't had some luck with them). They seem to have the problem straightened out now with their newest line of recievers though.

Then again, I could be wrong....it's just an objective opinion. :roll:

well i'd also like to try a brushless but i heard there not roar legal is this true?? and buff just as a sideline my old novak chrome receiver is goin stong!!
-matt :lol:

Hello,
The Novak Brushless systems are being used in 2 wheel drive trucks, 4 MFXXX-t's and one team T3. And there are 5 being used in sprint cars.

Most of the drivers say they have more Hp than a 10X2. The motors unlike the brushed ones have not needed any maintenance. Most of us have not had them out of the car..

I have had over 40 battery packs thru mine, and the motor still feels as strong as the day I got it. So by the amount of trucks and cars that we have them in, if there were any probelms I think that we would have seen something by now..

But only time will tell, with technolgy as new as this, there might be some issues down the road, but so far so good.

One guy has had a complaint though, he snapped a mip cvd in to..LOL

It clearly states in the instructions the set-up procedure for the speed control, and they have it posted on the web site.

To me the wait was well worth it. Awesome power and reliability so far, and no maintenance...........

Thanks,
Tom Murray
Jacksonville,IL
tmurray@jlnc.net

The Novak brushless was the second brushless I have owned. The first was a 6 turn brushless based on the Hacker design (sensorless). The 6 turn kit was actually noticably faster than the Novak. But the Novak is actually drivable. The 6 turn brushless kit has very poor throttle response, and that makes it very hard to drive on a track. You have to be really "on" to drive it. The Novak is just as smooth as any brushed motor setup, and that makes the Novak a lot better for racing on a track. On the track, you cannot tell the difference between the Novak brushless and a 10 turn KR. It's really that smooth.

Compared to my Reedy KR 10x2, the Novak feels just as fast and just as smooth. The KR gets slower as the race day wears on, due to comm wear. If I don't periodically cut the comm, the KR eventually starts falling off. Admittedly, the KR lasts much longer between comm cuts than other mods that I have owned, but it still needs maintainance every 3-6 runs in order to run well. The Novak needs no maintainance. So it runs just as solid every run as it did the last run. So I can focus on chassis setup instead of motor maintainance.

The Novak is not ROAR legal, but both summer time tracks around here allow it, so ROAR legal is not a big deal right now. The two winter tracks may or may not allow it. There has not been a verdict either way at this point, but winter racing does not begin for several months. I'll be very happy if I can run the Novak during the winter, but I still have my Reedy KR to fall back on if I cannot run the Novak.

For US$250, the Novak brushless kit is a winner. When I bought the 6 turn sensorless brushless kit two years ago, I paid US$500 for it. So US$250 seems like a smoking deal to me. Additionally, a good mod motor and a good controller cost nearly US$250. Once you toss in the cost of spare brushes, an extra armature, and a comm lathe, the brushed combo actually costs a lot more than the Novak.

What about the size of the Novak? It looked pretty big to me...

Since I really only run Oval... makes me wonder how far over weight I'd be if I tried to run it... I strugled to keep my car under weight all last season, and I had nothing unusualy large/heavy in my car...

I think the Novak's are Awesome, not as fast as other Brushless, but still fast, and worry free :)

I have 2 of them in my E-Maxx, runs very good.
http://www.cwhobbies.com/RC/DSC01214.jpg

The Novak brushless controller is about the size of an LRP v7.1 controller. The motor is the same size as any 540 size motor. It looks bigger because the can part goes all the way to the end, where the typical stock or mod brushed motor would have brush hoods. But it is still the same overall size. The three 9 inch long wires add some weight and you can reduce that length as needed. I really do not think the overall weight is noticably more than any brushed combo. The big weight item is always the batteries, and the 3300 cells are very heavy. My six cell GP3300 packs are about one full ounce heavier than any other 3000 packs I own. If you want to drop an ounce, switch to the UM3000 cells. Personally, I think the GP3300 run better, but the UM3000 cells are worth trying if weight is a primary concern.

I've never raced oval, so I have no idea how much weight will impact oval. In mod TC, I personally am not concerned about total weight. Trying to get closer to the min weight does not seem to affect the lap times much in touring car. Some of the fastest local racers drive bricks with wheels. I am very concerned with weight distribution (front to back as well as side to side). In my touring cars, I go out of my way to get the weight identical on each of the four wheels, even if it means adding mass to the car. On my XRay, I have three batteries toward the back on one side and three toward the front on the other side. Then I creatively move the rest of the electronics around and add weights as needed. I've got it perfectly balanced front to back and side to side. When the weight is perfectly balanced, changes to car setup seem to work most effectively.

I had my XRay Evo II with the Novak brushless kit at the track today. I let several friends drive it. Everybody loved it. It drove extremely smooth every run. It got plenty of run time in practice. Everybody said they thought it ran as good as any other 10 turn mod motor out there that they had driven. Everybody agreed it was as smooth as any good brushed mod motor available. The Novak system is probably the best club mod racing system on the market. It's smooth, offers power comparable to a 10 turn mod, and is maintainance free. What more can anybody really ask for?

i have been wondering one thing, if you want to do some bashing so you have to let it cool between packs? thanks

The Novak brushless motor and controller were actually cooler than my batteries after every run. So heat is not nearly as much of an issue as with brushed mod setups. If you have several packs, you should be able to run them back to back with the Novak kit without overheating the controller or motor. There is a thermal protection circuit built into the controller. If it is running, then it is not overheated. If it does get too hot, it will shut the motor off until it cools back down. This is good news for bashers.

I hammered on mine today on the track during practice. I ran a 3300 pack flat a few times, and the motor and controller were still not hot. Trust me, I was not babying the Novak system at all. It was flying past nitro and electric racers during practice like a rocket with wheels. Not a hint of overheating. The Novak was smooth, consistent, and trouble free every run with no signs of overheating.

thanks bro, my son has a xxxnt and i cant bash around with him with my xxxt, so i was thinking about getting a nitro truck or the brushless. later

Hello All,
The Novak System has been a total success here in our area.
The winners in all of the Mod Classes Dirt oval and off-road have been with the brushless system...With No failure's..
Also won the $50 to win sprint race..
Thanks
Tom Murray
Jacksonville,IL
tmurray@jlnc.net

i talked to novak today and i am going brushless. i hope my xxxt wont be dissapointed. later dudes

Hello All,
Just wanted to keep the discussion going, the novaks are really taking off here in central Illinois...

They have won all of the electric modified sprint car (Oval)race's...

And they have won all but one, of the Electric Modified off-road races.

And thats at 2 different tracks, Jacksonville R/C speedway, in Jacksonville, Illinois.
And Allens R/C speedway's in Rochester, Illinois.
And there have been no failures with the Novak system....

Thanks,
Tom Murray
Jacksonville,IL.
tmurray@jlnc.net

thanks tom! keep us posted on how these things hold up !!!!!

I work for my LHS, and I was the 2nd one in my area to get the new Novak system. Since then, we've sold a large number of them, and I haven't seen any problems with them yet. One caveat, though.. follow the setup instructions exactly! You will burn it up, as many of you have learned.

Had mine in a XXX-T MF edition, and could run with the 1/10 nitro guys! :tongue:

I would like to hear any pros oe cons on using the Novak Brushless on a Losi XXX-4.

hey guys, have any of you noticed any throttle response problems primarily from a standing stop? It seems to take a second or so before the car actually starts to move. Even if i gradually hit the throttle it takes a second. Everything is soldered and plugged in tighly and correctly.
Thanks
Dave

I too bought a new novak SS and it failed (no smoke) just wouldn't work (except servo). Tried everything...called Novak and had to send it back as they did not have any idea of what the problem was. I never installed it in my xxx-4 just set it up and it worked once. Turned it off and back on and no red light or anything and after about 5 seconds of power the motor would make a hum and the armature would twich.

I would like to hear any pros oe cons on using the Novak Brushless on a Losi XXX-4.
I just recently got a Novak SS5800 brushless system for my Losi XXX-4, I gotta tell ya that I LOVE IT!!!!!!

It's the kind of top notch speed I normally pay big $$ for to keep running at that speed, yet it costs me nothing pack after pack after pack...etc. My run times are long, the speed is really high, more torque then any motor I have ever owned, smooth control, forward/reverse/brake, and I have not touched it since dropping into my car. Except to try different programs of course.

I had to tighten my front and rear diffs, as well as my slipper. They were all adjusted to my 17 turn modified which was fine. But they were far too loose for the massive torque of the SS5800. The diffs even slipped when the throttle was punched with the car in the air! I also had to tighten the belt, as it skipped a bit on hard braking, and the belt has also come off the middle pully a few times. I'm considering trying to enlarge the diameter of the outside runner of the middle pully, so the belt cannot come off so easily. It only seems to happen when I go reverse-->forward.

In a nuttshell, I'm extremly pleased and never going back to brushed setups. Here's a picture of my XXX4, and another of the brushless system in it. I left the wires long so I could easily move it to my other cars when I want to.
http://home.comcast.net/~eandori/XXX4_1.JPG
and
http://home.comcast.net/~eandori/XXX4_Brushless.JPG

I finally ran/raced my brushless 4300ss. It was on a flat oval asphault racing along with 19t truck class. I used the first profile and was wondering which profile is everyone else using. I was bearly able to keep up with fastest 19t and the motor was still ice cold...I ran out of space to put a larger pinion. I am driving a Hyperdrive 0700 and had a 110 spur which I have change to a 100. Hopefully that will give me more gear but cannot test it this week due to hurricane Frances.

Thanks in advance guys/gals

hey guys, have any of you noticed any throttle response problems primarily from a standing stop? It seems to take a second or so before the car actually starts to move. Even if i gradually hit the throttle it takes a second. Everything is soldered and plugged in tighly and correctly.
Thanks
Dave
I have seen a couple of motors that had a problem with the rotor coming loose from the shaft. Apparently it's a press fit that sometimes isn't tight enough. Check to see if it's loose on the shaft. The first time I saw this, the driver fixed it with some type of Lock-tite, then we discovered that it wasn't in the right spot on the shaft. The rotor has to be close enough to the sensors in the end of the motor for them to read the position of the rotor.

Intellion,

I notice you have your speedo/motor wires wraped around your antenna. Any glitching problems?

Better yet, has anyone experienced any glitch problems........Thanks,

Yeah, I was a bit concerned with the wiring setup when I did it. I didn't want to shorten the wires because I may switch this system between my XXX4, and my XXX 2wd buggy. So I figured I would just jam them all in there and see how it does.

Turns out it works just fine. I can leave the radio off with the car turned on and plugged in. No glitches so far, even with other people driving around me. When driving, I did see some glitches at first when the car got around 100' away from me, but I replaced my transmitter batteries and that cleaned it right up. I have a cheap Futaba radio now that I bought from the local Hobby store for around $45 and it's a solid setup.

I'm still aware that this setup could cause glitches, and I'm paying attention to it, but so far it looks solid even though I have the wires all jammed in there.

BTW, I just took my car to the local track this weekend in Vancouver Washington. It was way too fast to keep the throttle fully opened on that track. They had the track setup like an oval outside, with openings to a racecourse inside. So I did a bit of oval, and a bit of tight turns. The car was so fast around the oval I could barely keep it down. Pack after Pack the car was fast, had that huge brushless torque, and nice long run times. It was a practice day, so no huge pressure. Some of the other locals at the track were checking out my setup, they could not believe the torque and RPM's coming out of that setup.

I finally ran/raced my brushless 4300ss. It was on a flat oval asphault racing along with 19t truck class. I used the first profile and was wondering which profile is everyone else using. I was bearly able to keep up with fastest 19t and the motor was still ice cold...I ran out of space to put a larger pinion. I am driving a Hyperdrive 0700 and had a 110 spur which I have change to a 100. Hopefully that will give me more gear but cannot test it this week due to hurricane Frances.

Thanks in advance guys/gals
We ran the 5800 at the ROAR Oval Nats and I was geared 47/112 and turned the same lap times as 19T on a 366' tri-oval.That's 3 teeth lower that what a normal gear ratio is for 19T.One of our local's has been playing around with the 4300 and he runs 2 laps faster that a brushed stock motor and 5 laps less than a 19T motor track records.

Thanks Bob,

Well last Friday (rainout) I was practicing with another 19t truck and was on his tail keeping up but didn't have enough to pass him. It will be hard to convince the guys that the 4300 is comparable to a 27t stock motor. To me its more like the trinity 21t spec motor. How are you guys dialing in for some breaks? I am having to let off way to early in the turns or is this normal. It feels like I have no breaks. I am currently using the first profile.

I only had about 10 runs on the thing as it was a loaner from Novak for the weekend.We drive wide open all the time so brakes were not an issue.I'm assuming that by adjusting the throttle settings on your radio that you could dial in some coast brake.

Bob did you go ahead and purchase a systsem?

Well guys I just want to add my 2 cents and say this thing is awesome. I run oval here in Macon, GA @ Echeconnee Superspeedway. The run line is 305 feet and is slightly banked. We had a special 100 enduro race on memorial day. It was a $10 entry fee and the winner got $50. Now if you won and completed all 100 laps the track kicked in an extra $50 for a total of $100 payout. There were 10 cars in this race. The one twist that was not revealed until 2 minutes before race time and that was there were not going to be any turn marshalls. With a huge grass infield that frequently sucks car into it. Anyway I was lucky enough to win this thing with PLENTY of battery left. I ran lap times from 6.7 - 7.5 seconds and was running the same lap times at the end as the beginning. The fast guys ran out of battery with 3 laps left. The car is geared at 125/22. Stock Profile

I'm waiting to see what version they are going to run at Trackside.As soon as Scotty decides I'll have one.

Just another update here...

I have put around 50+ battery packs through that brushless motor now. The top end and torque appear no different. The efficientcy appears no different. The system still drives just as smooth as day 1, and it has not come out of my car for any maintenance whatsoever.

I'm definately used to the feel of brushless now. Something that I didn't totally expect is the impact of batteries on this motor setup. The top end RPM seems nearly the same no matter if I use my crappy NiCad's, or my good NiMH batteries. But the torque of the motor is extremely dependant on the charge and battery type. It seems like the brushless motor is so torquey (is that a real word?) that batteries is now my only bottleneck.

If I was running only 1400 MAH cells, I would probably leave the gearing exactly where it is (stock recommended setup in the instructions) but if I was running only high quality NiMH cells, I would feel very comfortable adding 3-4 teeth to the pinion.

I've been to the track several times now, and all I worry about is driving skills, car setup, and batteries. Worrying about the motor is just not there anymore. I'M FREE!!!!

I've tried each of the six settings and the system seems to have zero drag breaks. I have a Mars EX-1 transmiter and was wondering if there are any settings on this radio to give me some Drag Breaks with the system. Any ideas would be appreciated.

Thanks,

VB

Try moving your thorttle trim to the + side and moving the end point adjustment for the brakes closer to center.

Bob,

Thanks for the help, the throttle trim adjustment did the trick.

VB

AJ
Do you have a 4300 brushless, it sounds like they may run them on March 5 & 6th at HobbyPlex in omaha. It may be unsanctioned but sounds like there is enough interest.

They are sanctioned as of January 1 as a Roar Class and yes I have one as does Charlie Moon and we are planning on running them at the regional. Ran them this weekend and had a ball. We had one racer who ordered a 4300 and ran it and no one could figure out for the longest time why his car was so much faster than anyone else's, as it turns out it had a 5800 in the box not a 4300, so I guess we need to check.

It's a great 2nd class, put a battery in, check the tires and go racing.

See you at the regionals.