Saturday 11 June 2016

Mod: MTB Hellcats in Rapidstrike

MTB Hellcats are MTB's first foray into 180s. They're intended for use on 3S, spinning around 36kRPM at 12V like Rhinos, but generating around 3x the torque (exact numbers can be found here). I picked up a pair to replace the Falcons that were in my Bullpup RS.

Wired up and in the flywheel cage, nothing special.
Slot cut out for them in the shell, pretty standard.
I've used a Jodocast designed motor cover printed by Hobbymods, as I much prefer the tapers and smoother lines of it compared to the BSUK one on my RS rifle. Nothing special about installation really, no different to any other 180 motor.
I didn't have to change my LiPo, as it puts out enough current to run Hellcats without issue. It's a Turnigy Nanotech 1000mAh 45-90C 3S, so can put out 90A for a short time, or 45A continuously. Hellcats draw around 25A each at full 3S voltage (~12.6V), plus say another 15A worst case for the pusher, totalling a ~65A maximum draw for the circuit, which is well below my LiPo's maximum.
I'm currently running the Hellcats in my Bullpup with Worker flywheels and a Blade 180/-3240 motor in the pusher, awaiting a replacement -3250 motor. The first thing I noticed was spool up time. My RS rifle runs Blade 180/-3240 flywheel motors so I'd had experience with fast spool time, but Hellcats are even more impressive. They spool up to full speed pretty much instantly, to the point where the time they are revving up for is almost indistinguishable, more so even than Blade 180s/-3240s. Additionally, Hellcats seem very well balanced, they seem to produce a slightly quieter and more harmonious noise than my old Falcons did. Certainly quieter and more refined than Banshees or Honey Badgers, or even my RS rifle on 2S. Hellcats achieve glass ceiling velocities easily, as demonstrated by BlasterTech's chrono test:
I used my Bullpup for much of the MHvZ event earlier today, and they performed excellently. Rev up time was basically zero. I was able to perform reaction shots very effectively and had no trouble with full auto, even with the -3240 pusher which is faster than what I usually run. Muzzle velocity appeared to be unchanged (at least not reduced) compared to Falcons, and was still very effective. Overall it was entirely positive, and I experienced no problems whatsoever.
My experience with Hellcats has been extremely good - instant spool up, good balance and excellent performance, there's a lot to like about them, with the only downside being the typical 180 downside of having to cut the blaster's shell. I wholeheartedly recommend them as flywheel motors, and I daresay that outside of niche 2S applications, Hellcats are completely superior to Blade 180s/-3240s.

2 comments:

  1. How is the audiable noise compared to blades??

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    1. Given that they both spin at very close speeds (at their appropriate voltage), I'd say about the same. The harshness of flywheel noise is more dependent on how well the flywheels are matched than anything else.

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