Heatsink - does the motor really get that hot?

[Rye]

Hey guys

My friend just bought the stage 2 motor kit and gave me 2 motors, however he kept the heatsink. Does the motor really get that hot to where it affects performance? I bought a small heat sink that I can cut down to size and thermal glue to the engine, will that work?

http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/u/superrye/heatsink.jpg
http://bellsouthpwp.net/s/u/superrye/heatsink2.jpg

[NiXaD]

you could probley run it with out the hs but usally when a manufactuar recommends one it is needed (well with comp parts at least) couse the manufactur is trying to save money all the time so if they give u one they usally have a damn good reason too since we all know how cheap radioshack is lol

[XAnubis]

it shouldn't really matter like Nixad said but heres a option if you have not already chopped that HS up
Get some video ram heatsinks forma computer store and use those they are thinner and only need to be trimmed lengthwise.
Just a thought:)

[viperkilla]

You dont really need the heat sink. I have been running my XMOD with a stage 2 motor for a while with no problems.

[RSXRacer001]

how hot do they run?

[Darklancer]

Yes I would use 1 b/c I was running my X-Mod for about 2 hrs and the batteries died and when I opened it up to take the batteries out I could feel the heat from the heat sink but the engine was still cool, so I guess they work well 2

[jaubery]

If you run your car on carpet you need a heat sink. The extra drag causes the motor to run hotter.

[teamdeadbunny]

Couldnt you just use a 3rd party one, and use some cpu glop to stick it on there?

I never noticed mine being hot with any of the S2 motors so far, even after running a set of battieries totally down.

[theMonster]

With 4 cells mine never got hot, with 6 it gets REAL toasty

[teamdeadbunny]

Ok... what aboot this then...

Why not try and do a little body venting instead. You could add a scoop somewhere that feeds some air into the inside and that should help cool things a bit. Plus if done right could look nice.

Or mount a small fan? ;)

[Joey]

A fan's a little impractical, and body vents don't do a whole lot (or so various threads would have me believe). I'd recommend some kind of cooling mechanism, even if it's just driving around without the body on. Even if the heat doesn't immediately kill the motor (and it seldom will), it shortens the lifespan and gradually sucks some power.

[suprafreak33]

i think the motor gets hot but not that much

[teamdeadbunny]

The fan thing was more of a joke than anything... since it would add weight and create more junk to stuff under the body.

[Darklancer]

I wouldn't worry about 1 too much neway, especially if ur not running it 4 long periods of time, a fan is actually an interesting idea however... hmm...jk


...now a little liquid notrogen...:D lol

[newbitowner]

I've been running st 2 motors w/o a hs without any motor problems.

I have broken a left joint cup though.

[theMonster]

Mine stopped running last night, so when I opened it up to find out why, the heatsink burned my finger. I thought maybe it overheated since I had just went from s2 yellow to blue, but it turned out the batteries in the roof had come a little loose.

[danny_v_l]

i've seen some with the fins chopped off, does it serve any perpose, i don't think it would any opinons?

[theMonster]

The fins are needed to help dissipate the heat.

[danny_v_l]

and i've seen them like, half the motor holder is cut off and the heat snik is still there

[Joey]

That would theoretically cool it better, but that leaves the motor open to any kind of airborne debris that could screw it up.

[boxcrash]

A computer ram or heatsink cut to fit would work well. That would provide the optimuim cooling efficency. I would lap(sand) the top of the motor starting with about 400 grit then gradually work your way up to a 2000grit paper, leaving no high or lowspots in the motors can top surface. Then I would sand the contact surface area of the heatsink the same.

I would use a thermal epoxy, a thermal epoxy like they use for CPU heatsinks, not a thermal paste, but the epoxy and i think Artic Silver makes an epoxy as well.
The stock heatsink sits tight but it is not a efficent transfer or dissapation.

[newbitowner]

The stock heatsink sits tight but it is not a efficent transfer or dissapation.

I agree.

[teamdeadbunny]

I thought about using thermal paste as well but was concerned with the dirt and dust and gunk that gets into everything when you run it outdoors.

And youd need to put a separate sink on each motor you used most likely, as removing the sink each time would waste the goop and make the risk of getting it elsewhere as well as getting dust in it higher.

Might be interesting to test the life of the motors w and w/o heat sink to see how long they last.

[SuPrBuGmAn]

The heatsink isn't all that necessary with a factory RadioShack Stage 1 or 2 even on carpet with higher gearing and AWD. I don't believe that even in those conditions, the motor will heat enough for a loss in magnetic field to a point where its noticable in the cars performance.

When you start running a motor with a higher energy draw or a higher voltage power source, you will want to address keeping the motor cool. IMO the factory unmod'd RadioShack goodies aren't enough to worry about.