Are Very-good motors really better than pretty-good motors??

[Bartman]

I'm thinking about motors lately and wondering if Axi motors are really worth the scratch compared to Tiger motors which are pretty good, IMHO.

Can anyone say what it is about Axi motors that makes them so much better? After all, they cost more than twice what Tiger motors cost! The tigers are smooth and seem to be pretty well balanced so what's up with Axi that makes them worth the money?

Thanks,
Bart

 

[Benjamin Rowland]

That's a good question - I hope you see some answers because I've wondered the same thing.

 

[DucktileMedia]

A question i would also like to hear answers to. Bart, I think you have to post that pic, pretty funny and worth framing if you ask me. So what makes a Pletty better? I can see having 3 bearings instead of 2 being a slight advantage but not really needed. The areas I think need to be watched out for are these:

1. cheap "C" clips that hold the shaft in place
2. super glued magnets instead of balanced epoxy set magnets.
3. A personal thing, but I hate how some motors (like the pletty's) need a prop adapter which raises the prop way higher than it should be. The set screws on some are prone to loosening as well. The prop should be as close to the motor as possible and bolted down.
4. Does the specific motor have weird timing that doesnt work with your ESC's

Obviously the materials used are a huge part of all this but I dont see a motor as being complicated. I have heard more negative things about Axi's than I have Avrotos.

 

[DennyR]

I prefer the Tiger motors because of the flat 14 pole design which in my tests have less vibration, prop overhang and run smoother. However you have to be cafeful with ESC's because these motors need 30 deg advance. they work ok with the latest HW esc's that are flashed with 4.1.

I have also tried the Suppomotors and esc's on Flame Wheels. These are a lot cheaper alternative for upright motor installations. 2814/8 is a powerful 1000Kv. motor for only 100 grams.
Some say variable quality control!!!

 

[Kari]

My Tiger MT2814-10 motors are sweet! Also my QC3328:s are sweet, as they looks very much identical to my Tigers. I've been wondering the same, are Axis really that much better or more reliable? How about AVRoto 2814/11S, aren't they same as Tiger MT2814-10? At least specs looks identical to me.

Kari

 

[redridinghood]

My opinion is that there is a big quality difference between the mentioned motors. At least from the ones I own.

The Tiger motors MT2814 and variants come at almost 140 grams with cables. The 2 bearings are crap (out of six I bought only 3 have ok bearings) so far. At 40 usd the AVrotors were the best, now every vendor is selling their re branded ones for twice as much. Shame on you
View attachment 4280View attachment 4281



The Axi2814 have better bearings (2), better winding and better case. The weight is 20-30 grams lighter and provide slightly better efficiency and power than Tiger motors. Good price/performance ratio.

View attachment 4282View attachment 4283

The Plettenberg 15-20 have a higher build quality. Bearings, magnets, winding and casing are top notch. The 3 bearings, dynamic balancing, and optimized fill ratio provide a motor of 164 grams that can spin a much larger prop at only 30-50 grams more than the other two motors. Regardless of what they say due to it's thick winding it needs a much larger esc.
As for the prop adapter they also come with an integrated prop adapter with helicoil inserts that weights 3 grams. Price is high but you get what you pay for, that applies for the other two motors.

View attachment 4279

 

[ovdt]

I've been using AXi 2814/22 on my DWX AD6-HL. I have tried several other motors including MK3638, Tiger MT2814, Tiger MT2826, Tiger MT2820. I've also tried cheap RC Timer BC 2836 and 3536 series.

What I can easily say is, I can get the same quality footage with Tiger / MK 3638 motors compared to the AXi equievalents. I have used over 60 Tiger motors and 3 of them had metal dirt between the magnets and the windings. So I had to remove the case on these motors to clean the magnets.

As performance wise, I'd go on Avroto / Tiger motors without any doubt and spend more money/time on props which I think most of the vibration caused by this.

 

[Mactadpole]

It would be nice if someone with a lot of motor knowledge would be willing to take apart and give us the details on the ~700kV line: Tiger MT2814-10 (770, 3s-4s), Tiger MT2814-11 (710, 3s-4s), MK3638 (770, 3s-6s), Avroto 2814-11 (770, 3s-4s), QC-3328 (700, 3s-6s), and Torxpower 3536 (700, 3s-6s).

What I don't get is that if these are supposedly all re-branded Tiger motors then why the different specs (yes, similar but still a little different). For instance, I know that # after size (e.g. -11) means number of windings or something like that, so why does the Tiger MT2814-10 equal 770kV while the Avroto 2814-11 is 770kv, but the Tiger MT2814-11 is 710kV? Also, what about the size battery they say can be used?

I personally have Avroto's and Torxpower's (it says on the Torxpower description that these are custom made by Tiger for Quadcopters UK to their specs and winding) and they have been great. They look the same but I swear the Torxpower's are quieter. That's the only qualitative difference I have noticed. Not that I have really investigated much.

After hearing about Bart's mishap with the Tiger motor it makes me even more curious.

Shawn

 

[Bartman]

Shawn,

If you look at the charts for the Tiger Motors you'll see that for different voltages and props they develop different max power values. You can theoretically go to the chart and pick any number and call them whatever you want. Whether it's 280 watts or 350 watts, you'd just say the volts and prop you used to specify the power output.

 

[Kari]

If i look inside QC3328 and MT2814-10 i find them very very identical to my eyes. What might be the key difference that makes qc3328 3s-6s, and MT2814-10 only 4s capable?

Kari

 

[jes1111]

The Tiger motors MT2814 and variants come at almost 140 grams with cables. The 2 bearings are crap (out of six I bought only 3 have ok bearings) so far.View attachment 5854

That bearing in the Tiger is an EZO. When I contacted a specialist miniature bearing company in UK (http://www.smbbearings.com/) about getting some (better) replacement bearings for the MT4008's I just bought, they told me there IS nothing better than those EZO's. They are made in Japan and they're "EMQ rated" (for audio equipment and other vibe-sensitive applications). If you've got 3 out of six with bad bearings then it suggests physical damage, so perhaps a QC issue at Tiger?

FWIW my eight MT4008's are all creamy

 

[Mactadpole]

Shawn,

If you look at the charts for the Tiger Motors you'll see that for different voltages and props they develop different max power values. You can theoretically go to the chart and pick any number and call them whatever you want. Whether it's 280 watts or 350 watts, you'd just say the volts and prop you used to specify the power output.

Ya, but why are the Tiger 2814-11 (710 kV, 3s-4s) only rated to swing up to 12" props and use 4s max. compared to the QC-3328 (700, 3s-6s) or Torxpower 3536 (700, 3s-6s) that can use up to 14" props and 6s IF they are the same motors and just rebranded?

Not trying to start an argument, but it just doesn't make sense to me that Tiger would want to post lower specs for their branded motor than what it really is.

Shawn

 

[redridinghood]

That bearing in the Tiger is an EZO. When I contacted a specialist miniature bearing company in UK (http://www.smbbearings.com/) about getting some (better) replacement bearings for the MT4008's I just bought, they told me there IS nothing better than those EZO's. They are made in Japan and they're "EMQ rated" (for audio equipment and other vibe-sensitive applications). If you've got 3 out of six with bad bearings then it suggests physical damage, so perhaps a QC issue at Tiger?

FWIW my eight MT4008's are all creamy

They must break the bearings when they assemble them.

 

[owlhh]

Has anyone done a spreed sheet comparing motors?

 

[Bartman]

That bearing in the Tiger is an EZO. When I contacted a specialist miniature bearing company in UK (http://www.smbbearings.com/) about getting some (better) replacement bearings for the MT4008's I just bought, they told me there IS nothing better than those EZO's. They are made in Japan and they're "EMQ rated" (for audio equipment and other vibe-sensitive applications). If you've got 3 out of six with bad bearings then it suggests physical damage, so perhaps a QC issue at Tiger?

FWIW my eight MT4008's are all creamy

I went to the EZO website and found those bearings but the model number suggests they should be shieldless which they aren't, there are clearly shields on both sides. The website shows no rating for them though so your info is confusing to me..

 

[Bartman]

I had a motor come apart on me on Saturday. It was an Avroto that I bought last year and this batch has been on and off a number of different helicopters. This may have been a motor that I had taken apart and replaced the bearings on, I'm not sure. EIther way, a spring clip let go and the prop flew off. The helicopter began yawing and came down without doing much damage.

View attachment 4289

The prop was fine and is already back on the helicopter, as is the motor that came apart!

 

[jes1111]

I went to the EZO website and found those bearings but the model number suggests they should be shieldless which they aren't, there are clearly shields on both sides. The website shows no rating for them though so your info is confusing to me..

Funnily enough, when I was on the phone with them I asked that same question - apparently it's just EZO's marking system - the model number is[/U] 694ZZ

 

[BayAreaCrasher]

I agree with the comments about not understanding the differences between all the motors that have seemingly exactly the same specs. This is a great thread and potentially great info...maybe make it a sticky if we gather really good info?

 

[jes1111]

I had a motor come apart on me on Saturday. It was an Avroto that I bought last year and this batch has been on and off a number of different helicopters. This may have been a motor that I had taken apart and replaced the bearings on, I'm not sure. EIther way, a spring clip let go and the prop flew off. The helicopter began yawing and came down without doing much damage.

View attachment 5863

The prop was fine and is already back on the helicopter, as is the motor that came apart!

Thinking about it, yes - when I disassembled my Tigers the circlip and washer were "poo". I replaced them with quality stainless clips and shim washers.

 

[ovdt]

Thinking about it, yes - when I disassembled my Tigers the circlip and washer were "poo". I replaced them with quality stainless clips and shim washers.

Jes,

Where can I find these stainless clips? Thanks.