AXi or Turnigy - I'm Confused (again)

[Ian W]

Hello Chaps,
I am very confused with the various motor descriptions.  I have been looking at an AXi Gold 4120/18 at around £90 and an Turnigy C50/55 at around £47.  Turnigy say the C50/55 is equivalent too the Axi 4120 but almost half the price?  Is the Turnigy as good, will it do the job as well and are they reliable?
I would appreciate any advice.
The finished trainer will be approx 6.5lb's in old money
Thanks, Ian

 

Edited By Ian W on 28/12/2009 00:00:03

[Tim Mackey]

All the turnigy stuff ( including several motors....including the 50/55 too ) has been good VFM.

Is it as good as an AXI? ...probably not, does it do the job? - yes definately

[Ian W]

Hi Tim,

 

Thanks for the reply.  In what way would you consider it not as good?  Reliability, build quality or ???.  I dont want to sacrifice quality and reliability too much.

 

Cheers

Ian

[Andy Gates]

Turnigy is a mass produced Chineese type product with a few edges to it.

Nothing particularly dodgy or problematic.

 

As Timbo states, Turnigy is good value for money, Axi is good for those with deeper pockets.

 

Either should not cause you any worries.

[Ian W]

Nice one Andy, thanks.

 

Ian

[Gareth Bryant]

Hi Ian

I've used turnigy stuff for years in everything from parkflyers to 90 sized warbirds, and aside from one dodgy motor where the can wasn't fixed properly, all have been great. Axi are good for those with deep pockets or those you just must have the 'name', but for my money, go with Turnigy every time, especially the aerodrive range. 

[Gareth Bryant]

Just remembered, if you dont mind the wait, (I have 2 on back order) hobbyking are doing these for just over £18, which is seriously cheap!

[Ian W]

Thank you Gareth, Turnigy it is & save some money

 

Cheers

Ian

[Steve Hargreaves - Moderator]

Yep another vote for Turnigy from me....I haven't used the big ones but lots of motors in the 100-400watt bracket......no problems at all!!!

 

All mine came from Hobbyking by the way......

[Andy Gates]

Ian

 

How about visiting our good friend Rob Carpenter at GiantCod?

 

Same/Similar motor for £27 + P&P

 

http://www.giantcod.co.uk/xyh5055-400kv-brushless-outrunner-p-404604.html

[Tim Mackey]

Sorry for the late reply, darn email server was down again for hours !

Anyway, you have the answers, and just to add, Rob @ GC imports the turningy stuff which may have a different label...... but its the Turningys

Do be aware that there are some different flavours of the motor with differring Kv - the one above for instance is very low at 400Kv - great if you plan on swinging very large props, but may not be spot on for your 6.5lb trainer, that may need more pitch speed. 

The AXi Gold 4120/18 is a 515Kv motor

The C50/55 is 400Kv,

The 50/55B is 600Kv.

[Ian W]

No problem Tim.  Once again, everyone has been very helpful.  I have read some mixed reviews on Turnigy motors, some say the larger ones are poor build quality and one guy was very adamant that they are a definite "No" .  It all goes to show how an individuals experience tints his point of view I guess, because so far on here, folks seem to rate them well.  I think I'll give Turnigy a try and see how I get on.  I'll get in touch with Rob at Giant Cod and get a quote from him later today.

 

Cheers

Ian

[scott cuppello]

Sorry guys, can't agree at all on this, the Turnigy 50-55 series are appalling, I have tested all of them after suffering a really high return rate on them when I was working in the trade, and found that they throw magnets for fun, efficiency is way over stated [for instance, the 400kv version can only cope with a 13" prop reliably on 6s.....the equivalent Axi would pull 16"!!!], the bearings are suspect [they are very noisy]...but worse of all...the max amps are WAY over-stated, I found that you can almost guarantee problems once we start to push over 50A Max....the windings are of the worst quality I think I have ever seen.

 

My experience is that poor efficiency manifests itself more and more the larger the model, the more power needed, and is very obvious at the 1kw and above mark. Personally, I just don't get cutting massive corners on large models, performance WILL suffer [prop size and therefore flight performance, flight times, etc], and reliability is suspect....Iv'e said it many times before.....it ain't cheap if it costs you the model!

 

Don't get me wrong, I'm not one of those who use Axi in everything, I have plenty of cheap motors in SMALER models, but will only [through bitter experience as much as anything] use good quality stuff in my larger models. There are better quality motors around than Turnigy that are not into Axi territory price wise, Scorpion have a good reputation for instance, I would look at almost anything OTHER than Turnigy!

[Reno Racer]

I've never had a problem with Turnigy stuff, and use loads of their stuff from electric motor on my UnoWot to ESC and Lipos on large EDF and to a C50-55 600kv motor to power my 50 size Seagull Edge 540 on 5S lipos.

 

These motors are (IMHO) exactly the same as the rebranded BRC Wasp motors, yet cost less.

 

My UnoWot electric conversion stated a Axi Gold 4120/12 (If I remember) and I used a BRC Wasp 450 watt equiv (turnigy motor) and never had a problem; it also has tons of power.

 

[Tim Mackey]

Well it seems that several people have been happy with the Turnigy stuff Scott. I have several of the large ones and have no complaints as yet - one is regularly run at around 900watts and 55A in a model, and as I say, all OK so far.

Another I have happily swung a 16 x 8 prop at 800 watts+

[ken anderson.]

again the turnigy motor's are getting the thumb's down....i have several that give me good service week in and out...in fact i would recomend the 250 watt one i have in a m/plex blizzard to anyone......and of course they are sold under different names all over the world...for value for your dosh..and in my view acceptable quality(considering what you pay)...look no further than them for a everyday brushless motor......

 

        ken anderson........ne1..

[scott cuppello]

Each to their own, I can only report the problems that many people have had with them from my experience, and from extensive testing [yes, they were labelled as Wasp at BRC....and quickly dropped from the range]....I know the kind of performance I personally want from a 0.60 size model...the 50-55 Turnigy motors can not deliver it, therefore, it isn't, as posed by the the original question, an AXI equivalent.....it's misleading, a budget motor is just that, it won't do what the Axi will do.

[ken anderson.]

looking on the BRCH i would have a guess and say the 'gold' cased outrunner's are turnigy's with 'BRCH' sticker's on -or have they not updated the web site.............

 

        ken anderson.......

Edited By ken anderson. on 29/12/2009 13:44:11

[scott cuppello]

I can assure you, despite not having worked for them for 4 months...there are no Turnigy out-runners on that site, re-badged or otherwise.

[Tim Mackey]

I wouldn't want to let this thread de-generate into a slanging match over turnigy versus the rest, or indeed any item. Can we not just agree that the Axi and other premium priced motors will likely have the edge when it comes to build quality, and perhaps performance, but that the budget brands supply a demand from consumers, who, in the main, seem happy enough with the product. After all, the price difference is very high, and some may consider that even if the cheapy ones do throw the odd magnet ( something early Axis were renowned for incidentally ) or perhaps give up the ghost sooner than the others, at the price - its still worth it.

As I did say in the first reply, I believe they will do the job, but the Axi is a better motor.

[Ian W]

Thank you for all the valuable input chaps.  I have been sifting through internet reviews for a couple of days now and the feedback varies from "excellent" right down to "complete rubbish".  I have come to the conclusion that "as a complete newbie" I would be better off going for IC instead, save a bit of dosh and then gain some experience, once ive managed to get into a club.

 

That just leaves the difficult decision of 2 stroke or 4 stroke.... I think the SC70 FS MkII looks decent value at £110 (ish), but I guess thats another story and I should perhaps start a new thread for that discussion.

 

Thanks again

Happy New Year

Ian

[scott cuppello]

Slanging match? Am I missing something?! Price difference Timbo IS very high...agreed, and I agree, there IS  demand for budget motors, God knows Iv'e used enough of them......but.....the idea that budget motors are comparable in terms of performance to many top line motors, certainly in the 1kw territory, is, generally, way wide of reality.

 

Price is not everything, personally, performance is far more important, this isn't snobbery, it's the reality I have experienced of many IC conversions and large models built.....I'll sling a cheap one [but not Turnigy in anything over 500w] in certain models...and wouldn't give them time of day for others.

 

Budget motors have resulted [as have budget ESC's] in my having lost models, an experienced shared by many.... a problem greatly reduced with better quality.....a lot of 1kw models can't just be floated in after a motor failure.....I just don't understand taking the risk in your pride and joy to save a few quid....not to mention, as already discussed, performance is inferior....but, as I said....each to their own.

[Tim Mackey]

Scott. As you are well experienced in the electric model motor world, I too am experienced in the way that forum threads tend to go - I did say I wouldnt want it to degenerate into a slanging match, not that it had already.

Believe you me, I have seen enough of these types of threads to know the signs.

[scott cuppello]

Fair comment chum.

[Ed Kershaw]

I put a bit of work into comparing motors in an effort to assess 'power to weight' and efficiency, including building a dynomometer (the results were published on this site some time ago).  I have several Axis ranging from 400 to 90 size, a few real cheapies and several Scorpions.

 

My conclusions were that, from a mechanical point of view, Axis are superior to anything else I've seen.  By this I mean general robustness (e.g. twin races at the 'business' end of all motors), build quality, fit and finish of components, quality of accessories and robustness of mounting system.  However, electromagnetically I think they are possibly a bit old fashioned now and lag behind others.

 

Take the 4120/18, for example.  Weight 320g; Dia 49.5mm; 515kV; Cost £94.50.  Max continuous output? - Axi do not state, but they do state max BURST current 55A for 60S, so I assume the max CONT current is probably around their stated max efficient current of 40A.  It may be safe to run continuously at 45A - probably not much more.  At 6S, this give max cont power of 945W.  Max power to weight -  2953W/kg.

 

I had a stator burn out on a 2 month old 4130/20.  Axi repaired it free of charge.

 

Compare this with the Scorpion 4020/12.  Weight 304g; Dia 49mm; 542kV; Cost £57.50.  Max CONT current 80A; Max CONT power 1500W.  Max power to weight 4934W/kg.

 

So, if, like me, you like building 'light', you can do better than Axi and spend less money too.

 

When I compared the efficiencies of Axi and Scorpion on the dyno, there was nothing to choose between the two.

 

With a Scorpion motor you also get the 2 year burn-out and defect guarantee, plus a 50% crash replacement offer - so they're obviously pretty confident.  It's Scorpion every time for me these days for motors (although their ESCs still seem a bit 'agricultural').