Kagama Stock Kagama overheating

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
W

WZ9V

Member
Messages
6
Reaction score
13
I was running my new Kagama on 6S in grass newly mowed but still somewhat high and it triggered the blinking green ESC light after about 3:45min.
The motor was pretty hot. I wasn't running full throttle but was going pretty hard to stay ahead of my dog who loves chasing the car.

Should I
1) Install motor fan(s)
2) Use a lower tooth pinion
3) Both
4) Run 4S instead
 
WZ9V said:
I was running my new Kagama on 6S in grass newly mowed but still somewhat high and it triggered the blinking green ESC light after about 3:45min.
The motor was pretty hot. I wasn't running full throttle but was going pretty hard to stay ahead of my dog who loves chasing the car.

Should I
1) Install motor fan(s)
2) Use a lower tooth pinion
3) Both
4) Run 4S instead
Click to expand...
If you like the bonkers speed of 6S, you can carry on - but you'll need motor fans and on grass you'll need a chassis shroud, too.

Running a lower tooth pinion should also help. That and being careful with the throttle. Running the car in a confined space and being on the throttle/brakes all the time will cook you Kuron 825 in short order, even if you're not going wide open throttle. 👍
 
Default settings on the ESC are for motor thermal protection set to off, and ESC protection at 105°C, so cutting out running on grass and 6s is likely to be the ESC going into thermal.
Had an issue on Friday's bash with @Monsieur Velo 's ESC going thermal, but that was caused by the fan getting blocked with pieces of gravel.
Chassis dust cover would certainly help so this happening.
 
All of my 825’s seem to run on the hot side of things however since adding fans and dust covers I’ve never had an 825 cut out for thermal issues. Without fans, it was fairly routine after about 5 minutes. Most of my running is grass as well but on hard surfaces I don’t think that I’ve reached the cut off. 825’s can get pretty hot on 6S.
 
CCB-MN said:
All of my 825’s seem to run on the hot side of things however since adding fans and dust covers I’ve never had an 825 cut out for thermal issues. Without fans, it was fairly routine after about 5 minutes. Most of my running is grass as well but on hard surfaces I don’t think that I’ve reached the cut off. 825’s can get pretty hot on 6S.
Click to expand...
Ditto for me. Mine didn't cut out, instead it hit obscenely high temperatures. 230°F 😬😱 It's amazing it didn't melt the shellac. 🤣

On grass, I used to block my ESC fan as well.

IMG_20220417_165205.jpg


So, motor required fans and shroud prevents the ingress.

Since doing that, it runs like a champ on 6S and the 825 doesn't overheat. I'm running a Surpass 4292 1780KV using much bigger pinions and whilst it's not as fast, it can pull taller gearing and has much more torque. It doesn't get hot. 🤩

PXL_20231106_174844500.jpg

PXL_20231110_151750081.jpg
 
The Kuron motor was one of the motors that I really didn't have issues with. Granted, I was on 4S and the stock spur with a 13T pinion.

For the OP, I'd recommend 1-4.

If you're gonna run 6S, I'd definitely drop a couple teeth on the pinion and avoid thick grass as much as possible. Doesn't really matter what motor you're using; running through grass will usually test most setups.
 
I'd drop at least a tooth on the pinion, maybe more, whatever it takes to keep the esc cooler. Adding motor fans is a good idea, although the esc doesn't monitor motor temps, only esc temp which caused the esc to hit thermal shutdown. So you must lower the resistance by either dropping the pinion, or avoiding the tall grass. Motor fans won't help the esc in any way. Do you have a temp gun? It is very helpful in preventing excessive motor temps.
 
razorrc said:
5) Don’t run on grass. Run on dirt.
Click to expand...
In the UK, we generally don't have much option other than to run on grass or tarmac. 🤣🤩

Or else it's the beach.....but all that salt....
😱
Screenshot_20240215-145645~2.png

Spot the 'dirt'.......nah, it's all grass and rolling pastures in my neck of the woods. They don't call it God's country for nothing!

So - we race on grass! 😎💪

1000018652.jpg


Us Brits are rather partial to it. 😁👍
 
Last edited:
Hello,
I am running on grass as well, even I I knew it was not healthy for the Kagama (but good for short ways from home to track ;)
I was running on 6S with Spektrum Firma Smart ESC 150, Spektrum 2050KV Motor.
I had the same issues and even with motor fans the hole setup was always quite hot. Before the 11Tooth Motor gear arrived I decided to go for the Max6 Gen2 Combo with a 4990SD motor. Since I couldn't find any information how well it fits I was trying it by myself. To share the information:

4990SD Integration: Fits well when you sand some mm of the Spring Mount Brick holder away. I addition I printed a 2mm Motor Distance Plate (probably not really necessary if you just grind some points if you need to) I used the mounting plate to still ensure enough cooling/air around the whole motor. The ESC fits with a 10mm rising plate.
Alternatively, I printed a shortened Shock Tower Holder so the ESC can be rotated for 90degree and the COG will be reduced (since I doesn't need a riser).
The pictures just show the unrotaded ESC.
I kept the original 13T Motor Gear and the Kagama drives (in my opinion as non Expert) great. I have less issues to control the speed (of course also due to the same gear with less KV) and the motor and especially ESC stay cool even on higher grass on 6S.

PXL_20240417_115954249.jpg


PXL_20240414_123540993.jpg


PXL_20240414_123537372.jpg


PXL_20240412_201028813.jpg
 
Last edited:
1.get a dual fan setup that runs @7.4v bec
2. Adjust the Bec on your ESC to 7.4.
3. No more thermal cutoff.
*Upgrade to Hobbywing Max6 ESC generates less heat, obviously more pricey than couple fans
 
Horatio said:
Ditto for me. Mine didn't cut out, instead it hit obscenely high temperatures. 230°F 😬😱 It's amazing it didn't melt the shellac. 🤣

On grass, I used to block my ESC fan as well.

View attachment 5859

So, motor required fans and shroud prevents the ingress.

Since doing that, it runs like a champ on 6S and the 825 doesn't overheat. I'm running a Surpass 4292 1780KV using much bigger pinions and whilst it's not as fast, it can pull taller gearing and has much more torque. It doesn't get hot. 🤩

View attachment 5860
View attachment 5861
Click to expand...
Hi mate, yep I cover all my ESC's and motor fans with shrouds and window flyscreen and it keeps all the crap out of the fan blades.. On my KAGAMA I got one of those awesome server fans off aliexpress instead of running the standard 40mm rocket aluminium fan and gee that fan moves some air and for 5 bucks you can't go wrong... 😁

20240413_142106.jpg


20240225_220342.jpg


20240225_220326.jpg
 
WZ9V said:
Cool, put one on order with a Max6. Did you stick with the 13T pinion or bump up due to the lower KV?
Click to expand...
I sticked to the 13T since 11T is recommended quite often for the 2050KV (at least in German RC Forum).
I think for the 1650KV 14T or 15T would suit als well an provide higher top speed (which personally don't need).
 
Back
Top