I wish. Maybe i would have gotten a day off work.
3 Likes
Got these today
5 Likes
Just came back from a ride!
8 Likes
And… Do tell
1 Like
Looks awesome w the escs on top in the box. And wires look tough! And those grey wheels.
Initial observations:
They feel really nice and powerful but braking sucks for whatever reason. Motor max at 80, min at -60, battery max at 30, min at -12. I ran the same settings on the same testbench with the raptor 2 hubs and they felt equally powerful to be honest.
Here’s some sample metr data for the short ride: https://metr.at/r/slgRf
@Hummie the esc box is super jank and fell apart 
There’s a piece of the cover on Market St. somewhere 
Nothing bent yet, though @Aeroquiv rode it for a bit and one of the motors started making a grinding sound. We figured out it was the axle nut being too tight and squishing the spacer into the motor bearing. I’m not sure if that spacer is required, but a word of warning to the other five who have them, don’t tighten the axle nut too much…
4 Likes
Couple of quick notes:
- The first set that went out are rated for 60 amps max… please be careful with pushing the limits
- The spacer are probably too wide. As @sofu mentioned, careful with tightening. Alternatively you can also just drop a stack of speed rings\washers in there. The spacer is there mostly to make sure the inner bearings of the wheels don’t shift too much. Metasurf has been informed and will be looking to “right size” the spacers
Again thanks @sofu for picking it up
1 Like
why would they perform equally when being driven but the brakes suck? When u said u ran the raptor motor on the same test bench u mean under load on the road?
Sorry, to clarify, I meant the following:
On the same settings under load, acceleration felt equally powerful from probably around ~2mph (can’t start from standstill) On the same settings under load, braking is not good on the direct drives. It barely brakes. I’m not sure why this is. Even when you short the three phase wires directly, you can still spin the motors by hand easier than you can spin say, SK8s or the Enertion hubs.
Besides the motors, the rest of the hardware is exactly the same. Same battery, fesc6.6 dual, switch, wiring gauge, nothing’s changed. I even ran the same routes. I think that’s as controlled as you can get…
2 Likes
Someone also had that problem with their carvons on a groupride like a month or two ago. Brakes couldn’t slow them down on hills.
Starting to think its a problem with all direct drives…
Be nice to find what the real kv is if u didn’t yet. Maybe it’s higher n that’s why brakes suck
For whatever reason when I run the kv command it comes back with 0rpm/volt… I spun the motors up full throttle beforehand too…
I’d say -12 would be the reason… Lowest I ever run is -15 and it often feels weak.
Then again, I doubt you weigh 180 lbs like me either 
Well I’m 125lb… and I ran -12 on Enertion hubs and even -10 on my various other outrunners without issue… But maybe you’re right I’ll try doing -15 and see if that changes anything
1 Like
I hope it helps! Looks like a pretty good first ride. I really dig the VESCs on top in the clear case, really ups the cool light game.
Putting a weighed box on top of a rear truck is maybe asking for trouble/wooble
Are your remote properly calibrated to the VESC? And the meter log is using CAN and enabling multiply data? both your motor and battery min aren’t even close to the limits you configured
EDIT: Whats your max battery voltage? and are you using a BMS for discharge?
@Aeroquiv is riding it today for a group ride. We can see how performance with a heavy rider is for 20 miles. Metr is functioning properly and the data is correct. I’ll elaborate and post new data when I get home.
3 Likes
I like that deck. I’d just run it the right way round.
2 Likes
I had the pleasure of trying the direct drive for a bit today. I was super skeptical and about the axles, but when I saw them after several miles of SF rough road riding they appeared to be fine. Only weird thing is they don’t have sensors… and the phase wires are small AF. Anyways nice torque and reliable braking from my quick test. Thanks to @sofu for letting me try it out!
5 Likes