How to choose a proper motor for your RC plane, helicopter or RC car? An instruction can tell you a particular motor to get but what if you had none or were designing a plane how would you choose? There are always a ton of threads about motors and ESCs and they are all usually variants on the same questions. Even though, we still want to share some choosing tips for new beginners.

A brushed system needs a lot of maintenance, but offers more flexibility because you can change motors depending on track conditions (how much torque you need). A brushless system on the other hand, needs almost no maintenance.

Brushless speed ratings
If you want to choose brushless electric motors for your car, the first thing to consider is how fast you realistically want the car to go. But there are two important factors you need to consider are your abilities and budget. For example, you may want your cars going 50mph, but there are only a few of us who have enough driving experience to go that fast without hitting straight into a wall.

This is similar to airplane; too much RPM will require a small prop which may not allow for enough thrust for the boat to get on plane. If a high RPM setup runs too large of a prop, excessive heat will be the result.

There is no standard for measuring the speed of the brushless motor. Some manufacturers measure the speed by turns, others use a KV rating. These terms are important to you because they will help you choose your motor’s speed.

In short, the fewer the turns on a brushless motor, the faster will be the acceleration (or spin of the armature). For a KV measurement, the higher the KV number, the faster it will accelerate.

The basics on turns and winds are as follows:
Lower Turn = Higher Top End/Less Torque
Higher Turn = Lower Top End/More Torque

If you just want to learn and play for fun, then you may choose the lower KV rating motor. On the contrary, you are getting a brushless motor for a racing, and then the fewest turns or the highest KV rating is the best choice.

Sensored or Sensorless
Brushless motors must be run from a speed controller, and there are two types brushless motor: sensored and sensorless system. The first one gives the feeling of the vehicle responding accurately to even the smallest changes of speed. These motors are highly prized by experienced racers who are always looking for an edge in the competition. A sensorless brushless motor doesn’t know how to tell whether it’s at the 12 or 6 o’clock position, so the speed control has to make its best guess to what is the correct pulse to send to make the motor go forward or reverse when the transmitter trigger is pulled or pushed.

If you want to get an affordable brushless motor, you may consider the LEOPARD 60A ESC combo, it is sale under 58.90 pounds and include a brushless motor, an electronic speed controller and program card. Thus, you don’t need to consider whether the ESC is sensored or sensorless, as well as the budget.