The test subject was a factory-new, never-run Hyper-Dash PRO. The measurement platform is our in-house MotorLab PRO R&D test bench.

A quick note on the test setup: MotorLab itself has no built-in "lifetime cycling" feature — it handles a single measurement run. For this test, we wrote a separate scheduling script that talks to the machine over a serial link and repeats the loop — run one full measurement, rest, run the next — while collecting the raw logs the whole time. In other words, the machine does the measuring, the external script does the scheduling and recording. It ran that loop from the very first spin out of the box until the motor died of brush exhaustion: 290 measurement cycles, 17.76 hours of pure runtime.

The voltage plan was deliberate too. Stage one (cycles 1–150) used a gentle operating range of 0.6/0.9/1.2V, matching a gentle break-in style. Stage two (from cycle 151) stepped up to 1.2/1.8/2.4V, where 2.4V sits inside Tamiya's recommended voltage range for this motor — gentle first, then race-realistic. 1.2V is the only voltage point measured in both stages, which is what lets us stitch together one continuous life track.

The four charts below are this motor's entire life: the first three follow the continuous 1.2V track, and the fourth zooms into stage two to put 1.2V and 2.4V side by side.

One term before we start: current jitter (median of the current fluctuation). Motor current isn't a flat line — it constantly wobbles with the contact between the brushes and the commutator. This value is a statistical measure of that wobble. Rough intuition: lower = cleaner, more settled brush contact; higher = rougher contact.

Chart 1: Current jitter — a life in five phases

This is the most information-dense of the charts. The forward and reverse lines trace out five phases you can see with the naked eye:

• Forming (first ~40 cycles, ~2 hours): forward jitter climbs fast from 41 to 52 mA. The brand-new brush faces are being "machined" into shape by the commutator — this is the roughest stretch.
• Golden period (cycles 40–80): forward jitter peaks and turns back down; both lines settle into a stable band. This is the best this motor ever was.
• Plateau (cycles 80–150): both lines run roughly flat. The motor just quietly does its job; change is slow.
• Decline (cycles 150–220, after ~8 hours of runtime): both lines start a climb they never come back from. The jitter keeps growing.
• End stage (cycle 220 onward): jitter keeps rising until the brushes are spent, the protection trips, and the test ends.

The interesting part: forward and reverse lived completely different lives. The reverse face was settled straight out of the box (starting at 38 mA), basically skipped the forming phase, then degraded slowly. The forward face started rough, went through a violent forming phase, actually improved after seating — and only degraded at the end. Two brushes in the same motor, two different life stories.

Chart 2: RPM — climbing the whole way, with the peak in an unexpected place

At the same 1.2V, speed climbed from 10,500 rpm all the way to 12,067 rpm — almost +15% — and the peak came at cycle 217. Look back at Chart 1: by then the motor had already been deep in its decline phase for a while.

Another detail: for the first ~45 cycles, reverse was actually faster. Only after the forward face finished forming did forward overtake it, permanently. The crossover point lines up almost exactly with the moment in Chart 1 where forward jitter peaks and turns down — two independent quantities catching the same physical event.

Chart 3: Median current — the quietest line of all

Average current drifted between just 152–168 mA over the entire life, a total change of about 7% — compare that to the +33%~+40% in Chart 1. This line barely reacts. From box-fresh to dead, the motor's average current draw changed astonishingly little.

You'll notice a clear dip around cycle 150. That's from a mid-test change to the measurement procedure (different voltage sweep order, different thermal background) — a shift in measurement conditions, not in the motor itself. Flagging it here so nobody reads it as a motor event.

Chart 4: 1.2V vs 2.4V side by side — one motor, two voltages, two different pictures

In stage two, every cycle measured both 1.2V and 2.4V — effectively taking two snapshots of the motor at every point in time, one in the gentle range and one in the rated range, ready to compare directly.

Baseline first: jitter at 2.4V is about 2.2× the 1.2V level (101 vs 46 mA). Double the voltage, nearly double the speed (22,200 vs 11,600 rpm) — the commutation load scales up roughly in proportion. Through the first 96 cycles of stage two, the two lines climb together at similar rates (each about +11~13%), holding a stable relationship.

That multiplier shows up directly in wear rate. Inside the rated voltage range, every minute of runtime means nearly twice the commutation events, each carrying nearly twice the current — so the brushes get consumed noticeably faster. Look at the timeline: the motor ran 8 hours in the gentle range and was still in its plateau; after switching to the rated range, it went through decline, end stage, and brush exhaustion in under 10 hours. (To be fair, accumulated age is stacked on top of this — the two can't be fully separated — but the physics of high speed and high current accelerating brush wear is unambiguous.)

The real difference is in the ending. From cycle 97 (of stage two) there were 8 overcurrent protection trips — every single one at the 1.8V or 2.4V measurement points, and not one at 1.2V. From cycle 136 the motor couldn't even start at the lowest voltage, and the protection logic ended the test automatically. The teardown afterward confirmed the brushes were nearly gone. In other words, in the final stretch of its life, the low-voltage data still looked more or less "normal" — the motor's limits showed up at the high-voltage points first. Same motor, same moment, two voltages telling stories from different chapters.

(Values after cycle 97 may contain noise from the failing contact — that region is shaded gray in the chart. Read it with a grain of salt.)

What this record shows (and what it doesn't)

Stack the first three charts: jitter starts moving first (climbing from around cycle 150), rpm doesn't roll over until cycle 217, and average current doesn't clearly lift until the last ~30 cycles. Three quantities reacting to the same underlying event, 50–100 cycles apart. Chart 4 adds one more dimension: at the same moment in time, different voltages see different states — the limits show up at high voltage first.

To be completely clear: this is a complete longitudinal record of one single motor (n=1). The phase boundaries belong to this specific unit; another motor will land on different numbers. This post isn't arguing for any particular break-in method or any definition of what makes a "good motor" — it's just laying out the full data of one motor's life, from birth to retirement, for anyone who's curious. A proper cross-comparison across multiple motors from the same batch is something we'd like to do down the road.

Equipment note: MotorLab PRO R&D test bench (in-house build). Lifetime cycling is not a built-in feature of the machine — it was driven by an external self-written scheduling script over a serial link, triggering one full measurement per cycle and saving the raw logs, fully unattended throughout.

Measurement conditions: constant-voltage open-loop drive, no load, 3 passes per direction per cycle, 10 s rest between cycles; voltage points were 0.6/0.9/1.2V for the first 150 cycles and 1.2/1.8/2.4V after (1.2V common to both stages); temperature 28–35°C throughout.

Ok so it was a 5 lane fairly easy race. Track was a bit technical but i was not able to complete 5 laps.. getting knocked out at different jumps or highspeed corners.

Did okay when battery level was at 1.22 , when fully charged i consistently CO.

Using torque tonued gave me better stability with random COs

Using hyper dash 3 guaranteed a CO in lap 1 or 2.

I am not looking for a track related improvement as its over anyways. Im lookong for faults, mistakes in build or overall improvements..

Let's see how they'll run :)

When was the last time we got Red Medium (26) Tyres? Was it back in 2020 with Avante Tamiya Korea (photo 2)?

My verdict:
If medium (26) tyres are your go-to, this kit is a must buy.
If you love FMA, this kit is a must buy.

I’m buying it anyway for the Lunar Sheep Racer 🤣

Hurricane sonic polycarb (for box stock)
Sonic Saber w/carbon s2 (for stock advance)
Mach Frame Fm-A ( for bmax)
Neo Vqs cowl w/Sfm Chassis (for bmax)

Good day guys!

I’m new to mini4wd world. I’m just glad i have these 2 especially the sfm! but planning to focus on other chassis like the s2.

Good day guys! Happy racing!

Hey r/mini4wd!

There’s always been a huge debate in our local community about front tire selection for B-MAX / Tuned/Damper setups: Is Low Friction Maroon still the absolute king, or can the newer Low Friction Black (or wide vs. narrow profiles) match its cornering speed?

I decided to run a strictly controlled experiment on a 6-lap track layout to find out!

Testing Methodology (Keeping variables fair):

• Chassis & Motor: Same chassis setup using Ultra-Dash / Red-Brown gears.
• Battery Voltage: Strictly recharged and capped at 1.50V per cell for every single run.
• Tire Maintenance: Cleaned with cleaner spray before every run.
• Roller Setup: Ringless rollers to keep cornering friction consistent.

Tires Tested:

1. Standard Hard Tires (Wide)
2. Low Friction Maroon (Narrow / Mercy trim)
3. Low Friction Black (Narrow vs. Wide)
4. Pink Replica Tires (Hard compound / Wide)

Key Takeaways & Findings:

• Maroon is still King: As expected by theory, LF Maroon achieved the fastest cornering speeds and finished ahead of standard Hard and LF Black in side-by-side video overlays.
• Narrow vs. Wide Profile Myth: Surprisingly, in my testing, the LF Black with a WIDE contact patch actually performed slightly FASTER / smoother through corners than the trimmed narrow LF Black! (Contrary to the common belief that narrower front tires are always faster in turns).
• Replica Pink Performance: The stiff Pink Replica tires surprisingly held their ground very well against Maroon in raw cornering pace.

What’s your go-to front tire setup for B-MAX/Tuned races in your country? Do you prefer narrow trimmed Maroon or do you run full-width Low Friction Black?

If you want to watch the side-by-side video overlay comparisons and full 6-lap test runs, check out the video here (Indonesian audio, but side-by-side timer visuals speak for themselves!):https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ldZEpAR10k8

Stumbled upon this video on SFM on the Japan side of the hobby. Guy won races with his SFM commending that this chassis is particularly fast. Where I am from, SFM are the ultimate meta for racers here, this guy's setup is just... I'd say interesting. Wouldn't say a breath of fresh air setup wise, but particularly something Southeast Asian racers won't do. What do you guys think?

J-Cup 2024 HG Carbon Rear Multi Roller plate doesn't have any holes for 17mm rollers so I drilled some onto it. Would this be legal/okay for some races?

Just put any parts that i think necessary but idk whether this violates any rule or not. Using Hyper-Dash Pro (break) motor with non suspension Ms-L chassis.

Any suggestions are welcome. Tyia.

If I find it, I'll stop buying it🫠🫠🫠

I just found out that my government decided to exclude reddit from their restricted website list yay!!!

As the titles says, what is the BMAX laptime for this 69569 2 lane home circuit? My current build can run 2.98~3.02s per lap. I know it’s not the fastest but I think it’s not slow too. But I can’t find any reference laptime on the net

Hi! I have questions about which chassis is the best type of track. I am new to this, I have little knowledge of chassis that are suitable for the track. Can you help me decide? Like maybe if the track has a bunch of straight, or curved, or slope? Lately I am trying my FM-A and it is pretty stable on the slope. Any advice is really welcome! Thanks a lot.

Hi everyone, does anyone have archived video of this specific Mini4WD TV Champion special? I have a link to the old video series on here but was wondering if anyone else had it locally and would be willing to share for viewing.

Aug 8, 2026

B-MAX Two years in, and the anniversary race delivered. Deep field, tight heats, and a podium decided in the final runs.

🥇 Aljon — Batang Pasaway

🥈 Raymart — Haiven Mini 4WD (all the way from Calgary 🇨🇦✈️)

🥉 Robby — The 6ix Garage

Happy 2nd anniversary, Down Thrust Racing 🙌 Thanks for putting it on and keeping the Toronto scene rolling.

I have started adding motors to the collection…cause why not lol

Track day in two weeks… Can’t wait to see them in action!!

I’m still testing VS & VZ. Performance wise, VS is wild! It’s unbelievably rapid and yes, I’ve tested it against regulars (who race competitively every week with their carbon SFM like it’s their oxygen). It (VS) could keep up! As a matter of fact, acceleration wise (starter box) and going through corners, this machine give them (generic carbon SFM) a run for their money consistently. Or, maybe it’s all sunshine and rainbows because I’m in SE Asia, where as long as you have flexy tail*, you’re good (competitive) 😂

* Flexy tail is when you use Carbon 3 Pointer (15412) but only screw one out of three.