RC Car Engine Brushes (Part 1)

Commutator is also known as ‘com’ for short. It is the part of the rotor (the part inside which turns) which has three copper contact for the brushes to run on. It should be kept clean and skimmed regularly for optimal efficiency and motor life. Brushes are the two copper contacts that supply power to the commutator of the motor. These should be replaced regularly for optimal efficiency and motor life.

Brushes is the area where people differ GREATLY in opinion of which brush to use, to cut or not to cut, timing or no timing etc. One should get an idea about what works for his model and what does not. Some tips for the brushes should be taken care of.

In 1/12th scale stock, you do not want to run a full brush. It has been found that it is best to cut about 10% off the trailing edge of the brush. This tends to give a little more RPM. Also, a little experimenting reveals that with drilling the center of what is remaining (small hole) to decrease surface contact area, thereby reducing friction (theoretically anyway) and gaining a bit of efficiency.

Also it should be noted that efficiency is gained by removing material from the top of one brush and the bottom of the other. This allows the com to wear evenly and again reduces contact area without affecting timing.

1 2 »