Carbon fibre props

[DesertFlyer53]

Outstanding! Thank you very much for your help. How much more flight time have you gained? I here they will give you about a minute more flight time. Doesn't sound like a lot but every little bit helps when you're carrying a lot of weight. Also less vibration too and better bearings. Did you feel the price was worth the upgrade? I think that better motors is worth the price. Bad motor=crash!

My pleasure! I don't think I've gained much flight time with the new motors, maybe a minute in best-case conditions. They do "feel" and sound like they run smoother than the DJI stock motors but I can't really put any hard numbers on that. For me the purchase was worth it simply because I feel more comfortable running motors made by a company with that as their core business.

Good point about these being made by a company who's core business is motors. I do believe this to be a good investment. Even if there are zero performance gains. All it takes is one of 4 motor's having a "hiccup", and there goes your investment of several thousand dollars.

 

[DesertFlyer53]

Not trying to stir the pot but just want to put it out there...

There are a bunch of people who got the anti-gravity motors, went through all the effort to install them and ended up wishing they never did. And a number of others have said they noticed no difference. And then there are some who love them. The bearings may be better but you can also put ceramic bearings that are just as good if not better in your stock motors for about $70 (once you've crashed enough times to mush up the stock bearings).

And no matter what, don't touch any CF props. Only use stock OEM P2 props! At least until a third party can design ones that don't suck.

I hear ya Ianwood. I wonder... does DJI actually manufacture the Phantom motors or are they built by a 3rd party?

 

[Scottrod]

Not trying to stir the pot but just want to put it out there...

There are a bunch of people who got the anti-gravity motors, went through all the effort to install them and ended up wishing they never did. And a number of others have said they noticed no difference. And then there are some who love them. The bearings may be better but you can also put ceramic bearings that are just as good if not better in your stock motors for about $70 (once you've crashed enough times to mush up the stock bearings).

And no matter what, don't touch any CF props. Only use stock OEM P2 props! At least until a third party can design ones that don't suck.

I hear ya Ianwood. I wonder... does DJI actually manufacture the Phantom motors or are they built by a 3rd party?

I'm sure they are made by a third party. But they aren't as high quality as the T motors.

And no matter what, don't touch any CF props. Only use stock OEM P2 props! At least until a third party can design ones that don't suck.

I'm using carbon fiber self tightening props but I made sure to properly balance them before using.

 

[ianwood]

It takes more than balancing to make a good prop. DJI did their homework on the stock P2 props. They are floppy for a reason. CF has totally different tensile strength and rigidity which alters the thrust and stall characteristics of the prop. Unless the manufacturer is a reputable source, you're getting untested copies where someone made what looked like a CF version of the stock P2 prop but they have done no performance testing or tuning. And they don't care because they know enough people will buy them because they look cool.

 

[DesertFlyer53]

It takes more than balancing to make a good prop. DJI did their homework on the stock P2 props. They are floppy for a reason. CF has totally different tensile strength and rigidity which alters the thrust and stall characteristics of the prop. Unless the manufacturer is a reputable source, you're getting untested copies where someone made what looked like a CF version of the stock P2 prop but they have done no performance testing or tuning. And they don't care because they know enough people will buy them because they look cool.

Makes sense to me! I like my P2 props. So why change them if they aren't broke? Sometimes in our quest for better performance, we take a step backward. Different isn't always better.

 

[goldfishrock]

It takes more than balancing to make a good prop. DJI did their homework on the stock P2 props. They are floppy for a reason.

Indeed. As discussed in another post, the props on the P2 as designed specifically for the P2 & their lift & drag profiles will have been carefully calculated by DJI to ensure they work as aerodynamically perfectly as possible with the P2 body and in close proximity to the other props.

These third party props are, for the most part, generic in design and it's almost certain they will not function anywhere close to the levels of the stock DJI ones. Infact there is a real risk that the P2's stability would be compromised by using them. CF props may look cool.... but how cool does the P2 look embedded into the ground? :shock:

I like my P2 props. So why change them if they aren't broke? Sometimes in our quest for better performance, we take a step backward. Different isn't always better.

I couldn't agree more DesertFlyer