Motor upgrade opinions

Where did you get the reinforcements? Thanks.

They look like (or are very similar to) these: Infinity Hobby

I have these from Infinity Hobby, and I like them. Hard to tell if they prevent cracks--I have not had any cracks since using them, but I also filled the inside of arms with Plast-aid. What I like about them is they don't protrude out much from the arm profile (barely 3mm), so my P3 still fits into the cases I have. Some of the arm reinforcement plates (like the UAV Bits ones) stick out further and they would require enlarging the arm openings in the foam case inserts. They also look pretty nice with the brushed aluminum look.

I also like Infinity Hobby's motor covers: Infinity Hobby

I have no affiliation with Infinity, just a happy customer of these items.
 
So, IMHO it was pretty uncalled for to immediately question @Scepterr honesty and intentions.

@Scepterr -- since you've only had your Phantom 3 for a month, how will you tell if the motors are really better? Did you do any measurements of acceleration or other performance or thrust or anything before installing the new ones?

Subjective impressions are certainly something, but I would guess unless you flew your new P3 through 3 batteries every day in the first month, you probably have less than 30 hours of time on it? Was that time in P-mode or A-mode? Most of us started in P-mode, which I believe limits the performance including the speed and perhaps tilt angle (which would limit acceleration). I would think it would take hours in A-mode to really get a feel for how motors handle. At least that's my observation from flying other racing quads with no position-hold or self-leveling or GPS. You might want to try A-mode, although be careful it can be a little disorienting at first coming from P-mode. A-mode should get you a little more top speed and maybe tilt angle, although if you didn't try it with the stock motors it would hard to compare, and the flight controller might limit the performance to something less than either motor's max capabilities in both modes.

Since we have no access to tuning the P3's flight controller (as far as I know), we can't adjust the PID for the new motors. Although I guess it's possible, I would think it might be hard to design new motors that would deliver higher performance on exactly the same PID settings as the stock motors. Do the new motors get hot at all, or how is the sound--do you hear any oscillations or anything like that? I'm interested to see your battery temps and flight times before/after--have you considered uploading the flight logs (before and after) to something like Healthy Drones?

Don't get wrong, I tinker with my P3 all the time, and most of my tinkerings are not any sort of controlled experiment. It's fun to mod just for the sake of modding, so have fun with it. :) But many of us would love to see if replacement motors like these offer improvements, so it would be very cool if you could gather any sort of objective data.
 
@Zzyzx I agree I did mod rather quickly but I did spend a decent amount flying and experimenting prior to the upgrade, I flew in P and A about (70/30).

Once I have as much flight time with the new motors I'll do some comparisons.
This is about 90% of my flights prior to modding
Screenshot_20160807-193927.png
 
@Digdat0 here's a few clips. Sound doesn't come through really well though.
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@Digdat0 here's a few clips. Sound doesn't come through really well though.
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Not exactly the best environment to be flying in...


Sent from my iPad using PhantomPilots
 
@Digdat0 here's a few clips. Sound doesn't come through really well though.
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Thanks man!! Who was the eBay seller?? I can't find 4 packs only single motors.
 
@Digdat0 That was the only set I could find. If I come across another I'll let you know.

Btw, I'm looking for damaged,broken p3p/a drones,boards,cameras
 
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thank you! i take it you got an order in? if so, did you order direct from kde? i assume 15g or so of that is probably the connectors at the ends of the lines.
 
@Digdat0 here's a few clips. Sound doesn't come through really well though.
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Interesting to see this. The descent rate seems to be higher than using stock motors, but the best way of testing would be two phantoms side by side.
 
thank you! i take it you got an order in? if so, did you order direct from kde? i assume 15g or so of that is probably the connectors at the ends of the lines.

Yeah, I ordered from KDE directly. I just weighed the cut off ends... 7.5g but the hub adaptor that is added to adds 2.7g so net weight is around 68.6g. So they are around 16g heavier than stock DJI motors.
 
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I'm putting together a few p3p right now, I'll be able to do some side by side testing. One v1 ESC and motors and one v2 ESC and motors
 
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Yeah, I ordered from KDE directly. I just weighed the cut off ends... 7.5g but the hub adaptor that is added to adds 2.7g so net weight is around 68.6g. So they are around 16g heavier than stock DJI motors.
I'm putting together a few p3p right now, I'll be able to do some side by side testing. One v1 ESC and motors and one v2 ESC and motors

hey ed209, Scepterr - are you guys seeing performance gains after install? curious how you are liking the motors?
 
hey ed209, Scepterr - are you guys seeing performance gains after install? curious how you are liking the motors?
If there's any difference It's negligible. But it's not a negative. I'm keeping them on since I had over 500 long hard miles on the original motors. All of those miles were loaded with extra weight and long range. Now I'm sure my ESC will burn up... LOL
 
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You could've googled me.

With reinforcements,
View attachment 61579 View attachment 61580
I noticed you have retaining pins on all four gimbal cushions. DJI recommends you put them diagonally in only 2 positions allowing the cushions to work more effectively. Thought you'd like to hear since you are obviously going for the best possible experience.
 
@Dounin Front yeah I was just testing to see if there's any noticeable difference, none that I could see, went back to 2

@Digdat0 as @Ed209 said, nothing negative to speak of. I do think there's more of a difference over ESC v1 than v2. Been flying an ESC v1 for the past week. Got a mini squadron of 4 P3P/A right now.
 
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If there's any difference It's negligible. But it's not a negative. I'm keeping them on since I had over 500 long hard miles on the original motors. All of those miles were loaded with extra weight and long range. Now I'm sure my ESC will burn up... LOL
Thanks Ed. Im curious as I pulled the trigger on a set, more to see if they help extend flight time, but I am about 650miles on one phantom, so it doesn't seem like a bad idea. I'll keep you guys posted on what I see for results as well, I don't seem to get as good of flight times here, but I'm trying better and different batteries. I have two phantoms and one will have kde motors and one stock, so I can compare the two.
 
Given each gram of extra weight added to a P2 cost over a second in flight time the extra 64 grams these motors add could be close to a minute and a half. Will be interested to see people's experiences over time.

From what we know about the tuned propulsion system on the P3 (sine wave drive, active breaking etc) it might be you are compromising long term ESC and associated drive electronics reliability if the motors vary significantly in spec to OEM.

It's nice to have options. Will follow with interest.
 
Hey guys got my p3a about a month ago, been loving it every day. I got the KDE motors about a week ago and so far very impressed. Definitely more agile, much quicker 0-35mph(is there a mod that unlocks top speed?).
...
View attachment 61574 View attachment 61575
Use ATTI mode, set the switch to F. Don't forget there is no GPS and you have to brake yourself.
48.7 mph with stock P3A (but I have to admit the wind was on my side :oops:).
 

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