eRC quad - Level 1 upgrade - Sunnysky 2212 motors

by eluminerRC | August 10, 2013 | (4) Posted in Projects

This is level 1 upgrade for my recently build SK450 quadcopter. There are plenty of things that I want to upgrade/add on it, but better motors are certainly the number 1 priority.

Unfortunately, NTM 2826 1200 kv (short shaft) motor are junk. Why? Bearings are terrible out of the box. On most of them shafts has a ton of play. Bell is way out of balance and it's impossible to balance it. However, even if you do this, prop adapter is so heavy and so unbalanced that you simply can't do anything about it. Also, wires are crap. I've had a crash caused by snapped wire. Not at solder joint, just wire itself. Since wire probably broke due to heavy vibrations, I can safely say that these motors are self-destructing.

Sunnysky motors, on the other hand, are AWESOME. Perfectly balanced even with the prop adapter on (zero vibrations). Also, they don't use spinner. Instead, they have simple nuts which I've replaced with locknuts to prevent props from flying off. Wires are way better.
Power is lower (150W instead of 250W) and kv as well (980 kv oppose to 1200 kv on NTM's). However, this resulted in increased flight time (from 9-10 min to 10-11 min) due to higher efficiency. But, due to lower kv I had to changed props so I've put bigger 9x4.7 props instead of current 8x4 props. I must say that this combo is perfect for SK450 setup.
Total weight stayed the same.

Wiremesh:
In this video I've shown how to properly put wiremesh on the wires so it would look good and stay there. I did that because I wanted to customise my motors and this is not necessary step.

Vibration dampening:
This vibration dampening setup is not super awesome, but it helps a little bit. At the same time it doesn't harm anything else so why not?

WARNING:
1. Don't burn wiremesh with the lighter because it's useless then. You will have to remove it. That's why you should be very careful when heating heat shrink so that you don't melt the wiremesh.

Tips:
1. Use hot glue on wiremesh, otherwise it will pop out later.
2. Put locknuts instead of supplied nuts because they won't unscrew them selves.
3. Use threadlocker on all screws!

You need:

SunnySky x2212-13 980 kv motors:
eBay - search for "SunnySky 2212 980kv"

9x4.7 propellers:
Normal
Reversed

3 mm wiremesh

M5 locknuts

Heat shrink:

4 mm
5 mm
10 mm

Threadlocker

2.0 mm hex screwdriver

Precision knife

Hot glue gun

Bearing Oil

Scissors, lighter and Phillips #1 screwdriver


Enjoy RC as much as I do! :)

Additional information:

Video: iPhone 4
Editing: FinalCut Pro X
Music: GarageBand

COMMENTS

aidan284 on August 10, 2013
Excellent vid, especially the first part about those NTM's!!
Cheers and keep it up
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eluminerRC on August 11, 2013
Thanks! :)
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colorex on August 11, 2013
Nice! I'm planning a quadcopter and I'll use those motors on it. Just a little hard to get a deal on those. I had found one ebayer selling them at $70 for four, but he no longer ships to Ecuador.
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eluminerRC on August 11, 2013
70$ is great price for four. I paid 19$ a peace with shipping. If you consider the price of NTM's + prop adapter + shipping, these are actually cheaper.
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Gsouth on August 11, 2013
Thanks for your very useful information. I don't think I would ever got my copter to fly without watching your KK2 posts.

I want to do a the same upgrade andI ordered the Sunnysky motors in two shipments. The first batch came with a 3/4" shafts. The others had no external shaft and the prop adapter fits right over them. How do I cut the long shaft down without damaging the motor? Dremel? Or can I buy a shorter shaft and replace the long ones?

How would I set up a discovery buzzer on my Turnigy 9x on channel 6, 7 or 8. I use the Acro model and the only choices are the pots.

Thanks for your help?


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eluminerRC on August 13, 2013
You could do both. But the easiest way is to cut them with a dremel. Just be careful that the metal dust from cutting doesn't end up caught by magnets in the motor. Put peace of tape over the motor to prevent that. David had shown that once.
Not sure how to do that on stock 9x. If you have er9x then you simply change that in mixer.
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apache64 on August 13, 2013
If your like me then you got here because you bought what you thought were good motors and have the experience to know when you see a good motor. The sunnysky are great and are so quiet and efficient i want to swap out all my motors for these. The price is so good too, i have four on my quad with Graupner props, and the Go Pro shows no jello even when strapped straight onto the frame! Great motor and good props make all the difference, keep the videos coming i really enjoy them.. :-)
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eluminerRC on August 13, 2013
Yeah, I agree. I'm not saying SunnySky are the best motors out there, but for the price they are unbeatable.

P.S.
And yes, Graupners are awesome, I'm already flying with them (small insight in next upgrades). ;)
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eRC quad - Level 1 upgrade - Sunnysky 2212 motors