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Axiom V10 Hand Wound 85T Crawler Motor
By Tony Arnold - StampedeProject.com 
RC Car - January 2008

We have all heard that the rock crawling segment is about to explode. Rumors abound that several rock crawler chassis's and RTR offerings are coming, however the availability of the high turn motors needed for existing home brew rock climbing RC's is limited to either the Novak brushless Crawler ESC/motor system or a shallow selection of commutator lathes motors.  Recognizing this gap in the market, Axiom is the only manufacturer to offer well over a dozen different high turn crawler motors starting at 35T all the way up to the 85T units we tested. Each are offered in both machine and V10 hand wound options priced at $25-$44 each. The tested Axiom V10 Hand Wound motor may seem way up there with 85 turns, however crawler motors need huge torque and very slow speed to maximize traction and control at their near zero speed 90 degree approaches.

Features Overview
Axiom Motors is a ROAR affiliate, has amassed more than a few familiar faces in its team driver list, and has developed a full line of stock, modified, and now crawler motors as well as a selection of RC accessories, but Axiom may not be a name you know yet.  Axiom's focus is building extremely high quality high value brushed motors, which they do by hand, individually, and as ordered - there are no "assembly lines" at Axiom.  All Axiom motors impressively feature:  zapped magnets, balanced armatures, brush hoods aligned by brush wear, polished armature shafts, armatures shimmed in magnetic field, diamond trued commutators, brushes and springs installed, and are shipped fully broken in and ready to run. Two other nice touches are that every motor gets dyno'ed, so even their machine wound crawler motors come with dyno datasheets included with the motor, and every motor is shipped in a heavy duty re-usable motor capsule for safe motor transport.

Testing
I popped in the set of 85T V10 hand wound motors into my own home brewed SuperCrawler class rock crawler.  The motors were wired in typical parallel fashion into my Mamba Max ESC which can easily handle the combined 42.5T load with ease.  By looking at each motors dyno data I was able to place the faster motor up front for improved control. With 12/87 gearing on each tranny and dual 85T motors, I didn't set any speed records, however when it came to traversing my favorite rock pile the Axiom motors clearly outperformed various other manufacturers' lathe motors I have used.  The motors delivered significantly smoother output (very key) and much higher torque to muscle over obstacles that my previous motors consistently stall'ed out on.  This is easily one of the best high turn brushed crawler motors I have tested.

Conclusion
Despite motors all being built to order, shipping is fast. Their pre-dyno'ed ready-to-run motors are feature packed and housed in secure re-usable storage capsules which adds up to great value.  The V10 85T Hand Wound crawler motors delivered racing spec fit, finish, and smooth performance at the super low RPMs that the motor was designed for and outperformed any other brushed high turn crawler motors I have previously tested.

• Highs - Value and build quality is high, expansive crawler motor selection will make crawlers rejoice everywhere.

• Lows - Axiom who? Some marketing would be helpful.  Motors appear, disappear, and re-appear on the site based on available stock - buyers should be patient.

• Final Call - High value with impressive performance and product depth for the emerging crawler segment.

Sources: Axiom Motors - www.AxiomMotors.com