Castle Creations Mamba Max Brushless Motor System Review

The Mamba snake is the fastest snake on earth with a top speed of up to 20 MPH, is up to the 20 feet long, is highly aggressive, and is considered one of the most deadly snakes on earth as it has extremely poisonous venom which has a near 100% fatality rate for humans.  The deadliness of the Mamba snake, was stored in the archives of my brain and resurfaced as a dream one night.  In my dream I was driving this fast, mean and deadly snake around the track, with my Traxxas TQ2 transmitter no less. The Mamba clearing the flat tops, drifting the curves, and straight-aways with crazy speed, on the hunt for its next victim. Suddenly everyone notices the Mamba and abandons their R/C s, they run from the track screaming in fear, and once I have the track to myself, the snake turns back in to my Ultra-Rusty (modified Traxxas Rustler) powered by a Mamba Max system.  In reality, the only reason people would be running screaming from the track would be my "driving style" which seems pretty aggressive (like the Mamba). So lets talk about whether Mamba Max stacked up to my expectations and active REM sleep.

Sensorless Brushless Systems
First off the Mamba Max system is a sensorless and brushless system, meaning very roughly that the controller makes suggestions to the motor to move forward, stop, or backward and how fast to do each very similar to your old "brushed" stock system.  Brushless systems however are highly efficient and can attain much higher RPM and torque than brushed motors per volt. The thing people have noticed as glitching and stuttering at very low speeds is called cogging and was pretty annoying on older sensorless systems simply because the intended purpose of a brushless motor was to rev for extended periods only in its top rpm range. The Mamba Max has made the giant leap forward to resolve sensorless motor cogging and has the same smooth output as Novak's GTB systems.  Both systems have completely eliminated cogging at all but insignificant micro-movement speeds that even rock crawling rigs wouldn't notice.   Need more information on brushless systems see this article by yours truly.

ROAR Approved?
The no turn limit Mamba Max controller is ROAR approved (since none is required) and can complete currently by running any approved brushed or brushless motor.

It should be noted that although the LRP Associated/Reedy Neo and Novak 1059 and Velociti motors are ROAR approved (all sensored motors), the Castle's CM36S Series motors are not.  There seems to be a ruckus about this preferential treatment and dubious rational why sensored brushless motors were approved and why sensorless motors such as the CM36S were not.  From a motor perspective I think it is a pretty neck and neck race on 6-cells where Novak may even have the advantage.  In reality I think it's the high tech controller that would really turn the race back to Castle's favor.  I would imagine there will be a resolution soon. It all hardly seems fair to me. 

About the Mamba Max Controller & Castle Link
Castle is very different from other controller manufacturers in that their Mamba Max controllers are fully configurable via the Castle Link PC software and USB controller interface. The interface is truly the high point and "The Feature" of the entire system and without it the power would be unmanageable.  Sure some manufacturers offer some programming control or several preset profiles, but it is anything but simple and no where near a comprehensive as Castle's offering.  With Castle's PC interface there is no holding down a button for X number of blinks, clicking the same button four times, count to five, clap you hands, and do the hokey pokey... while that may be a bit of an exaggeration, it seems like that much of a pain on my Novak GTB and I always get it wrong and have to do it again and again.  

According to Shawn Palmer of Castle, "The only thing that stays the same in the brushless industry is the constant changing of motor designs and types. New designs and types have been popping up for years, and will continue to do so, and we refuse to make our customers have to purchase a new ESC every time a new popular motor comes out. So we pioneered (patents pending) a device and process to load up new software into the ESC as we add new features and new motor capability. That way, your ESC is never obsolete and the real kicker is - the software updates are all free! In effect, we are GIVING AWAY the most valuable part of a brushless ESC to our customers - the software itself."

Installation of the Castle Link software was simple and easy. Pop in the mini disk and run the install program.  I did notice my Windows Defender software warned me that I was installing an "Un-approved Microsoft program", but I clicked to continue the install without further issue.  Upon first opening the Castle Link software, I was promptly informed that a newer version was available and asked if I would like to download it now - sure.  A Explorer window popped up and opened to Castle's download site where I started looking for a Mamba Max upgrade link, I guessed at what to click on, and hit the "Download Now" link.  This is where it got a little more confusing.  This page says nothing about Mamba Max or that I was in the right download area of the site.  But after searching Castle's site for a few minutes, I realized there was just one Castle Link software that was used to configure all their products (which is a great idea).  I ended up back on the same page after the realization and clicked the "Download Now" button and then clicked "Run" from the download window.  Everything updated perfectly and even my desktop icon was updated to reflect the new version of Castle Link software.

Plug In - With the controller turned off, I just plugged in the controller to my Windows based laptop via the supplied USB cable and the computer notifies me a new USB device was found and automatically installs the device (future controller updates did not require this step).  Within seconds I was quickly able to tinker with infinitely adjustable Throttle and Brake Curves, Punch Control to dial in the horsepower just where I want it, Brake Strength to keep me tracking straight under hard braking, Drag Brake to help my corner entries, Start Power for smooth launches, Cutoff voltage to keep my LiPo's happy, and Timing Advance for that final tweak in performance. The Castle Link software was extremely intuitive (shown below) with plenty of little help balloons to walk me through the process or with any questions. 

It may seem this level of configurability is overkill, but in reality it is needed to keep the power and capacities of this system in check.  Words can only explain the coolness of this interface - I only wish I had this much control on my Novak GTB or even my old Novak Rooster for that matter.  Need a bump in horsepower after 1/2 throttle, to reduce braking force for low traction surfaces, and kill reverse?  In a couple clicks the settings are done and uploaded and you are on your way.  Should you really go wild playing with the settings a handy reset to "Default" button appears on each tab. 

For those of you who still do not own a PC (or are running a Mac), the controller can still be tuned using an old fashioned beep and click interface that seemed to work as well as the Novak GTB.  Were I really see an advantage is to have a laptop that can be used at the track, in the pits, or out while bashing because fiddling with the PC interface and settings are almost as addictive as driving.

Save you Settings - All your different tuning profiles can be saved and accessed easily so converting back and forth from your bashing, high speed road, track, or different vehicle, suspension, wheel, motor, or gearing settings are just a click, load file, and update away.  This type of flexibility will change R/C 'ing forever.  Better yet, the Castle link system allows you to share your favorite highly customized profiles with anyone just like this www.StampedeProject.com/CastleLink_Profiles/ - very cool. In fact I would suggest Castle make available some standard profiles or even some Factory Team Castle profiles that could be downloaded from their site.  Just how cool would it be to be able to run the exact same profile as one of the Castle Factory Team guys?

The Mamba Max user guide was very well though out and provided a great quick start guide (shown below) as well as hitting all the "DOs and DON'Ts" in a fast concise manner.  The biggies were assure your polarity is correct, use high current and Mh batteries, use only high current connectors, and glue your tires VERY well.  An interesting piece of info is that the Mamba Max system is an audio transducer - i.e. all the music and beeps are not made by the controller, rather electrical pulses and micro movements of the motor.  I am sure someone will eventually hack the controller to play some other melody each time the controller boots.

The initial transmitter/controller configuration was a little rocky due to a temperamental transmitter that hates brushless systems.  Reverse simply would not be recognized by the controller. I experienced the some problem from the same transmitter when I installed the Novak GTB system.  Switching to a newer transmitter this go around solved the issue and Castle's quick start guide worked as advertised.

The Mamba Max controller was installed via some industrial Velcro in the Ultra-Rusty.  The motor and controller wires were braided and zip tied to the shock tower.  One thing I noticed was how clean the install was and how much lower everything mounted overall than the taller fan topped Novak GTB.  Something about the Mamba Max that allowed almost all the wires to really lay down and in turn get the CG down more than with the GTB.

The motor mounted up easily and securely via your choice of four end bell holes.  Castle even supplied machine screws to mount the motor with.  Although the screws were clearly intended for a aluminum motor mount and were too short for use on the Rustler or Stampede.

The next step was plugging in the controller to the laptop to take a peek at the initial configuration values. Default values as follows:

• Brake/Reverse Type -  Proportional w/Reverse Lockout (2 second delay to reverse)

• Brake Amount 25%

• Reverse Throttle 25%

• Punch Control 100%

• Drag Brake 0%, Disabled

• Start Power Low

• Motor Timing Normal

• Cutoff Voltage None

• Motor Type Brushless

• Brake and Throttle curves perfectly linear

Testing
I left all defaults in place with the exception of turning on Reverse, geared the 4600Kv equipped Ultra-Rusty at 15/87 and grabbed a fresh peaked 6-cell GP3300 high current pack and headed outside.  Quite frankly I didn't want to sacrifice a brand new set of track appropriate bowties to the gods of torque and decided instead on the more durable all purpose Dirt Hawgs as a good general tire that would work well on and off road during testing.  Dirt Paws were employed to test off road wheelie-ing capabilities.

First Run
With 4600Kv motor in place and controller configuration in the default "safe" mode the thing that struck me when I made the first yank on the trigger was that it was smoother than the Novak off the line and actually much more drivable than the 4.5R GTB in the Ultra-Rusty.  It was tame enough that I would feel comfortable even handing the controls to an intermediate driver. Extremely buttery smooth power output that started like it had the torque of a good stock brushed motor, but just kept accelerating without a lot of wheel spin - exactly what you need at the track.  I was impressed with the overall power, speed, and torque but not exactly what I was expecting from a system named after the world's most fast and deadly snake.  I expected no holds barred power that was simply overpowering.  I think I actually uttered the words "Ohh a big scary snake, that's not a Mamba it's more of a 10 foot Garden snake" - threatening but not really dangerous to handle or a threat.

After the first pack expired and a rather eventless bashing session, I noticed the brakes were definitely on the high side and tended to lock up.  I grabbed the laptop and hooked up to soften the brake curve.  I also wondered how much the default setting was holding the 4600Kv back and disabled punch control and popped the start power to medium, thinking that probably wouldn't make that big of a difference.  With the click of the update button the Ultra-Rusty was suddenly another beast and I was about to get fatally bitten by the Mamba Max big time.

Not only were the brakes now working spectacular, but in this "let's get stupid" configuration I was doing less driving and more holding on for the ride, power drifting, lots of donuts, and in general simply attempting to maintain control.  So out of control at one point during a very cool power drift I hammered my garage door hard enough to send my wife flying outside.  You want fast uncontrollable scary overwhelming power, you got it even in the 4600Kv (the slow motor in the group).  That also doesn't take into account the ability to even further increase start power, timing, tweak the throttle curve, or add more cells, better batteries or go to LiPo's.  Even with just a good 6-cell pack, I have to say that I am not really sure anyone really needs more power than what the 4600Kv delivers.  On my "get stupid" setting, the tires were not able to maintain any sibilance of traction, controlling the power of the system was serious work, and the power was anything but useable other than to scare the heck out of oneself.  This was no ordinary snake this was one that has the ability to morph effortlessly from a elegant performer to an obnoxious class dominating power leader with the click of my mouse.  

Luckily the Castle Link system provides all the control you need to tune the system just the way you want and remove as much of the stupid factor as you like with a couple clicks.   This initial test made me realize how much control and flexibility the Mamba Max Castle Link system puts in the hand of the user.  It also more importantly made me wonder why every manufacturer didn't offer the same system. I started salivating at the thought of being able to tune the performance further or better yet tune for some of my inadequacies as a driver such as too much initial throttle from being more of a basher than a racer.

If you are looking to get the most out of your Mamba Max, Castle Creations has even written a great guide to help, the Mamba Max Tuning Guide with expected speed, motor selection and gearing suggestions, and top speed estimates with each motor with "normal" gearing. 

Getting Stupider with 12 Cells
When testing through the motors,  I of course had to test the 5700 with 12 cells just to see really how fast it was.  Initially, I had set punch control to 50% and left the start power at medium and the result was the equivalent of attempting to drink from a fire hose and a completely un-drivable R/C.  Still geared 15/87, with two GP3300 packs stacked, the system was barely warm after my street and golf course testing which indicates that this system could handle a 17 or 18/87 gearing pretty easy on the road.    I wimped out and moved everything back to the super soft default mode.  Again the Castle Link software showed it's flexibility and made the 14.4 volt power beast somewhat drivable but still allowed that amazing top end speed.  With any of the motors powered by 6 Cells, your can quickly outrun the range of your transmitter, on 12 cells you really have to plan ahead and pay attention.  Other than for playing the game of "mine is faster than yours", it was demonstrated to me by the flexibility and power of the Mamba Max system that there is no reason to run more than 6 cells on a regular basis.

Run Times
My average run times came in at around 10-15 minutes with my trusty high current GP3300 battery packs in 6 or 12 cell configuration.  The 7700 was on the bottom of that run time range and the 4600 on the top. 

Suggestions to Castle
Although this is like me telling Ferrari that a governor is needed on the Enzo, I think a training mode is needed on the Mamba Max - a feature I am told is coming in future software updates and will be just a download away.  Castle is also testing the system down to 4 cells to potentially tone things down even more to add more flexibility to the system.  I also believe once you get into the 40+MPH range an even better braking system such as ABS (with tunable 0-100ms cycling rate of course) is needed in addition to the Mamba's already fully tunable brakes.  It would be very nice to know high speed emergency braking will not end up in a 45 MPH spin out and acrobatic flip because the brakes locked.

Recommendations and Performance

4600Kv - Best Bashing Motor
I think many people will get all involved with how fast they can go with the 5700Kv or 7700Kv motors and overlook the more versatile potential of this motor.  The 4600Kv offers the smoothest low speed feel, more power and speed than the Stampede or like R/C is able to handle and will allow for broader gearing options than the other two motors, all while providing longer run times. The 4600Kv also seemed the most tunable all the way up and down the performance spectrum because it could be detuned to a pretty stock like configuration on the low end but allowed an immediate shift to something insane on the high end. Looking for a high torque rock crawler motor, one that won't tear your R/C apart, or getting your feet wet in the brushless world the 4600Kv would be my choice.  This motor is my pick for the Stampede and is still way faster even in safe mode than you are probably ready for.  

5700Kv - Most Likely to Cause Injury and Property Damage
A Darwin award winning statement, "Hey watch this!", comes to mind when testing the 5700KV with 12 cells plugged in.  The 5700 hit the magic allowable huge voltage and maximum RPM that rocketed the Ultra-Rusty to an amazing 55MPH geared at 18/87.  The 5700Kv is probably the most flexible system in the group.  Not the fastest on 6 cells and not the torquiest, just happily in the middle with the flexibility to run all the way up to a moronic 12 cells or 3s LiPo's. This motor is staying bolted into the Ultra-Rusty permanently.

7700Kv - 6 Cell and Current Hog Winner
Like the juice sucking Novak 4.5R, this motor really should have LiPo's providing the power and can drain GP3300s in under 10 minutes in the Ultra-Rusty.  Although this is the flagship from a Kv perspective, due to RPM and Voltage limitations the speed award still goes to the 5700Kv motor running 14.4V.  For dirt track racing and bashing, it's speed is beyond the capabilities of any track I know of and the run times and gearing options are also limiting - it's just too fast. Where this motor does come up golden is in a head to head  6-cell road race and simply out spins the other two motors by a pretty significant margin and is best suited for touring car use.

Videos
Coming

Ups and Downs

UPS

• More torque, power, speed than should be legal.

• Want more or less of the above tune the controller.

• Super flexible system for intermediate to advanced user.

• Motor/Controller wires come plug and go ready.

• Battery wires come pre-tined.

• Great instructions.

• No Cogging.

• PC programming interface - Wow!

• Waterproof controller

• Industry leading packaging - hey that counts.

• Competitively priced for what it delivers.

Downs

• No USB interface cover.

• Power on "Get Stupid" setting is unusable.

• Where are the yellow snake and Mamba Max decals - must have decals.

• Motors not ROAR approved - yet.

• No 50% power "training" mode

Conclusion
In my opinion, Castle Creations has built first and foremost the best controller interface on the planet.  It is easy to use, clean, simple, allows simple firmware and controller updates, and most importantly, allows infinite adjustability. They have paired this powerful software with the Mamba Max brushless controller which can deliver more power than you R/C can handle.  The new CM36S series motors that are made specifically to match the abilities of the controller and are probably one of, if the not the best, sensorless brushless motors available to R/C'ers.  Add all this together and Castle is now one of the few brushless manufacturers to offer a complete ready to run brushless system in a box.

Castle's biggest advantage is that is simply blows away every other ready-to-run system with power, torque, and flexibility with it tuning options.   If Novak offered the Castle Link software interface on their GTB controller, I would say it would be a close match on 6 cells.  In the end the deadly Mamba Max claimed me as a victim, I am hooked.

Highly Recommended