After flying a friend's 180 a few times I've gotten completely hooked on FPV flying and I've decided I'd like to build my own. I've got most of my parts picked out but I'm having a lot of trouble sifting through thrust data on motors, and finding accurate information about expected flight times so I was hoping I might be able to get a few suggestions to point me in the right direction.

The current plan is:
ZMR 180 frame
Littlebee 20A ESCs
4s 1300 mAh batteries
4 inch tri-blade props

My friend runs DYS 1806 2300kv motors and his quad seems to have plenty of power, but if there's a better motor available for my goals I'd hate to leave performance on the table. I'd prefer to stick to 20A ESCs as that's what my friend runs and keeping the quads in close competition would make flying together a little more fun, and it keeps the costs down a bit. I've flown his quad with both Bullnose and tri-blades and greatly preferred the feel of the tri-blades so a motor that could run them on a 20A esc would be preferable. Lastly with smooth flying I'd like to get 5-6 minutes of flight time if possible but I don't know if that's realistic. I don't need an all out racer, but I certainly don't want to be going slow   . I do intend to carry a gopro session sometimes, but don't expect good battery life when flying with that.

Mainly I've struggled with figuring out what motors can handle 4" tri-blades on 20A ESCs, and finding people's listings on battery life. Motors I've looked at so far:

Dragonfly MC2206 2800kv
Dragonfly MC1806 2300kv
DYS BE1806 2300kv
DYS SE2205 2300kv
EMAX red bottoms 2300kv and 2600kv

Even though the large frame high kv motors should overload those 20A escs with tri-blades according to thrust tests, people seem to get away with it. Can the ESC just handle the bursts for long enough or is that a pretty bad idea if I want my ESCs to grow old? I'd prefer to go with cheaper motors to start as I intend to crash... a lot, but if going with red bottoms is really worth it in the long run I wouldn't mind shelling out a little more.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

180 sized motors do not automatically mean better battery life or flight times. Weight is you biggest killer of flight times.
Props play a huge part as well in flight time and can be hard on your lipos.

I run a QAV 180 with 1806-2300kV Xnovas and 20 amp Littlebees esc's on 4 inch DAL 4045 triblades. and 1300mAh 4S lipo and get around 4 minutes flight time. My Airhog 180 with 2204-2300kV, 20 amp LB esc and 1300mAh 4S gets around the same flight time.
My ZMR 180 runs 2206-2800's and same setup as the others, those motors do make the quad heavier but flight times are pretty much the same.

FOr me there is no clear winner in my 180 class, all with different motors. But can tell you that the 4 inch Dal 4045 triples do suck the lipo down pretty quick when compared to using a 2 blade 4040 prop. I just prefer the 4045 triples.

I would say that 5 minutes is within range if you do not push the quad hard and just like fast-ish cruising around., you could also run a 1500mAh lipo for a little more flight time, not much, as the weight increases with a larger battery.

Oh and bench tests while good are not a true representation of real world flying. In almost all cases a 20 amp esc will suffice for most of us. LOL, that being said, all of my 210 class frames are running 30 amp esc's as I swing 5 inch bullnose props on them.

Of those three motor configurations is there one you prefer for handling/speed over the others? If battery life is all the same, and there isn't a noticeable difference it seems like going with 1806 motors to save a little money would be the best option. My only concern is if I get the ZMR frame for 18xx motors, and decide I want a larger 22xx motor later for more power I'll really be kicking myself.

(05-Jul-2016, 06:03 AM)Most The Ghost Wrote: Of those three motor configurations is there one you prefer for handling/speed over the others? If battery life is all the same, and there isn't a noticeable difference it seems like going with 1806 motors to save a little money would be the best option. My only concern is if I get the ZMR frame for 18xx motors, and decide I want a larger 22xx motor later for more power I'll really be kicking myself.

Honestly, to me, very little in it.. The 1806 motors are smaller and do take a beating but I have bent at least a half dozen mainshafts.

The 2206-2800's are heavy, but are really solid units, can take a flogging.and really do push a 4 inch prop really nice.

But, since you ask which one I prefer, I would say the 2204-2300's are (for me) my favourites., But then again I have not tried the emax or DYS 2205's on a 180 frame yet either.

Sorry I can't be more help, But it comes down to your own personal choice. All those motors will work well on a 180 sized frame.

i started with sunnysky 2204 motors on my ZMR 180, i have since tried the cobra 2204 and it now has the dragonfly 2800, the sunnys are good as a starting point and are cheap too, the cobra is a slightly taller motor as is the dragonfly and occasionally with a crash or heavy landing the props will just touch the standoff, nicking one corner. i have to say with the dragonfly motors and 4s my 180 is a rocket, way quicker than my lighter qav 210

Edit
Just like to add, flight times are about 4 mins with my setup, ( dys sn 20a esc )this includes at least 2 100m full throttle runs and punchouts, motors do get warm but not hot. My frame is also 1 of the early fpvmodel 3mm bottom plate frames with the slots just inbound of the arms, I'd suggest the 4mm frame without said slots

My friend is running these on his 4" light weight yet pretty powerful http://innov8tivedesigns.com/cobra-cm-18...or-kv-2800

i prefer some of these motors
cobra cm1806 2800kv
dys se1806 2550/2700kv
t motor f30 2800 kv
lumenier cb2204 2500kv (skitzo edition)
if you want power you can go with zmxv2 2205 (slightly heavy at 25g),dragonfly 2206 2800kv(heavier than zmxv2 at 27[or 28]g)or my favorite motor for all fields zmx v3 2206(weighs 27g ,heavy for 180 quad but 2600kv version breaks 1kg on a 4" prop and it is lighter than emax redbottoms or dys special edition)

weight is the most important thing remember and you usually get 5-6 min of flight time with race quad so you can't expect more

If you're looking for flight time, I think you'll need to go in a different direction with the build;

-The ZMR180 frame is heavy (albeit tough),
- 1300mAh 4S LiPos are what people run on 250 sized quads, and due to the inefficiency of the smaller 4'' prop you'll need to use a smaller LiPo to maintain the balance imo.
- tri-blade props are less efficient that 2 blade props, which again will sacrifice flight time.

An efficient 180 would require Gemfan NON-bullnose 4045 props, a super light frame, running on a ~1000mAh LiPo.

Diatone's ET160 and 160 grasshopper frames come in at under 30g!

Then, thanks to the light weight of the frame and LiPo so far, and the less taxing propeller, you can then afford to run smaller (and lighter) motors.
Something like the RCX 1407 motors can produce 370-400g of thrust on 3S (depending in the KV version), which would give a sub 300g AUW build a thrust to weight ratio of 5:1 on 3S.

I believe the build I described would be much more efficient than a 2204/ZMR/1300mAh build, but it will have less punch and not as bulletproof as the ZMR frame and chunkier motors.

That's just my 2c

(17-Jul-2016, 02:07 PM)Martinoheat Wrote: If you're looking for flight time, I think you'll need to go in a different direction with the build;

-The ZMR180 frame is heavy (albeit tough),
- 1300mAh 4S LiPos are what people run on 250 sized quads, and due to the inefficiency of the smaller 4'' prop you'll need to use a smaller LiPo to maintain the balance imo.
- tri-blade props are less efficient that 2 blade props, which again will sacrifice flight time.

An efficient 180 would require Gemfan NON-bullnose 4045 props, a super light frame, running on a ~1000mAh LiPo.

Diatone's ET160 and 160 grasshopper frames come in at under 30g!

Then, thanks to the light weight of the frame and LiPo so far, and the less taxing propeller, you can then afford to run smaller (and lighter) motors.
Something like the RCX 1407 motors can produce 370-400g of thrust on 3S (depending in the KV version), which would give a sub 300g AUW build a thrust to weight ratio of 5:1 on 3S.

I believe the build I described would be much more efficient than a 2204/ZMR/1300mAh build, but it will have less punch and not as bulletproof as the ZMR frame and chunkier motors.

That's just my 2c

Well said !

I used to fly my n-trepid 4 inch(80gr) with emax 1806 2300kv but bend a few shafts and swapped them for dys se 2205 2300kv. They are stronger but heavier yet the quad flies better. I mostly use 4040x3 and 4045x3. I think for 4 inch blades 2300kv is low so I am thinking to move the dys on a 5 inch frame I plan to build and get some rcx2205 2950kv. My next 4 inch will be a lightweight frame, an armattan morphite or smt similar, with 1306/1407 3200kv and 4045 non bullnose. Less thrust but also a lot less weight, would be interesting to compare .