THURSDAY TESTIMONIALS: Tekin RX8 GEN2

0 July 9, 2015, 1:12 a.m.

By Aaron Waldron
LiveRC.com

Whether it's wheel nuts, wings, tools, tracks, trinkets and/or anything in between, the LiveRC staff gives their testimonial and mini-review of each every Thursday morning!

If you read last week's review of the Trakpower nitro engine heater, you'd know that Brandon has been logging a lot of wheel time lately now that it's no longer frozen in Wisconsin. On top of running nitro cars, he's been running the RC8.2e Factory Team 1/8-scale electric buggy, which provided the perfect test mule for Tekin's RX8 GEN2 speed control.

Tekin RX8 Gen2
#TT2301, $200

www.teamtekin.com

Easily identied by its bright white case, the Tekin RX8 GEN2 is the evolution of the original RX8 unit - and carries over its large gold solder posts and protective fan shroud. Like its predecessor, the GEN2 uses a series of LEDs and audible beeps to communicate setup and tuning options to the user, and is fully compatible with Tekin's HotWire tuning platform for PC and Android via the EZ Access Port. The GEN2 is available by itself, or with your choice of eight different T8 GEN2 1/8-scale motors, though it's also the preferred option to pair with Tekin's Pro4 4-pole motors for 4x4 short course trucks. Its BEC is programmable, and it works equally well with either sensored or sensorless motors - or you can opt for Tekin's "D2: Dual Drive" mode, which uses motor sensors for smooth throttle and braking response at low rpm but switches to sensorless operation for higher speeds and increased efficiency.

"It's really durable," said Brandon, who mentioned that he's had a lot of other speed controls fail under the harsh conditions of 1/8-scale electric racing. In fact, he tried a 6S pack for some borderline-irresponsible play time with the 2400Kv motor he had bolted in place (Tekin suggests a 1700Kv limit with 6S packs) and the GEN2 turned out no worse for wear. "It might be a little bit heavy," said Rohde when comparing the unit to what was previously in his car, "but the protective fan shroud is a must for outdoor tracks. I would've gone through a couple of fans on other speed controls by now." He also pointed out that the large soldering posts, which have slots on top, make soldering solid joints a piece of cake.

It wasn't just the GEN2's appetite for abuse that was impressive on the track, either. Even though the stock profile's deadband felt a little too large (easily fixed with HotWire), the GEN2 always offered smooth throttle control - along with what felt like a considerable increase in power over some comparable units. "The Dual mode is awesome," said Brandon, who said that the unit ran even cooler in that setting, combining smooth acceleration with gobs of top end power. As an iPhone user, Rohde wasn't able to take advantage of Tekin's Android app - but felt that only being able to really dive into the ESC's settings with a laptop wasn't a big deal because he didn't feel it was necessary to do so as often in 1/8-scale electric racing.

Pros: