Aeolian C6374- KV170 brushless motor mini review

[Kepler]

The 63-74 size motor has proven itself to be a motor with enough power to suit quite a few ebike applications. In particular, friction drives work well with this size motor so when I saw this new motor hit the market I thought I best get a sample to test.

Anyone following the friction drive movement would know that the Turnigy 73-74, has been a strong and reliable performer and a personal favourite of mine. With this in mind, I thought I would do a direct comparison against the Turnigy offering.

My expectations were that the motors would in fact be identical and basically come off the same production line. However, close inspection would suggest its more of a clone rather then a brother. Physical dimensions are very close, not exact, but within 0.5mm. Construction is also close to the same however end bells and can are quite different in their design. The Aeolian has a better finish then the Turnigy and gives the impression of better quality. 3# phase wires are better protected with improved support and insulation through the motor end bell. Internally, its difficult to tell the motors apart. The Skirt bearing setup looks identical and bearing sizes are also the same. Aesthetically, the black anodizing looks much neater then the the chrome and gold of the Turnigy.

One of the thing that attracted me to the Aeolian, was that it was a 170kv motor as apposed the Turnigy at 200kv. The lower KV especially suits the direct friction drive off the motor housing design and also suits roller friction drive designs allowing the possibility of using a higher voltages without over speeding the bike.

So now to some statistics and testing.

As mentioned above, the motors are close to identical in relations to dimensions.
Diameter 62.7mm.
Skirt length 65mm
Rotating can length 80mm
Total length 92mm

No load Amps Aeolian 2.7A (5S 100% throttle)
No load Amps Turnigy 3.5A (5S 100% throttle)

Aeolian 170kv
Road performance tested with eboost direct contact friction drive.
6S configuration 100% throttle. flat ground no peddle 40kph
5S configuration 100% throttle. flat ground no peddle 32kph

Turnigy 200kv
Road performance tested with eboost direct contact friction drive.
6S configuration 100% throttle. flat ground no pedal 46kph
5S configuration 100% throttle. flat ground no pedal 39kph

The Aeolian showed no signs of loosing sync with the test setup and handled low speed acceleration as well as the Turnigy. Overall impressions we very positive especially considering the Aeolian is around 10% less in cost landed over the Turnigy.
I would suggest that if you are happy to put up with the reduced top end speed, the Aeolian makes a very good alternative to the Turnigy.

 

[adrian_sm]

The motor also comes in 200kv, same as the turnigy, if you can't handle the lower speed.

The no load current readings look slightly better, but hard to tell as the motors would have been spinning at different speeds, so any bearing loss contribution would not be the same. Maybe a quick no load test of the Aeolian 170kv @ 6s vs Turnigy 200kv @ 5s, that should put them at a very similar speed.

But let's face it black just looks cooler. 8) I want one.

- Adrian

P.S. Nice light on your bars. Oh, and you seem to be missing a swing arm on your drive... :lol:

 

[Kepler]

The high end light is something we have been work working on as a value add to the interface package. Considering we have a processor and a nice voltage to play with, why not add a high end light to the mix. This puppy pumps out a serious 650 lumens and lights up the road like a car headlight (ok a small car headlight ) A second button next to the throttle button turns it on and lets you scroll through a series of modes including brightness control, flashing, and speed sensitive brightness. Can handle up to 30V and at 10W, has only a minor impact on your range. You pay around $200 bucks for this sort of light package. How does a target price $60.00 sound when packaged up with the interface.

Also looking at a smart tail light package to complement the setup.

 

[adrian_sm]

Sorry to drag this off-topic so early in the thread but.... Nice news on the light. What input voltage does it take? Or are you tailoring the voltage to the high current rails you have available in your interface.

The reason I ask is I am still aiming for a minimalist DIY version of my friction drive for some reason. And it would be good to run a headlight straight off the ESC-BEC.

At the moment the best bet I have found are something like these that just came out, 3-7.2V input:
Eastward YJ-E02 MC-E
Eastward YJ-E01 SSC P7
or one of the older MagicShine "900 lumen" which I have been really happy with, and runs happily of 6V.
MJ-808 HA-III SSC P7-C

- Adrian

 

[Kepler]

Sorry to drag this off-topic so early in the thread but.... Nice news on the light. What input voltage does it take? Or are you tailoring the voltage to the high current rails you have available in your interface.

The reason I ask is I am still aiming for a minimalist DIY version of my friction drive for some reason. And it would be good to run a headlight straight off the ESC-BEC.

At the moment the best bet I have found are something like these that just came out, 3-7.2V input:
Eastward YJ-E02 MC-E
Eastward YJ-E01 SSC P7
or one of the older MagicShine "900 lumen" which I have been really happy with, and runs happily of 6V.
MJ-808 HA-III SSC P7-C

- Adrian

I will find out if it is suitable for lower voltages but it is designed to run off the high current rail of the interface (18V to 25V).

Also the 650 Lumans is a true conservative light output for this light. I believe many of the brightness claims out there are a little on the optimistic side. The Magic Shine is a nice light but at 8.4W max, compared to the 10W from our light, I seriously doubt the Magic Shine its 30% brighter ours.

 

[adrian_sm]

Quick list of places I have found to buy these motors from:

Leadershobby.com:
- Aeolian C6374- KV170 brushless motor $51 + shipping
- Aeolian C6374- KV200 brushless motor $51 + shipping

eBay:
- Aeolian Brushless Motor C6374-KV170 2010 new style RC $30 + $35 shipping
- Aeolian Brushless Motor C6374-KV200 2010 new style RC $30 + $35 shipping

Alibaba
- Aeolian C6374- KV170 brushless motor Min Order Qty 10

 

[Kepler]

It looks like the ones from Leader Hobby are the only ones with Skirt bearings

 

[adrian_sm]

Yeah, it is a bit confusing. The others seem to have mixed up images, and specs.
If we trust the part number is correct, as per the manufacturer website, it should have the skirt bearing.
http://www.aeolianmotor.com/

 

[Hillhater]

Would i be correct in thinking that a lower kV motor would produce more torque than a similar motor with a higher kV ??
..or is that wishful thinking ?

Kepler, ... .any chance of max current /wattage comparisons between the motors ?

 

[Hillhater]

having checked the theory ,.. it would seem that for these motors torque is proportional to power (watts) divided by RPM.

Rotary power

The formula for rotary power is:

Power (Watts) = Torque (Nm) x Angular Velocity (radians per sec)

Solved for torque:
Nm = Watts * 60 / rpm / 2pi , or
Nm = 9.549 * Watts / rpm.

so, assuming that generally the power is limited by battery & controller capacity ( EG: 20v & 100A peak) = 2kW peak then the Torque is inversely proportional to the RPM ..and hence the kV rating
Therefore the motor with the lower kV of 170 will have 18% more torque than the 200kv version at the same voltage and current ( all other factors remaining constant)
.... and compared to a 250kV motor,..it will have 47% more torque ! .. That is worth knowing i think for these friction drives with fixed gearing...(and since i have the 250 kV motor ! )

In Summary.. the lower kV motor should be able to give significantly better hill climbing and acceleration than the higher kV versions.
Any indications of this , Kepler ??

PS.. the links to the Leader hobby site are down ??

 

[MrBoots]

Thanks for posting the review on the Aeolian motor. Since it seemed like an unproven quantity, I assumed it was just a cheaper knock-off of the Turnigy so I'm glad you found it at least on the same quality level, if not higher. Knock on wood, my Turnigy 63-74 has served me well for over a year now but once it bites the dust, I'll give the Aeolian a try if for no other reason that it looks much more stealthy than the bright silver and gold of the Turnigy

 

[Kepler]

having checked the theory ,.. it would seem that for these motors torque is proportional to power (watts) divided by RPM.

Rotary power

The formula for rotary power is:

Power (Watts) = Torque (Nm) x Angular Velocity (radians per sec)

Solved for torque:
Nm = Watts * 60 / rpm / 2pi , or
Nm = 9.549 * Watts / rpm.

so, assuming that generally the power is limited by battery & controller capacity ( EG: 20v & 100A peak) = 2kW peak then the Torque is inversely proportional to the RPM ..and hence the kV rating
Therefore the motor with the lower kV of 170 will have 18% more torque than the 200kv version at the same voltage and current ( all other factors remaining constant)
.... and compared to a 250kV motor,..it will have 47% more torque ! .. That is worth knowing i think for these friction drives with fixed gearing...(and since i have the 250 kV motor ! )

In Summary.. the lower kV motor should be able to give significantly better hill climbing and acceleration than the higher kV versions.
Any indications of this , Kepler ??

PS.. the links to the Leader hobby site are down ??

Its very hard for me to tell if the 170kv accelerate harder or climbs better then the 200kv motor. This is mainly due to current limiting automatically coming into play under acceleration and climbing hills. One thing I did notice is that the 170kv seemed to protest less and had a cleaner sound under load at low speed then the 200kv motor. I know that's not a very scientific explanation but thats the only real difference I noticed between the two under these conditions.

For me, both motors are quite capable of the duty I am asking of them. Presuming the Aeolian holds together as well as the Turnigy, I think I would probably choose the Aeolian as my next friction drive motor purchase.

 

[Hillhater]

Its very hard for me to tell if the 170kv accelerate harder or climbs better then the 200kv motor. This is mainly due to current limiting automatically coming into play under acceleration and climbing hills..

I understand it is difficult without some form of instrumentation, but even with the same current limit the 170 kV should still have more torque ..theoretically.

 

[olaf-lampe]

.... and compared to a 250kV motor,..it will have 47% more torque ! .. That is worth knowing i think for these friction drives with fixed gearing...(and since i have the 250 kV motor ! )

You could rewire the motor to wye and get a 150kV motor with 71% more torque.
-Olaf

 

[nieles]

It looks like the ones from Leader Hobby are the only ones with Skirt bearings

i ordered a aeolian 6374 kv200 motor from ebay (http://cgi.ebay.nl/Aeolian-Brushless-Motor-C6374-KV200-2010-new-style-RC-/180609553991?pt=Radio_Control_Parts_Accessories&hash=item2a0d2b1647)

i just came in the mail.

i am pleased to say:
it also got the skirtbearing

 

[Kepler]

Good news. Thanks for reporting that.

 

[adrian_sm]

I tried 3 times to get an answer from them on that issue, still nothing. But they were happy to offer combined shipping of motors... at more than it would cost to buy and ship them separately. :x

 

[Nelson]

Could you tell me please what kind of test setup you used? I'm especially interested in the ESC you used. Did you use a Servo Tester as connection from your throttle to the ESC?