★ Element High Speed/Max Torque Motor Review★

Motors. They power our cars, they run your blenders, and of course, they are the backbone of any AEG. With the many motors on the market for electric guns, many may be lost on where to go. Most will probably aim for either high ROF or high FPS setups, thus aiming for high speed or high torque motors, respectively. Element has come out with their own set of high speed and high torque motors for the AEG market, both short and long. The company is known for their cheap price yet high quality ACM parts, so will their motors fall into this category? This reviewer finds out.

Basic Information

I actually wanted some new motors for my M4 and P90, my two primaries, due to 2 reasons:

1. The EG1000 in my M4 was too long for some reason, so I couldn't do motor adjustment at all. Plus a little torque could help.
2. The EG1000 in my P90 had a broken motor tab. Plus, it's a HS gun, it needs a HS motor.

Now I was going to get a G&P M120 originally, until I remembered that with a 11.1v lipo I actually fried the armature wiring after around 2k rounds. I looked at the Guarder Revolution, but it states that after a M120/9.6v battery one might encounter motor problems/issues (something I found the hard way, when I use a 10.8v in my MG36 and stripped my gears).

eHobby was offering a new Element High Speed and Ultra Torque motors at $28.99 each. Since I needed a new lipo charger anyways, I made an order from eHobby (as I always do) on 12/21 for around $130 with Express UPS shipping.

Item was shipped 12/22, arrived in Houston, TX on 12/24. Christmas present to myself, whoo

All items. I'll do a separate LiPo charger review as well.

Product Description/First Impressions:

I'll be discussing the characteristics of both motors before installation.

First, a pic of both.

They were actually stuck together in the box - tough magnets.

First, the torque motor.

Element calls it "Ultra Torque", but I can't comment on that, since this will only be pulling a PDI 150%. Compared to the HS motor, the rotation bell is red, which I guess is Element's way of distinguishing between the two.

Casing is entirely red.

Pinion is allen-wrench mounted, like the Systema Turbo and Magnum. Like the Guarder Revolution, there is a ball bearing in the rotation bell and under it at the end of the motor casing to ensure smoother movement.

Ball bearing in the endbell as well. You can see that the rear looks like the Systema as well (i.e. allen screws to hold the tab plates to the motor). However, unlike the Systema, the endbell is PLASTIC, so no shorting issues are found like on the Systema. There are also rubber/plastic washers under the allen screws, to even ensure more insulation between metal parts that shouldn't be connected. Well played, Element - well played.

You can see that the new motor doesn't solve my length problem. Oh well, time to reshim my bevel gear.

Now the speed motor.

As you can see, almost all characteristics are the same, besides the rotation bell being blue. Ball bearings are there where they are on the torque as well.

Endbell is same as the torque, ball bearings too.

Let's test these badboys.

Performance Characteristics (High Speed):

I will test the high speed motor in my TM P90 setups, with the following:

TM P90 GB Base
SuperCore Piston
Systema M120
Guarder V6 Metal Bushings
Element Std. Ratio Gears
AWS Sentry MOSFET

Mods:
AoE Adjusted
Short Stroked 2 teeth on piston and sector gear

Power Source:
GE Power 11.1v 1800mah 16C LiPo Battery

Now, here's a sound recording with the original EG1000 that came with my P90:

p90eg1k.mp3 - 0.11MB

Using Goldwave, measured a shot interval of 5.179s and 5.226s, a 0.047s difference, resulting in 21.6RPS.

Now, same setup with the Element "Turbo":

p90elementturbo.mp3 - 0.13MB

Listen between the first two. I could not believe my ears when I heard the ROF difference - it's INSANE. Provided that my setup has a SS'ed piston, the jump could be extremely significant, but still, it's insane.

Again, Goldwave measured a shot interval of 7.189s and 7.215s, a 0.026s difference, resulting in 38.5RPS. A 16.9RPS jump from a EG1000 - unbelievable.

I was so shocked, I had to test the P90 with the EG1000 from my M4:

p90eg1k2.mp3 - 0.09MB

Again, sloooooow. Though using Goldwave, found an interval of 5.824s and 5.780s, a 0.044s difference, resulting in 22.7RPS. A 15.8RPS difference from the Turbo, but still, I have to say: this isn't right XD.

As a result, I'm EXTREMELY pleased with the Turbo's performance over a stock TM EG1000. I do not have a Systema Turbo to test against, but I would say that the Element Turbo would definitely be comparable, if not better (at least structurally) than the Systema Turbo. Way to go, Element!

Performance Characteristics: (Ultra Torque)

Torque test time, with my M4 LaRue MBR.

Mods:
TM M4 Base GB
PDI 150% Spring
Guarder Metal Bushings

Power Source:
Firefox 11.1v 1100mah 20C LiPo Battery

First here is the sound file for the TM EG1000:

m4eg1k.mp3 - 0.21MB

As you can hear, the EG1000 sounds a bit lazy. Produced a 8.037s to 8.087s interval, a 0.050s difference, resulting in approx. 20RPS. Pretty weak if you ask me.

Now, the Torque motor.

m4elementtorque.mp3 - 0.28MB

One of the purposes of a torque motor is to get better trigger response, and in that regard the Torque motor has definitely succeeded. You can hear the motor not being as lazy each time I pull the trigger. Measured a interval (via Goldwave again) of 8.687s to 8.730s, a 0.043s difference, resulting in 23.3RPS. A 3.3RPS increase, which is substantial but not that great or as high as a Systema Magnum might put out. The trigger response increase is definitely welcome, though I would expect this motor to handle high spring values just fine - just don't have a DMR/high-FPS gun to test this with.

Performance Characteristics: High Speed 2 (M4)

Since some people have asked me, I decided to do a "realistic" ROF calculation on my M4, since the P90 ROF increase seems a bit high.

M4 still has the same setup, powered by the GE Power lipo. Remember, stock M4 with the EG1000 is around 20RPS, while with the Torque motor is 23RPS.

Here is the sound file:

m4elementturbo.mp3 - 0.28MB

You can probably tell there's two sections of the file - one in the beginning where I was using a semi-charged Firefox (it was rated at 11.31v, not at the full 12.6v), then the second where I used the fully charged GE Power one. You also could probably tell at the end, the Turbo pushes the parts to the limit, as I found out I stripped a total of 5 teeth off my sector and spur gears.

Get a Turbo - WITH CAUTION.

Using Goldwave, first section measured an interval of 6.219s to 6.263s, 0.044s long, resulting in 22.7RPS. This seemed a bit low, which resulted in my battery swap.

The second section resulted in 15.948s to 15.981s, a 0.033s interval, resulting in a 30.8RPS. A 10.8RPS gain over the stock EG1000 - that's more like it, though not as extreme as the 16RPS increase seen on the P90.

Conclusion:
I've been a 50/50 kind of person regarding Element products (as previously purchased gearsets usually have some casting errors), but I must say, Element blew me out of the water with their motors, especially the high speed one. A 16RPS increase in a modified P90 (10RPS in the M4) is just unheard of via a single motor upgrade, and although I do not have the high enough spring to test the torque motor fully, the increase in trigger response is a definite welcome to any AEG user. At just $29 a pop from eHobby, these motors are comparable or even better than some high-end competitors' motors that cost twice or even three times as much. If you're looking to get a motor, the Element High Speed and Max Torque are ones you should DEFINITELY pay attention to.

Pros:
-Cost - $29 from eHobby
-Great build quality
-Strong magnets
-Structurally better than Systema motors
-One word...BEAST.
-HS motor - insane ROF increase
-HT motor - trigger response increase

Cons:
-HT motor - true effects won't be realized at lower spring levels

End Notes:

Thanks to ASR for hosting this review, eHobby for providing such a wide array of products and top-notch service, and everyone who contributed suggestions/comments!

As a final end note, if you are going to use either motor, I heavily suggest you have gearsets that are made of steel or other tough material.

Written by aznriptide859, 12/25/09-12/18/09