RC Electric Motors

Choosing an RC electric motor

An RC electric motor turns battery power into the rotation that drives your helicopter, plane, car or crawler. This page brings together brushless and brushed motors from a range of makers, plus motor and ESC combos, pinions and spares.

Brushless motors are the standard choice for most models: they are efficient, long-lived and need no brush maintenance, but they require a brushless ESC. Sensored brushless motors add a sensor cable for smooth low-speed control, which suits cars and crawlers. Brushed motors are simpler and work with brushed ESCs.

KV is the motor speed in RPM per volt, so a higher KV motor spins faster on the same battery but with less torque per amp. In car motors you will often see turns instead (for example 13.5T), where fewer turns means more speed and power. Can or stator size, such as 540, 1410 or 3536, tells you how big and how powerful the motor is.

Before you buy, check the shaft diameter, mounting pattern, and for cars the pinion pitch, tooth count and bore. Match your ESC amp rating and battery cell count to the motor's recommended limits.

Use the filters to narrow the range

• KV or Turns to match speed and torque to your model
• Motor Size and Motor Class for the right physical fit and power
• Shaft Size for pinions, propellers or gears
• Pinion pitch and teeth on the Motor Pinions pages
• Brand pages for Align, E-flite, Scorpion, XNova, Hobbywing, Castle, Hyperion and more; see also Motor and ESC Combos, Motor Pinions and Motor Spares