timmaay

when buying a new speed controller for a brusehd motor what should you look for? what makes a good speed controller good?

hands without shadows

ESCs are rated by max input voltage, output amperage, BEC voltage, BEC amperage, and programmability. When you are looking for an ESC think ahead and decide what the highest cell count you will ever run is, what the lowest turn motor(s) you will ever run is, how many servos you will be running, if you need reverse, brake, and what programming options you want. Its better to buy an overkill ESC that will do the job and run cool then strain an ESC that is just within ratings.

traxxas4ever

if you want better speed try and get a esc with a better turn limit. The xl-5 has a 12t turn limit. I works fine with me and when it is on my rustler i can hit speeds of about 40mph with a good 12turn. The xl-5 was made so it is good in just about every way. It dosent have many flaws.

associatedrules

Read your instruction manual to that speed control again! It can handle normal 540 motors down to 15 turn safely. I blew mine out with a 13-T Cobalt motor.
Look for a speed control from a established company such as Novak or LRP. I look for lowest on resistance motor limit and drive frequencies. I am running a Novak GTS in my TC-5 and running a 11 turn double Checkpoint motor (which is one turn lower than recommended) and it works great especially for the low price.

Calamari100

does the ESC affect speed at all?

associatedrules

Not really, the higher the freguency the speed controller the smoother and more steps it has I think. The speed control just simply does what the name says controls the speed.