The electric motor is made up of several different components, I'll be looking at each component and how it all fits together and what makes it tick. Not all motors are created equil, just because you get the same motor as your friend it doesn't mean you'll keep up, in some cases you may even be faster, the motors themselves don't all work exactly the same, similar motors have similar power and revs, sometimes you find one that just gets that extra 2000 rpm.

The reason for this is that while motors are build to the highest standards, there are always minor differences, and often there is be a couple of motors in the batch that will out perform the rest. To measure the power of your motor you need a dynamometer or dyno. A dyno measures torque and power at different revs. If you are going to be racing it's worth getting one of these. I know people who calculate the rollout of their car and use mathamatics to work out which motors power curve will be the most effective on the track, which they measure before the race.

Armature

The armature is the central part of the electric motor, it's the part that rotates and is connected to the rest of the drive system of your vehicle. It consists of three smaller components. The poles, commutator and terminals

Poles

The poles are the electromagnets attached to the armature, there are normally three per motor. When you refer to the "turns" of a motor this is the number of times the copper wire is wound around the metal. 15 times = 15 Turns.

Terminal

The terminal is the name given to the point where the copper wires from the poles join to the armature, this is where the electricity goes.

Commutator

The commutator is the heart of the electric motor. It's job is to switch the polarity of the poles every 1/2 turn of the armature, thus forcing the poles to rotate further and continuing the rotation of the motor. For racing it's advisable to get a comm lathe, which will shave your comm to be perfectly round, you need to do this every so often, but don't fret most hobby shops will help you out and lathe your comm for you.

Brushes

Brushes are the parts that wear down the most, they are pushed onto the commutator with springs and electricity is passed from the battery to the commutator. They are replaceable and using different types will give you different results.

Magnets

The magnets are fixed to the inside of the can, they are positioned just above the poles.

You have to be careful with your motor, especially when running in less than perfect conditions, if a small stone gets inside your motor is can cause a lot of damage, be sure that if your motor is rebuild-able to clean it out every few runs.

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