Best Freestyle Motors for the first quarter of 2018?

Update: This article is outdated, please visit https://lll.mk/fpv/best-freestyle-motors-2019/ for an updated list of the best freestyle motors

12 days in the new year and I’m already planning my first freestyle build in the 2018. So I have started doing a research to see what freestyle motors do I have as options if I don’t limit myself on a certain budget.

By asking my friends and watching YouTube videos and checking the equipment used in the descriptions I have narrowed down my list on these five freestyle motors by no particular order:

EMAX LS2207 Lite Spec 2207 2400KV $22
T-motor F40 PRO II 2306 2400KV $27
Armattan Oomph Titan Edition 2306/2450KV $21.5
Hypetrain Freestyle 2306 2450KV $26
Brotherhobby Deadpool 2306 2450KV $26

Each of these has some feature that distinguishes it from the others and that seems to be the deciding factor when making your choice. The next thing that falls on my mind is, if only I could test each set on the same rig, fly around 20 packs, that would greatly help me make the decision, but unfortunately that is not so practical 🙂 If only some of the manufacturers could come with some sort of rental program so we could try the motors that we like (obviously there would be rental fee and payment if something is damaged, but anyway I wouldn’t go all in if I’m just trying out some new motors that aren’t mine)

What are deciding factors when choosing freestyle motor?
Most of the pilots go for the smoothness and low end torqiness. All motors feature naked bottom with 16×16 holes which begins to be a new standard that offers tougher base and lighter motor. Other than that, most of the freestyle motors with some exceptions are from 2306 with 2345-2450KV. The price range is from $21.5 to $27. Some pilots may say these motor are a bit overpriced but as the saying goes, you get what you pay for. You may find cheaper motors from other brands but these are used by most of the freestyle pilots over the world and the fact that most of them are recently released motors also plays a big role in the overall price.

In order to make things more easier, I have created a poll on the FPV Life group on Facebook so I could get some insight about what pilots are using or planing to use, you can see the results below. The T-motor F40Pro II is absolute winner, then the Armattan Oomph Titan, and after that I have got similar number of votes on the Hypetrain, Brother Hobby fancy Deadpool and EMAX LS2207 2400KV.

Please note that this ranking is only for the first quarter of 2018, I see that Mr Steele V2 motors are already available and after watching the Mr Steele video about the V2 motors I can say that it is worth being on the list but there is no pilot info on that one so far.

As I’m writing this I have already ordered a set of F40Pro II motors and I will be doing a full review on them as soon as I have them in my hands. My plan is pairing them with the Holybro Tekko32 (Wraith32) ESCS and use Kiss V1 FC. As for the frame, I haven’t decided yet whether to go with Rooster or Reverb frames or use something semi freestyle lighter with a Runcam Split on it.