so ive been putting together my first real 5inch freestyle build for the past few weeks, finally got everything soldered up and maiden'd it yesterday. frame is a source one v4, running 2306 2450kv motors with a 45amp esc stack and a 4s 1550 lipo. betaflight is tuned roughly, nothing fancy yet.

the thing flies pretty well honestly but after every pack the motors are getting pretty warm to the touch, like uncomfortably warm, not burning but definitely more than id expect. im running stock props that came with the motors, some generic 5x4.5x3 triblade things. been doing mostly cruisy stuff, not hammering throttle constantly.

is this just normal for a first tune or should i be worried? i read somewhere that 2450kv on 4s is already pushing it a bit for 5inch but honestly im not sure if i trust that source. temps are probably around 55-65c based on how they feel but i dont have a temp gun or anything to measure properly.

55-65c on motors after a pack is honestly not that bad, thats pretty much within normal range especially if your tune isnt dialed yet. bad tune with a lot of propwash oscillation will make motors work way harder than they need to and heat up faster. 2450kv on 4s is fine for 5inch freestyle, thats a pretty standard combo, whoever told you otherwise was probably thinking of racing builds where you'd go higher kv on 4s or step to 6s.

get a cheap infrared temp gun off amazon, like ten bucks, its worth having. that way youre not guessing. if youre hitting above 75-80c consistently then yeah start looking at whether your filters in betaflight are too aggressive or your d term is too high. also check that your props are properly balanced and seated flush on the shafts, a slightly wonky prop makes a noticeable difference in heat.

what props exactly are you running, like the actual pitch and blade count matters a lot. i fried a motor on my second build because i was running too aggressive a prop pitch for a kv that wasnt really meant for it. also did you check your motor screws are all tight after the maiden? sounds dumb but vibration from loose screws can mess with temp readings weirdly and also just destroy your frame eventually lol