okay so ive been flying whoops and tiny stuff for like a year now and im finally pulling the trigger on a proper 5inch freestyle build. got a rough parts list together but honestly the motor selection is killing me. im looking at running a 4s setup, probably a 30x30 stack because thats what most of the frames i like support, and i want something that flies kind of floaty/flowy not super locked in race style.

right now im torn between the xing2 2207s and some of the goku motors i keep seeing people run. budget isnt insane but im not trying to go full budget bin either. the frame is probably gonna be a mark4 7 inch - wait no i keep confusing myself, 5 inch. the tpu space on it looks good for cadx mount options too.

anyone gone through this recently? also is it worth spending more on a good esc or is the difference between a midrange and high end 4in1 not really noticeable for freestyle?

the goku gm5 motors are genuinely solid for what you're describing, been running them on my squish frame build for a few months and no complaints. for floaty freestyle you probably want something in the 1900-2100kv range on 4s, gives you that kind of pillowy feel when you're doing flow lines. the xing2s are fine but i feel like iflight has been coasting on that lineup for a while now, nothing wrong with them just not exciting.

on the esc question - honestly for freestyle the difference between a mid tier esc and a top shelf one is less dramatic than people make it out to be. where it matters more is if youre running high current draws on aggressive throttle. id say get a decent 40amp 4in1, something from mamba or speedybee in that range, and put the saved money into a good capacitor and decent props. props make a bigger difference to feel than most people admit when they're starting out.

went through basically the exact same decision like 3 months ago lol. ended up going with emax eco2 motors which i know sounds budget but they've been totally fine for learning the bigger quad feel. my buddy keeps telling me i should have gotten better motors but honestly i think getting the tune right matters way more at this stage than which motors you picked, at least thats been my experience so far