ok so ive been flying prebuilt stuff for about a year now and i think im ready to do my first actual custom build. going with a 5inch freestyle setup, nothing crazy just want something that flies well and isnt gonna break the bank every time i crash it.

my issue is the stack. ive been going back and forth for like two weeks between the SpeedyBee F405 v3 and the Aikon AK32 and i genuinely cant decide. the SpeedyBee seems like the obvious choice because of the built in bluetooth config which sounds nice for tuning on the field but ive heard mixed things about the ESC getting hot on sustained throttle. the Aikon stuff ive only seen mentioned a few times here and there.

also debating on motors ? was leaning toward Xing2 2207 1855kv but someone in another thread mentioned the T-Motor F40 Pro IV and now im second guessing myself again. running 4S by the way, not ready to jump to 6S yet.

frame im pretty set on the ImpulseRC Apex, used one before at a buddy's place and loved how it felt. any thoughts on the stack question specifically would be huge right now

the SpeedyBee F405 stack is honestly pretty solid for the price, the ESC heat thing is real but its mostly only noticeable if youre doing like long punch outs repeatedly or racing gates super aggressively. for freestyle on 4S it should be totally fine. the bluetooth config thing is genuinely useful btw, being able to pull up betaflight on your phone mid session without dragging out a laptop is underrated.

havent touched the Aikon stuff in a while so cant really speak to their current gen but last time i ran one it was fine, just not as feature-rich. if youre not trying to race competitively id just go SpeedyBee and not overthink it.

on motors though ? the Xing2s are good but the T-Motor F40s have a nicer feel at low throttle which matters more for freestyle than people admit. either works on 4S on an Apex tho. good frame choice btw that thing survives way more than it should

im kinda in the same boat as you actually, just finished my first custom build last month. went with the SpeedyBee F405 v3 stack and honestly zero regrets so far. the ESC heat was something i worried about too but havent had any issues and ive been flying 4S 2450mah packs pretty hard. one thing nobody told me ? make sure you tin your motor wires before soldering to the ESC pads, i skipped that on my first attempt and it was a nightmare