We know for sure they will be smart motors, so that obviates the need for sensors, too. I’m hoping that the motors will be more robust, so they don’t have to be replaced as often. That could save us money in the long term. Actually, I don’t personally care; I will likely never compete with the V5. 
Will our existing partner controllers work with the new v5 Controllers?
that good for new teams, but we’ve already bought sensors. I don’t think it’s necessarily an unfair price, we’ll have to wait an see how good they are to know, and I too hope they are more robust, it’s just a lot of money up front. Even with the 30%, which it seems can only be used once per organization (@Paul Copioli please correct me if I misunderstood) so we can’t do it little by little as money come in. To be clear, I’m not complaining, just stating fact, the V5 transition will be tough for us financially, the prices being fair or not, and I don’t think any discount VEX is going to give will completely fix that (though it will help a lot).
I think what we’re going to see concerning the V5 motors is no mix of the two, using just one of the other; VEX is going to force us to choose between strength of functions or number of functions.
I wonder what they’re going to do about pneumatics.
I think nothing. Should be compatible like a sensor.
No, as far as motor limits go.
Oops I see. I’m not sure although I would expect a set of options as before with a different variety of options some including pneumatics. It could get complicated.
Unfortunately, I hung on to my trusty car a little too long, and it’s older than the cortex. I bought the vehicle in 2002, so it’s older than some people competing in VEX. Maybe I should run over my 300,000 mile vehicle with my cortex.
Perhaps we will see more pneumatic tanks being allowed for teams who go for that option.
1 motor out 1 tank in
I want to try to be more clear about a few things:
-
The VRC Game Design Committee will limit the amount of V5 Smart Motors teams with the V5 system can use. That limit is expected to be 8. By rule, the amount of 393 motors V5 teams will be able to use is exactly 0. As a fellow competitor, I am confident this is fair and reasonable. The limit will be in place for the 2018-19 season and probably the 2019-2020 season, but we will re-evaluate during the 18-19 season.
-
The coupon code for the motors is per system trade-in. If you trade in 3 systems, then you will get three orders worth of coupon codes for the motor discount. I hope that makes sense.
-
The motors are significantly more robust than the 393 motors. The 393 motors were designed during a time when teams were using much less power and the robots were not all that demanding. Over the last 8 years the motors have just been pushed beyond what we ever thought they would. We did not make that same mistake on the V5 motor. Here are some attached pics. You can see that the
“cartridge” is a 2 stage planetary gearbox and is fully assembled. There will be three cartridges: 100 RPM, 200 RPM, and 600 RPM. The 100 RPM will be in the stock motors. The 200 and 600 will be add-on cartridges that you can purchase. No more grease on your hands from changing gears.
The encoder and motor controller are completely isolated from the planetary gearbox on the back side of the motor. Cables are separate so motors don’t have an integrated cable to go bad. Since these are smart motors, we are using the V5 firmware to monitor everything. we even have a motor life monitor that tells you when you are getting near the motor life based on mean current draw and motor rotations. Our goal for this motor was it would fail when the brushes fail, which is the end of life for motors. we expect teams will have to buy significantly less motors than in the past so your total spend on motors should go down over the long haul.
So we can only use eight motors?
Yes if you are using V5 for the 2018-2019 game. The official rules will be the ultimate guide, but I’m fairly certain the rules will say 8 max.
Im sorry if this has already been asked but will pnuematics be usable on the v5 next season?
OwO
No wonder they’re so big and expensive, that’s a lot of stuff to fit in a motor! It sounds like it should be well worth the money though! Having a “gauge” for the motor life sounds like an especially nice feature to have 
Not having to tear apart the motor to change the speeds will also be a nice feature(one that wasn’t needed but will be very nice to have).
600 rpm is going to be really nice though! That’s going to be crazy fast for any mechansim. Should make the game really interesting though now that you’re giving us more options to speed things up.
@Paul Copioli 200 rpm to 600 rpm is a pretty significant jump. Is vex planning on offering more options in between in the future?
This is really exciting! I won’t be competing with the new stuff (I’m a senior), but I am excited for my younger team members. Thanks for clarifying all of these details.
I assumed they were gonna be color coded.