The info in the build lists may be a bit out of date, but I'm working on updating them all! Please ask around before buying anything, and please contact me if you have any suggestions!

5" Race Quad

Light, fast, and agile

Specced for high speed, low weight and very agile movements to rip through gates. Pick parts for official race specs, for open races, or just for personal fun

This list is specced for 6s, and includes everything to build a full quad, except parts such as cameras, goggles, receiver and radio systems as those vary depending on prefference and you'll find recommendations on this site elsewhere.

I try my best to keep up with modern specs and builds, but I'm not a racer... So thanks a lot to August FPV for all of the help and advice on this build

Budget
Mid-range
High-end
Highly varied

Motors

Emax Eco II

$13.99

2207/2306 ?

Stator size

1900KV

33.5g

For the price, these are one of the best "budget" motors. They work well, and many people run them on no-standard rigs, but they aren't unibell which makes them a bit less durable

IFlight Xing-E Pro

$14.99

2207/2306 ?

Stator size

1800KV

33.8g

IFlights new line of budget motors. They are less durable than their premium counterparts, but they work great on more budget setups, or when you just crash a lot

IFlight Xing2

$20.99

2207/2306 ?

Stator size

1855/1950KV

31.6g

IFlights refreshed its premium line of motors. They are lighter than their first gen counterparts, with upgraded magnets, and better construction. That comes at a bit of extra cost though

XNova Lite

$22.99

1800/1950/2200KV

29.8g

Now getting onto purpose-made racing motors. These are made to be light, responsive, and efficient, and they're held up to higher QC. The bells aren't unibell, but that reflects the lower weight

TMotor Veloce V2

$17.50

1750/1950KV

30.8g

Great-looking motors from TMotor, with a pretty good weight and price! I personally run these, and they fly great, and the extra 0.5 of stat or volume may help out

TMotor F60 Pro V-LV

$27.99

1950/2020KV

30.8g

The F series by TMotor is mainly focused on racing, and the V-LV motors are their newest offering. They're even lighter than the rest of the new Pro V lineup

RCinpower GT-S V3

$25.99

1980/2080KV

29g

New, improved motors, at an interesting size, likely in order to get the weight even lower. Similar, if not better quality than the V2

Five33 Headsup

$22.99

1960/2070KV

28.4g

These are motors designed by Evan Turner (Headsupfpv), made to be the best racing motor out there, and to high QC standards. Extremely light, efficient, and powerful. These also fit the freedom spec

Frames

TBS Source Two V0.1

$24.99

220mm ?

Wheelbase

4mm Arms

3/2mm Plates ?

Bottom/Top

19mm Cams

30x30/20x20 Stacks

72g

A great inexpensive open-source frame, with a lot of available 3d print files. Should be widely available in most FPV shops

Five33 Switchback

$45.99

"Enough for 5.1" props" ?

Wheelbase

6mm Arms

2/2/2.5mm Plates ?

Bottom/Top/Mid

14mm Cams

20x20 Stacks

45g

Five33 frames are part of the Freedom spec, as well as being one of the best race frames out there, so you're getting the best of both worlds. The Switchback frame has multiple different variants for your preferences

Five33 Lightswitch

$47.69

5.1" Props

6mm Arms

2/2/2.5mm Plates ?

Bottom/Top/Mid

14mm Cams

20x20 Stacks

45g

Designed to be a simpler, and even stronger version of the Switchback. Still a part of Freedom spec, designed for years to come with better support for Digital VTXs

HGLRC Wind5 Lite

$47.69

208mm ?

Wheelbase

5mm Arms

2/2/2.5mm ?

Bottom/Top/Mid

19mm Cams

20x20 Stacks

80g

A pretty durable frame, with optional front and back arm braces for extra rigidity. Chamfered carbon edges and the integrated stack softmounts give it a nice premium feel

Rotorama Samurai V3

$44.40

208mm ?

Wheelbase

5mm Arms

3mm Plate ?

Bottom

19mm Cams

20x20 Stacks

50g

If you're in the EU, Five33 frames might not be the easiest to get. This is an excellent alternative. Integrated carbon camera protection, and available in SFG and Light versions as well

Hyperlite Floss 3.0 Lite

$40.99

5mm Arms

2mm Plates ?

Bottom/Top

19mm Cams

20x20 Stacks

59.5g

A great frame with striking colors and a milled metal main plate made out of solid 7075 aluminum. Also available with arms up to 7" in size to suit different needs and preferences

Flight Controllers

Skystars F405/F722 Mini HD

$45.99

20x20

F405/F722 ?

MCU

USB C

BMI270 ?

Gyro/Acceleometer

6 UARTs

I2C

LED Control

0.5A 3.3V

2A 5V

2A 10V

4.8g

Skystars has recently released a sizeable range of good price/performance parts, good for low and high-demand uses alike. While the FCs have"HD" in the name, they still both have an analog OSD chip

Foxeer F722 V4

$46.90

20x20

F722 ?

MCU

Micro USB

ICM42688P ?

Gyro/Acceleometer

4 UARTs

LED Control

3.3V

3A 5V

4.4g

Foxeer is known for their great cameras, and the quality is the same for their electronics. The FCs have everything you'll need, with easily accessible pads all around the board. The Pro version adds TBS Passthrough and a hardware Pit switch

Happymodel Pancake AIO

$48.99

20x20

F411 ?

MCU

Micro USB

MPU6000 ?

Gyro/Acceleometer

1 UART (+1 RX)

BF LED control

5.2g

A great all-in-one solution for a clean and easy build, with an SPI ELRS receiver and a 400mW VTX integrated into the FC board. You do lose out on some IO though

Hobbywing XRotor F7 Convertible

$49.99

30x30/20x20

F7 ?

MCU

Micro USB

MPU6000 ?

Gyro/Acceleometer

3 UARTs (+1 TX)

3.3V 2A

5V 2A

12V 2A

3.3g

Hobbywing makes very durable electronics, and pairing this with the 40A Mini ESC will make for a good and durable stack that has stood the test of time

Diatone Basic F405/F722 Mini MK4

$52.99

20x20

F405/F722 ?

MCU

USB C

BMI270 ?

Gyro/Acceleometer

6 UARTs

LED Control

0.5A 3.3V

2.5A 5V

2A 9V

6.0g

Grouping these together because they're nearly the same, except the F722 version has the BMI270 gyro and two more motor outputs. They're good FCs with a good layout and track record

Aikon F7 Mini HD

$57.99

20x20

F722 ?

MCU

Micro USB

MPU6000 ?

Gyro/Acceleometer

5 UARTs

LED Control

3.3V

2A 5V

10V

5.4g

Among Hobbywing and Foxeer, Aikon is another brand that's well-liked by racers, and for good reason. All the features you need, without all the stuff you don't, and great durability

ESCs

Skystars KM55 Mini

$54.99

20x20

55A Nominal

70A Peak

BlHeli_32

16.5g

As mentioned in the FC section, Skystars have a lot of good budget products. These ESCs are great, not just for the price. There's also the worlds first AM32 4in1 ESC as a variant of this one, great if you want to try it out

Diatone Mamba F40 128K

$45.99

20x20

40A Nominal

45A Peak

BlHeli_32

6.5g

Once upon a time these existed in a 55 and 65A variant as well. Now Diatone appears to be focusing only on one version. It's still a great option though, especially for the price. The 128KHz PWM frequency offers better efficiency too

Diatone Mamba Reactor 66

$89.99

20x20

66A Nominal

105A Peak

BlHeli_32

12.5g

An absolute powerhouse of a 20x20 ESC, it uses full sized FETs you would be happy to see even on 30x30 boards, but with a price to match. Though to be fair 105A burst is quite a funny number on an ESC like this

Foxeer Reaper F4 Mini 128K

$59.99

20x20

45A Nominal

65A Peak

BlHeli_32

13g

These ESCs have recently gotten really popular among racers, as they're supposedly nearly bulletproof. The 65A version even has 100A of peak current, just insanity all-round in the best ways possible

Hobbywing XRotor 40A

$74.99

20x20

40A Nominal

60A Peak

BLHeli_32

12g

Really well-built and durable ESC, Hobbywing has a great track record for making quality stuff, this one is without exception. Though sadly the price has gone up recently

Aikon AK32PRO II

$77.19

20x20

50A Nominal

65A Peak

BLHeli_32

13.8g

As mentioned previously, Foxeer, Hobbywing and Aikon are one of the best options out there, and this ESC is a great example. Well made, even available with a heatsink for better heat dissipation

Video Transmitters

HGLRC Zeus Nano

$14.99

16x16/20x20/25x25

350mW

IPEX

2.4g

Probably the most versatile VTX, having 16x16, 20x20, and 25x25 mounting. It's a good VTX for the price, and you can mount and fit it in many different ways

Foxeer Reaper Nano

$24.90

20x20

350mW

IPEX

One of the smallest VTXs, made by foxeer, who have a long history with FPV equipment. Clean output, fits pretty much anywhere and comes in at a reasonable price

Rush Tiny Tank

$24.99

350mW

IPEX

1.4g

Rush make amazing VTXs, likely the best-performing ones on the market. This is their lowest power offering, but it packs a punch, with excellent video quality

Recommended Builds

There's multiple different specs and price ranges you can go for, so I've made a few different builds to suit different needs

Budget - Basic parts to build an inexpensive rig for non-spec races and self-practice
Mid-range - A good balance between price and performance, good for most racers for open races
High-end 1 (Freedom Spec) - "in pursuit of the perfect spec class. Our goal is to spec the components that are absolutely necessary and pull the performance of the drones as close as possible. All while having the easiest transition possible between our spec and open class racing".
TL;DR: Freedom spec dictates what motors, props, and frame you have to use, the rest is up to you. Apparently, 6" arms are very popular for Freedom spec
High-end 2 - The best of the best for open spec, for the most demanding pilots to cut tenths of seconds
High-end 3 (EU Edition) - If you're in the EU, certain parts may be hard to come by. I've checked the main stores in Central Europe, so shipping should be similar across the whole continent

Budget Build

$24.99

$13.99

$46.90

$54.99

$14.99

Mid-range Build