Good LiPo for racing?
08-01-2008, 10:03 PM
#1
Good LiPo for racing?
I am looking for a good lipo battery. I dont want to spend more than $160 for the balancer and low voltage cutoff. I have a Duratrax Onyx 230 charger so it can charge lipo, li-ion, and li-fe. any suggestions? I want it to be 7.4 volts and I dont want it to be soo powerful that it will wheelie down the straight. Have you guys tried the Orion lipos or Trakpower ones? I would like not to spend more than $160 on LVC since I am running a gtx brushed only esc, and a balancer. thanks
08-01-2008, 10:50 PM
#2
I have a couple Orion packs.. a 3200 and 4800... Love them both and I haven't had to balance them.. Probably should look into getting a balancer.. though Orion says it's not needed..
You are not going to get any more real power out of them than you do with a good NiMh matched pack.. actually a 4200mah EP will give you more peak voltage and average voltage than a LiPo.. the 4200 NiMh even has about the same runtime as the 3200 LiPo. The 3200 LiPo also cost twice as much as the NiMh.... The 4800 LiPo has tons of runtime..
What you might confuse for more power is the fact that the LiPos are much lighter.. in my stock buggy with the 3200 it flies.. but it's so light that the suspension suffers a bit.. The 3200 weights about 8oz compared to around 16oz+ of the NiMh.
I am gambling that the life of these packs will be longer than a NiMh.. I could have bought 6 or more packs of decently matched NiMh.
On limited funds i'd go for the NiMh personally... I is especially difficult to use 1 or 2 packs for a race night. LiPos charge at a low rate starting at the 1C (1amp for every 1000mah) but step down to lower amperages as the charging goes on. It takes almost an hour to charge back up my 4800 after a mod race.
If you decide to go LiPo you'll need to be careful using it with your GTX. You might consider getting the 6v cuttoff adapter to run between the battery and the ESC. Novak makes one as well as others. If you go below 6 volts on a 2 cell it can chemically ruin it the first time. There are also some packs that have an internal cutoffs but i've heard that sometimes running mod or low brushless they can trigger under a load and turn your car off..
Good luck with your decision and have fun!
Jerome
You are not going to get any more real power out of them than you do with a good NiMh matched pack.. actually a 4200mah EP will give you more peak voltage and average voltage than a LiPo.. the 4200 NiMh even has about the same runtime as the 3200 LiPo. The 3200 LiPo also cost twice as much as the NiMh.... The 4800 LiPo has tons of runtime..
What you might confuse for more power is the fact that the LiPos are much lighter.. in my stock buggy with the 3200 it flies.. but it's so light that the suspension suffers a bit.. The 3200 weights about 8oz compared to around 16oz+ of the NiMh.
I am gambling that the life of these packs will be longer than a NiMh.. I could have bought 6 or more packs of decently matched NiMh.
On limited funds i'd go for the NiMh personally... I is especially difficult to use 1 or 2 packs for a race night. LiPos charge at a low rate starting at the 1C (1amp for every 1000mah) but step down to lower amperages as the charging goes on. It takes almost an hour to charge back up my 4800 after a mod race.
If you decide to go LiPo you'll need to be careful using it with your GTX. You might consider getting the 6v cuttoff adapter to run between the battery and the ESC. Novak makes one as well as others. If you go below 6 volts on a 2 cell it can chemically ruin it the first time. There are also some packs that have an internal cutoffs but i've heard that sometimes running mod or low brushless they can trigger under a load and turn your car off..
Good luck with your decision and have fun!
Jerome
08-01-2008, 11:20 PM
#3
Registered User
iTrader: (16)
I am looking for a good lipo battery. I dont want to spend more than $160 for the balancer and low voltage cutoff. I have a Duratrax Onyx 230 charger so it can charge lipo, li-ion, and li-fe. any suggestions? I want it to be 7.4 volts and I dont want it to be soo powerful that it will wheelie down the straight. Have you guys tried the Orion lipos or Trakpower ones? I would like not to spend more than $160 on LVC since I am running a gtx brushed only esc, and a balancer. thanks
08-02-2008, 02:36 AM
#5
So the cutoff is for those who run "standard" ESCs? Can it be disabled to be run full bore with ESCs designed for Lipo? Thnx
08-02-2008, 09:04 AM
#6
I am looking at THIS lipo here. Is that good? I see alot of those new ones on ebay go thru the bidding process and end cheap.
Can I have a link to the 6v cutoff thing?
I have a Radio Shack 2000 nicad, Venom 3600, 2x GP3300 matched, and a EP4200 matched pack. Would that be enough for racing or should I get a lipo?
I am not really on a limited budget, just I get $35 a week and I want to make it worthwhile but I dont mind spending it on a expensive hard cased lipo.
Can I have a link to the 6v cutoff thing?
I have a Radio Shack 2000 nicad, Venom 3600, 2x GP3300 matched, and a EP4200 matched pack. Would that be enough for racing or should I get a lipo?
I am not really on a limited budget, just I get $35 a week and I want to make it worthwhile but I dont mind spending it on a expensive hard cased lipo.
08-02-2008, 09:29 AM
#9
Here is the Novak LiPo cutoff I use in my non-Lipo friendly ESC vehicles. There are others out there but this one can be found for around $25 or so.
The Team Orion 3800 Race Spec is a great battery and I also have a couple 3200 Carbons and a 4800 Platinum that have always worked well for me.
The Team Orion 3800 Race Spec is a great battery and I also have a couple 3200 Carbons and a 4800 Platinum that have always worked well for me.
08-02-2008, 09:34 AM
#10
What was the difference in power between the Orion 3800 race spec and Orion Platinum 4800?
08-02-2008, 09:46 AM
#11
chris, for power with lipo packs you want to look at their "C" rating.
and holy crap i wasnt aware the 3800 race spec put out 30C
the 4800 platinum only puts out 15C...but would give you longer runtime.
orion had to come out with the new packs to compete with the reedy/smc packs putting out 28C
and holy crap i wasnt aware the 3800 race spec put out 30C
the 4800 platinum only puts out 15C...but would give you longer runtime.
orion had to come out with the new packs to compete with the reedy/smc packs putting out 28C
08-02-2008, 09:59 AM
#13
chris, for power with lipo packs you want to look at their "C" rating.
and holy crap i wasnt aware the 3800 race spec put out 30C
the 4800 platinum only puts out 15C...but would give you longer runtime.
orion had to come out with the new packs to compete with the reedy/smc packs putting out 28C
and holy crap i wasnt aware the 3800 race spec put out 30C
the 4800 platinum only puts out 15C...but would give you longer runtime.
orion had to come out with the new packs to compete with the reedy/smc packs putting out 28C
Bulldawgrc.com has a Trakpower 3600 30C pack and a Trakpower 4900 not named C pack.
08-02-2008, 10:03 AM
#14
08-02-2008, 10:05 AM
#15
yes chris, that is correct. dont be fooled by the higher MAH number, that will be your runtime essentially.
like the newer checkpoint 5400s, they only have a continuous discharge rating of 16C...but the 4900 by checkpoint has 25C.
the trackpower mentioned has 25C
like the newer checkpoint 5400s, they only have a continuous discharge rating of 16C...but the 4900 by checkpoint has 25C.
the trackpower mentioned has 25C