SMC Lipo info wanted.
12-12-2008, 02:31 PM
#1
SMC Lipo info wanted.
We have had great success with our 4900/25C saddle packs for the 4wd cars.
We would like to offer our high quality packs for 1/8th electric vehicles as we know the quality of the cells/pack is very important in this type of vehicle and our packs have been used with great success in these demanding conditions.
I have a few questions which will better help me understand what we should release as far as packs for this type of racing.
Will most tracks go with ROAR rules or will it stay open on packs ?
How about the number of cells ? Is 4S , 5S or 6S allowed if so which is the most popular ?
Thanks in advance.
We would like to offer our high quality packs for 1/8th electric vehicles as we know the quality of the cells/pack is very important in this type of vehicle and our packs have been used with great success in these demanding conditions.
I have a few questions which will better help me understand what we should release as far as packs for this type of racing.
Will most tracks go with ROAR rules or will it stay open on packs ?
How about the number of cells ? Is 4S , 5S or 6S allowed if so which is the most popular ?
Thanks in advance.
12-12-2008, 02:40 PM
#3
All of my local tracks,
www.medinsrcraceway.com
www.oakhillrcspeedway.com
www.arcshobbies.com
Hobby Town, Boardman OH
Have Fun Hobbies, Vienna OH
Will not follow thr ROAR guidlines. The Battery will remain open.
The RC Pro Series Rules will be better than the ROAR. They will not limit it to 4S and the dimentions will be larger.
I feel 4s will be the most popular and most 1/8th electric racers prefer the longer lower cells to keep the CG low.
the standard dimentions are 168 x 48.5 x 43.5 mm or very close. The higer cell counts are gaining popularity, but I think 4s will always be on top.
www.medinsrcraceway.com
www.oakhillrcspeedway.com
www.arcshobbies.com
Hobby Town, Boardman OH
Have Fun Hobbies, Vienna OH
Will not follow thr ROAR guidlines. The Battery will remain open.
The RC Pro Series Rules will be better than the ROAR. They will not limit it to 4S and the dimentions will be larger.
I feel 4s will be the most popular and most 1/8th electric racers prefer the longer lower cells to keep the CG low.
the standard dimentions are 168 x 48.5 x 43.5 mm or very close. The higer cell counts are gaining popularity, but I think 4s will always be on top.
12-12-2008, 03:00 PM
#6
I would say that it would be beneficial if SMC would offer packs that satisfy future ROAR rules for 1/8 scale electric. Even though I disagree with ROAR about the hardcased issue and I run a softcased pack, I still believe that you eliminate having a non buyer because they think your pack may be illegal at the track they go to. Haven't yet found a track that says you are illegal because you have a hardcased lipo.
As for specs, a 5000mah pack would be my recommendation as well as utilize a 4S setup.
As for specs, a 5000mah pack would be my recommendation as well as utilize a 4S setup.
12-12-2008, 03:02 PM
#7
Great to see you on this forum Dan and recognizing the need for 1/8th electric LiPo packs! 
Some of the available conversion kits will only fit the case dimensions (L x W) of the current 2S1P LiPo hard case packs. ROAR is going to limit the packs to 4S and I also think this will be the most common pack size even at non-ROAR tracks. With that said, I'd like to see a few 4S packs offered:
3200mah
3700mah
4000mah
4500mah
5000mah
Or somewhere around these figures....
Height can certainly be an issue with hard cased packs. Idealfully the lower you can keep the packs the better. I know in my MBX5R conversion with RCPD Ultimate tray I can only fit a pack that is @ 42mm tall. Any taller and it slightly pushes the body up. The upcoming ROAR rules for the 1/8th electric class in 2009 are calling for 7 minute qualifiers and 10 minute mains. If you are running 10 minute mains you really don't need 5000mah of capacity, 4000mah is plenty for most setups. So I'd be interested in the lighter, lower capacity packs.
As for the C rating, 28C would be the minimum but higher rated packs would be better.
Best regards,
Some of the available conversion kits will only fit the case dimensions (L x W) of the current 2S1P LiPo hard case packs. ROAR is going to limit the packs to 4S and I also think this will be the most common pack size even at non-ROAR tracks. With that said, I'd like to see a few 4S packs offered:
3200mah
3700mah
4000mah
4500mah
5000mah
Or somewhere around these figures....
Height can certainly be an issue with hard cased packs. Idealfully the lower you can keep the packs the better. I know in my MBX5R conversion with RCPD Ultimate tray I can only fit a pack that is @ 42mm tall. Any taller and it slightly pushes the body up. The upcoming ROAR rules for the 1/8th electric class in 2009 are calling for 7 minute qualifiers and 10 minute mains. If you are running 10 minute mains you really don't need 5000mah of capacity, 4000mah is plenty for most setups. So I'd be interested in the lighter, lower capacity packs.
As for the C rating, 28C would be the minimum but higher rated packs would be better.
Best regards,
12-12-2008, 03:37 PM
#8
First of all I'm a racer that has been racing for 24 years and my favorite type of racing is electric 2wd buggy. I tried 8th scale nitro and it wasn't for me. As soon as BL motors came out I knew the potential was there for electric 8th scale.
Since we use an exclusive Lipo supplier we have to pay for cell tooling cost and if a case is required we have to pay for the mold. To release a new pack with a hard case we need to spend 3500.00. This is why we haven't done anything yet as we wanted to see what the trend would be.
Your info is valuable and we will release a pack that will hopefully be popular.
Since we use an exclusive Lipo supplier we have to pay for cell tooling cost and if a case is required we have to pay for the mold. To release a new pack with a hard case we need to spend 3500.00. This is why we haven't done anything yet as we wanted to see what the trend would be.
Your info is valuable and we will release a pack that will hopefully be popular.
12-12-2008, 03:44 PM
#9
After reading the response so far you will see why we haven't released a pack yet as there is way to many different packs that will work.
I hope we can find one that seems to be more popular and we would start with that one.
We would like to use the newest chemical formulation that will allow 40C+ which will improve cycle life. The cycle life of our current 28C packs is very good but we expect the newer packs to be even better.
When will the RC pro series rule be available ?
I hope we can find one that seems to be more popular and we would start with that one.
We would like to use the newest chemical formulation that will allow 40C+ which will improve cycle life. The cycle life of our current 28C packs is very good but we expect the newer packs to be even better.
When will the RC pro series rule be available ?
12-12-2008, 04:45 PM
#11
Dan,
This class is still in its infancy, so its hard to say what the best option would be "today". At many tracks they combine us with 1/8th nitro cars so we're forced to run longer mains thus why some guys will ask for 5000mah plus in capacity. But once we get enough of these out there to have our own class, the equipment will evolve into what works best for the competitve racing market. As for the bashers they'll always take the most they can get.
40C would be AWESOME! Just like heavy 10AWG wire. Larger bullet connectors should also be standard if your packs use them. The 4mm bullet connectors are too small for this application as they are only rated for up to 100 amps continuous. The 5.5mm connectors are rated for up to 150 amps and the 6mm connectors are rated for up to 200 amps. I use the Castle Creations 6.5mm connectors that are rated up to 250 amps.
I guess the real question is how much capacity can you fit into a hard case that will fit in any of these cars. For the folks using a two pack saddle configuration they'll just use your current 2S packs, one on each side of the car. But if you are using a 4S pack on one side then the packs really can't be any thicker than 42mm tall (and that would also mean the wires will have to come out the top side of the pack as to not interfere with the body as well).
If I was a LiPo battery Mfg and wanted to offer a 4S hard cased pack for this class I'd start with a 4200mah to 4500mah pack and a 5000 to 5200mah pack. You can use the same case for both packs just add material in the upper half of the lower capacity pack to keep the CG low. Those running 10 minute races would likely choose the lighter lower capacity pack and the folks running longer mains (or running with nitro cars) would run the larger capacity packs. We use anywhere from 180 to 350mah per minute. But I think as we see this class evolve (especially in the competitive racing market) most guys will start running motors that are more efficient and use less mah per minute.
And yes there are guys running 5S or 6S and even higher, but it is very unlikely that the R/C car MFG's are going to follow by building cars designed for such high voltage packs.
Best regards,
This class is still in its infancy, so its hard to say what the best option would be "today". At many tracks they combine us with 1/8th nitro cars so we're forced to run longer mains thus why some guys will ask for 5000mah plus in capacity. But once we get enough of these out there to have our own class, the equipment will evolve into what works best for the competitve racing market. As for the bashers they'll always take the most they can get.
40C would be AWESOME! Just like heavy 10AWG wire. Larger bullet connectors should also be standard if your packs use them. The 4mm bullet connectors are too small for this application as they are only rated for up to 100 amps continuous. The 5.5mm connectors are rated for up to 150 amps and the 6mm connectors are rated for up to 200 amps. I use the Castle Creations 6.5mm connectors that are rated up to 250 amps.
I guess the real question is how much capacity can you fit into a hard case that will fit in any of these cars. For the folks using a two pack saddle configuration they'll just use your current 2S packs, one on each side of the car. But if you are using a 4S pack on one side then the packs really can't be any thicker than 42mm tall (and that would also mean the wires will have to come out the top side of the pack as to not interfere with the body as well).
If I was a LiPo battery Mfg and wanted to offer a 4S hard cased pack for this class I'd start with a 4200mah to 4500mah pack and a 5000 to 5200mah pack. You can use the same case for both packs just add material in the upper half of the lower capacity pack to keep the CG low. Those running 10 minute races would likely choose the lighter lower capacity pack and the folks running longer mains (or running with nitro cars) would run the larger capacity packs. We use anywhere from 180 to 350mah per minute. But I think as we see this class evolve (especially in the competitive racing market) most guys will start running motors that are more efficient and use less mah per minute.
And yes there are guys running 5S or 6S and even higher, but it is very unlikely that the R/C car MFG's are going to follow by building cars designed for such high voltage packs.
Best regards,
12-12-2008, 05:02 PM
#12
Tony thanks for the info.
This is the max ROAR case size would this fit in most cars ?
160mm length x 52mm height x 52mm width
From what I understand is that runtime is extended when using 6S or 8S packs as the voltage makes the power which means your motors can be smaller and not pull as much amps.
This is the max ROAR case size would this fit in most cars ?
160mm length x 52mm height x 52mm width
From what I understand is that runtime is extended when using 6S or 8S packs as the voltage makes the power which means your motors can be smaller and not pull as much amps.
12-12-2008, 05:31 PM
#14
The more I'm thinking about this based on what you guys are giving me for info is that we shouldn't do a hardcase right away. The current ROAR rules would not fit with the stock bodies but I suspect some new bodies may come out where the packs will fit. At the moment spending 2500 on a mold doesn't make sense.
We will release some softcase packs to start with.
We will release some softcase packs to start with.
12-12-2008, 05:45 PM
#15
Can I get the maximum length , width and heigt that would fit in most cars using the pack on one side ?
I think we will tool up and do pack in a softcase to start with until we figure out the size for the hardcase and see what will happen with bodies.
I think we will tool up and do pack in a softcase to start with until we figure out the size for the hardcase and see what will happen with bodies.