Buggy Brad

I use the 123's in all my cars and they fit fine, one car I had to cut a small foam block to raise the batterys slightly and I was good to go.

Myself and a few racing buddys have been running 123's for a long time and we still comment on how much we love the batterys, no more screwing around with matching, cycling, dead shorting. It's much like lipo except 1/2 the cost and 3 times the life span and no risk of fire.

Here are a few pics of a battery I just made up for andrew, 17.5 runs for 14 minutes with this pack. Total cost for the battery is $51.00 and since it can be charged in under 20 minutes you only need one........BB

Tubaboy

iTrader: (9)

How do u fit that in an off-road 2wd buggy/truck, or a Sedan?

W.E.D.Jim

iTrader: (17)

reenmachine,, no sweat.
I was just making a generalized post about my experience with Tamiya over the years. I am thinking they are capable of doing something that hasn't been done yet. But you are certainly right that they aren't normally known for top notch electronics...lol, unless a wiper speedo with a balloon over it is desired, .

They did have a good budget electronic speedo though in the late eighties now that I think about it.

...Jim
W.E.D.

Fred_B

iTrader: (1)

That pack wouldn't even fit in my 12th without moving all kinds of stuff around. Like I said before, if the A123 technology is so great why not put it into a sub-C size cell and go racing? Other companies have done it with LiFePO4 why can't A123?

I'm not against A123 but the current cells don't fit easily in the cars.

Carl Giordano

iTrader: (32)

SlowerOne...and what organization are your referring to? EFRA? IFMAR? Do you have first hand knowledge on their position on this subject?

7.4v was the voltage of choice in 1/12th scale at one time.

The sanctioning bodies need to make a decision on the subject...as demand for "R/C" type sub-c's decline, so will our choices. Sanyo exited our market because it wasn't profitable enough to make R/C type cells with moderate demand. With the introduction of Lipo to R/C, demand for R/C type sub-c's will continue to decline and 1/12th scalers will be last guys standing with no seats once the music stops. The lack of direction for this class has been a cause for the decline in 1/12th scalers in the North East. TC has gained in popularity because the rules have been set and for once, people like what they see...Brushless / Lipo combo.

Let hope that this does not become a long-winded debate on what to do for 1/12th.

MUDVAYNE

iTrader: (88)

Dude, not sure where you have been racing, but the tracks that I have raced at, all have seen a steady increase of 12th scale racers (Frederick MD, Gaithersburg MD, Hamilton OH, Dayton OH). Its a very affordable class and is in my opinion the best class to stretch your racing budget. Untill the advent of brushless and lipo, TC had gotten way to expensive, and in my opinion, still is ( I refuse to pay $500 for a rolling chassis from x-ray and a few others). I agree with you on the fact that we 12th scalers will be stuck with the check, so to speak, with the class still using NiMH, but right now its the only option we have without screwing everything else up to run lipo. It took a few years for the lipo thing to catch on with alot of people in TC, I say wait and see what happens with the A123's.

mtbboy

iTrader: (1)

Dont mean to hijack here gentlemen but is there a comprehensive online tuning and setup page for 12 scales in general?
What to use when etc.

Getting back into 12 and would like to do a better job of it.
Thats all.
Dave.

bs6ef

mtbboy you got mail PM with what you need in it...

SlowerOne

Not too long-winded? We are on post 400 already - LOL

I sit on the BRCA 12th Committee, with access into the EFRA Electric Committee. We hope to make proposals for 3.7v being used in 12th scale, and are all agreed that we cannot go back to 7.2/7.4v as the cars will be undriveable, bordering on dangerous. We hope this will allow the LiPo brigade to join in if they wish to.

We also hear the harbingers of doom saying there will be no NiMh cells, and we've been hearing that for two years! Nonetheless, like Mudvayne says, we too have had a steady increase in 12th drivers. No one has had any problems getting cells. No, it's not a stock item in the LHS these days, but that has helped. Shops that order for us get fresh supplies, so little or no dead cells, and usually very good numbers.

There is no lack of direction over here. What we do have is threads like this where people are trying to work out what they want to do, and causing confusion. That's why we want to try and set some Rules for using LiPo cells, so people can easily use them. There isn't any confusion in the Organisations, but these types of threads are very much less than helpful for getting drivers into the class. HTH

John St.Amant

iTrader: (1)

Sanyo got out of making the cells we use for toy cars because we are only a fraction of a percentage point of the market for those cells. Now that industry has stopped using them for cordless drills and hand held vaccuums, the need for Ni-Mh cells is not worth it for them to make the cells just for us.
Mikita... Millwaukee... Craftsman... were the big purchasers of sub "C" cells and are no longer wanted by them. It's all about Li-Po's now ....And soon, something else... Get used to it and get over it! 7.4v is too much juice for the average racer in 1/12, almost with any motor. We need to use what cells are mainstream or the quality and cost will be compromised. BIG TIME!
Just buy one pack ,,, single cell lipo and be done with it. Ah'ite!?

reenmachine

iTrader: (26)

It's great to know that some of the "powers that be" are working on this, but please don't criticize the open exchange of ideas. The reason these people are doing all this stuff is because there is a feeling that nobody up top is "steering the ship" on this issue. Perhaps if the process were a bit more transparent or there were press releases about what's in the pipeline there could be more of a cooperative effort.

There are so many people out there willing and able to try new things that there's a real potential asset there for the sanctioning bodies. If an announcement were made that a few different specific approaches were being considered, instantly tons of people would be trying them out and offering a lot of feedback.

nrtv20

iTrader: (9)

Does anyone have any pictures on a Step up voltage converter? Maybe even pricing? how about your experience with 1C lipo and the converter for your electronics?

Fred_B

iTrader: (1)

Had to dig back to find the link. I've ordered a couple of these but haven't got them yet to run.

nrtv20

iTrader: (9)

Thanks Fred_B

Looks pretty trick. I take it the red and black lead just need to feed directly into the Lipo? I want to try this setup out.

Buggy Brad

I use 2s2p 2300mah in my traxxas slash, they are to wide to fit in the molded battery area so I cut a 5/8" thick foam block for the battery to sit on and then raised the battery strap and I was good to go. The set-up has worked well for over 300 cycles. I would imagine a 1/10th buggy/ truck you could do the same. I can take pictures if you like..

I don't have a 1/10 sedan but the X-ray's I see at my club racing look like the same set-up would work but minus the foam. I could set a 2s2p pack on the sedan chassis and get a few pics if you want........BB