xSmokechecKx

How is it going fellow racers and enthusiasts? I am currently getting back into racing after about 5 years.... and I must say, a lot has changed. I am looking to compete in local parking lot racing series around my area.... and looking at snagging a FT TC5R as my machine of choice. Now... the fun part. What is everyone running for electrics and combos for performance/budget. I saw LiPo packs for like $140 for 1 pack .... and I know you need at least 3 or 4 for competition. What size LiPo's... etc. I am totally lost in this new space age era of r/c..... and would like to be competitive with my selections without making me a bum. Any help will be very appreciated.

Very respectfully,
SmokechecK

Redwood

A lot of guys at my club use only 1 lipo, it never comes out of the car. If you get a high capacity lipo (5000mAh+) you can use only one for a club night, if there is enough time to charge it between heats. Lipo is not like Nimh, you can just top it up like a fuel tank, they dont like to be discharged fully.

As for motor and esc, it depends what class you would like to run.

Regards

Neal

tc3team

Sorry to hijack but it is kind of part of what is being asked by the OP.

How much does it shorten the life of a lipo (approximately speaking) by only having one and topping it up inbetween races?

As the lipo is still partially warm inside when you are re-charging it.

Thanks

xSmokechecKx

Nice... so LiPos have way better run time with a mod brushless motor? That is really cool that you dont have to always discharge them. That should save some bucks. Anything you'd reccomend for a club parking lot racer? What does a pit table usually consist of or need besides normal tools? I wanna have a good setup for race days.

Cpt.America

iTrader: (52)

The current cream of the crop Lipos are about $100 a piece. IP 5600man 50c for example. Heck, I got mine for $90.

No you don't, 1 per chassis will work perfectly fine. I leave mine taped into the car the entire race day... charge, run, charge, run. The battery will actually get better as you run it throughout the day.

IPs 5600mah 50c is my recommendation. But there are great batteries from other companies like SMC

lipos are FAR more effeciant than even the very best Nimh packs... you can expect 25% longer run times (or more even) over what you used to get with the round cells.

No... actually you aren't SUPPSED to discharge them. Charge - Run - Charge - Run. It's that simple. Make sure you are using an ESC with a built in lipo cutoff, as draining them past 3.2v per cell will ruin them. The only time I have ever discharged a lipo, was when I was going to store one for a long period of time. Even then, I simply put it on my lipo charger and set it to "store". I think it took the battery down to 7.6 volts or somewhere around there. The beauty of the lipo, is that it is almost completely maintenance free.
(oh yeah, you also need a lipo specific charger)

It varies between racers, whether you are indoor, outdoor, and what you have to bring. I race at an outdoor parking lot, so I have to bring quite a bit.

Table
chair
EZ-up
car/radio/battery/charger etc.
Tools
Cooler with gatorade
Tire warmers
setup station
spare/extra parts
sun screen and hat

Basically everything.

Hooligan_

iTrader: (17)

Everything that Capt said, that's sound advice. Other nice things to have in the pit bag is

*a pair of shades... At some time it never fails that I end up squinting because the suns in my eyes. Hat or no hat...

*Maybe even a pair of goggles lol. The wind was really blowing during the mains at the end of the day and a racer whipped out his goggle to keep his eyes from watering

*Oh and a heavy gauge extension cord along with a cheep power strip.

*baby wipes if you have a young son or daughter who is going along lol. Maybe even just for yourself if your that messy

One thing I haven't seen people suggest is ESC's.... I don't know what motor size you need but Venom has a dead simple ECS/motor setup. It isn't top of the line and it isn't bottom of the line either. It comes with a "card" which is about the size of a pack of playing cards with instructions on how to check/change the setting on the ECS right on the card. So no looking for manuals... ever lol. I've been using it for 13 months now and its still getting me around the track just fine.

Here's the link and a image.

SteveL

iTrader: (23)

One lipo pack, a Tekin RS and your motor of choice. The Tekin is reasonably priced at around $160 and with the new software updates, you won't need to upgrade as new stuff comes out and you'll be faster than you really need on a parking lot.

Hooligan_

iTrader: (17)

He is right. The Tekin RS is a nice piece of gear and may be the only ESC you buy for a good long time. Plus it's on par with the cost for the venom kit once you factor in a motor. But for ease of use... I like the venom. If I bought a Tekin last year I would have had to hit the factory reset button quit a few times, after hunting down the manual lol. But.... come next year when I piece together a new high end TC... I'll be going with a RS Pro... or whatever the latest greatest ESC is ya know.

xSmokechecKx

Awesome! Thank you for all of your great advice and tips to get me back on my feet. It is much appreciated.

Soviet

iTrader: (2)

I'm thinking about getting back in too. Ran my last race in Dec 2005. Got out when I saw brushless and lipo's on the horizon. Wanted to wait things out to see how everything sorted itself.

Sounds like ROAR finally got on board and things are stabilizing. ALot of new classes now too.

Where do folks race onroad in the Denver, CO area?