Where do we stop?
06-07-2008 | 03:21 AM
#31
Hey, you're not the only one. Why do you think I've been able to post all day on this thread. It's because I've been sick in bed with only my laptop for company.
I am dosed up to the eyeballs with flu medication, the world is spinning....
06-07-2008 | 03:38 AM
#32
Legalising Lipos would not have any effect on people still using Nimh's. Nimh's will still be more than competitive in most if not all cases (if you had used Lipos you would know this). All it will do is make it cheaper for people once there current Nimh need replacing. They may well choose to stay with Nimh but at least they would have a choice. By the way your cells you got late last year are already obsolete haven't you seen the 4600 Nimh's.
06-07-2008 | 02:39 PM
#35
Personally I am not sure WHERE electric racing is going...
We have Lipo's becoming available yet in a lot of European racing the move is to 5 cell EVERYTHING... I was speaking to a guy from Germany a few weeks ago and they have 5 cell 540 over there!!!... where does Lipo fit into classes like that?
I have always been someone thats said "lets have longer races"... we've had the technology to do so now for many years... what we don't have, as a majority, is the right attitude... its always been about going as fast as possible (in ANY class) for 5 minutes (some clubs 6) and thats all that matters to most..
My last "point" is the limitation of Lipo... at the moment it seems to be 3.7v per cell is the norm... not sure why, maybe one of the battery experts can explain how the chemistry etc sets that limit... which makes them totally useless for any class that uses 4 cells, 5 cells etc... I think that will need addressing at some stage...
But thats just what I think
We have Lipo's becoming available yet in a lot of European racing the move is to 5 cell EVERYTHING... I was speaking to a guy from Germany a few weeks ago and they have 5 cell 540 over there!!!... where does Lipo fit into classes like that?
I have always been someone thats said "lets have longer races"... we've had the technology to do so now for many years... what we don't have, as a majority, is the right attitude... its always been about going as fast as possible (in ANY class) for 5 minutes (some clubs 6) and thats all that matters to most..
My last "point" is the limitation of Lipo... at the moment it seems to be 3.7v per cell is the norm... not sure why, maybe one of the battery experts can explain how the chemistry etc sets that limit... which makes them totally useless for any class that uses 4 cells, 5 cells etc... I think that will need addressing at some stage...
But thats just what I think
06-07-2008 | 02:51 PM
#36
My last "point" is the limitation of Lipo... at the moment it seems to be 3.7v per cell is the norm... not sure why, maybe one of the battery experts can explain how the chemistry etc sets that limit... which makes them totally useless for any class that uses 4 cells, 5 cells etc... I think that will need addressing at some stage...
But thats just what I think
But thats just what I think
Last edited by mharlow; 06-07-2008 at 04:49 PM.
06-07-2008 | 03:58 PM
#38
06-07-2008 | 04:34 PM
#39
once you actually run lipo competitively you discover that you have to go down winds in the motor to make up for the difference in battery voltage I reckon if 1/12th you could both in a 2.5 brushless with 1C 6000mAh lipo and it would be on the money.
06-07-2008 | 09:06 PM
#40
Tech Fanatic
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 858
From: lives in a house
When will it stop
Will it stop ,I dought it.
They could stop reducing the car weight.That may make the cells easier to make reliable as they could be heavier.But that aint guna happen its driven by manufacurers of top end cars the lighter the car needs to be the more they can charge.
They could limit the amps of batt but that wont work manufactures would just under rate their cells.
Lipo is already super seeded our shop has allready got Lithium Mangenese Batts ,a slightly safer cell than polymers. Nano phosphate cells are out there as well.
Ive had NiMH cells for 2 years what are you guys doing to them
Dont get me started on brushless
They could stop reducing the car weight.That may make the cells easier to make reliable as they could be heavier.But that aint guna happen its driven by manufacurers of top end cars the lighter the car needs to be the more they can charge.
They could limit the amps of batt but that wont work manufactures would just under rate their cells.
Lipo is already super seeded our shop has allready got Lithium Mangenese Batts ,a slightly safer cell than polymers. Nano phosphate cells are out there as well.
Ive had NiMH cells for 2 years what are you guys doing to them
Dont get me started on brushless
06-07-2008 | 09:34 PM
#41
06-07-2008 | 10:48 PM
#42
06-07-2008 | 11:08 PM
#43
Tech Adept
iTrader: (3)
Joined: May 2007
Posts: 114
Ok, getting back to the original question, Where do we stop??
Being a person that has been involved in RC racing for over 20 years, this is a question that I have often asked.. I remember the "good ole days" where you were a god if you had a pack of "Sanyo Yellows" and the speed of your car, or the gear ratio you used was governed by being able to finish your 6 min race. Thankfully, the worry of dumping before you finished is now a thing of the past.
Progress, technology, development, evolution, call it what you like, but this is what has happened here.. It's that continual need for the racer to gain some form of an advantage over his / her competitors that does it, and it doesnt matter how small that advantage is, or how great the cost.. Unfortunately it is the majority of the racers that are not at the pointy end of the stick that are now starting to feel the cost of this, especially when it comes to batteries.
IMO, at some point this evolution will have to stop, and hopefully it will before it kills the hobby.. (or everyone converts over to Nitro)
Radio Active, remember that nothing in life is free. When we charge a NiCd / NiMh battery (and I assume LiPo is the same), that we must put more capacity into the pack, than what we can expect to ever get back out of it.. So if we charge a NiMh pack at 1C, it will take approx 80Mins (not 60Mins) to reach full charge..
TIME.. is one area that LiPo should be an advantage (given that you dont need to discharge before recharge) in that you will only need to "top-up" the battery after each race..
Being a person that has been involved in RC racing for over 20 years, this is a question that I have often asked.. I remember the "good ole days" where you were a god if you had a pack of "Sanyo Yellows" and the speed of your car, or the gear ratio you used was governed by being able to finish your 6 min race. Thankfully, the worry of dumping before you finished is now a thing of the past.
Progress, technology, development, evolution, call it what you like, but this is what has happened here.. It's that continual need for the racer to gain some form of an advantage over his / her competitors that does it, and it doesnt matter how small that advantage is, or how great the cost.. Unfortunately it is the majority of the racers that are not at the pointy end of the stick that are now starting to feel the cost of this, especially when it comes to batteries.
IMO, at some point this evolution will have to stop, and hopefully it will before it kills the hobby.. (or everyone converts over to Nitro)
Radio Active, remember that nothing in life is free. When we charge a NiCd / NiMh battery (and I assume LiPo is the same), that we must put more capacity into the pack, than what we can expect to ever get back out of it.. So if we charge a NiMh pack at 1C, it will take approx 80Mins (not 60Mins) to reach full charge..
TIME.. is one area that LiPo should be an advantage (given that you dont need to discharge before recharge) in that you will only need to "top-up" the battery after each race..
06-07-2008 | 11:41 PM
#45
No different to how 5 cell's now competes with 6 cell's in onroad and offroad at the moment. There are even people using 4 cell in offroad and are still more than competitive.