8ight-e

iTrader: (58)

I'm actually running my scte as fast or faster than my buggy through a full race, it's got me really leaning towards a 810 project :P 3s lipo w/ castle 3800 motor geared low... unless I find another 4pole 540 sized motor w/ a little lower kv rating.

Pulse_

I just thought the same looking at the thread about lightweight e-buggies

Again a light car is possible (lighter motor on 2 or 3 cells) but will it perform as good on a outdoor track as standard e-buggies?

morgoth

To be honnest the new Durango and Serpent nitro cars where not that good. They look innovative and I think that's why people buy them. I don't say the cars are trash or bad, but Losi, Mugen, Xray are proven platforms and they still do better than the new cars.

I think they just go with the dual setup because people will think is innovative and thus better. So they'll buy it.

A very small car (hyper 9e or Tekno V4) is a lot more nimble than a wide car (saddle pack) because every time you change direction, a sidewards weighttransfer happens. And the wider the car, the longer it takes to complete the weighttransfer, because the distance is bigger. This results in a kind of lag/delay.
As long as their costumers think it's faster, they sell it.

All nitro cars have a higher COG than 1/8 brushlesscars, but the nitrocars are still faster around the track than brushless cars. And they feel so nimble, because they are made as small as possible.

Pulse_

Really?

I get you on the "As long as their costumers think it's faster, they sell it."

The more I look the 9E the more I like it. What buggies did you try in Mol?

kufman

iTrader: (6)

I have to disagree with this one. We used to do battery swaps with onroad cars back in the 90's, so why not offroad cars now? There were quick change battery trays and the pits stops were about the same duration as nitro cars are today. The only place we will get to run longer mains is in races with nitros because ROAR is never going to make a 45 minute E-main. As such, we will have to play nicely with the nitros. We will have to obey their minimum weights and come in for a few pit stops. As long as we are in the pits we might as well make use of it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rphw9...eature=related

Pulse_

+1

Brands should definitely think about fast lipo changing systems. It's not hard to conceive and would be a game changer in longer races. All the rc world isn't a dependency of ROAR rules.

Actually I'm quite surprised they didn't think about it yet. 3 battery straps? Come on... We're living in 2011 the lipo change shouldn't take longer than the time you took to read my last sentence.

blade329

iTrader: (114)

That is not correct. The 808e is not a conversion from the Nitro. It is a redesigned buggy.

Pulse_

How is it redesigned? They just put a battery tray and motor mount and the 808E is based on the 2010 nitro kit. I even talked about it with a guy from xray. The 808E is definitely not purpose built as well as the MBX6Eco, the MP9E etc.. Doesn't mean they don't go fast around a track, I'm just saying that if they would have thought their buggy to be electric from the beginning they would be much closer from a 9E for example

blade329

iTrader: (114)

They reviewed that buggy in X-Treme RC last issue. That's what they said.

It sounds like "purpose built" is in the eye of the beholder. What is "purpose built"?

I'm going to be giving the dual pack setup a try in my Ve8 this week. This will be my first time driving a dual pack setup buggy. We'll see how it compares to the 1 pack setup. Part of the beauty of the HHH chassis is that you can have multiple setup options. It's a "purpose built" e-chassis.

Pulse_

It's just a question of words then . When I say purpose built I mean conceived from the beginning to be an electric buggy. The electric technology wasn't at the origin of the design on most actual e-buggies, they just adapted nitro chassis to accept brushless systems. It's not bad or good, just a fact.

Edumakated

iTrader: (19)

Only way I can see battery swaps happening is if there is some standardization of battery sizes. Since ROAR likes rules, maybe they can come up with a standard lipo size. I can see a type of click in hardcase pack with no plugs. Kind of like a cartridge on power tools or something.

Personally, I am not a big fan of long races. Anything longer than 15-20 minutes just seem to be a waste. Yeah, some of the super star pro's may all finish on the same laps with 45 min nitro mains and some like pit strategy, but at the club level rarely will you find a tight race after 10 or 15 min.

HH

iTrader: (3)

There is no argument as far as I'm concerned .
In fact I think we are in agreement for most things e.g. I too believe that EC5's are the best connector available, I also stated in my first post in this thread that you can achieve a perfectly balanced buggy with either a single-battery setup or a dual-battery saddle pack setup.

Also, agreed, it is clearly more simplistic to use a single-battery pack, I'm just saying that does not somehow mean it is mysteriously difficult to run dual-batteries connected in series, because this too is a very safe and simple task.

No doubt that doing a battery swap mid-race for long mains is much more feasible with a single-battery pack. However, as Edumakated knows well, and thanks in part to his assistance, I have been completing 20 minute mains on a regular basis with my E-buggy without a battery swap for the past several months using the alternative approach for setting up an E-buggy to compete in long mains which is running a high-voltage low-Kv setup. IMO this type of setup is better suited for a dual-battery saddle pack configurations primarily due to the fact that you can run a 6s system using 3s+3s and still keep your CG lower than most buggies running a single 4s battery setup. The single-battery 6s setups can get ridiculously top heavy along with sometimes making it next to impossible to even attach the body. But granted, if I want to finish a 30 minute main I would prefer a single-battery setup so I was able to swap mid-race. I'm just sayin...



Again, I understand what you are saying clearly, but you have missed my point, that is if those drivers swapped vehicles you would very likely see the same three drivers on the podium the only difference being they would have won with a Durango. Losi's win more because the Top drivers are more likely to be sponsored by Losi (or another top level manufacturer) and it is far less likely for the best drivers to be sponsored by Durango. Likewise, those Durangos that you've been puttin' a whoopin' on with your SCTE, would still be gettin' whooped by you even if they drove SCTE's and you were driving a Durango.

I'm not even saying that the Durango is a better 4wd SCT than a Losi or an AE. I simply responded to your statement that having the batteries located directly under the rear center driveshaft on the centerline axis of the chassis "offers no advantage". I AM saying that from an engineering standpoint, that specific feature of the Durango is superior and it has nothing to do with whether it is a single-battery pack or two-battery packs

First of all.. I wouldn't pay you! But if someone did pay you.. enough.. lol. Then YES, you would be lovin' the Durango! I know I would! You'd be wearing the Durango hat.. sportin' a Durango t-shirt.. Durango stickers on the back window of your Dodge Durango..

There are a lot of things that can be changed to improve the performance with a purpose-built electric platform.
A good example which is only the very beginning is the Tekno V4 as it is superior to all of the OEM versions it replaces.

It's not, that was only used as a simple example in reference to why the top manufacturers used their 1:8 scale nitro platforms for their 1:8 scale Electric vehicles. Their motivation was due to the extreme differences between the initial "money up front" cost of manufacturing any given original RC car part or component for the very first time, which can total well over $20k? $30k? $40k?, for something as simple as a injection molded plastic A-arm that might only cost pennies each to produce thereafter. Therefore, to build a truly original purpose-built 1:8 scale electric platform from scratch would require the type of funding that could become catastrophic to some smaller companies if the intended market isn't sufficient to return the investment.


8ight-e... you should come on out to ARC Raceway for the next race in their Spring Shootout Series on 5/21/11. They have a 1:8 scale Open Electric Class and 2wd and 4wd SCT classes. And I know you'll love this... the winner of the SCT class gets a brand new Durango 4wd SCT kit!

stigno

+1

With a small 3300mAh battery and a rather heavy motor, even my converted MBX6 is close to perfect balance...

Dave H

I think you are on to something. Yes, a low center of gravity is a good thing, but is not the only consideration. Low moments of inertia are very very important as well (unless one only drag races), provides for a nimble and responsive turning and jumping car.

Good engineering is always about balancing many conflicting requirements. Generally focusing on one aspect leads to a less than ideal solution. Not saying that’s necessarily the case here, but if so it’s not real obvious from the discussion.

Well played for an electrical train driver. (just funning a little, I like reading your posts)

blade329

iTrader: (114)

It wouldn't. I think the goal though is to be able to run long races without a battery change. I was able to run a 20 minute main in my RC8Be with a 5600mah 4S and 1800kv motor. Came in 5th, but that was because I couldn't drive that buggy worth a darn. Would have done much better with HHH Ve8.