Hi guys!

I'm relatively new to RC and new to RCTech, and so far, I like the both . But, being new to RC, I have a difficult problem not only to understand and solve-lipos.

I recently got an ECX Torment 1/10 and put a Sidewinder SV3 and a 5700kv castle motor in it. Then I got a decent china made 3s lipo and now it's fast! But they don't allow 3s lipos at my local track, which means I can't use it. So it's either 2s lipo of 6 cell nimh, and I would pick lipo any day of the week. Since I'm a kid and don't revive a paycheck, I need to save as much money as possible. So I have 5 lipo options. I want the best "bang for my buck", so if that means I can get a great deal on something, even if it costs a little more, I'll do it. But I cannot buy, say, a venom lipo because they are like $80 each.

Note: I am probably going to buy it off eBay

Option 1: HUNGER 5000mah 40c/80c (30.87 shipped)
Option 2: GIANT POWER 5500mah 65c/130c (44.98 shipped)
Option 3: ZIPPY FLIGHTMAX 5000mah 20c/30c (32.80 shipped)
Option 4: (slightly used) GENS ACE 5000mah 40c (35.13 shipped)
Option 5: TURNIGY NANO-TECH 5000mah 25c/50c (39.90 shipped)

The giant power has a 5c fast charge, and the hunger (supposedly) has a 10c charge (which I would never do). The only one that ships from china is the hunger 5000. Any other ideas? Which do you think I should get? Any input would be great unless its an argument about lipo safety or something.

Thanks
Alec

Turnagy nanotech . Needs to be a hard case tho. Some tracks dont allow soft packs .
Try hobbyking.com for ur "cheap purchases"

I agree to sticking to hard case. But if the option is open I would look at the SMC Factory Spec 7.4V 5000mAh 50C with your choice of connector for 32.95 plus shipping. I have been completely satisfied with my 3 purchases from SMC.

YeaH but Smc now wants $12 for shipping. And they get way out of balance during use. Sometimes mine are off .30 volts of each other. And I've had one go bad with 2 months use Because of that.

I will never buy a hard case turnigy or gens ace again. Their leads tear off the cells from vibration. Requiring special solder only found online to fix at an astounding $30 + shipping for a small roll of it.

A friend of mine had 2 hunger batteries and I think he only used them 2 weekends in a row and they went bad.

Check out kyosho's batteries called peak. I bought one last weekend. They're pretty inexpensive. And seem ok so far. Time will tell though. It also doesn't seems to have the same punch as my Smc does. But I've heard some say Lipos tend to get a little better after a few uses.
http://www.kyoshoamerica.com/Lipo_c_96.html


Stick to batteries with higher C ratings like 50+. The lower ones really lack in power delivery you can notice significantly if you run them back to back with one of higher C's.

Based off your budget, I would check out some of these Lipos from Value Hobbies:

http://www.valuehobby.com/power-syst...city_range=180

And a nice thing is shipping is pretty cheap.

I bought a 6000 mah pack from them about a month ago and so far have been impressed with what your getting for the price.

As far as SMC goes, there is a following on here saying they are the best, I have also seen and heard bad things about them swelling. That alone would keep me from ever using them.

^ there's a lot of that here. There are a lot of tekin fanboys but my rx8 esc and many others I seen at the track go up in flames more than any brand. I love my T8 motor though. But their esc's are not all that great.

I'm not sure what makes so many of these guys so brand loyal even if they have had many issues they seem to look past it and continue to keep buying them over and over.

Ok guys thanks for your input. But what c discharge rating should I get at a minimum for my setup? Is 30c good? Or should I go for something massive like 65c?

Thanks
Alec

I stay at a min of 50 myself. Less $ and still gives my cars enough punch I can work with/ keep up with other cars in my class.

It's up to you how high you go. The more c the more power but the more $. If you're running a good motor you're not getting the most out of it running a lower c

Alright then I'll get a 50+c lipo. But does anyone know about these giant power lipos? Or are they just another cheap lipo brand? And are the value hobby lipos good either?

Thanks
Alec

The lipo's from value hobby are good. I don't know about the giant power packs so I can't give an opinion about them

I started racing 6 months ago and thought I would get some inexpensive batteries to start with. I run a Losi SCTE 2.0 4wd with a Tekin 4600 and an Orion R10 pro.

I bought 4 of the Turnigy nano-tech 5300 /50-100c packs with the intent I would buy some better batteries as I progressed in my driving skills and could justify the cost....

Long story short, I run in the A-main with the rest of the fast guys and I am still using the Turnigy batteries... no problems and plenty of power.

Thanks for your help guys! I have heard (or read in this thread) some different opinions about different batteries- here's where I'm at:

1) GForce 6000mah 70c hard case (from value hobby) $44 shipped
2) Turnigy Nano tech 5000mah 60c/120c (20 sec) hard case (hobbyking) $40 shipped with plug converters
3) Giant Power 5500mah 65c/130c (from eBay) $45 shipped. The only reason this is still an option is because no one has said anything about this one yet.

My esc draws 588 watts at 8.4 volts and being a 70a esc. I'm leaning towards the turnigy because turnigy is good quality, high discharge rate, and the burst rate goes above my esc maximum watts, so I'll always have power.

So what should my final decision be?

Thanks
Alec

When you say plug converters with the nano's, I'm assuming your talking about the balance charge leads that come with the pack.
Those are for charging, not running the car.

If your ESC has a deans or ec5 or whatever connector coming off its power wires, get a lipo with the wires coming out of the pack with that connector.

If your ESC has wires with bullet plugs on the ends that go straight into the lipo ports with no interruptions, get a inboard lipo that the bullets plug into.

You don't want to add multiple connections / joints between the ESC and lipo as you will be adding resistance. It's also REALLY easy to plug it in reverse polarity smoking the esc if you're in a rush and not paying attention using the balance charge lead.

When I say plug converters I mean the discharge plug. It's a 4mm hxt plug to deans female plug. They do not have turnigy packs on hobbyking (with the specs I'm looking for anyway) that has deans plugs. My esc has deans and my charger has deans, so I may as well get a converter instead of soldering a different plug onto it. I'm not very good at soldering, so a converter is nessasary for me. It's only $3 for two of them. Doesn't raise the S&H price.

OK, but every connection you add you are raising resistance.
Maybe your local hobby shop can help you with the soldering for the same $3 and leave you with a better setup.

Better yet, don't add joints...
Smc and other quality non price gouging companies have direct wired packs for the same price as nano's. No solder no nothing, plug it in. Can't cross polarity, less resistance.

Some examples, more battery, poke around for a 5000 pack if that's what you want.
http://www.promatchracing.com/prodde...prod=2s650070c ($5 more than the nano and way more battery
http://www.smc-racing.net/index.php?...&product_id=70 (same as above)

Heard this is a good company too, need to change plug though
http://thebarnfloor.com/catalog/prod...oducts_id=3641
http://thebarnfloor.com/catalog/prod...oducts_id=4859