chewiefttc4

iTrader: (27)

i think it will survive a impact just fine.

the orion carbon packs ive seen crashes where the plastic shattered
and peirced a cell..

i only use maxamps. or non protected since then

undark

I have a giant gouge in the side of an Orion Platinum case where a side impact jammed the ESC's solder tab into the battery (JRXS Type-R). I'm not confident a soft battery would have survived such an incident, especially considering it nearly pierced the plastic case.

Granted, that's just one example, but it's a valid one, and there are undoubtedly others. There are also plenty of cars where a soft battery would probably be fine. In touring cars, with belts around, and the possibility of a battery ejection, a hard case seems like a reasonable precaution, especially considering the kind of abuse and speeds some of these cars experience. CSRC came up with a nice looking generic case, though the balancing connector being exposed on the bottom may be an issue, since any metal contacting it could short between positive and negative.

SMC is a respected name in this business which goes a long way. All the companies lately coming out with LiPo are telling us they're respected and we should trust their judgement on cell origin. I guess that's okay, but it robs consumers of a lot of data that may already be available on the cells since they've nearly all been tested elsewhere. Like you said, the track will tell the story. Hopefully some of SMC's sponsored drivers will start using these in the clubs and help generate interest.

Do you know if SMC is "zapping" or otherwise trying to enhance these cells? A lot of people have been expecting battery gurus such as those at SMC to do something special with LiPo, much like they do with NiMH. Has your testing revealed anything that improves performance, beyond warming the packs slightly before running them?

wyl03

iTrader: (44)

sorry but I don’t understand how it can survive an impact “just fine” without anything to protect it?

Jack Rimer

Has anyone had issues with the non-cased packs?

chewiefttc4

iTrader: (27)

ok.. lemme put it this way.. a normal impact..

you get hit on the side.. your getting hit with a body. and foam bumper.. whooptie doo.. hell even a tire
alot of these non protected lipos are far from bare cells they are shrunk wrapped many times over.. and they do provide some resisance to (hits)

i think if its 2s each cell is shrunk wrapped.. then they are shrunk wrapped together.. and then theres another very thick shrink wrap over the whole assembly. wires and all.. you have three or more thick layers i belive. to go through before you get to cells.

and if your racing with that many hack drivers.. ask to be put in a different qualifer..
you know you could make a lexan box.. that you attach to your battery strap that goes over the battery.. to protect it a bit.




now when you have your esc flyin around and such then yes that poses a problem.

i have been running my 5000 mah lipo in a tc3.. and now my tc30 v3 which is a carbon fiber chassis .. and it seems to do just fine.

undark

The left pulley on the Type-R rubbed through the shrink on a MaxAmps pack I was using to the point where it exposed and scratched the "foil" casing of the raw cell. It doesn't seem to have otherwise affected it, though prolonged use may have led to some kind of failure. This problem is very likely specific to the design of that car, but there may be others.

Another thing to be mindful of is the belt rubbing a pack if it slides toward the center of a car. With so much emphasis being placed on moving batteries closer to the centerline of a car, this seems like it could be an issue depending on a car's layout. Keeping a LiPo secured in a sedan with a battery strap is difficult because of its height. With them being flat on the bottom, it can easily lead to the packs sliding around, possibly into the belt, or spur/pinion.

This is Common Sense RC's hard case, which seems adequate. However, they put a balancing plug on the bottom with the positive and negative very close together, and there have been reports of shorting the pack easily having a bullet connector touch it, or setting the pack on a screw or something metallic. It's a nice idea, but seems like a possible design flaw considering how many small metallic parts we having laying around on our benches.

chewiefttc4

iTrader: (27)

what about if you put velcro on the battery tray and velcro on the batt..

wouldnt that raise it.. and also keep it secured. just lay a peice of square lexan to cover the batt slots.. shoe goe it in place
and put velcro. on it.
soft stuff on the tray and plastic thin stuff on the batt..

that should make a tight fit..and it shouldnt budge

undark

Right, velcro.

chewiefttc4

iTrader: (27)

well your talking about a jrxs right ?

seriously velcro.. my buddy with his type r did that.

you seal the battery tray off with lexan

then install velcro.
all it takes is a couple strips..

you may think its retarted but it works..

oh. but lemme guess your a professional racer and velcro looks to taky for you. so lets stick to nimh. yay

undark

I'm sure it works really well, and I'm not above using velcro if the situation calls for it. It's just that it sounds like I'd basically be making a hard case from velcro and lexan. Why wouldn't I just buy a pack with a hard case to begin with?

Anyway, it's good to see SMC embrace LiPo. With my past experience, I don't feel comfortable using a soft battery in my sedan of choice, though I'm sure plenty of others will do so happily.

bxpitbull

iTrader: (6)

Orions 4800 is 15c, their 3200 is 20c. Either way, the SMC must be coming in a hardcase for that price $152.99

Change, I see they went softcase. I hope that price is a misprint. BUT, seeing that SMC makes good sub c's, this ought to be an interesting turn in the battery wars.

MrUnlimited

WOW 152USD for a single batterypack, Is this made of gold? I'd rather stick to the IB4200 until prices have dropped.

MARKANO

New to LIPO. What exactly is 15C.. 20C.. 22C.

Thanks.

Jack Rimer

If you notice, Tower sells the Orion with the Traxxas connector for $164 and the standard for $139. They sell the SMC for both at $152. That's about a wash.
I think before anyone says they will or won't buy the packs, they need to run them. I would be willing to bet that if you show up with a hard case pack and get outrun by one of these, you may change your mind.
I'm not saying that will happen, but I know racers.

Unregistered

Jack, The only real plus for hard cases for me is the fact that you can mold lugs in that would key into the battery slots.

One problem that I've seen with the Orion packs is that the 4800 can slide out of the car if you use a battery hold down instead of tape. Their 3200 has lugs molded in and it's not an issue.