Factory Drivers and NiMh
 

If Lipo packs are so good, why do I still see the top level drivers using the latest 4600 NiMh packs??? I cannot see the reason to switch to Lipo if the highest ranks of drivers don't use them. I decided to go with 4600 NiMh packs for another year, or until the big boys go to them. Your opinions please....

Well, I can only guess, but I'd sum it up in one word....sponsorship. Pretty much ALL big time drivers are sponsored by one matcher or another, & to some degree, if the sponsor is pushing one kind of pack, then that's what they'll run. But I think it's only a matter of time before all of them will switch over(& I believe some, like SMC's drivers already have the choice & have begun using LiPos). You can run with whichever you want, but I think the writing's on the wall now, LiPo's ARE the way to go for the foreseeable future(unless you run a 4 or 5 cell class, in which case NiMh's are still the best bet since LiPos only come in multiples of 3.7 volts per cell, not enough to compete directly with a 4 cell NiMh & 2 cell LiPos have too much against a 5 cell NiMh)....:cool:

i think its because they are used to them and have really good ones and doesn't have to have wieght added to them but i'm starting to see the pros go lipo too.

The tc worlds are coming up later this year and that is a 6 cell nimh race. Most of the big guns don't want to get there cars dialed in on lipo just to have to go back to nimh for the worlds.

After the worlds you will see most of the pros switch to lipo.

mostly i would say it has to do with weight and set-up issues. Most tourers are designed with a stick down 1 side configuration, so once they get their set-up dialed it can be tricky to get the same feel or response with a li-po due to it not being weighted similar to a Ni-mh pack. I know when I switched all my stuff over to li-pos I played hell for about the first 2-3 weeks just getting the "feel" back that I had with the Ni-mh packs. even with adding weight it changed the roll center of the car because the weight wasnt distributed like the Ni-mh cells. I imagine that as soon as people start designing chassis around li-po weighting and place ment in stead of the current cars, which are all designed around nimh cells and their placement in the chassis, we will start seeing everything and everybody running li-pos.

Wouldn't lipos be to light and powerful for off-road applications. Just wondering.

Most cars were designed with NiMh in mind, so geometry has been optimized with those cells in mind. The lighter lipo's seem to require a lot of lead and creativity to mount securely. That is a negative in my book. I really like the lipo theory but it just doesn't fit R/C perfectly just yet. I am not a pessimist when it comes to lipo. I just find it strange when the drivers who are paid to showcase the latest and greatest equipment haven't made the switch, then why would I??

Nimh is faster. Lipo is easier and cheaper compared to GOOD nimh. Kinda like how 27 turn is faster than 17.5, and 10.5 is faster than 19 turn.

Too late, Reinhart already won the worlds.

I don't see the need to follow what ever the "big boys" are doing. I do what works for me. I have two LiPo packs which I can alternate if I need and I can cycle them as many times per day as I need, I can't do that with NiMh. I've had to add weight to my car to make minimun weight and most of it is under the battery so the balance is the same as it would be with NiMh. I guess I just don't get the "sheep mentality" alot of racers in this hobby have.

Mod is more popular in other country's such as the EU. 5 cell was used to help the electronics survive in TC. So lipo would not be popular for this.

Someone already said it. NIHM is faster. Some of the newer lipo's look promising for voltage. The current chassis are also a poor layout with lipo.

Better go check that again! He just won the Euro's. The WORLDS are coming in a few months...

Oops, dolt. Been watching the 200mm nitro worlds and got confused. :D

I don't follow sheep. I follow what works the best. When I go to the track, I want to win the A main, not finish just in the A main. The pro's aren't worried about how many times they can run a pack per day. Quite frankly, neither am I. What I do want to see is WHAT type of Lipo's the Pro drivers are using and which ones are configured for each specific car. There just seem to be too many unsolved equations as of now. At least for me. Remember I am just looking for opinions.

So they have the sponsorship for the stuff and you have the money for the stuff.