beemerfan

iTrader: (39)

1000 mAh in 5 minutes translates to a 12 amp hour average draw. Your peaks will be much higher but based on the average alone, a 4C 3000 mAh pack would do. This comes up alot in these forums but the bottom line is that for most club racing classes like Blinky, VTA, USGT, RCGT, etc. any Lipo will do. I don't think you can go wrong with anything around 4000 mAh or more and at least 25C to cover the peak draws. Gen's Ace batteries work very well when you can get them and A-main hobbies has this pack which seems like it would work well too.

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...-ROAR-Approved

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

306grams is too heavy. Tc3's and tc4's make weight with packs that are under 230grams , like the thunderpower 3200mah 40c (208grams), which is perfect for 17.5 blinky !!!

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

The Orion 3800 30c's are 256grams, which is not that bad if you already have light electronics in the car.....

racerTC3

Iam running a speed passion stock club cirtix , speed passion v2 17.5 , HPI 2.4ghz radio futaba s3004 servo. Currently have been using a reedy 5000 35c lipo. I can keep up with everyone else on the track. just not as quick as the fast guys out of the turns still working on the best setup!

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

That futaba servo is not fast enough, and you will need to crank up the punch in your esc, increase your radio expo/throttle acceleration.... The tc3 being shaft has a natural advantage out of the turn in acceleration, but might lack in top speed, so the earlier you get on the throttle, the better ....

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

Forgot to mention that you will need a fast 0.10sec servo like the analog futaba S9402 servo that also has 111Oz of torque instead of only 57Oz that the S3004 has.....

THEBIGBULL

iTrader: (5)

Just curious, Why you would you need such a fast servo??? I had a like new tc3 I took on trade and decided to set it as a VTA spec racer, As this was just another one of my ventures I put and old Futaba S3003 that was in spare parts box. I must have put a million laps on it last summer with a Ballistic 21.5on on a 150' X80' outdoor asphalt track. I had to turn my steering expo down about -80 to slow the steering down and make it driveable. I never expected the servo to last, but it went all season and I will start this season with it. The old TC3 is awesome the more I run it the faster it seems to get. I have upgraded the shocks, light wt diffs,done the bearing thing. With 3200 Checkpoint lipos I am able to get it down to about 1400g and it is balanced. I have to run it in touring stock as there isn't enough interest in VTA. Once I found a good setup the car is usually on the podium . I recently picked enough parts to upgrade it to a FTTC3. Carbon chassis etc. But Ive been reading on here that the chassis may too stiff and it will take away traction. HHHMMM????? Looking for opinions. I have also just picked up an assembled but never run FTTC4 !!!!!

BE
TJ

kufman

iTrader: (6)

+1

I ran my TC3 for years on nothing faster than a 3003. The car can't change directions any faster than the weight can transfer.

Stregone

Anyone have a list of bearing sizes for the tc3? I just realized mine still has the stock bearings, and they are getting rather tired.

I looked at a few different sites selling kits and they don't appear to have the same number of bearings.

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

I also ran the s3003 servo for years in my tc4 outdoors until I went indoors, and discovered how weak and slow it was...Also a 0.10sec servo is not one of these superfast $200 servos by any means, just better than 0.19sec and only 57Oz torque.....

slashdriver

iTrader: (84)

once you run a decently fast, decently torquey servo, going back to a slow servo can be painful.

Even something cheap like a new Z590 or a used S9550 or S9450 will be a significant improvement.

beemerfan

iTrader: (39)

All the wheel and transmission bearings are 3/16" x 3/8" except for the diff which are 3/8" x 5/8". A-main sells Pro-tek bearings in the smaller size in packs of 10 for $9.99 with either metal or rubber shields that work very well and won't break the bank. I think you need a total of 12 of those if you replace them all. Associated recently ran a clearance on the larger diff bearings that was also a great deal. Not sure about the size of the steering bearings or the small ones inside the diff.

BTW... I recently put a Spektrum 6010 servo in my car and have been very pleased with it. It's a decent bargain at $40 street price. Fast enough, torquey and centers very well. Didn't think it would make that much of a difference but it was pretty noticable on the track. I think it has more to do with the initial response and resolution of the servo than the transit speed.

malkie

I bought some 3300 (30C) Li-po's for my TC3 because they weigh only about 230g, as opposed to the 300g of my Turnigy 5300's (35C). I then started to get some ESC shutdown issues with my Hobby Wing speedo. In the end I disabled the low voltage cut-off and that cured the shut down issues. I was able to borrow a logger to check the voltage during a practice run and was amazed to see the battery voltage dipping to under 6 volts under extreme loads. This was with a 13.5 in a boosted class. Li-Po's don't like this sort of treatment I'm sure. The Turnigy cells hold up at over 6.85 volts under the same conditions.

The other thing to think about is that lightweight cells cause the car to be very badly balanced from side to side. I can't say I noticed too big an issue with this on the clockwise track I have raced it on, but it will make a difference to the ultimate behaviour of the car, which was desgined to have350g of NiMh's on the battery side.

bertrandsv87

iTrader: (2)

You can't run boost with 3300mah 30c packs, but you can run 17.5blinky with ease.... Also stick with TP packs, they're the best !!!!

racerTC3

TP packs? Is that track power or thunder power?

The best servo that works for me is the cheepest one! I don't need a blazing fast servo, i just need one that works, and the s3004 turns left and right just fine. On my track there isn't one lap where someone hasn't wrecked, my self included. Its more of going slow is faster. 8 TC cars on a small 24x60 track there is always a wreck. Thats mainly why i run a TC3 Tuff as nails, havent broke a part yet, others who run Xray's TC6 etc seem to always break, at our track anyway.


What is the best 2s lipo charger now days. Is the Checkpoint TC-1030 still a good charger even thoe it doesn't balance charge. Does anyone use the Futaba CDR 5000 for lipos, I have one and it works for lipo, just have to set the max voltage etc, i would like to get more of a plug and play charger. Just hook up battery and hit start. Do people balance charge everytime. 2 cell lipo i can just check balance with my CDR 5000 and adjust acordingly, but at the track it would be nice to just plug in and charge. Or just get 3 of the same lipos (2 qualifiers and the Amain) and charge them at home and not worry about having to charge at the tack.