fantom motors and lipos....who makes them?
08-10-2009, 03:46 PM
#31
Ill be honest with you, Ive used both the Equinox and the Commonsense RC Balancers (The Commonsense one is nice because it works with all the plugs minus the bullet connector style), however, I found that I got the best results, both on the track and on my Turbo 35GFX, by not balancing. I have used both SMC (5000 28C) and Fantom (5000 40C) Lipos, and have used the following charging "schedule":
Discharge pack at 30 amps on GFX (No balancing), let cool for 5 min
Charge at 8 amps til fully charged (should put you at 8.40-8.43V)
Race Pack for 4 min race (1/10 Dirt Oval, 13.5 Motor, sometimes 17.5)
Repeat Sequence until Mains.
After Main, I leave the pack in the car, and it stays there til I run it again.
I was one of the first to use lipos (and brushless for that matter) in my area, so I "sacrificed" a couple packs to see what seemed to give me the best results, and I found that using a balancer took away some of the edge the battery had, and that it cycled out better on my Turbo 35 without it. Some may say this decreases the life of the Lipo, but Ive had my SMC's for a year, and while they are not quite as my Fantom 40C packs (granted, they are 6 months older and only 28C, and we're talking maybe 2 seconds slower total per 4 min race), they still perform wonderfully.
I look at it this way. In my area, actually more like region, anyone who raced somewhat competitively bought the best they could get, spending around $300 every 3-4 months or so on new batteries, and probably close to $200 in new motors, armatures, brushes, etc, per vehicle (we race at least twice a week, and dirt oval racing here is very competitive, so brushes were being used for one heat and then replaced, and batteries were typically used one race day per week) My LHS sells the Fantom 5000s for about $125 +/-, and the motors for $75 +/-, so to spend $200 every 6 Months on a new motor and battery (per vehicle) is really no biggie in my opinion. And unless you really overgear the hell out of the motor, they too will be just as good for well over a year.
Discharge pack at 30 amps on GFX (No balancing), let cool for 5 min
Charge at 8 amps til fully charged (should put you at 8.40-8.43V)
Race Pack for 4 min race (1/10 Dirt Oval, 13.5 Motor, sometimes 17.5)
Repeat Sequence until Mains.
After Main, I leave the pack in the car, and it stays there til I run it again.
I was one of the first to use lipos (and brushless for that matter) in my area, so I "sacrificed" a couple packs to see what seemed to give me the best results, and I found that using a balancer took away some of the edge the battery had, and that it cycled out better on my Turbo 35 without it. Some may say this decreases the life of the Lipo, but Ive had my SMC's for a year, and while they are not quite as my Fantom 40C packs (granted, they are 6 months older and only 28C, and we're talking maybe 2 seconds slower total per 4 min race), they still perform wonderfully.
I look at it this way. In my area, actually more like region, anyone who raced somewhat competitively bought the best they could get, spending around $300 every 3-4 months or so on new batteries, and probably close to $200 in new motors, armatures, brushes, etc, per vehicle (we race at least twice a week, and dirt oval racing here is very competitive, so brushes were being used for one heat and then replaced, and batteries were typically used one race day per week) My LHS sells the Fantom 5000s for about $125 +/-, and the motors for $75 +/-, so to spend $200 every 6 Months on a new motor and battery (per vehicle) is really no biggie in my opinion. And unless you really overgear the hell out of the motor, they too will be just as good for well over a year.
Currently Active Users Viewing This Thread: 1 (0 members and 1 guests)
