Why is this battery so cheap?
 

https://www.smc-racing.com/index.php...product_id=618

I already found out it’s not “Roar approved” but if I only plan to club race, should I even worry about this? Also, when looking up charge rates online I was given a plethora of information, I know it has to do with C rating but this one is 75! Most articles I read featured 1-2C. Basically, if I wanted to pair this with a budget minded duo charger that can do 10amps (Hitec x2), can I charge at 10amps? My charging time shouldn’t be more than about 40 minutes at that rate right?

i can theoretically buy 3 batteries and just swap them around to have constant uptime like I would on nitro? Obviously breaks will be taken, especially if things are hot but I’m just trying to see how many batteries to buy!

Marketing

you wont get a 10 amp charge outa that 100 watt charger.. Id buy 3 .. thats about near a hour of runtime.standard followed by some is the 1C charge rate not the batteries potential charge rate of 75c that what you could expect to get from battery.

would you recommend this charger? Or should I look for more inexpensive options if I’m not going to actually get the 10amps?

wattage is just voltage x amperage so if the x2 does 100w, 100/14.8=~6.8ish amps at 100% efficiency so you are looking more at about 6 amps if you divert all the power in the x2 to 1 channel. The 1-2C rating you see in articles refers to the charge rate and the 75C on the battery is the discharge rate. In general, you should be less concerned about those numbers and more concerned about the quality of the cells. most battery brands buy cells from one of a few different manufacturers, so the cheaper batteries will be the cells that didn't meet the other companies' specifications. The x2 is a bit outdated and underpowered for the price, the x6 seems to be a good charger, just need an ac/dc power supply.

No
id look for a charger that will do the job your after..you are also going to need a power supply to run most chargers many made...

job I’m after is being able to buy two maybe three of these batteries, and have them in rotation so I can practice at the track without much “waiting around”

Why is this battery so cheap?

For the original question - its because its not the same chemistry as LIPO batteries. Its listed as Lithium Cobalt Oxide(LCO)......I am not familiar with this and if you can use a normal LIPO charger to use it....cant find much about it with google but assuming you can it seems like a good alternative to LIPO's and a lot cheaper.

I just bought a 4200 LIFE battery for alittle more then this so it seems like good value.

On the battery quantity discussion I used to use a more budget charger and just pre-charged 3 batteries the night before....it was fine but bought an icharger X6 and built a server power supply...personally think its better to invest in the better charger vs more batteries in the long run especially when talking about 4s batteries....

it is a LIPO ... there are many formulas for a LIPO

https://www.grepow.com/blog/differen...batteries/amp/

Not all batteries are.. you know the rest
 

Never used that battery but have used many other SMC batteries and also bought a Hota charger off them. Have been very happy with the products and customer service is very good.

Hmmm I guess I have never seen a manufacturer list a specific chemistry other then LiFe batteries which obviously get its own charging method with the lower cell voltage

Apparently these are just cheaper as they are a lower quality for bashing and such....hmmm maybe good cells for my kids powerwheel.
"In SMC’s continuing quest to provide the consumer with strong performance-to-value products, we are excited to announce the new “DV series” of batteries. DV stands for durability and value.

With lipo batteries, there is an inverse correlation between performance and durability. The higher the performance of the pack, the lower the resistance of the cells. The lower the resistance of the cells, the less durable the pack. It is a compromise that most racers are willing to accept because they want to extract every last bit of performance from their equipment. However, for the casual enthusiast, things like runtime and durability are more important than squeezing every last bit of performance from a battery. This is where the DV series excels. These packs were designed to have a slightly higher internal resistance, thus resulting in increased durability and better bang for the buck. Performance is still impressive, but not at the expense of longevity."

No. You can’t charge a 4s lipo at 10 amps with that crappy hitec x2 charger. That charger sucks especially for batteries bigger than 2s. That charger has 2 charge channels with a max charge rate of 10 amps but only a max power of 100watts for both channels. It takes about 170watts to charge a 4s lipo at 10 amps. And even a 10 amp charge rate is kind of slow now a days.

for ebuggy with 4s lipos I would recommend the icharger x6 if money is tight and the icharger 406duo if might is not tight and you want the best.

as for smc batteries are fine. They offer great value for the money.

Thanks for all the replies it definitely seems like I’m buying that I charger x6 for about $110 Or cheaper I’d I can find it in bst. I’ll buy two of these and be a guinea pig. I’m willing to try them out and see how they perform. I’ve had really cheap lipid before so I feel as though I can compare them. Eventually even to a more standard and well accepted lipo.

So the 4S-5200mAh pack linked in the op = 525g

I own the following pack which weighs only 440g: Graphene Extreme V2 - 4S-5200mAh LCG

After 9+ race days + practice (roughly 50 cycles) I am still showing low IR for this pack and would be interested in seeing the IR readings for the pack in the OP, also worth noting that added weight will effect the performance:

https://cimg7.ibsrv.net/gimg/www.rct...dc7ee49628.jpg

I definitely agree with your post on weight affecting performance, without a doubt. Seeing as I’ve never actually driven on a track however I feel as though my main performance problems would come from my lack of experience. I think they’d be fine to start driving with and I’m excited to be able to report on them as an intro battery. To measure ir I can do so with that x6 charger correct?

with regards to a power supply, what’re cost effective ways of doing this? Do I need to modify an excising power supply to work with the charger?