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-   -   SMC LIPO BATTERY THREAD (https://www.rctech.net/forum/radio-electronics/674886-smc-lipo-battery-thread.html)

Ranger411 01-14-2014 11:07 AM

Just grabbed a shorty to try due to them coming in stock, but the adapters with the balance port are on backorder. Anyone have an acceptable alternative. Ordered some 4mm bullets, to make the connection, worried about that 2mm balance port part.

Pittsdriver 01-14-2014 11:26 AM

I bought these and they are fantastic.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221319970813...84.m1497.l2649

Ranger411 01-14-2014 11:33 AM


Originally Posted by Pittsdriver (Post 12905540)
I bought these and they are fantastic.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/221319970813...84.m1497.l2649

Works for me. I'm in NY so they will prolly make it before the batteries do. Thanks.

ta_man 01-14-2014 11:34 AM


Originally Posted by WIGMAN (Post 12904464)
There are plenty of people charging at 2 and 3 C, most are stock racers, pros don't need to charge higher cuz if they want more they can boost or drop a wind. In blinky classes voltage is everything, charging at a higher amp will increase performance.
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I do know some oval racers that charge at 3-5C, those oval guys are nuts, but in oval voltage is king, every little bit helps when you are searching for how to make your car a hundreth of a second faster per lap, if you can find a tenth of a second in oval everyone thinks your cheating.

Danny has said more than once that the only reason charging at higher amps gives more performance is that it heats the battery. He has said that if you charge a pack at 1C and another at 5C and let the warmer one (5C charge) get to the same temperature as the other one, they will perform the same on the track.

The oval guys are charging at high C rates because it is the only legal way to warm the pack before racing, but it depends on perfect timing to have the pack ready just as your heat is up or the benefits are lost.

I have heard that BRL (Brushless Racing League) has come up with a way around this to discourage the high amp charging: they require the car be in tech at least one heat before you are up to race. So the benefits of high C rate charging tend to be reduced because the pack has an additional 8 minutes to cool down.

skengines 01-14-2014 02:21 PM

Can' wait to try these packs out! Will be running them in my ET48 and EB48.

TJ Hart 01-14-2014 05:03 PM

Just got my new SMC 4600 70c batteries. I want to make them last, so does SMC require and pre-charging steps? Or should I just charge it and run it and it will be fine?

Also, to make sure...charging these batteries at anything over 1c doesn't increase the overall performance, and the only benefit is a faster charge, correct?

What I would do with these packs, since I have a 50w charger is charge at 4.6a on 2 cell and run them. I usually don't store my batteries, but I race weekly. Partially because I don't hear of many people storing them, and I don't know how to or what to store them at because everyone says different.

Any feedback and tips would be greatly appreciated!

Jpm1 01-14-2014 05:18 PM


Originally Posted by TJ Hart (Post 12906508)
Just got my new SMC 4600 70c batteries. I want to make them last, so does SMC require and pre-charging steps? Or should I just charge it and run it and it will be fine?

Also, to make sure...charging these batteries at anything over 1c doesn't increase the overall performance, and the only benefit is a faster charge, correct?

What I would do with these packs, since I have a 50w charger is charge at 4.6a on 2 cell and run them. I usually don't store my batteries, but I race weekly. Partially because I don't hear of many people storing them, and I don't know how to or what to store them at because everyone says different.

Any feedback and tips would be greatly appreciated!

Most 50w chargers will charge at 5amps which will be fine, I would certainly get into a habit of storing your batteries, or at least check them after you race, if the sitting around 3.7-3.9 volts per cell there's no need to do a storage charge but if there lower then 3.7 I'd do a storage charge to bring them to 3.85 volts per cell, also don't leave them charged for the whole week, if you don't use a pack discharge it to 3.85 volts, also leave charging your packs as close as your race day as possible.

All off this will certainly help your packs last as long as possible, also if you have plenty of runtime adjust your LVC to 3.4 or higher, this way your not taking your packs down to far either.

Cheers justin

TJ Hart 01-14-2014 06:10 PM

When I store my LiPos, how do I go about that? I know my Thunder AC6 has storage mode, but do I just set my amps to 4.6 because of 4600mah or is there anything else I need to change? How long does it generally take to store a LiPo after a 5 min run?

Also, is it okay to charge batteries the night before a race/practice?

ROB784 01-14-2014 06:43 PM

Should be getting my Race Forumla Saddles and Shorty tonight, looking forward to seeing how they go in the main :).

Unfortunately my charger only stores at 1amp(charges and balances at 5-6) but it's normally discharging anyway cos my batteries never get that low unless I go for a loooong practice run. I charge mine the night before and never have any issues, I had a set of ProTek's that didn't like it but they were actually faulty batteries and got replaced. I see a lot of people charging right before a race but I don't have 6 chargers to be able to do this.

Jpm1 01-14-2014 06:44 PM


Originally Posted by TJ Hart (Post 12906800)
When I store my LiPos, how do I go about that? I know my Thunder AC6 has storage mode, but do I just set my amps to 4.6 because of 4600mah or is there anything else I need to change? How long does it generally take to store a LiPo after a 5 min run?

Also, is it okay to charge batteries the night before a race/practice?

You can use storage mode at the full 5 amps, storage mode is the same as charge mode but it cuts out at 3.8 volts per cell instead of 4.2.

Charging the night before is fine, just if something happens and you done use a pack just make sure you discharge it to 3.8 rather then let it sit full until the next race.

It's a good idea to get yourself a cheap battery checker from your LHS or online, this way you can check your packs after a run, if their close to 3.8 there's no need to do anything, just plug into your balance port to check.

Jpm1 01-14-2014 06:48 PM


Originally Posted by ROB784 (Post 12906924)
Should be getting my Race Forumla Saddles and Shorty tonight, looking forward to seeing how they go in the main :).

Unfortunately my charger only stores at 1amp(charges and balances at 5-6) but it's normally discharging anyway cos my batteries never get that low unless I go for a loooong practice run. I charge mine the night before and never have any issues, I had a set of ProTek's that didn't like it but they were actually faulty batteries and got replaced. I see a lot of people charging right before a race but I don't have 6 chargers to be able to do this.



Hi Rob, you can be certain that your packs will be there tonight, my guess is around 6.30, but they will only have a storage charge not a full charge, I've already left home but I'll use a mates charger at the track to charge them for you.

And yes I forget that most chargers discharge at 1amp, my charger will discharge at 30amps:sneaky:

Cheers Justin

mkl 01-14-2014 07:01 PM

My charger (Hyperion) has a storage mode that automatically charges the batteries to 60%. It will discharge if battery is more than 60% or charge it to that level. I just set the battery type and cell # and the charger does the rest. How long it takes will depend on the charger and the voltage level of the battery.
I always charge my batteries the day before a race. I don't know if it hurts the performance but I don't notice any problems with my batteries.

nolimit1984 01-14-2014 08:17 PM

Anyone with the 4cell 5000magh know runtime on these i need to know asap ?

dtr 01-15-2014 12:36 PM


Originally Posted by nolimit1984 (Post 12907254)
Anyone with the 4cell 5000magh know runtime on these i need to know asap ?

About 13minutes in a Losi 8ight on big outdoor tracks. Depends on a lot of factors like car weight, track size and driving style.

C4PT4IN 01-15-2014 08:39 PM

How's the endurance on the 4600 70c shorties? I don't have much money so I'm planning on buying a couple of these instead of ONE 'big-brand' shorty.


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