Originally Posted by
wallacengineeri
Ill cut straight to the point. I think LiPos have the wrong capacities available. Thing is, too much capacity means you are weighing your trucks down unnecessarily. On the other hand, too low capacity and your run times suck or you don't finish the race. So, here is my proposal for the ideal set of LiPo offerings.
There will be just 5 capacities available in each voltage from 2S to 6S for surface vehicles. The first will be the "Slimline" series at 4800mAH. The next will be known as the "Average Joe" at 6000mAH. Finally, there will be the "Enduro" series at 7200mAH. Now these are all standard sizes, but I figured a fourth size should be included for monster builds requiring massive amperage delivery and endurance, such as 1/5 builds which would be 8400mAH. Lastly, a pair of racing pack capacities. These packs would be offered in a higher tier graphene, super-high discharge chemistry in 2S and 4S and be IFMAR/ROAR legal for racing with a capacity of 5500mAH for the 4S and 5200mAH for the 2S respectively.
Just enough capacity to ensure the finish of a 15-min Main race with 10-20% capacity left over as a buffer, yet not a single unnecessary gram wasted. This is the plan for the race packs. Obviously shorty editions would be available where appropriate. It should also go without saying that these would NOT be LiHV packs. When you buy a LiHV pack you are just wasting money, especially in racing. LiHV voltages are not allowed by ROAR or IFMAR in any class, so what is the point? If you charge a 5600mAH LiHV to legal voltage, its only 5000mAH. This is a waste of weight, run time and money.
So what do you think? Am I close on my estimates for some good packs?
How is this any different than what we have now? Every manufacturer has steps in capacity and cell quality. It is still up to the end user to select the battery they want. In my spec class cars I select the lightest and smallest battery possible because I understand there is no need to haul around extra battery weight. I am not the only person who understands this, so welcome to the party.
Graphene is what makes a cell capable of HV. You could have Graphene cells and not label the packs as HV, but less people would buy those as everyone already knows you can under charge an HV pack if necessary.
ROAR and IFMAR constitute a tiny percent of all races. In the last 5 years of weekly racing I've been to one race where they teched for battery voltage. Multiple tracks in multiple states and only one cared to tech for voltage (because it was a big race). Nobody cares if you run an HV battery because it takes an incredibly skilled person to take that small voltage difference and translate it to faster lap times. Guess what? The guy who wins is the best driver and a tiny difference in battery voltage is not the reason they won.
Don't take this the wrong way, but your finger is pretty far off the pulse of the industry. At how many different tracks have you raced?