Originally Posted by Lonestar
Hi all, Rick,
so in a nutshell: LiPo's are better, lighter, less maintenance, more convenient, etc etc etc... which is all good - but where's the catch? I mean, my mom always told me, if it looks too good to be true then it probably is... not trying to be a smarta$$ here, just to understand whether I should ditch my NiMH and charger and invest into a complete new technology, or sit wait and relax for another little while and watch others be guinneapigs for this technology. For the moment it kinda looks like the brushless technology, fantastic on paper but still not really picking up after a couple of years of market availability...
What exactly am I missing?
Thanks!
Paul
The fact the technology is so good does lead many to question it. There is a trade-off with brushless motors. What you gain in efficiency and overall power but you lose with a less drivable powerband and different braking characteristics.
There are no trade-offs with the LiPo techology itself. It is simply better. However there are some issues that exist, but are easily overcome.
The first is the basic dimensional requirements of LiPo. Since there are rectangular, they may not fit in some cars. The second is the fact they are lighter. This is good in many ways, but in some cars the chassis may require adjustments.
In off-road car, you may have less weight on the rear wheels which can cause a loose condition. By adding weight, the car will be the same as with NiMH. Cars can also be tuned to work with less weight, but when a driver uses both types of batteries, it is easier to add weight when using LiPo and remove it when using NiMH.
In a touring car with weight on one side (Losi is the exception because the battery is in the middle), the balance change. We weighed the electronics of my car versus a NiMH and the NiMH was abour 3oz heavier. This means the car is heavy on the battery side. But with the LiPo, the battery side is 3oz lighter. The balance is no different. All that changes is which side carries the extra 3 oz.
However to make minimum weight in sanctioned races, you need to be sure to add the weight to the appropriate side depending on the battery type.