Originally Posted by
Danny/SMC
As I know some of the pro Lipo guys will read this I believe that once Lipos become legal for high end racing then the issues we have seen with sub-c cells will repeat itself and instead of having an issue with 50-70 dollar sub-c pack it will be 120-150 dollar lipo pack. My reasoning behind this is that there is way more lipo manufacturers than sub-c manufacturers and once they understand that RC car racing is all about perforamance they will try to make lipos that run faster on the track to have an edge over they other manufacturer and this will be at the expense of reliability and possibly saftey.
I worry about this too. I think in order for LiPo to be appropriate for competitive R/C racing (not bashing) we're going to need spec cell rules, or a limited number of allowable cells. One nice thing that's been observed with LiPo is that cells from the same manufacturer, especially quality sources have had very similar performance from one cell to the next. This could potentially eliminate the need for matching.
If I were a race organizer looking to allow LiPo at a big race, I would pick one cell from one company. Right now, due to safety, I'd pick the Orion 3200 pack. The cells are safe, and while they have lower voltage than other LiPo, if everybody is running them, voltage is completely arbitrary. I would make sure that tech checks the voltage of the cells before a race, and if anybody was caught overcharging them, they would be ejected from the entire event.
Anyway, sorry to talk LiPo in this thread, it wasn't my intention at all, but I felt like I should respond to your comment. I agree with your statements, and share your concerns, but I believe they can be easily controlled with rules. I realize those rules aren't friendly to battery companies/matchers, but in my mind, it seems like a great way to even the playing field, allow people to enjoy the convenience of LiPo, and reduce some of the headaches associated with racing. As for expense, a single pack could probably be used for an entire event, and those 3200 packs are easily found for under $100, which is surely cheaper than most existing battery budgets for big races.