LiPo's made simple!!!

[Chub-Five]

since everyone has been posting questions about LiPo's i figured i'd offer you all that i know to end the re-posting.

Example: 5000mAh 2s 20c LiPo pack

*the 5000 mAh represents the capacity of the battery, how much run time you will get out of it, does not effect speed except in terms of weight slowing you down. more mAh = more weight, more weight = slower car.

*The 2s represents how many cells are in the pack and how many volts it puts out, the example has 2 cells (7.4 volts) and each cell is usually 3.7 volts making this pack a 7.4 volt pack. the number of cells your battery has reflects a lot, usually speed. More volts = more speed. Also very important! your electronics can only handle so much, VXL for instance can only handle 11.1 volts, or 3s (hence the name VXL-3s)

*The 20c represents the discharge rate, or how much power it can put out, this number effects your burst speed. higher discharge rate = more punch from the start.

-If you want to make the switch to LiPo, yes your temps may go up, but most likely not on 2s if you've been running NiMH. 3s and anything above that will need adjustments in gearing to keep those temps in check. Also, when switching to LiPo, your going to need a charger that handles LiPo, and a balancer to keep each cell at the same voltage, if the cells are out of balance and one cell has more volts than the other, there's a big problem and possible danger as seen here:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vYn2lbBh0Q
keep your cells balanced! and its also a good idea to buy a LiPo sack! they have potential to save your home from burning to the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vYn2lbBh0Q
skip to 1:50 to see the LiPo sack

-Next there are your options. What battery should I buy? to tell you the truth theres enough options to make a man go insane, but the most popular generic LiPo battery to buy now is ******* brand LiPo's.

******** brand LiPo's come in 1-10 cells, up to 6000 mAh and have a discharge rat usually between 20c and 30c for batteries that will fit traxxas models. ******* also sells ********** batteries, batteries that include **** carbon additives and a new electrolite slurry to produce better life cycles, discharge rates and charge currents. To me though, it seems a lot like buying chevron gas, they say there are "special" additives but make no noticeable difference to me.

*Then there are the name brand LiPo's like MaxAmps and Spec Point Concepts (SPC). Starting with SPC, their batteries are quality, and so is their customer service. These batteries are like ******* batteries in a lot of ways, but stand out in that some batteries they sell have 50c discharge rates. Thats a good amount of punch, but nothing close to MaxAmps, the big money batteries. Here's the link:
http://spcracing.com/index.php

* MaxAmps batteries are sold in various voltages, and some even have up to 13,500mAh!!! thats around 81 minutes of run time! but thats not the amazing part. these batteries have proven discharge rates of 120c, and even 150c!!! thats a TON of punch. If you're a racer and are willing to spend that kind of money, i can positively say you will have the BIGGEST AND BADDEST car on the track, an advantage like that towers over the advantages of an LCG chassis or light weight any day of the week. Here's the link:
http://www.maxamps.com/

feel free to add to this post if you feel like i missed something, I really just wanted to nail the obvious.

Thanks to you all for reading.

[El Sob]

You didn't include my favorite brand, Venom In a nut shell, that is right. Others may chime in but that is about right

[scoobe dog]

Thank you for the info. I ended up getting a slash 4x4, ice charger, and 2 lipo's in a trade 2 weeks ago. The guy I got it from lives were it is warm. I life in Ohio were there is snow on the ground. My question is..... is it ok to run lipo's in the colder climates? As this guy seemed stuned that I would atempt to run them in the snow.

[trax de max]

It's not so much the snow it's the water that comes with it. Lipo's are not water proof but nothing a balloon can't fix.

[El Sob]

I've ran lipos in the snow. It was a couple years ago. I still have those lipos and they work just fine. I am not telling you to do what I did. I might have gotten lucky. A balloon seems the safer way to do things.

[traxxasFTW]

I've ran lipos in the snow. It was a couple years ago. I still have those lipos and they work just fine. I am not telling you to do what I did. I might have gotten lucky. A balloon seems the safer way to do things.

balloon???????

[Dadx2mj]

Then there are the name brand LiPo's like MaxAmps and Spec Point Concepts (SPC). Starting with SPC, their batteries are quality, and so is their customer service. These batteries are like ******* batteries in a lot of ways

I really have to take exception to this statement. Maxamps and SPC in the same sentence just hits me as wrong SPC packs tons of value in at a reasonable price Maxamps packs tons of cost in on a reasonable performing pack they are worlds apart in value and bang for the buck. Also ******* has made a name for itself on being low cost IMO along with the low cost comes low quality and poor quality control, this may be controversial to some but it is my opinion. SPC has made a name for itself by offering good to great quality at a fair to great price and always offering over the top customer service, the customer service from the people who sell ******* is lacking at best.

[Chub-Five]

I agree, ******* has zero customer service, and you might as well buy an SPC for the quality

[El Sob]

balloon???????

If you put a balloon on the end where the wires are water won't get inside the Lipo.

[Chub-Five]

who all found this to be accurate/helpful?

[Krazy-SLASH#1]

Also ******* has made a name for itself on being low cost IMO along with the low cost comes low quality and poor quality control, this may be controversial to some but it is my opinion.

A few hardcase packs from ******* are now ROAR approved. Which means it had to of passed there safety tests .

[BubbaEinstein]

This is great info. One thing I have a question about concerning what the vxl3 can take in stock form (stock gearing also) are the gens ace 5000mah 2s 40C packs. Is 40c discharge too much or is it strictly just a voltage thing we need to watch out for?

FYI - if ya'll know, a nice chart for all us newbs to have would be something like this:

mah - cell - C - V - Stock or minimum gear
5000 -2 - 20 - 7.4 - stock OK
6000 - 3 - 80 - 11.1 - 13t/54


FYI I completely made those lines up so don't get hung up on the numbers, just the format...

thanks!

[Chub-Five]

volts are what you should really watch out for. you can buy batteries for the slash that have 150c constant discharge.

[trax de max]

I wouldn't believe some of the C ratings that's claimed by manufacturers.

[Chub-Five]

but some are believable, however, looking at a $30 LiPo that says it has "100c rating" comes off as suspicious to me.

[Hondo D]

100c or 150c You need to make sure your ESC can take that kind of discharge rate. Most can't. If not it's just a waste of $$. Just saying

[Chub-Five]

Mamba Max Pro can handle it

that's all i'm worried about

[Krazy-SLASH#1]

100c or 150c You need to make sure your ESC can take that kind of discharge rate. Most can't. If not it's just a waste of $$. Just saying

The the motor draws the current (these are just random) if the motor draws 50c.. the esc is going to give it 50c... then its going to pull 50c out of the battery.
*I know motor draws amps but its easier to explain*

What you said is backwards, "c" is discharge not volts, the battery does not force "c", The esc sucks "discharge rate motor is pulling"

an under sized discharge rate battery will have short life/Puff

[Hondo D]

Thanks. I knew it was something like that. I guess i didnt understand it correctly. So your saying no matter what "c" a battery is your esc can handle it? Even if your esc can only handle 100 amps? Thanks in advance

[AgroAMG]

I've owned regular ******* LiPo's and they worked perfectly on my slash 4x4. I went to the ********'s with my TEN-SCTE and I love the bullet style connector right on the battery. These things are LIGHT! 291grams for a 6600mAh battery that is 65-130C discharge. $43 for that battery, how the **** can you beat that? I've ran probably 30-40 cycles on each of my 6 new ********'s and had ZERO problems. I've ran a lot on the older ******* on my slash 4x4 and those were fine too.

I like how they support 8-10+C charge rate. I can't reach anywhere near that on the 6600mAh batteries, but I can output 20A per port on my 720i Super Duo3, so that's like 3C. A lot of chargers only support 1-6A output rate, so on the 6600mAh it'd be less than 1C charge rate and take like an hour+. No thanks.

[bringit]

keep your cells balanced! and its also a good idea to buy a LiPo sack! they have potential to save your home from burning to the ground.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6vYn2lbBh0Q
skip to 1:50 to see the LiPo sack

The link you posted doesn't show a LiPo Sack

[Chub-Five]

it does at 1 minute 50 seconds

[bringit]

The video is 40 seconds long...

[Chub-Five]

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z3o_2mwRPdw
took me about 20 seconds to go to youtube and do a search of "lipo sack".
rocketscience? not exactly...

[bringit]

Hope I Was of Assistance

[Chub-Five]

Hope I Was of Assistance

Dadx2mj. please notice his violation of forum rules:

2. No personal attacks will be allowed. You’re welcome to disagree with another member’s opinion but attacking (flaming) and insulting another member is not acceptable. Intentionally starting flame wars could cause your community privileges to be revoked.

also remember....

As a member of the Traxxas online community, you are expected to follow the rules of the community to help us keep the content friendly and relevant.

[Krazy-SLASH#1]

Hope I Was of Assistance

looks like he accidently posted the wrong vid...
Going to 1:50 in the next link was correct about lipo sacks....

[cmartinez95]

I like Gens Ace lipos. Great price, good quality and did I mention GREAT PRICE .