lipo saddle
 

how many of you would consider consider lipo saddle pack (3x3 config), for club/fun/practice use if they were available ?

My club has banned there use, so no point, I would consider it if they were made legal for BRCA competition use, but a waste of money otherwise.

If allowed and no sponsor issues I would once I'd got a charger etc etc

Saddle 3+3 config would not really help me :p

i would once proved and passed buy the Authority's at B

reason im asking is trakpower have been told there is no call for saddle pack, i have pointed out that if the saddle layout is the same as a stick size drivers will but saddle to do one job.


Sorry Chris but 2/5 would to to hard

you mean 2/2/2 :)

I think trakpower are losing sales to the likes of maxamps since there is a saddle available - but not hard cased (and possibly not an ideal fit).
A lot of 'bashers' and speed freaks want this stuff - and they do out number racers by a large ratio. Fair enough saddle pack style is mostly reserved for racing cars but still a lot of people play with these racing cars before you even start counting the numbers of racers who'd want it for practice / club racing.

I'd buy one !
It's a no-brainer. People are already using lipo's in buggies, but we need a saddle pack to allow a wider range of cars / people to take advantage of this technology.

I'd run Lipo and nothing else at club dys etc if I could get some saddle lipos.

It's interesting if you go back through threads on similar topics (brushless for example) We always have the profits of doom and gloom, and the pen pushers, saying 'you can't do that, it's not legal !' etc. But look around at a club meeting, brushless has caught on in a big way, lets hope lipo does the same.

Andy.

Using the Maxamp saddles in my KMC converted DI and ZX5. Only problem is that the battery hold down posts requires a small spacer as the lipo's don't sit in the current battery cut outs. Other than that they're working great with the Novak cut off. SO

I like saddle packs as much as I like e-clips. I avoid saddle-pack chassis cars so I wouldn't get one.

I do see why saddle-pack chassis works well for 4WD race buggies because race buggies need to run NiMH to keep the front-to-rear weight spread of the car as concentrated as possible without compromising the side-to-side spread, so cars like the 501X, MR4BX and BJ4WE are great when using NiMH. But with a LiPo pack, the battery weight isn't so crucial anymore. I don't see the big advantage of the LiPo saddlepack unless you run only 1 buggy for both racing and bashing and use both types of batteries.

Also the MaxAmps saddle LiPo looks like it needs some work to fit on most chassis.

Why? What difference can this make? The fact that Lipo's are lighter makes the weight more important, surely, as then you can re-distribute the left over weight more evenly around the chassis

Col,
The weight distribution is still important but it relies less on the placement and configuration of the batteries if they are lighter since, as you mentioned, we can move the weight around with lead now.

In short, I don't need to run saddles so I won't.

Yup, I'm definitely interested. As far as I'm concerned the sooner we all go LiPo the better. I'm sure posts like this will seem quaint in a year or so when NiMh is dead and buried. Bring it on.

I would be buying 2 as of yesterday if hard cased saddle is available. As it stands MaxAmps will get my business.

after getting my hands on a stick pack Trakpower for the B4, i'd deffo buy a saddle one for the BJ4. I dont know how many BRCA sanctioned events i'm gonna get to do this year, but have some decent nimh's for those already.

For general club racing though i'd prefer the lipo, but with the weight of the nimh.

Here's a photo of what I was taking about (picture from my TRF501x)

Definitely.

I run a KMC converted ZX5 and would love to run LiPo's at the regionals when they become legal. 1 pack and little maintenace - no discharging and very little equalising - it's a no-brainer.

I'm sure also the Predator and XX4 runners would be keen too - the extra punch and weight loss from a LiPo would overcome the XX4's less efficient belt drive system.

With the saddle pack lipos , if you put them end to end are they around the same length as a stick style lipo?. Just wondered if you had say a B4 and a BJ4WE you could use the saddle lipo in both.

Wow - how interesting!!!:o:o:o:o

thats what i have sugested to trackpower while they are developing them,to anable them to be dual purpose

I run both the 4800mah sticks in my B4 and at times the maxamp saddles (depends on whats charged). They seem to fit fine. SO

I would deffo go to lipo saddle, no questions barred. I imagine if you would have asked this question 18 months ago when brushless was coming out you too would have got mixed replies.;)

Brushless and lipo has got to be the future.

I run cells with 2 overloader chargers, 1 smart tray. I discharge, equalise, charge, run for 1 race , cool down, top up for next race. Then when racing over, i go home and dig all my chargers back out and discharge , equalise and then put back 1000mah ready for the rigger of next weeks racing.

The biggest gripe for me is I charge on the day from racing, when i get to track, I have to discharge and equalise and then charge my cells before my cars even looks at the track, everyone has usually put a pack or 2 through there cars before booking in. With a lipo i could have charged it weeks ago and i could have spent more time on track ( much needed for me lol) thats got to be a massive bonus for me.

Lipo here i come lol.

Col.

YES YES YES please make one!!!

i would buy them!!!

I'd only use them if I could then race with them as I'm sure the car would feel different to drive with Lipo compared to NiMH ..... which means no point running them in practice.

As far as club racing is concerned i can't think of an off-road club which does it's own meetings with in an hours drive so no application there.

Lipo might well be the future, who knows but I don't believe it is the now!

YES!

for predator and S2 !

once people start running them, they will eventually be legal. but nothing happens overnight.

even if my club dont allow it i would buy it for practice, eventually more people at the club will use them.

just like 13.5 brushless isnt legal at sanctioned events, most clubs are allowing them at club races and are actually the norm for club races.

now larger events are allowing 13.5, and soon enough 13.5 will be allowed in sanctioned events.

It would be cool if someone made a lipo in a hard case that would fit the 4-2 battery configuration for the X-5 and X-6 buggys.