Disadvantages of LIPO ?

[Belsten]

Hi, I was wondering what the disadvantages of running LIPO are (if any) with the exception of limited availability of saddle packs are ? Thanks

[antnee]

More care is needed with charging etc,
expense too

[low13]

chassis set up will need to be considerably changed to get it to "feel"the same.then again some do add weight to counter the change.recently i have been considering going lipo myself but the cost can get quite high when you take the need for a new charger into hand,speedo aswell

[stegger]

Originally Posted by antnee

More care is needed with charging etc,
expense too

Expensive how can you say that??? CORE do a 5000mAH for £69.99 which will do you all day. You would need 3 maybe 4 packs of normal cells at £40 plus to do a meeting. Hope this helps

[Mutant]

Hi,

It is possible to purchase an external lipo cut off device that plugs in between the speedo and the reciever. Probably much cheaper than a new speedo.

Also because lipos can be used many times a day you may well get away with only purchasing 1 pack. The demon hardcase lipo (5000mah) at £50 deliverd is the cheapest option i have seen.

some current chargers also have lipo charging functionality, although a balancer may also be required for occasional use.

Cheers

[low13]

there you go then,i've been proven wrong and it seems lipo is really becoming the only option in a couple of years i didn't know they could be recharged several times a day i knew of the high charge rates (20 c )but thanks wish the brca would alough them in mods

[Chrislong]

Originally Posted by low13

chassis set up will need to be considerably changed to get it to "feel"the same.then again some do add weight to counter the change.

I would only regard this as a short term disadvantage, as you would only need to do it once. Even if going back to NIMH for BRCA meetings, once weighted up the chassis - you can take a note of what lead goes where and it'll be easy.

What ongoing & long term disadvantages are there? Is punch decreased? Do motors run hotter? Do they damage easy from hard landings? Is the life of them short?

[JCJC]

Disadvantages:

Mostly not being "sanctioned" or whatever the word is for 10th off road Nationals and thus Regionals for 2008.

10th off road will need a rule change to use them for 2009, this will have to be proposed and accepted.

Originally Posted by low13

i knew of the high charge rates (20 c ) but thanks wish the brca would alough them in mods

I think advice is charge at 5 Amps, not high rates.

[xx4-nutter]

is lipo legal at club meetings ?

[JCJC]

Yes, if the club allows it, I understand there is no problem with insurance.

Not allowed at BRCA 10th Off road National and Regional level, rule states "max of 6 C type cells" needs to be changed and samples submitted to the electric board for approval.

[modelimages]

Originally Posted by JCJC

Disadvantages:

Mostly not being "sanctioned" or whatever the word is for 10th off road Nationals and thus Regionals for 2008.

10th off road will need a rule change to use them for 2009, this will have to be proposed and accepted.




I think advice is charge at 5 Amps, not high rates.

you charge at the 1c rating so for a 4200 lipo you would charge at 4.2 etc.

lipo chargers work differently to nimh and you cannot "run all day on one pack" a good charger will charge the pack in 1 hour irrespective of the amount used so for example your 5000 lipo is used in a race and 2500 is used, you recharge at 5 amps theoretically it will be charged in 30mins, in reality it will take an hour, by the time you have finished marshalling etc there isn't an hour left. as for punch and power, you can discharge the latest lipo cells at 30c, so if your using a 5000mah then you can pull 150 amps, however if you exceed that 30c rate the duration crashes it will supply the extra ampage just not for very long.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by antnee

More care is needed with charging etc,
expense too

no more care than nimh is needed. cost is cheaper overal as they dont loose performance

Originally Posted by low13

chassis set up will need to be considerably changed to get it to "feel"the same.then again some do add weight to counter the change.recently i have been considering going lipo myself but the cost can get quite high when you take the need for a new charger into hand,speedo aswell

we have been testing in d4 and b4, adding weight helped, but im sure somone will find the sweet spot with a lighter car

Originally Posted by low13

there you go then,i've been proven wrong and it seems lipo is really becoming the only option in a couple of years i didn't know they could be recharged several times a day i knew of the high charge rates (20 c )but thanks wish the brca would alough them in mods

hell please dont charge them at 20c a 5000mah pack would mean charging at 100 amps!!!!!!!!! charge rate of 2c is the max!

Originally Posted by Chrislong

I would only regard this as a short term disadvantage, as you would only need to do it once. Even if going back to NIMH for BRCA meetings, once weighted up the chassis - you can take a note of what lead goes where and it'll be easy.

What ongoing & long term disadvantages are there? Is punch decreased? Do motors run hotter? Do they damage easy from hard landings? Is the life of them short?

punch stays capacity drops, nope you have seen by prototype lipo cells with no hard case and my big accidents at worksop, no damage. nope trakpower ohave been amazed at how long packs are lasting in cars, as we use em a bit and top em up, they were looking at helicpoters where they do a full charge/discharge at full load. rcracehat has a pack with well over 100 charges and its still the same as new and was only recently balanced, when it was it took a few minuites to pull it back into balance.

Originally Posted by JCJC

Yes, if the club allows it, I understand there is no problem with insurance.

Not allowed at BRCA 10th Off road National and Regional level, rule states "max of 6 C type cells" needs to be changed and samples submitted to the electric board for approval.

insurance and use under the BRCA is fine, just not at sanctined meetings that dont allow them
ie there meetings that say only 6 cell they can not be used, any other meeting that wants to allow them can do and is covered by the brca
TC have allowed them in the uk

as i understand the brca will have a foot print, no hieght or capacity size, and they must be in a hard case. i dont believe they will mention stick only

[Chrislong]

Thanks Mark. I am grateful for the loan of the cells, mine still haven't arrived! But i did know some of the answers, its just good to have them in black & white on this forum for all to know.

P.S. email me some pictures!

[mark christopher]

drop me ur email
if you want a pack to use you can have one posted or take one at worksop!! give it back on finals day
got some to spare

[damo666]

I have 2 orion lipo's and one trackpower, I use them in my touring car,buggy and in my starter box for my 1/8th scale.Probably the best money i have spent on anything for my rc's in a couple of years. The bit i like the most with them is they don't discharge when not used for a week or two.The sooner we are able to race in all brca classes with lipo's the better

[big air]

.The sooner we are able to race in all brca classes with lipo's the better[/quote]


i agree!! the price can only come down on lipo's or do i mean go up when everyone starts using them, then cells will be cheap. i mean most racers have at least 4 packs of cells when they race = around £180 so i dont think we are going to get away with racing with a couple of packs of lipo's that retail at around £50 no no to easy, in time these will be crap you will have to spend £90 a pop to have any sort of relability. the Manufacturers know this, more time on the track less time in the pits = a much bigger premuim

[mark christopher]

the brca are capping price at around 70 or 80 i believe,

[DCM]

I thought, if your region allowed, you could run LiPo at a regional too, just like Brushless.

[JCJC]

Not in 10th off road, regionals run to the same rules as nationals.

[mark christopher]

Originally Posted by JCJC

Not in 10th off road, regionals run to the same rules as nationals.

sorry but that can not be true

brushless was allowed at regionals before nationals, and i see no tyre rules for regionals, so regionals can not run to the same rules as nationals.
im of the understanding its down to the discgretion on the region!
the 2008 battery rules will apply to nationals and not regional.brca sanctioned meeting in TC so presume off road will be the same