BRCA EB Battery Regs Announced

[Chequered Flag Racing]

but no list of what is allowed as yet

see 2009 Regs, top right of page

[Mike Hudson]

Copyed direct from the brca rules and regs 09
'Lithium Based (LiPo) Battery Packs.
The storage, charging and use of Lithium based batteries (LiPo) can give rise to
serious safety implications. The BRCA will publish guidelines for the safe use of
these batteries on the BRCA website. It is imperative that the guidelines are studied
and adhered to.
3.3 Lithium based (LiPo) battery packs must have a hard, protective case that
completely envelopes the cell(s). The case should be made from ABS or a similar
material. The two halves of the case must be factory sealed in a way that any
attempt to open the case will destroy the case. The only opening in the case that is
allowed, is for the exit of wires.
3.4 For 7.4v Packs: The maximum case sizes allowed are as follows: -
Length: 139.0mm.
Width: 47.0mm. (The max. width includes any side exit wires).
Height: 23.5mm. (In addition, chassis location protrusions are allowed)
Saddle-Pack cells are allowed, and must comply with the above width and height
dimensions. Saddle-Pack cells must have a combined length dimension of 139.0mm
max when placed end to end.'

That makes the current trakpower 3200 and 4800 saddles illegal then Glad i din't go ahead and buy a pack today
Have heard that trakpower might be producing some new saddles though but whether they comply with the max dimension limits and will be submitted on time I don't know.
So at current I don't know of any saddle packs that comply with the all rules at current and theres only until the end of this month for manufacturers to sumbit saddle packs that don't break any of the rules.

[discostu]

thats typical of the brca trying to kill a class of racing so if you run a d4,b4, 501, bj4 worlds, x11, yokomo b max, yokomo bx or any saddle pack 4wd car you will not be aloud to race a brca meeting unless you spend mega money on unrelible exploding nimh cells and all the cycle crap that goes with them that figures any way what if the clear heat shrink was removed from the track power lipo saddles do the fit the dimentions then

stu rand

[terry.sc]

Didn't we all go through this just after the AGM? Anyone who already uses lipo saddles for their racing won't suddenly find them illegal in the same race series unless they change their rules. As usual just like nimhs last year wait to see what's legal.

Originally Posted by discostu

thats typical of the brca trying to kill a class of racing

No. As the BRCA chairman often states, you are the BRCA. The committee are there to organise racing based on the rules the majority of ordinary members voted for at the AGM. If you feel it will kill the class of racing then blame your fellow racers who didn't go and vote against the rule.
The ordinary members voted to adopt the same rules as the rest of the world, seems a sensible decision at face value.

unrelible exploding nimh cells and all the cycle crap that goes with them

A lot of people have been surprised with the reliability, performance and lack of maintenance needed with todays cells over the old IBs. No one can complain about cell reliability if they are going to stick with Intellect cells.

[Cockerill]

Originally Posted by terry.sc

As the BRCA chairman often states, you are the BRCA. The committee are there to organise racing based on the rules the majority of ordinary members voted for at the AGM. If you feel it will kill the class of racing then blame your fellow racers who didn't go and vote against the rule.

WRONG

You can't play that card on this one. The racers turned up to the AGM, with rules proposed to get what we wanted. Unfortunately our best knowledge was not enough and we are left with what we have now, which is NOT what the majority wanted.

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by Cockerill

WRONG

You can't play that card on this one. The racers turned up to the AGM, with rules proposed to get what we wanted. Unfortunately our best knowledge was not enough and we are left with what we have now, which is NOT what the majority wanted.

Unfortunately these things happen, the racers voted for a sensible rule that meant everyone around the world runs to the same rules. As you said we didn't understand what we have voted for and unfortunately as all the various section AGMs take place concurrently the person who should have been there to point it out was in his own section AGM.
If you reread what I wrote I said that the rules we have are what the racers voted for at the AGM, I didn't state that what was voted for is what they actually wanted when they had time to look over the rules afterwards.

Don't get me wrong, I believe we seriously messed up here as being a new technology we, as racers, didn't actually know exactly what was being voted in. Like in modified touring last year, I'm sure that the dimensions rule would have been changed if a bigger size had been voted in at the EFRA AGM. Unfortunately for Trakpower the battery manufacturers who are EFRA affiliate members and were consulted on lipos are Orion, LRP and SMC, none of them likely to alter the rules to allow Trakpowers.

In a similar way 1/12th oval also made a major mess up. They now have a brushless class which has an £65 brushless ESC price limit, yet have no limits at all on the brushless motors - how mad is that. Both classes have to wait until the next AGM to fix the rules.

[discostu]

Originally Posted by terry.sc

Didn't we all go through this just after the AGM? Anyone who already uses lipo saddles for their racing won't suddenly find them illegal in the same race series unless they change their rules. As usual just like nimhs last year wait to see what's legal.No. As the BRCA chairman often states, you are the BRCA. The committee are there to organise racing based on the rules the majority of ordinary members voted for at the AGM. If you feel it will kill the class of racing then blame your fellow racers who didn't go and vote against the rule.
The ordinary members voted to adopt the same rules as the rest of the world, seems a sensible decision at face value.
A lot of people have been surprised with the reliability, performance and lack of maintenance needed with todays cells over the old IBs. No one can complain about cell reliability if they are going to stick with Intellect cells.

i can see where your coming from we are all the brca and our votes are what bring these rules into play but there seems to be a lack of common sense when it comes to lipo saddle packs like i mentioned in my first poist on this thread if you are running a car like the d4, b44, bj4, b max, bx, xx4, 501x you will NOT be able to race using a lipo saddle pack for two reasons none of the current cells fit the dimmensions so they cant be used and the cells that fit the dimensions wont fit the car so what the brca have done in my opion is pretty much distroy modern 4wd racing in the uk by basicly pinalising at least 6 diffrent manufactures cos the cells dont fit where is the logic in that.

oh and it shouldn't be down to the manufactures to change there car designs or the battery designs on currently avalible products which have been avalible for a couple of years just because the brca have now writen a un reasonable rule.

and as for the dead line for companys like track power, reedy, smc who make saddle pack cells 31st jan is ridiculus.

stu

[Northy]

Do nimh cells not exist anymore then?

G

[bondy]

Makes me laugh and cry at the same time !

Saddle pack lipos must be no more in length combined than a normal lipo pack.

Yes it probably would if you cut one end off the case on one of them ????? -- but there are now 4 ends not 2 ! If the cells inside are a set length then yes there is going to be a few mm extra plastic 2 lots to be precice. Its not rocket science here its basic engineering and understanding. So trakpower " the inovators the ones who took the risk reaaly and changed the way we race I think will be a bit P***** off ! And frankley I wouldnt blame them

3mm Guys Come on Which muppet made that rule up ?? and why ??


ps I havent bought any yet and by the looks of it will anybody now !

[3975dave]

Would I be right in saying that they only have till the end of the month to submit some correct size saddle packs that could then be approved for this year???
If thats the case then that could be a bad decision Imo.

[OldTimer]

New cells have to be submitted by the 1st of December.

[tyreman]

The way I read it was, all new cells could be submitted as late as 31st January.

[3975dave]

Were no legal sized saddle packs submitted at all???

[DCM]

Originally Posted by OldTimer

New cells have to be submitted by the 1st of December.

there is an extension till the end of Jan for LiPo.

And it wouldn't of been hard to write a specific length for a 'saddle half' of a saddle pack, leaveing the height and width the same. But then I would guess that if there is a need, the manufacturers will provide asap....

I think, for regional racing, the regions would just have to use common sense, just might leave the EOS finals a bit low on numbers.

[ashleyb4]

Im pretty sure the rules said the time period for cells to be submitted has been extended thsi year due to the fact this year is the first proper lipo year.

But again i could be wrong.

All i can say is though the rules are perfectly fine good set of guidelines yea i have a 3200 lipo which wont be legal next year but im sure companys such as track power wont have trouble skimming a few mm off each of the cell cases.

Also bear in mind that chances are the manafacture's would of had these guidlines before us so they would have more time.

A

[SimonW]

Does this mean that the current "Rolling" list of lipos ie, the one the touring guys use are the only legal lipos for this year then ? Somebody please help as i'm off to race the petite thingy and need to get them in.

[James]

Originally Posted by bondy

Yes it probably would if you cut one end off the case on one of them ????? -- but there are now 4 ends not 2 ! If the cells inside are a set length then yes there is going to be a few mm extra plastic 2 lots to be precice.

Doesnt affect me as i run sticks in both cars but i agree with that bondy, there are 2 extra ends just by nature of having 2 units, shouldn't there really be an allowance for that? i dunno

[terry.sc]

Originally Posted by bondy

Guys Come on Which muppet made that rule up ?? and why ??

Blame ROAR. The dimensions were already used in ROARs rules for saddle packs, ROAR then added a dispensation to make Trakpowers legal. EFRA has also adopted the same rules with the same dimensions. Ignoring the dimension problem, Trakpowers wouldn't be legal even if they fit the dimensions as the packs aren't factory glued.

Plenty of alternatives though from SMC, Maxamps and Reedy, although whether they are submitted or whether newer alternatives are submitted we won't know until the list is released.

[DaveG28]

Originally Posted by terry.sc

Blame ROAR. The dimensions were already used in ROARs rules for saddle packs, ROAR then added a dispensation to make Trakpowers legal. EFRA has also adopted the same rules with the same dimensions. Ignoring the dimension problem, Trakpowers wouldn't be legal even if they fit the dimensions as the packs aren't factory glued.

Plenty of alternatives though from SMC, Maxamps and Reedy, although whether they are submitted or whether newer alternatives are submitted we won't know until the list is released.

Are those cells hard cased and within the dimensions?