lipo in a x5

[jayst]

is it possible to fit a trakpower lipo into a x5 , pics and comments most welcome

[MikePimlott]

Ive seen it done (not sure it was a trakpower). The chassis was dremelled to make it flat where the battery posts usually fit then the lipo was lay on the 4 cell side and screwed in from underneath.

Also the speedo and receiver were moved to were the other 2 cells would usually be to help weight distribution.

[Paul_Sinclair]

Here's my post off the RCTech forums describing how I fit the SMC 5000 soft-case lipo in. I have also fit an Orion 4800 hard-case pack in the car similarly; the tolerances are a little tighter for that though. You might think about mounting the rear battery post in the antenna tube slot, with the hard case.

Originally Posted by Paul_Sinclair, from RCTech

Alrighty, so I've been home for the past few days and able to borrow Chazz's camera... Here's some pretty detailed pics on how I put LiPo in my X - 5, along with some other stuff at the end.

Please, PLEASE excuse the dirty car. It needs a complete rebuild/cleaning quite a lot, and I just haven't been able to get around to it. I figured the family would like pics of a dirty car rather than no pics and a clean car... even though I wish it was clean :P.

I plan on putting this on the tech page of 4wdrc pretty soon; its easier to write a post for now. Here goes:

1. My car.




2. Body off top shot. You get the idea of how it fits in pretty quickly.




3. A little closer shot. You can see where some lead weight has fallen off and the shoo-goo is still there...




4. Battery Out. I've been running a soft-case LiPo, and so wanted to protect it from things poking through the battery slots. The lexan was just from the front part of an X - 5 wing. I guess I didn't lose the weight after all!




5. Here you can see how I dremeled on the forward battery post mount and servo post mounts in the chassis. The battery post was then mounted forward and spaced up some. I located the post spot by laying the battery in the car and then putting it where it looked good, not much science to it.




6. Here's the back of the battery area, very similar. Just a touch with the dremel here and there and everything fit well.




7. The battery strap. I made mine out of some extra Carbon Fiber that Brandon Rhode actually had at the CRCRC race (when I put the Lipo's in). It was just a scrap piece of CF anyways, I just took the dremel to it and had a strap in about 5 minutes. Make sure the front of the strap doesn't rub on the body, if you're particular about it.




8. The SMC 5000 soft-case lipo's I've been running. This has been in my X - 5 since January, running nearly every weekend. I have one of these in all my cars; they provide just super power, and I've not had a problem with the soft-case yet. I'll be putting the new 4000 hard-cases in in the near future to comply with ROAR rules. The battery does rub a small bit on the servo, so I put some tape on the end just to help protect it.




9. Here's the other side of the car, showing how my electronics are mounted. The capacitor is glued down, as it likes to pop off in hard landings. There's a piece of lexan glued over the two cell slots, and the GTB is on top of that.

Hope that helps some! The original post can be seen here: http://www.rctech.net/forum/showthre...=182998&page=2

[jayst]

cheers paul thats very helpfull

[InZane]

I'll try a MaxAmps LiPo saddle pack . These are about 150 gram lighter than 6 cell NiMH packs so I'd like to mount them as far back as possible.
All electronics are now at the right + a 35g lead plate under the ESC (home made cast).



Still on Nimh cells - waiting for my lipos.

[DRRC]

I'm currently trying to convert to lipo in my X5
Would the drilling of more holes in the chassis and grinding those areas make the chassis weaker
I am planning to use the old battery holders blocks as a place to put a graphite battery tray and use velcro around it so that the chassis would not have to be modified
will post pics when done

[Scouser]

If you p.m. Fiddybux he will send you some pictures of his X5 with the Trakpower Li-Po battery. He made an aluminum tray and fitted it with velcro straps. It is completely removable for regional events when Li-Po batteries aren't allowed. Looks very neat.

[Fiddybux]

Hey.

Jon is right...and here's some pics of the LIPO fitted (6ht post down).

http://www.one-ten-rcforums.com/4wdr...ic.php?id=1530

Completely reversible.

[Fiddybux]

< Image hosting down >

[jayst]

cheers fiddy and every1

[DRRC]

Originally Posted by Fiddybux

Here's a picture of both the LIPO riser and ESC riser plates, top down view:



All removable and no damage to the chassis!

Nicely done
I was thinking of this but it might be too high and hit the body
I will make this for my other chassis but as of now I have made one using an old xray upper deck

[mattym0310]

that looks really neat DRRC!

[DaveG28]

These look good guys! Anyone interested in making and selling a second one? DIY never been my strong suit!

[Fiddybux]

It just takes patience and care.

[Migs]

Sorry to bring up an old topic but i've been seaching and havnt seen an answer yet, can anyone tell me what weight their X-5 end up being with the lipo in it, im going to run trakpower 4900 sticks in mine, and want to end up with the car around 1600 grams and obviously i'd like to end up with an even weight balance left to right but weighing my components it looks like it will be close depending on the heat sink i run

[super__dan]

I'll reply from home with pics but I did mine over Christmas, it came in a little over 1600, but most interestingly was that the left/right weight balance was MUCH closer to being equal than with recent 4600mah Nimh's. the rear tyres were within 1g of each other and the front's MUCH closer to each other than with Nimh. However the balance moves slightly further back, though I don't think this is a bad thing!

[super__dan]

Thanks to Chris Long for lending me a Trakpower to test (fit) an X5 with the 4900 stick and mini pins weighs in at 1654g. So with mini spikes it would be just over the 1600g.

[matdodd]

You got any pics Dan?

[Migs]

hey Dan, thanks for the quick reply, looking at the balance of the car with the lipo on one side, the car ends up layed out close to the xxx4 layout except with the servo on the same side as the battery, which would lead to quite a close balance left to right, and like you, i prefer the weight back a bit, so i'll have the esc at the back on the motor side. i figured the car wouldnt be a heavy thing, both my xxx4 and xx4 have usually been close to the weight limit, the lipo helps out of course, my X-5 should be here within two weeks, so im starting the disassembly of the xx4 this week and modifying of parts

[super__dan]

I think I have got a pic, anyone interested PM me your email address and I'll dig some out.