Considering Lipo but have questions

[rburda]

I am running a custom crawler that consist of the following: stock ax10 axles, Pede trans with no slipper and 17t/84t gears, Super Rooster ESC, axial BL w/ Losi 2.2 Clawz, Integy 75 turn Lathe motor. and Maxamps 6 cell Nimh saddle packs. My question is what kind of gains will I see if I switch to a 3c Lipo of the same or close to the same mah as the Nimh saddle packs? I know I will be increasing my voltage a fair amount and will get more wheel spin. But with my current gearing and motor setup will I see enough to spend the extra on Lipo switch over? I will not need a charger, I have a Triton Jr. charger. But I will have to have a balancer and some sort of voltage warning/cutoff. So will I get that much more wheel spin and will I get any longer run times to justify the extra money for what I need? Thanks.

[47willysbuggy]

Remember how small lipo is.

[AlmstEvil665]

You will notice a huge difference in wheel speed. Think of it like this...voltage is the size of your motor...7.4v would be like a small block, 11.1v would be more like a blown big block lol. Mah is like the size of your gas tank. The higher the mah the longer the run time. If you are looking for more power then lipo is the way to go. With a 3s lipo with say 2200mah you are looking at run times upwards of 2 hours with your set up putting around all day. I run a 3s 2200mah and get about an hour and a half with a 55t motor geared 15/87. I can run three comp course's and the shootout course and play around for about and half hour 45 mins after the comp on one pack. Plus lipos are lighter and just plain sweet.

[clockworks]

Since the speed of an electric motor is directly related to the voltage applied, going from 6-cell NiMH to 3s LiPo, you'll see approximately 50% more wheel speed.

Check that your ESC can handle 3s LiPo - note that 3 cell packs are known as "3s" (3 cells in series). "C" is the abbreviation for the charging rate.

If you are set up for saddle packs, consider using 2 smaller LiPo packs wired in parallel.

[rburda]

there will be no problem with the ESC, the Super Rooster can handle up to 12 Volts input.

[rctoyguy]

Another gain is that you don't have to discharge fully to recharge. you can "top off" the pack as often as you like without hurting it. You can also charge it today, run it tomorrow or the next day. In my case, I keep the batteries charged since I never know when i'll have an hour to go crawl. If I had to charge the battery every time, it would limit the times I could go.

[AlmstEvil665]

I'm not to familar with the Super Rooster but I know the Rooster crawler doesn't have a lipo cutoff. If the Super Rooster is the same way you will need to as and external lipo cutoff to make sure you do not over discharge the lipo pack. If you over discharge your pack will be toast. You can sometimes save them but it will effect the life of the pack. Just make sure you have a lipo cutoff.

[R/CMaxximus5.0]

Originally Posted by AlmstEvil665

I'm not to familar with the Super Rooster but I know the Rooster crawler doesn't have a lipo cutoff. If the Super Rooster is the same way you will need to as and external lipo cutoff to make sure you do not over discharge the lipo pack. If you over discharge your pack will be toast. You can sometimes save them but it will effect the life of the pack. Just make sure you have a lipo cutoff.

The Rooster crawler HAS lipo cutoff for a 2s.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...&I=LXSFR0&P=ML

[rburda]

The Super Rooster doesn't have a cut-off and as stated I know I will have to buy one.

Also not really worried about saddle packs since I make all my own parts I will just make another battery/offset servo plate for the front axle.

Thanks,