Flux/Brushless Battery Setups

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frddyj

frddyj

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boston
This thread is for owners of the savage flux and/or Castle MMM 2200kv:

Several of us are converting/building brushless and want to know:

1. Which LiPo packs do you use (i.e. 2s 6000mah, 3s 5500mah) :

2. Run times you generally get with your packs:

3. Have you run your packs in parallel:

4. Please show a short vid of a hi-speed run with your pack if you are able.

5. Do you recommend your size of packs to us looking to buy or would you recommend a different size & why:

Thx & I'm sure this info will help hpisf members for years to come.

* i stated 'owners' caz were lookin for feedback from peeps that bought & used the batteries not 'i heard a guy used.....' just sayin this caz the packs arent cheap, can be dangerous & can make your truck fast to a point of being dangerous. thx 😛eace:
 
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frddyj,

1. 8000mAh and 9000mAh

2. Roughly 35min with the 8's and around 45 with 9's. Users must remember that your driving style and terrain greatly affect these #'s.

3. The packs are run they way the ESC is wired out of the HPI Savage FLUX box. I know that buying the ESC/Motor combo separately will only give you 1 connector standard.

4. We are kinda pathetic as we don't have a camera :duh:

5. The only downside to the 8000 and 9000 packs we offer are, they are softcase packs. Softcase packs naturally do not have the plastic hardcase protecting them from the elements and from severe crashes. Having said that, I used the softcase packs for racing, freestlye and longjump @ the World Finals as did my worker Scott. Michael McAllister also used them for the Battle Royal. There is a very easy way to make your own hardcase or protective box. All you need is some .50 or .60 lexan sheets from Parma or whoever and you can bend and make a box or a shield. I have suggested this to many people and they have had no problems with their softcase packs.

6. Even though you didn't have #6, here is a BIG issue. Out of all the people, hobbyists, factory reps, etc. I have talked with, only about 2-3% actually like running the 3s setup, dual 3s at least. It is WAY TOO MUCH. It's kinda fun or funny for about the 1st 30 seconds then, as your walking about 50 yards to flip your truck back to it's wheels after flipping, tumbling, cartwheeling to a hault from say somewhere north of 50mph, you kinda stop to think...Who needs an r/c monster truck this fast and this uncontrollable. If you think your going to break parts on 4s, imagine what will be detonated, shredded, or castrated when using another 7.4 volts. This is why I gave 2 of my personal 3s packs away at the World Finals, they are TOO much.

Hope this helps!!!

Bryan @ SMC
 
Two A123 3s2p = 6s2p depending how you run them, 15 - 25 minutes but they charge faster than LiPo's.
 
i run the interlect 5000 30c 2s packs and get 22 minutes of track time.

i also use the 4000 30c 3s packs and get 19 minutes of track time.

i only use the hard case packs as with track use you can not put soft packs on any tracks due to insurance purposes.
 
Snuffleupagus said:
frddyj,

1. 8000mAh and 9000mAh

2. Roughly 35min with the 8's and around 45 with 9's. Users must remember that your driving style and terrain greatly affect these #'s.

3. The packs are run they way the ESC is wired out of the HPI Savage FLUX box. I know that buying the ESC/Motor combo separately will only give you 1 connector standard.

4. We are kinda pathetic as we don't have a camera :duh:

5. The only downside to the 8000 and 9000 packs we offer are, they are softcase packs. Softcase packs naturally do not have the plastic hardcase protecting them from the elements and from severe crashes. Having said that, I used the softcase packs for racing, freestlye and longjump @ the World Finals as did my worker Scott. Michael McAllister also used them for the Battle Royal. There is a very easy way to make your own hardcase or protective box. All you need is some .50 or .60 lexan sheets from Parma or whoever and you can bend and make a box or a shield. I have suggested this to many people and they have had no problems with their softcase packs.

6. Even though you didn't have #6, here is a BIG issue. Out of all the people, hobbyists, factory reps, etc. I have talked with, only about 2-3% actually like running the 3s setup, dual 3s at least. It is WAY TOO MUCH. It's kinda fun or funny for about the 1st 30 seconds then, as your walking about 50 yards to flip your truck back to it's wheels after flipping, tumbling, cartwheeling to a hault from say somewhere north of 50mph, you kinda stop to think...Who needs an r/c monster truck this fast and this uncontrollable. If you think your going to break parts on 4s, imagine what will be detonated, shredded, or castrated when using another 7.4 volts. This is why I gave 2 of my personal 3s packs away at the World Finals, they are TOO much.

Hope this helps!!!

Bryan @ SMC
Click to expand...

frddyj said:
This thread is for owners of the savage flux and/or Castle MMM 2200kv:

Several of us are converting/building brushless and want to know:

1. Which LiPo packs do you use (i.e. 2s 6000mah, 3s 5500mah) :

2. Run times you generally get with your packs:

3. Have you run your packs in parallel:

4. Please show a short vid of a hi-speed run with your pack if you are able.

5. Do you recommend your size of packs to us looking to buy or would you recommend a different size & why:

Thx & I'm sure this info will help hpisf members for years to come.

* i stated 'owners' caz were lookin for feedback from peeps that bought & used the batteries not 'i heard a guy used.....' just sayin this caz the packs arent cheap, can be dangerous & can make your truck fast to a point of being dangerous. thx 😛eace:
Click to expand...

Smart guy to ask people to have owned and thoroughly used these particular pieces. Very wise to get multiple inputs and make an informed decision.

1. Hyperion 30C+, 3s and 4s (tried 5s and he's right it's way too much).
2. Run-times differ from yard-play to the track. I can get nearly double run-time just farting around in the yard or road.
3. No parallel for me...3s is plenty! I may get (2) 2s packs and do 4s but not likely.
4. Video coming as soon as the bloody bullet connectors get here!
5. I'd recommend any Hyperion pack...but the size/rating depends on what you want to do. Like Bryan said 50mph is just stupid-fast and not very fun or controllable. With most ESC's now you can dial back the power...that's why I bought the 4s 'cause I can dial back throttle percentage. With 5s I had all setting at minimal and 50% throttle. It was still too fast.

You guys sell a 5000mAh or so 3s Bryan?
 
1. SMC 6000mah 28C 2S

2. 30-35 min

3. No.

4. Don't have a high-speed run vid, sorry, but even on 4S, this truck is still a little hard to handle.:Radioactive:

5. I would absolutely recommend this battery to anyone for any type of running with a Flux. The only other battery I am tempted by is SMC's 9000mah 28C 2S.
 
Snuffleupagus said:
6. Even though you didn't have #6, here is a BIG issue. Out of all the people, hobbyists, factory reps, etc. I have talked with, only about 2-3% actually like running the 3s setup, dual 3s at least. It is WAY TOO MUCH. It's kinda fun or funny for about the 1st 30 seconds then, as your walking about 50 yards to flip your truck back to it's wheels after flipping, tumbling, cartwheeling to a hault from say somewhere north of 50mph, you kinda stop to think...Who needs an r/c monster truck this fast and this uncontrollable. If you think your going to break parts on 4s, imagine what will be detonated, shredded, or castrated when using another 7.4 volts. This is why I gave 2 of my personal 3s packs away at the World Finals, they are TOO much.

Hope this helps!!!

Bryan @ SMC
Click to expand...


Bryan this actually made me think of another question that came up when chatting brushless with some buds.

i know that the flux esc is programmable so that you can adjust the power 'curves,'

but your post implies that the the 3s LiPo packs (11v) can't be tamed to a useable curve with the castle link?

i imagine if they were, then you wouldnt have given them away?

curious to hear your feedback. fj
 
Ascender said:
1. SMC 6000mah 28C 2S

2. 30-35 min

3. No.

4. Don't have a high-speed run vid, sorry, but even on 4S, this truck is still a little hard to handle.:Radioactive:

5. I would absolutely recommend this battery to anyone for any type of running with a Flux. The only other battery I am tempted by is SMC's 9000mah 28C 2S.
Click to expand...

Where did you purchase the pack?
 
I would assume that you could detune the 6S setup just as you would the 4S. However, I don't know for sure as I don't have the Castle Link. I personally like the way the truck delivers power right out of the box. It suits my driving style and I feel just as capable and competitive as the guy next to me, on 4S that is. I may be wrong but if you have to soften the throttle curve on 6S, wouldn't it take a very long time to get to top speed. When we used the hpi phaltline tires with a 22t pinion, we topped out in about 300 ft. Again, I may be wrong here so if I am, please correct me.

Thanks,

Bryan
 
Snuffleupagus said:
I would assume that you could detune the 6S setup just as you would the 4S. However, I don't know for sure as I don't have the Castle Link. I personally like the way the truck delivers power right out of the box. It suits my driving style and I feel just as capable and competitive as the guy next to me, on 4S that is. I may be wrong but if you have to soften the throttle curve on 6S, wouldn't it take a very long time to get to top speed. When we used the hpi phaltline tires with a 22t pinion, we topped out in about 300 ft. Again, I may be wrong here so if I am, please correct me.

Thanks,

Bryan
Click to expand...

The throttle curve doesn't change how long it takes to get to top speed per se. It's the ratio of trigger input to motor output.

I e-mailed Castle about this issue and was informed it is a *bad* idea to try and adjust the throttle curve or transmitter output to less than 100%. I was told it has something to do with the ESC wanting to see 100% so it can unload the current. There's more, but in the end you should use gearing changes or adjust battery pack voltage to *de-tune* your brushless setup.

So for me and my 8T 2200kv motor on 4s it's too much for the local track. I think a 3s would be perfect. Also, keep in mind that the Mamba Monster should be run with batteries with a discharge rate of 25C or higher.
 
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1. Thunder Power 3S 5000 11.1V 40C
2. Around 20 minutes
3. No. No need to
4 Hopefully soon!
5. Absolutely! If you want insane power off the line!
 
frddyj said:
:jamout: ..........

How much run time you get on it Chris?
Click to expand...

Today I had a good session...running up and down the road WOT, jumping ramps in the yard and general hard running.

DX3S counted just under 20mins.

Just mowed the grass and will try to get some more video of jumping. I can come up to the ramp and a very slow speed, punch the throttle, hit the ramp, and fly further than I have with my Savage running up to the ramp at near full clip. There's that much torque.
 
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great info men

how long after running the BL's untill you can run again? whats the discharge and recgarge time?
 
Crash said:
great info men

how long after running the BL's untill you can run again? whats the discharge and recgarge time?
Click to expand...

i know on baddasz_savage truck he gets around 30 min runtime & then his packs charge & balance in about 20 minutes (3s 5500mah smc lipos)

he's using the hyperion duo charging at 1s i think (5.5amp)

ive heard the guys with the 2s 8000 & 9000 mah smc's getting 40 minutes + runtime. recharge time is gonna depend on the output current of your charger & the rate at which your willing to charge them.

the more your willing to dish out on a charger will determine your recharge time. my hyperion 606i was $130 & can charge one LiPo at a time max output 5amps, but its ac/dc.

duo charges & balance 2 lipos at the same time up to 10amp, but its $300 & requires an external ac power supply.

Bryan/snuffy charges at 2s without issue. ive heard guys charge up to 3s which they say will shorten the life of the pack a little but it may be worth it for quicker charge times :dunno:
 
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Charging at 3C will shorten the life span of the pack quite a bit. 2C is not really bad for the pack, but will still shorten the life span a bit. All batteries lose capacity over time. We charge at 2C just to shorten the charge time. It provides no performance gain at all.

We usually let the packs rest for around a half hour before charging. You don't need to, but it does help. I have ran packs, then immediately recharged them several times in a day just to do some testing and the packs did get warmer than usual and heat is bad. If you want to take care of your investment, let them rest a bit in between charges and runs. You don't have to wait near as long as you did with NiMH and NiCD batteries. Those wait times were around the hour mark or more before you could recharge them and they could only be run 2-3 times a day at max. I run my LiPo's 6-8 times a day when I go to bash or race.

Thanks,

Bryan
 
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Hi, Been lurking a little bit and thought I'd share:

2s 5000/ 20c Venom
(no problems or heating with the 20c and these are the packs I ran about 6 charges through before I started ordering other batteries)
My opinion is 20c although not hurting anything, just isn't optimal.

8cell NiMH Elite 5000's from cheapbatterypacks.com
Great batteries, short runtimes, VERY powerful, lower power delivery or not.

On order: 1 3s & 1 2s --> 6500 35c hyperion to run 5s 35c! I've read on other threads/ forums that many find 5s to be the sweet spot, I will post my opions when I've run them a bit.

No Videos posted yet...
 
KrashKrieger said:
Hi, Been lurking a little bit and thought I'd share:

2s 5000/ 20c Venom
(no problems or heating with the 20c and these are the packs I ran about 6 charges through before I started ordering other batteries)
My opinion is 20c although not hurting anything, just isn't optimal.

8cell NiMH Elite 5000's from cheapbatterypacks.com
Great batteries, short runtimes, VERY powerful, lower power delivery or not.

On order: 1 3s & 1 2s --> 6500 35c hyperion to run 5s 35c! I've read on other threads/ forums that many find 5s to be the sweet spot, I will post my opions when I've run them a bit.

No Videos posted yet...
Click to expand...

Welcome to the forum K.K.; thanks for posting.

let us know when you run the hyps & how they compare to the others.
 
KrashKrieger said:
Hi, Been lurking a little bit and thought I'd share:

2s 5000/ 20c Venom
(no problems or heating with the 20c and these are the packs I ran about 6 charges through before I started ordering other batteries)
My opinion is 20c although not hurting anything, just isn't optimal.

8cell NiMH Elite 5000's from cheapbatterypacks.com
Great batteries, short runtimes, VERY powerful, lower power delivery or not.

On order: 1 3s & 1 2s --> 6500 35c hyperion to run 5s 35c! I've read on other threads/ forums that many find 5s to be the sweet spot, I will post my opions when I've run them a bit.

No Videos posted yet...
Click to expand...

I don't have a good past with Venom, but Elite and Hyperion are some of the top cells you can get in a battery pack.

Very good choices dude!
 
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