Radio control

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

I've always done what I've been told with lipos. So ballance charge at a 1:1 rate. Never had an issue with heat or bulging. Im kind of terrified at how quick they go up in youtube videos of lipo fires.

Yeah i do agree, seen a few videos on how they react to improper charging.

Ive just started a balance charge on it as we speak.

I should have just bought a 2 stroke petrol SCT

[creative]

ahh Lipos... the bomb in your hand!

Always balance charge, Safe way is charging at 1c ( I do all mine at 2c), do not drop the cells below 3.3v or 9.9v total for a 3s if possible when being used and always store at 3.8v per cell and try not to leave them fully charged for extended periods. I use to storage charge after 3 days if I didnt use them.

High draw in use can kill them and cause them to puff.

Slight puff you can get away with but you will see reduced performance and high IR cells.

Lipos are no joke and whilst they are a consumable, should be treated as being very volatile.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by creative

ahh Lipos... the bomb in your hand!

Always balance charge, Safe way is charging at 1c ( I do all mine at 2c), do not drop the cells below 3.3v or 9.9v total for a 3s if possible when being used and always store at 3.8v per cell.

High draw in use can kill them and cause them to puff.

Slight puff you can get away with but you will see reduced performance and high IR cells.

Lipos are no joke and whilst they are a consumable, should be treated as being very volatile.

Oh i totally agree with everything there for sure. Hence my comment re 2 stroke big scale

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Oh i totally agree with everything there for sure. Hence my comment re 2 stroke big scale

A good mate of mine has a 1/5 2 stroke 2wd buggy.
Its an older hpi baja 5b. So stock it was 26cc, the current ones are 23cc high output. His he bought 2nd hand and modified. So it has a bigger piston and cylinder making it 30.5cc and an aftermarket exhaust. It takes a 50:1 mix.
The thing is big. It goes alright, but due to the chainsaw style drum centrifugal clutch its a bit doughy off the line.

[DJM83]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

A good mate of mine has a 1/5 2 stroke 2wd buggy.
Its an older hpi baja 5b. So stock it was 26cc, the current ones are 23cc high output. His he bought 2nd hand and modified. So it has a bigger piston and cylinder making it 30.5cc and an aftermarket exhaust. It takes a 50:1 mix.
The thing is big. It goes alright, but due to the chainsaw style drum centrifugal clutch its a bit doughy off the line.

Yeah i wouldnt mind one, they big brash and loud which is why id like one.
I reckon ill get one 4WD though.

I didnt want to pay the Losi mark ups.
Went and got some rubber and cable ties and made up my own mud flaps.

Dont mind the mess in my shed

[.:4:.]

Havent received the slash i ordered yet, but i did receive the tyres for it.
So i got the louise turbo tyres for the slash. So a very mild tread pattern. I have my reasons.
So my maxx i have louse uphills which are great, but i run louise rocket street tyres. Reason being the maxx is stupid overpowered and over geared so the grippy uphills make it too much to have fun with. Street tyres arent as touchy so yeah they spin, but its more fun not having to be as sensitive on the throttle.
So i dunno 100% if the stock 4s esc from my maxx will fit the new slash when it comes in, if it does, the slash should be fast. It wont be as fast as my maxx, but i built the maxx purely because i could. And yeah, my goal was 100kmh in that and it does 131. The slash, my hope is it handles well out the box and I'll be satisfied with 100. I think the slash's are pretty fast anyway as they arent a heavy lumbering oaf like a monster truck.

[.:4:.]

Im keen to get the 4x4 slash. It should be in on monday. I say it now, but that will probably change, but I'm not going to go nuts on it. Subtle mods, i already have rims and tyres for it, but nothing like the maxx. That thing is over everything. Overbuilt, stupid fast.
The slash, the plan is fast enough but still be fun, and do corners. So mid 90s to maybe 100. Its going to be different to a monster truck. But, it shouldnt be a bad thing.

[.:4:.]

So my son contacted me yesterday saying he wanted to build a 1/10 drift car. So get a kit and put it together himself. Im all for that, my kid gets a great sense of achievement when he builds something himself.
So i said find the kit you want and ill give the ok if it looks good. So he did his reasearch and the kit looked good. However i didnt ok it, he had to do further reasearch on if replacement parts are available.
So the boy is 12, anyhow i agreed to transfer him some money if he gave a cost breakdown. He goes 1000. I laughed and said thats the 2jz 1000. He gets that joke. Any person you meet with a supra or is300 and says theyre going to modify it, when you ask how much power will it make they instantly say 1000.
So no, i didnt give him that amount.
Today he is super excited. He went down to the hobby shoppe today, didnt get the initial kit he was after but a better one in my view. I wasnt with him, but unless its really silly, i let him make his own decisions.
So the kit he was initially after was 2wd. I suggested 4wd.
He says he was like a kid in a candy store.
So he got himself a team magic 4wd drift car. I did the sneaky and looked up the shop he got it from, and they sell spares for it, so thats good.
Its a belt drive so he tells me if he wants to go rwd its as simple as removing the front belt.
He is a bit bummed because he had to make a slight compromise. It has an rx7 shell but he wants a 2018 mustang shell. He hasnt blown his budget so he can always get a mustang shell.
But hes happy because he didnt have anyone make the decisions for him, he was in charge of the budget (sort of, i gave him the money and he had to work within that) and he got what he decided was the best for his intended use.

[.:4:.]

So i received the traxxas slash this arvo. My suspicions were correct, the 4s esc i have is physically too large to fit. My 4s batteries are also to large for the battery tray. Not the end of the world, 3s batteries are cheap so i ordered a couple.
So yeah, havent given the thing a test rip yet.
I have put on aftermarket tyres and longer gearing.
For what i paid i reckon they could have atleast done threaded ally shocks. But the dual rate springs i reckon should be alright.

Thats it. No plans to go ham on it like my other rc car.

[DJM83]

Not much to report.
Got a matching set of tyres today, reset rear shock mounts to a lower position also. Will se how it goes.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Not much to report.
Got a matching set of tyres today, reset rear shock mounts to a lower position also. Will se how it goes.
image

Interested to hear your opinion towards aftermarket tyres. I reckon theyre the best mod, but thats just me.
My kid was onto me today. His drift car build has begun. He is very enthusiastic about it. So the main thing was he wants doesnt want new batteries, so wants an adapter. Getting him to send a non blurry pic was like extracting blood out of a stone.
So i ordered him the correct adapter.
Anyrate, he sent me a pic of his incomplete build. He is still within his budget, but has aftermarket wheels and tyres on it.

So he still has to space the body up so it doesnt scrub on lock. I asked if he will put the big wing on, he wants to be part of the big wang gang.
He is happy with his purchace. I asked if he was still going to get a mustang body for it? He has changed his tune, he likes the rx7 body more now.

[DJM83]

Quick bash in the rain today.


As for tyres, im not big into it yet.
But i changed tyres purely to stop the ballooning of the standard ones.
If they didnt id have kept em, but the new ones provide a lot more grip imo.
What they'll wear like i dunno.

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DJM83

Quick bash in the rain today.
image

As for tyres, im not big into it yet.
But i changed tyres purely to stop the ballooning of the standard ones.
If they didnt id have kept em, but the new ones provide a lot more grip imo.
What they'll wear like i dunno.

When it comes to the ratio of grip towards tyre wear, it kind of is the same towards real cars. If you get a mad set of tyres for your road car, speak volumes of how good they make the thing handle then complain about only getting 10,000km out of them. Same thing with rc car tyres. Rc stuff you probably wont use as often as a real car and things are cheaper.

[.:4:.]

Got the 3s batteries for my slash today. So maiden run lasted maybe 60 seconds. The slipper clutch was too loose and screaming like a banshee. So traction aid, yes but mega slow. So tightened that up and round 2. So it has aftermarket tyres on it and a pinion gear. So it will wheelie off the line but not on comand like my other car thats modified. But it handles as good if not better then i hoped. So at worst at speed cornering hard it will lift a wheel not roll over.
Its deffinately snappy off the line, but not stupid like the 6s powered maxx i have that if not careful will flip onto its lid off the line. Deffinately not as fast in the top end. But all the over the top things i did to the monster truck kind of made running it a chore and took the fun out of it. The short course truck, so far its fun because its nimble and not that fast.

[.:4:.]

So i was asking my kid if he wanted me to get him lipo batteries for his rc cars. He said no. He has watched too many youtubes of people with mega $ 200+kmh rc cars smash and compromise batteries and burst into flames. Kinda silly as his gear, as is mine, is not that extreme.
So i asked would he like a better charger? He said what one. So his existing charger for his 7 cell 8.4v nimhs isnt a fast charger, its not a slow charger, its an eventually charger. So i ordered him the same does everything charger i have (well the 2nd one, the 1st crapped out after 13 years so i reckon theyre good) an imax 6bac. So considering its a 6A max output, will do nicads, nihms, up to 6s lipo and lead acids, for under $40 i reckon they're a good thing. Before my original one died, and probably part of the reason it did, it had on multiple occasions been left overnight charging 730cca deep cycle marine batteries.

[creative]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

So i was asking my kid if he wanted me to get him lipo batteries for his rc cars. He said no. He has watched too many youtubes of people with mega $ 200+kmh rc cars smash and compromise batteries and burst into flames. Kinda silly as his gear, as is mine, is not that extreme.
So i asked would he like a better charger? He said what one. So his existing charger for his 7 cell 8.4v nimhs isnt a fast charger, its not a slow charger, its an eventually charger. So i ordered him the same does everything charger i have (well the 2nd one, the 1st crapped out after 13 years so i reckon theyre good) an imax 6bac. So considering its a 6A max output, will do nicads, nihms, up to 6s lipo and lead acids, for under $40 i reckon they're a good thing. Before my original one died, and probably part of the reason it did, it had on multiple occasions been left overnight charging 730cca deep cycle marine batteries.

They are ok.. good enough for single batteries. I started with one for my quads but outgrew it very quickly. Moved onto an ISDT charger, with a cheap server power supply.
My imax was relegated to 18650 and 2s lipo duties.

also it wont charge at 6a... its one of the limits of the 50w input. ( depending on battery size iirc, I would have to look the math up as I cant remember it off top of my head)

edit: assuminga 3s battery 50w/14.4 = 3.47a... iirc

[creative]

Originally Posted by creative

edit: assuminga 3s battery 50w/14.4 = 3.47a... iirc

doh.. 3s is 12.6v so 50/12.6 = 3.96a

[.:4:.]

So 1s is rated at 3.7v. However fully charged is 4.2v. So its simple maths. So 2s is rated at 7.4v but fully charged is 8.4v. 3s is 11.1v but 12.6v full charge.
I run 6s on one car.

[creative]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

So 1s is rated at 3.7v. However fully charged is 4.2v. So its simple maths. So 2s is rated at 7.4v but fully charged is 8.4v. 3s is 11.1v but 12.6v full charge.
I run 6s on one car.

its also dependant on mah. dont get me wrong, it will charge the batteries but they will take much longer.

I do parallel charging, usually 6 x 1300mah 6s batterries at 2c at a time, or 6x 1300mah 4s bricks depending on which quad I fly, so needed something better.

[.:4:.]

Im a bit of a wimp when it comes to charging lipos. So 1:1 regardless of 3s, 4s or 6s. Nihms, i used to pump them as hard and fast as possible. But nihms were a long time ago for me, and i keep the boundaries close for lipos.

[creative]

general rule of thumb is 1c charge would take about an hour.

As i only get 2-3min tops flight time per battery, I wasnt spending 6 hours charging or longer as Iwould take 10-15 batteries with me to the field, 6 in half hour or so was good enough for me!

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by creative

general rule of thumb is 1c charge would take about an hour.

As i only get 2-3min tops flight time per battery, I wasnt spending 6 hours charging or longer as Iwould take 10-15 batteries with me to the field, 6 in half hour or so was good enough for me!

Yeah dude. Im a paranoid android when it comes to charging lipo batteries. I will only balance charge. So my 2 3s 4500mah only get done at 4 5A. My 2 4s 6500mah get done at 6.5A. And my 2 6s 4500mah batteries also get done at 4.5A.
So yeah, charge time is around an hour. But, they get a lot longer run time in an rc car then an aircraft.
On 4s i get between 30 or 40 minutes depending for my monster truck. Running it on 6s, its hard to tell. Mainly because its a tad bit too easy to crash.
My short course truck. I dont doubt the batteries, but considering its stock with a pinion and tyres on it, on 3s the thing is awesome but for reasons unbeknown to myself, it overheats and says no.

[creative]

Originally Posted by .:4:.

Yeah dude. Im a paranoid android when it comes to charging lipo batteries. I will only balance charge. So my 2 3s 4500mah only get done at 4 5A. My 2 4s 6500mah get done at 6.5A. And my 2 6s 4500mah batteries also get done at 4.5A.
So yeah, charge time is around an hour. But, they get a lot longer run time in an rc car then an aircraft.
On 4s i get between 30 or 40 minutes depending for my monster truck. Running it on 6s, its hard to tell. Mainly because its a tad bit too easy to crash.
My short course truck. I dont doubt the batteries, but considering its stock with a pinion and tyres on it, on 3s the thing is awesome but for reasons unbeknown to myself, it overheats and says no.

you wont be getting 6.5a out of a 6bac. ;)

3 min in an fpv quad is hard work! strange to say that but the concentration needed for 10+ batteries back to back is exhausting!

Been tempted to get into rc cars again ( havent raced since I was a kid ) but I have to much sunk into the quads to go down the car route! ( I am toying with selling the quad stuff off though... Im just not sure! )

This was the daddy when I used to race .. I so wanted one of these but the 90's child me, could only dream!

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by creative

you wont be getting 6.5a out of a 6bac. ;)

3 min in an fpv quad is hard work! strange to say that but the concentration needed for 10+ batteries back to back is exhausting!

Been tempted to get into rc cars again ( havent raced since I was a kid ) but I have to much sunk into the quads to go down the car route! ( I am toying with selling the quad stuff off though... Im just not sure! )

I use a 12A traxxas charger for the 6500mah 4s. I have 2 chargers

[.:4:.]

I understand that the title radio control sounds that way. But im surprised people into model railway or slot cars havent chimed in. Its more or less about what you spend your off time doing.

[.:4:.]

So the 1 thing more times then nessisary i check is the gear mesh on the traxxas slash i have. Only because the 1 screw adjustment i reckon is a bit poxy. Ran it yesterday then nothing. Free revved. Instant thought was the grub srew for the pinion backed out. Nope. Motor plate hadnt moved. I had obliterated the plastic spur gear. To be fair, im not nice to it, i give it heaps. So i couldnt find a metal spur when googling the ebays, so using part numbers i ordered another plastic one for $6. Not the end of the world.
I really like how the slash goes. Its deffinately slow compared to my other modified rc car, but im happy to keep this one pretty stock as to not modify the fun out of it. I did today order a cooling fan for the esc to hopefully end its over temp issues.

[DJM83]

I went through a cpl plastic spur gears on my slash before i got the irrits and bought a metal one. Along with many other parts it chewed through

[.:4:.]

Originally Posted by DJM83

I went through a cpl plastic spur gears on my slash before i got the irrits and bought a metal one. Along with many other parts it chewed through

I could only find plastic spur gears on ebay. But theyre cheap. Atleast its not axles.
With my other rc, the maxx, yeah metal spur in, it murdered axles untill i put pricey ones in and had to do ally hub adapters and 17mm wheel nuts and all that expensive stuff to stop it breaking things. It is not running stock power though. General rule of thumb is more power moves the point of failure down the line.

[.:4:.]

So my kid was super exited yesterday to tell me he ran his rc drift car for the 1st time. He's pretty clued on, his initial impressions was its different to what he is used to.
I spoke to him today, he has subsequently run a couple more batteries through it and acclimatised to it and reckons its really fun. I honestly think 50% of his happyness towards the thing is that he got to choose what he wanted without anybody in his ear.
I did ask him if he has crashed it properly yet. He said no, so i told him he isnt trying hard enough.
He knows what i mean, and its not intentionally crash the thing, its find its limits by pushing past them.

[.:4:.]

So ive had nothing to do with my kids rc drift car. Thats his project.
He asked me something to do with it today, and i had no idea. Rc drift cars i know nothing about.
So i looked up the model he has and found a very informative video explaining that chassis, the diffs and front to rear bias etc. So i sent it to my kid and said we'd speak after he looked at the video. So it made sense to me, but me being in this case a teaching role, i asked my kid to explain what he now knows about his drift car project. And he explained it well, he learnt a few things.
He contacted me later saying he ran it again, and now knowing it only engages the front wheels under acceleration but only brakes the rears, he is heaps better at driving it.