LiPO,NiMH,Brush,Brushless???

Here is the deal. I need some new stuff for my touring car "Yokomo YR-4M 2 and I'm not sure what to go with. Is it possible to get a speed controller that will work for brush and brushless motors? What are the pros and cons of LiPO vs. NiMH batteries. If I go brushless what is a hot setup? motor/speed controller/ batteries? Please forgive my ignorance on this stuff it's all totally new to me. I don't want to spend my money in the wrong places. Also what's a good charger I do have a power supply if that makes a difference. Thanks -Jeremy

:cheers: I'f you can afford a new velion brushless 10.5 system go for it ! It 's not as responscive as sencored motors and speed controls! BBBBRRRUUSSHED motors are a thing of the past as far as R/C goes, cause there is less to get damaged buy the elements! I've even ound metal fragments in my bruhed motors NNNNNever turn back for something infereore!! [justify]

Lots of questions... lets see... some simple answers for ya...

Brushless is going to cost significantly more but also benefits with abilities to run stronger batteries and has less maintainence... the price is a HUGE deciding factor but its not so much a recurring cost as brushed... brush still DOES have its place though...

NIMH batteries are the safe route to go... I would personally stick with 6 cell (7.2v) or 7 cell (8.4v) as the 8 cell (9.6v) have a history of stressing out parts and breaking them prematurely... it also allows you to run just about any charger on the market today and doesnt require any special equipment... the NIMH batteries life cycle of running tends to peak fast and drain at a constant downward rate... this means your car will get progressively slower during its discharge cycle.

LiPo batteries are the less safe but more aggressive route. The discharge cycle is much more linear which means that starting at its peak it discharges much less and keeps a constant power till it "dies"... LiPo batteries require a special charger and to be more safe must have a balancer and be balanced with each charge... there are some people who do not balance all the time and that adds huge risk to puffing the pack and causing a fire... there are a couple ratings in LiPo batteries you wont see on a NIMH so to put it in a nutshell... the S rating is the number of cells... 1S=3.7v, 2S=7.4v, 3S=11.1v and so on... the preferred two are the 2S and 3S... 3S generally runs the same route as the 9.6v in causing massive damages to plastic running gear... I would stick with 2S at least to start if you plan on running LiPo... along with a special charger and a balancer it is advised to also buy a LiPo charging bag to use while charging... it is a safe(r) practice as any puff and flame will be captured inside as its flame proof....

Hope thats what you were looking to find out!

With LiPO batteries what does everything stand for? 3000mah 7.4v 2S 35c,and 2S 7.4V 4200mAh 30C. What would be a better battery? With all the different batteries on the market I just want to know how to rate them.

dirty petcock wrote:With LiPO batteries what does everything stand for? 3000mah 7.4v 2S 35c,and 2S 7.4V 4200mAh 30C. What would be a better battery? With all the different batteries on the market I just want to know how to rate them.

Your MAH is the minute-amp-hours or the amount of capacity or runtime of the battery... the 7.4v is voltage...a "C-Rating" is a rating of absolute output current in amps so you can get the max discharge... the higher the C-Rating the higher the output... for example the first battery you mentioned would be like this:

3000mah 7.4v 2S 35C
Your charge rate would be 1C or 3.5amps
Your discharge rate would be 35C or (3.5a x 35) 122.5a

I am not sure what your esc/motor is rated at for amps... but "they say" that a slash is rated for 20C-30C which also sorta falls hand in hand with the ability to stress break parts... IE you wouldnt want to run a 40C lipo on a vehicle rated for less as it will cause both eletrical and mechanical issues down the road...

Ross is right on the money!!!

I have the Velineon system in my TC3, and my Slash 4x4, and Ive smoked 2 Speed copntrollers from running a 40C 3S Lipo... Luckily that battery blew up, so I wont be tempted to use it anymore,(Bt when I did run it, it made the Vehicles SUPER FAST!)

Get the velineon brushless system!!!! (VXL3s) you can run Brushed or brushless with that speed controller, and its WATERPROOF! and it also allows you to run sensored motors.

I would reccomend you run a 2S LiPo 25-30C, I would look for about 5,000 mAh rating for longer run times.

Thats just my 2 cents...

BallisticBeach wrote:
I would reccomend you run a 2S LiPo 25-30C, I would look for about 5,000 mAh rating for longer run times.

on a VXL system I have found almost a perfect battery... for $20... we have three of these and just ordered a couple more... I am getting 20-30min runtimes at varying speeds...

http://hobbyking.com/hobbyking/store/uh_viewItem.asp?idProduct=10098

The reviews are terrible, but you cant go wrong for $20.00!!!

Thanks Ross! :)

here is what I went with to get my feet wet again. What do you thinks a good battery that for this?

http://www.hobbypartz.com/car.html

BallisticBeach wrote:The reviews are terrible, but you cant go wrong for $20.00!!!

Thanks Ross! :)

only the first couple reviews... then they go all 5 stars which is what the battery is rated at by reviews...

dirty petcock wrote:here is what I went with to get my feet wet again. What do you thinks a good battery that for this?

http://www.hobbypartz.com/car.html

Nice setup... the battery I listed or one comparable would certainly do the trick...

Look if you want speed and power lipo is the answer! 1.they have more power 2.they have longer life cycle :cheers: 3.todays lipo,s are safe.it is the user that is'nt safe.4. all you bashers and on road guys should be using hard coverd cells this gives you more protection!!!!5. they also reduce weight this equals more speed! ni-cd ni-mh also explode i have been doing this a long time and i have seen them all go bad .. I hope this helps T.

save headaches get a tc4 and update the motor

Ledfinger wrote:todays lipo,s are safe.it is the user that is'nt safe.

I am not 100% sure if I agree with this fully... yes the user is the majority of the reason that lipos fail...but in my short time (1 year) in running trucks I have seen 3 instances of lipos failing, one was my own on a high-end MaxAmps that was balanced every charge... I have run literally hundreds of cycles of NIMH batteries and never had a personal failure and only seen one meltdown which was a manufacturer defect and its second charge... for a seasoned driver I cant see a reason to not run lipo if that person is safe... but for a beginner/novice the last thing I would push would be the lipos...