Going back to Flux. Fill me in on Lipo & chargers
 

Ok, in case you hadn't noticed, i've had my fill of Baja ownership these past few months. As enjoyable as its been, I can't justify spending the money to run and maintain this vehicle, so its going to someone else and im picking my 2nd Savage Flux, the updated 2.4ghz model with hopefully included bulletproof difs and updated MMM controller.

I'm a bit behind the updates and changes in regards to Lipo and charger tech. I AM NOT going to be giving SMC anymore of my money as that turned into an expensive nightmare as most of you may remember from my posts last year.

That being said, i've been looking into the Lipo's at Hobby king that peeps have been stating are great for all around performance with a much better price tag. I'm planning on starting with 2S packs again with maybe 3S later down the road. I plan on purchasing two sets of 2S so I can still have long bash sessions without paying premium for higher mAh rated lipos. Can you guys give some newer and up to date suggestions on what have been some proven and reliable 2S Lipo's that don't break the bank, but won't fry the mamba ESC?

Also, I'm not paying the premium price for chargers like I did with my Triton 2 and I can't justify spending the cost for a dual hyperion charger. I've been doing some charger research and I like the looks/performance and cost of this new one from dynamite. I'll likely end up purchasing two chargers so I can get my charging details done faster and still come out money ahead. Any one had experience or details on the pluses or minuses of this dynamite model? Or other suggestions if this one isn't worth its salt?

http://www.dynamiterc.com/Products/D...ProdID=DYN4064

Thanks for helping a soon to be un-retired brushless owner. By the power of Flux!

Can't recommend any cheap batteries, I have learned my lesson with cheap batteries. As for chargers, the Icharger line up is good, and using the balance board can charge multiple packs up to the limit of the charger.

I highly recommend FMA direct chargers. Very good price point and very easy to use. Especially the CellPro 4S Gold charger.

As for batteries, I agree with bdebde on that. HOWEVER, I've read of lots of guys having excellent luck with those HobbyKing lipos, so it's really up to you.

Replied over at BYT.

I was looking at the new FMA PL 8, but realized that you have to use all of their connectors to the charger and none of the balance adapters I've accumulted would work and I'd have to buy all new.

I bought the iCharger 3010b instead. Pretty impressive charger.


I haven't seen anyone posting issues with the Passport Ultra charger.

I am pretty much set on Hobbyking lipos, the price is hard to beat. Just the fact that they always seem to be out of stock of the good ones and that some warehouses are across the ocean concerns me for support/quality reasons.

Man, even though it only charges at 5 amps max, for $55 thats a screaming deal, even if I get two of them. I hear alot of people like this one also. http://www.hobbypartz.com/thac6smbachw.html

What's people experience been with reliability of the Lipos from hobbyking? I've heard its kinda hit and miss at times. How have the returns/exchanged/refund process gone, especially if you get something from a warehouse over seas?

no such thing...... your up ****creek with what ever junk you buy from them


if you want to have a good experience with the least amount of problems dont be a cheap bastard. get some Hyperion G3 lipos and enjoy the truck. as for the chargers if you dont wanna shell out for a new hyperion charger then buy a used duo or buy an even cheaper used eos0610inet (around $100 + a power supply) and make a harness to charge and balance both your 2s packs as a 4s pack this would be your best option

I recommend the icharger 208b.

icharger 208B

here

2s 6500 35/65c only $83 http://www.allerc.com/product_info.p...oducts_id=4707

and for a charger you cant beat a new 720 itll easily charge both of those 6500 2s together as a 4s at 10amps if you wanted to http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...S720IV3&cat=19

mike also sells a nice PS for $50 that will handle the 720 perfectly
http://www.rc-monster.com/proddetail...rya20ps&cat=19

so for less than $370 you can have the best quality batteries and charger setup that you can get and these will hold their value (mostly speaking of the charger)

I use hobby city lipos in low performance applications only. I would never use them for high performance such as a Flux.

Goes both ways, my expensive "quality" SMC lipo's from last year were finicky and unreliable. Many other users have experienced the same. Turnigys seem to be getting alot of praise from most folks and for the prices, I can't argue.

And forgot to mention, but the charger has got to have a built in AC capability, I aint dealing with seperate DC power units.

SMC's suck for sure. But you can't compare over priced lipo's to quality ones.

Go with Flightpower or Hyperion and you will be happy for sure.

I will take them into consideration. Primary thing now is to sell the 5T first....

i have used a few name brands such as NEU and SMC. i still prefer my turnigy packs for the higher amp draw setups. SMC is no good for anything larger than 1/10.

i have a pair of neu 5000mah 30c EP packs and they aren't quite as powerful as my 30c turnigy packs. the turnigys run cooler and they have more punch.

there is nothing wrong with the turnigy packs besides the shitty warranty policy and the overseas shipping. they have gotten much better over the past year with their quality control and the only problem i have had with my batteries from them over the past 2 years was a broken balance wire. all i had to do was resolder it to the tab and it was fine.

edit: from what i have seen, a turnigy 40c pack is similar in power and punch to a hyperion 35c.

i just got my nano-tech 5000mah 45c 4s pack last week and i can't wait to try it out. i will be able to give it a good few runs next weekend and i will report back with the results.

I'm running an iCharger with great success. As far as lipos, go with the Turnigys. They have a great reputation. My turnigys have more power than my polyquest packs. It's not true that the more you spend on a pack the better the pack is. Take maxamps for an example, total overpriced $hit with a good marketing scheme.

-JB

ohhhhh! I'm looking forward to your transcript of that phone call!!!

You really need to look at your tendancies and go with a company that is going to stand behind the product they put in your hands. Get a pair of Hyperion 2S G3's. Not really that expensive. Shop for a used charger, or that I-charger.

yea dont compare smc lipos to the G3s they wont hold a candle to the g3s in performance or price point.


and why the hell would you buy a couple $100 chargers so you can plug them both into the wall when you can buy 1 $150 charger thats more powerful than 2 of cheaper chargers. heck the power supply plugs into the wall just like the other chargers..... whats the difference?

i have a pair of eos0610i nets and an ofna 18amp PS mounted on metal rack so i simply just plug it into the wall and everything else stays permantly connected.

There is no support. Quality is good enough for the most part. You buy them for cheap and hope for the best. Do not expect support. Thinking anything else will end in disappointment.

I have one of those hobbypartz ac6 chargers and it works great. Perfect for a second charger. My other charger is nice as well considering it can charge at 10 amps and makes charging my 5000mah packs at 2c a breeze.

I would also recommend yeshobby battman packs. I have been running one of their 4s packs almost everyday since purchase and it has been holding up just fine.

You will not find a charger that have ac/dc capability that has a built in power supply.

As for the hobbycity lipos, go to 6s, lower pinion on the flux to 17t or so and you will be find with the 30c lipos.

Uh, yes there is

http://dynamiterc.com/Products/Defau...ProdID=DYN4064

Whoops, need to add that you will not find a "powerful" charger that has a built in PS.

That charger you link will only do 100 watts, so 4 amps at 6s. Not powerful IMO. 2c charge rates are a must, as the minimum, so a 10amp capable charger is a min, at 6s. So that would have to be 260 watts.

Cheap chargers suck, get something decent dude. Or don't listen and get a triton and some smc lipos...

You can run the 30-40c HC lipos, I see no probs with them in general. Go to a pair of 3s packs, run them as 6s and gear down to a 15-17t pinion on that flux.

That one will do 8 amp charge rate and im only going to run 4S still

100 watt charger will only do 8amp charge at 12.5v. Simple math, volts x amps = watts.

Get a better charger.

So the biggest packs you can buy to charge on it will be 2S 4K's. (I'm assuming that it will do two packs at the same time). Personnally, I would never purchase another Dynamite charger. I ruined more Nimh packs on Dynamite chargers than I care to think about. They may have gotten better, but I wont take a chance on them.

Tell you what, don't listen to the guy who has run alot of savages, and 6s setups, and has owned a bunch of lipos and chargers. 4s does not work well in a heavy MT. It works batteries harder and you will not get the runtime or punch.

When you buy underpowered 4s lipos, and some crap underpowered charger and it all does not work, do not start some sort of shiny complaining thread about it... Geez, some people.

I would say that there is nothing wrong with the 50 something dollar chargers out there.

These are the two I own.

http://www.hobbypartz.com/skychb6chdup.html
&
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbyking/s...r_&_discharger

Have you considered a brushless conversion project? If you can still run on that gravel pit a truggy with a CD should cry from joy. You might say low ground clearance but I don't think that should be an issue. Or convert a LST, put a 1717 in there and run single 6S.

http://www.rctech.net/forum/r-c-item...t2-roller.html

I said the same thing over in his 5t bash thread. Get a brushless truggy/buggy. LincolnPimple agreed.

Freezey doesn't listen to us. He doesn't realize we are ahead of the curve and he's barely around the bend. Oh freezebaby, we love you:love:

Freeze, this basher has excellent customer support, fits your driving style and should alleviate your battery concerns http://www.amazon.com/Fisher-Price-R.../dp/B001M29CT0

Skip the savage and convert an LST2/XXL. Put in a CC 1520 on 6s geared for 45-50 and have fun.

Linc i think he wants to set himself up for failure and dissappointment, he must be a little emo kid inside that needs something else to whine about because he sure wont listen to anyone.

I REALLY Have to Agree with Paralyzed^^^. Get a Nice Truggy MMM CC1518/6s. I have spent so much on my rides and this is The Most Logical Solution. They Are Tough and Hanlde well... We wont have another one of these Threads if You follow this path...

Why consider the Flux again. It bored you in the past and you sold it... Losing how much?...

Stop talking so much sense, all of you!

Savages are fun, but truggies are tougher. If you didn't enjoy it enough to not sell it the first time around, I don't see getting another.

I dont know...I have an 8T, a Muggy, and a Flux. So far, the best basher has been the Flux (when it was stock...). The 8T just does not have the ground clearance. I haven't had enough drive time with the Muggy yet to really say one way or another on it - but it does show some promise performance wise. The stock Flux has by far taken more abuse than any truck I've ever run, and kept coming back for more. The only things that have broken on me have been from aftermarket items that I have added (the LST shocks, the FLM bulks).

I also agree that 4S just is not enough for that truck. Needs to be 5S or 6S. I've always run mine on 6S with stock gearing, and have yet to have an ESC or motor issue.

The Savage is pretty tough, but I could beat the piss out of my hyper st, and I've only ever broken a wing in the several years I've owned it (cartwheels on frozen ground in winter.)

I think I broke an arm once when it flew off a bump in the grass and hit a tree @ 30-40mph and 6 ft off the ground (awesome crash) but maybe I just popped a ball out of the socket. I know I fixed in within a few mins and was drving again. The hyper is built like a tank, so ymmv.

I know my savage is tough, but its def broke more than the HST. I kill body posts all the time, trashed a bunch of diffs, and broke many front arms. Its not terrible mind you, but seriously, I still have bags of sapre parts I got off ebay years ago when I bought the truck and have not used really any of them.

Driving up hills and rugged off road, the Savage is better. In the dirt, dunes and grassy fields etc, the truggy is a rocket. I still drive the Sav a bit more, as I like it as a big lumbering monster, but if Freeze is really worried about breaking things, he may want to go another direction, esp given the terrain he always shows in his vids.

I had a muggy before I got the Sav. It was an ok truck, but I hated it personally. It would be better at handling than the Sav, but there were just a lot of little things that just pissed me off. 5-40 screws? WTF is that? I know some people love Losi, but I've been disappointed with any one I've ever gotten. To ea his own.

I brushed a wood wall the other day with the muggy at a fair speed - maybe around 30. Knocked something out of alignment in the front end. So I'm not certain as to its reliability yet. I hear you on the different screws. Personally, I just want all of my rigs to run the same fasteners - dont care if its metric or "US".

I think from what I've read, the HST might be a bit more reliable than the 8T (but that's just a general impression). Although, the only thing I've broken on the 8T is something in the rear diff (haven't had time to put that back together yet either).

I've been wondering how tough it would be to "muggify" my 8T to give it some additional clearance, and more of that MT feel/look.

Ok, were getting way off topic from my original questions, so i'll sum this up easy like:


1. All your input and advise is appreciated, thank you

2. I'm firm set on getting another Flux, so no, I will not being do any kind of conversion as I simply don't want to, have the money, time or skills to do it. I like and prefer out of box convienence, even if I have to spend a bit more to "bulletproof it" I want a "monster truck" with its clearance and looks. Not a damn track "truggy" End of discussion.

3. This being my distant secondary hobby, I cannot justify the costs for your high end charger and battery recommendations. I also don't want seperate PSU's for my chargers, I want it all in one for simplicity. Simple as that.

4. I'll take my chances with 4S as its:
A: Easier on the truck
B: Cheaper
C: Gives me plenty of power/speed for my needs
D: Fewer people "fry" fluxes with 4S vs 6S.

5. I got rid of my 1st Savage Flux for one reason and one reason only, I was dying to try out a Baja. Now that I have, I have a new perspective on what I want out of this hobby, and 1/5 scale ownership isn't it.

You must realize that most here are all about over excessive. It is a more of "Why not?" not "Why?" Trust me I am one of them. I was originally thinking a 2650 on 3s for my ten t that I am converting. That turned into a 2200 on 4s with possibility still in the air for 5s.

I still recommend the hobbypartz dual power charger. It will take a bit longer to charge a 4000-5000 mah pack but it only costs 50-60. No internal fan, but I have charged back to back packs on it many times and it doesn't get hot.

I would say the 4s is fine. I ran my E-Revo on 6s once, scary. 4s is fun and fast and reliable.

Hope your enjoyment of the hobby continues.