?? Batteries for neu 1515 1yf, quark 125 G2R
 

:032: i will be racing my g2r only. and am running with other truggies so i need good run time. does anyone know if the A123racing lithium ion batteries are a good choice. they seem to be popular among the brushless plane crowd. with adjustable voltage 7.2 to 10.8 They state a full charge in like 15 minutes so i'm thinking i could run the same packs all day. Is this too good to be true? any advice is greatly appreciated

The A123 cells have the large advantage in that they are safer than lipos. Even if you somehow puncture the metal can, all they do is smoke. There used to be a video at the A123 website showing this. However, they are a bit heavier and have a different voltage rating than lipos. So, either use their charger, a charger with an adjustable CC/CV threshold (3.6v/cell), or the lipodaptor module.

Yes, they can charge very fast. Being able to charge in 15 minutes means they must be charging at around 4C, where most regular lipos are charged at 1C.

Since you mention an adjustable voltage, I assume you mean that "turbo" module? It is essentially a switching power supply that boosts the voltage. Power isn't free though; if you boost the output voltage, you are going to increase input current. Also, there are losses on that device. Instead of using that device, I would consider simply adding an extra cell or two to get the voltage you want. This will be more efficient and runtime will be higher.

Most people running these in trucks over 6-8 pounds are running a parallel set to get the current and runtime needed. Each cell is only 2.3Ah, but paralleling a pair gets you 4.6Ah, which is much better IMO.

Running in a Revo, you're probably going to want a 5S2P setup with the A123s. They are very nice batteries. I got the opportunity to play with some and I was impressed. They really do charge in 15 minutes too.

The downside is that they are heavy and bulky. A 5S2P pack is going to weigh 700 grams (that's about 1.5lbs) for a 4600mAh pack. With a Neu 1515/1Y, I'd guess that it would get you about 15 to 20 minutes of runtime.

The other downside is that the fast charge rate is kind of misleading. It can be easily done with the commercially available A123 packs and the accompanying charger, but for a 5S2P pack, you'll need a charger capable of charging at the 3 to 4C rate required to get the 15 minute charge time.

I have a ThunderPower 1010C and it's capable of charging a 5S pack at 10A. It took me just under half an hour to charge a 5S2P pack. Of course, you could just build two 5S packs and run them in series and then have two chargers, then that would get you to 15 minutes of charge time.

I really like the A123s, but I don't use them for racing. They knock my weight distribution all out of whack and to be able to run a 30 minute main, I'd need 3lbs worth of battery.

I'd go for 4S lipo. If you are running two packs, you could go with the trak powers.

and the other thing is that proper lipo's (like Aangel mentioned, the trakpowers) deliver more voltage under load. they stick to a nifty 14V at a 100A burst, which is roughly 1400 watts, without braking a sweat.

holy smokes, Is that total for the whole pack? They don't have a weight but i thing the 10,000 mah maxamps pack would be a lot lighter

thanks for the advice everybody.
i think i'll get the trakpower (but which ones and where?) best charger?
one other thing, are there RC-MONSTER STICKERS available?
i wanna rock some on my shell, hopefully i won't get any nitro spray on them

Just stay in front of the nitros and it's not a problem,lol

The trakpowers are only available in 2S. If you need 4S, you'll have to run two in series. Mike sells them at the shop.

which is best charger for these ?

For the trackpowers, or the A123s?

For the trakpowers, there is a charger/balancer system that is designed to work with the way the pack is setup. If the trakpowers are the only packs you will be using, the trakpower system will work the best. If, however, you are going to have a bunch of different packs laying around, then you might want to consider something like the Hyperion 1210 and lba10 balancer; but you'll need to make an adapter for the trakpower packs. Not a big deal, but it will need to be done.

trakpower.
does mike stock anything for these (besides the balancer)
i would like to buy charger from him since i'm getting the trakpowers from him should save me on shipping
oh and thanks again the advice here is unreal

Am I just going crazy? I could have sworn that there was a trakpower charger.

i dunno, i can't find the combo set-up, only have found the balancer. AAngel, what about the hyperion charger you mentioned? where to get?