3S Lipo in 1/8 scale buggy

[Cain]

I am thinking of doing a 3S 25C Polyquest 6000mah lipo combined with either a 2D or 1.5D 1512 Neu motor.

Has anyone tried this and have experiences to post?

This would be in an RC8.

Thanks.

[lincpimp]

From my experience 3s is not optimal for larger vehicles. 4s with a lower kv (2000kv or so) motor is muuch better. What esc will you use?

[pipeous]

My bud Marc runs a 1.5d with both 3s and 4s. 3s it's still pretty fast. that's in a losi. I almost wished I had a 2.0 to play with and see just how much faster it would be. I couldn't see a 2.0 on 3s because I want a little faster than the 2.5d on 4s. it's smooth and driveable, but not crazy... sometimes you just want to have crazy.

[teknorc]

Originally Posted by Cain

I am thinking of doing a 3S 25C Polyquest 6000mah lipo combined with either a 2D or 1.5D 1512 Neu motor.

Has anyone tried this and have experiences to post?

This would be in an RC8.

Thanks.

I was running 3s in my Losi 8B with a Hacker C50-8L. Great speed, very smooth and manageable acceleration, not over the top power. I had good temps on battery and motor, but I was using a Tekin R1-Pro (no fan) and it was shutting down. I had trouble with temps on the Tekin with 4s as well, but so far 5s and a milder motor seems to be doing well with it. I am going to try the 3s Hacker combo with a fan equipped Mamba Max next and I expect great results. I was getting great run time out of the Hacker and a 3s 8000 True RC pack, 20 minutes or more. I was able to clear all jumps with ease and I had plenty of top end (running 14/48). I like the lower voltages when everything is running cool.

Oh yeah, I used to run a 1512/1.5D on 3s in a Jammin' X1-CR. Definitely faster than any nitro on the track, but the batteries couldn't keep up with the Neu. I will probably try this combo again with some 25c packs.

I run 3s in my RC8 with the 1512 1.5d. Works perfectly and still blows the wheels off the nitros. When I run the 4s I have to turn my radio throttle EPA way down as it is too much power for the indoor track I run at even though the track is pretty large. I will see how the 3s and 4s fair on the outdoor track which is huge, but I still think 3s is going to be all I need. The other thing to consider, is that it is harder to run smaller pinions with the RC8. A lot of the guys running 4s are using 9 and 10 tooth pinions. I think the smallest you can go with the RCPD kit is 12 and 15 with the rc-monster one.

I use a maxamps 3s 8000 and get close to 30 minutes out of it. In fact, I like it so much I am going to pick up a 3s 6000 pack as well. My batteries are just warm, maybe 90-100 degrees. The

The 1512 1.5d is a brutally fast motor. With the stock 16/44 gearing in the rc8 you will be hitting about 48mph on 3s. On 4s you are pushing around 63 mph.

A few other people are experimenting with 3s combinations, particularly using the 1509 motors. The 1512 is a very strong motor, almost too strong for a buggy.

[Cain]

Thanks for the info everyone. You guys have given me alot of insight into this.

Edumakated: Few questions I hope you can answer:

1. How large is the longest straight on your indoor track?

2. How large is your track dimensions?

3. Do you know anyone who has used the 2D on 3S and how well it performed?

with the improvement in C ratings on batteries, seems you can handle more power without needing as much cells which drops weight.

Originally Posted by Cain

Thanks for the info everyone. You guys have given me alot of insight into this.

Edumakated: Few questions I hope you can answer:

1. How large is the longest straight on your indoor track?

2. How large is your track dimensions?

3. Do you know anyone who has used the 2D on 3S and how well it performed?

with the improvement in C ratings on batteries, seems you can handle more power without needing as much cells which drops weight.

www.leisurehoursraceway.com

The indoor track is 125 x 65 feet. The back straight is 125 feet and I can barely hold full throttle for 1 second on 3s. Probably get it up to 40 or so. The fastest nitro's can't hold a candle to the car down that straight. It ain't even close since the acceleration with the 1.5d is so fast. My biggest problem is slowing the car down for turns. I accelerate so fast it is hard to take tighter turns and really easy to over jump. I am getting a Mamba Max today, so I will see how the adjustability of punch control, etc will affect my driving.

The outdoor track is 200 x 125 feet. I haven't driven the car on it yet, so I don't know if the 4s is going to work better than the 3s. I will know in a few weeks. However, the 3s works a lot better on the indoor track dimensions.

I would think the 2d would work pretty well on 3s. It really depends on how fast you need to be for your track. The 2d on 3s will probably be just as fast as the nitros in terms of top end, but you are going to accelerate a lot faster, so even if they have higher top end, in most cases it won't seem like it unless you are going down a very long straight. I think at rctech there is someone running a 1515 1y (2200kv) on 3s in a truggy and they really like it.

Honestly, I like the 1.5d because I do a lot of street bashing with my car, so being able to gear up for senseless and retarded straight line speeds was important to me. However, I will say that the 1.5d is overkill for most race situations from what I can tell. I am just getting into racing and will probably tone the car down to a lower kv motor as I get more competitive, possibly a 1509 size motor running on 4s for cooler temps and longer run times. From what I can tell, on the track slow = fast.

[GO-RIDE.com]

Hey Cain,

I've been following the 3S 1509 or 1512 buggy posts. Ultimately I think 4S is better due to cooler running temps, unless you have a really good ESC that only runs on 3S. However, there is one big mistake I keep seeing quoted. Going from 4S to 3S will not save you weight unless you want to give up run time.

Essentially (run time = watts). Watts = Mah x Volts (basically). So a 4S 6000 will have the same watts as a 3S 8000, and also very similar weight. However, the volts will be a bit more efficient and still have a bit more run time. Of course this only holds true if you have motors and gearing optimized for each battery. In the end the 4S will still run cooler and have a wider gearing range.

I think if you want to save weight and still have good run times I'd look at a 1509 on 4S. It will probably be like a good Nitro .21, but still be quicker off the line with the instant torque.

Originally Posted by GO-RIDE.com

Hey Cain,

I've been following the 3S 1509 or 1512 buggy posts. Ultimately I think 4S is better due to cooler running temps, unless you have a really good ESC that only runs on 3S. However, there is one big mistake I keep seeing quoted. Going from 4S to 3S will not save you weight unless you want to give up run time.

Essentially (run time = watts). Watts = Mah x Volts (basically). So a 4S 6000 will have the same watts as a 3S 8000, and also very similar weight. However, the volts will be a bit more efficient and still have a bit more run time. Of course this only holds true if you have motors and gearing optimized for each battery. In the end the 4S will still run cooler and have a wider gearing range.

I think if you want to save weight and still have good run times I'd look at a 1509 on 4S. It will probably be like a good Nitro .21, but still be quicker off the line with the instant torque.

This is my line of thinking now. I think the best set up for a buggy is going to be a lower wind neu 1509 and 4s or 5s battery for track duty. The cars will probably run an 45 minutes on that kind of set up and ESCs should run cool. The 1512 1.5d and 2d are gas hogs. Plus the power is insane from these motors. Heck, a lot of people are starting to use the 1512s in truggys now.

It seems a lot of the conversions are overpowered for track duty from what I am seeing. I know my car is... As more people get more serious about racing, we will find out what the best set ups are going to be...

[GO-RIDE.com]

I have a Losi 8ight waiting to be converted. I'm being held up by the MMM, so hopefully there will be some testing of a 1509 on 4S before I purchase a motor.

[lincpimp]

As I read this, the talk of 8000 and 6000 batteries leads me to belive you guys are running maxamps packs. Do not buy the 6000 pack and expect it to work well, it is made of a 2p configuration of 3000 cells which are 12c cells at best. All of ma stuff drops voltage quite a bit under load. And their prices went up, so buy flightpower, neuenergy, polyqest or polyrc batteries. They are all made with enerland cells, best tested on the market right now. They will give you longer runtimes and more punch, and will most likely last longer. I had a bunch of maxamps stuff, and have recently changed over. Huge difference. A 3700 polyrc 5s pack can outdo a maxamps 5000 5s pack, punch, runtimes, everything. A pair of trakpower hardcased 4900 2s lipos will outdo a pair of maxamps 5000 2s lipos, in fact a huge difference! And if you plan to run 3s, you will need good batteries, as the amp draw is higher. That is why 4s is better, and will not add weight, just improve temps.

[Cain]

thanks for the info everyone.

So what I am gathering is that I should stay with my 1512 2.5D motor, and just look into using 4S setup right now as it sits.

I currently use a 4S 4900XP Enerland pack (this is a new cell configuration, its 1/10 scale size, and I think the cells are similar to what are in a trakpower pack). It runs great, just need a little more runtime for my driving style (pushing it hard with my driving style I was able to do about 18 minutes last testing time, with stilll lots of wheel spin). I wouldn't mind a bit more speed though.

For you guys with RC8s, please look at my thread in the buggy forum.

[GO-RIDE.com]

Maybe a 1509 3D (similar kv to the 1512 2D) on 4S would cut down on the wheel spin and give better run times due to a lower draw motor and less wheel spin?

[Cain]

Still looking for someone who has used the 1509s. I know guys are having a hard time finding the motors to even test them.