Castle 5th scale

[DrKnow65]

3 times the weight, 1/3 the runtime

dayaaamit, i know it SUCKS!!!.......I'm sure that 15-20min better be a blast or have extra lipos as a back up....

Originally Posted by jeffbarnum

dayaaamit, i know it SUCKS!!!.......I'm sure that 15-20min better be a blast or have extra lipos as a back up....

Yeah this is about the same run time others have been reporting using similar batteries on the same setup. These lipos are fairly inexpensive so ill be keeping multiple sets. There was some concern that the cheaper lipos wouldnt be able to hang but so far so good. I just need to get some more runs on the 2 sets I have to be sure that they are going to put up with the constant usage.

Steve

Originally Posted by blackz97

Got a run on a full pack tonight. 2 x Turnigy 4s 5000mah 40c-50c yielded about 15 minutes of run time. I have the lipo cutoff set at 3.4v which is higher then i typically do on my 1/8 scale stuff. I ran on the baseball field so traction was a lot better then last night.

Hmm, that's odd. I was running two 4s 4200 Hyperions and I was about 30 minutes into my run before I crashed and my Mamba Died, on 6s 4200mah Hyperions I had almost an hour.

I finally have some time to troubleshoot this thing so hopefully I'll have some results in 30 minutes or so.

Originally Posted by Cody.McP

Hmm, that's odd. I was running two 4s 4200 Hyperions and I was about 30 minutes into my run before I crashed and my Mamba Died, on 6s 4200mah Hyperions I had almost an hour.

I finally have some time to troubleshoot this thing so hopefully I'll have some results in 30 minutes or so.

Seriously? Thats impressive! Were u rippin it? or just putting around? Also what voltage do you have your cutoff set at? If you got almost an hour on 6s then I would expect you would get well over an hour on 8s. An hour on a single charge for a 24lb 5th scale car would be awesome!

Steve

Originally Posted by blackz97

Seriously? Thats impressive! Were u rippin it? or just putting around? Also what voltage do you have your cutoff set at? If you got almost an hour on 6s then I would expect you would get well over an hour on 8s. An hour on a single charge for a 24lb 5th scale car would be awesome!

Steve

I was blasting it when I was driving, I was racing my Dad's Jammin so there would be periods of waiting to start, but I'd say I was on my throttle for about 80% of the time., I was on mostly loose dirt so my tires would slide all over the place, not sure if that affects runtime though.

And it turns out my ESC is most likely dead. :( I hooked up my 1515 to it and nothing. I hooked up my 2028 to my MMM and it worked fine. The ESC recognizes my throttle input, but it just doesn't communicate to the motor in any way, which is why it won't beep when it starts up, the ESC does "arm" I'd guess, as I get the blinking LEDs and everything, it just doesn't connect to the motor so no beeps. I'm thinking I must have shaken up the ESC too much in my crash and a solder joint went bye bye. I'll give Castle support a call tomorrow but I'll probably be out of a Baja for a week or two.

Originally Posted by Cody.McP

I was blasting it when I was driving, I was racing my Dad's Jammin so there would be periods of waiting to start, but I'd say I was on my throttle for about 80% of the time., I was on mostly loose dirt so my tires would slide all over the place, not sure if that affects runtime though.

And it turns out my ESC is most likely dead. :( I hooked up my 1515 to it and nothing. I hooked up my 2028 to my MMM and it worked fine. The ESC recognizes my throttle input, but it just doesn't communicate to the motor in any way, which is why it won't beep when it starts up, the ESC does "arm" I'd guess, as I get the blinking LEDs and everything, it just doesn't connect to the motor so no beeps. I'm thinking I must have shaken up the ESC too much in my crash and a solder joint went bye bye. I'll give Castle support a call tomorrow but I'll probably be out of a Baja for a week or two.

That sucks man! You have me seriously contemplating getting some hyperion packs though. Im gonna put some more runs on these chinese packs and see how it goes first. I also want to read the data logs more and see if i can dial in the setup better. I have a quick connect on order that should be here soon so i cane easily download the logs. Hope you are back up and running soon.

Steve

[brian015]

Originally Posted by blackz97

That sucks man! You have me seriously contemplating getting some hyperion packs though. Im gonna put some more runs on these chinese packs and see how it goes first. I also want to read the data logs more and see if i can dial in the setup better. I have a quick connect on order that should be here soon so i cane easily download the logs. Hope you are back up and running soon.

Steve

I would just chime in that I don't think anyone claims that more expensive packs give significantly more run-time (for packs with equal capacities).
Better packs may have slightly more run-time since they maintain voltage longer under load, but not double or anywhere close to that under equal driving conditions.

Originally Posted by brian015

I would just chime in that I don't think anyone claims that more expensive packs give significantly more run-time (for packs with equal capacities).
Better packs may have slightly more run-time since they maintain voltage longer under load, but not double or anywhere close to that under equal driving conditions.

Thats why im going to put more time on the ones i already have before i go spending $300 on hyperions. For that much $$ i could get a few sets of the packs im currently using and probably end up with more overall run time that way. I just want to make sure they are going to put up with the abuse from a power hungry system like this.

Steve

[DrKnow65]

blackz97, my turnigy 4S 40/50C 5000mah's didn't really have all the punch they produce until the 3rd cycle or so.
I'd definitely wait for a few cycles before replacing them.

Also I'd be looking at the voltage drop at your highest current moments on the data log and see if maybe the packs are clipping near the LVC at full throttle.
A change of a few tenths on the LVC could end up netting you a fair amount of run time...

[DrKnow65]

Cody, are you saying that your XL has LED's???

My original never showed any flashes, solids, or any light at all until it was arcing (bright!)...

[Shonen]

Mine has the LED (plural? I've only observed red) on the underside of the ESC. it's kind of hard to see, especially when the ESC is mounted. It also has to shine through the translucent plastic, which further dims it...not like the wide-open exposed LEDs on the previous Mambas.

[DrKnow65]

Well, it seems I should have known my XL was having issues from the very beginning...

Propably could have avoided the whole smoke and fire scene.

[Knez]

Just had a talk with someone from Castle staff and i was told Mamba XL is got On-Off switch and LEDs as i understood...also got the info for non warranty repair is 150$. Dont know with who i spoke but he was very nice! Thanks for phone conversation. I ordered from towerH Mamba XL, CC bec pro and CC quick connect wire.


Knez

Originally Posted by DrKnow65

blackz97, my turnigy 4S 40/50C 5000mah's didn't really have all the punch they produce until the 3rd cycle or so.
I'd definitely wait for a few cycles before replacing them.

Also I'd be looking at the voltage drop at your highest current moments on the data log and see if maybe the packs are clipping near the LVC at full throttle.
A change of a few tenths on the LVC could end up netting you a fair amount of run time...

You were right. I took a look at the log and sure enough there were voltage drops below the LVC that corresponded with heavy throttle usage. I lowered the LVC to 3.2V and got another 5 minutes of run time. Thanks for the suggestion Dr.

Steve