Lipo questions

[RC-Monster Mike]

All of the concerns you mentioned are valid concerns. Care must be taken when using these cells to avoid costly and/or disastrous repercussions. Having said that, I too have been bitten by the lipo bug! I haven't gotten my hands on the safety device for avoiding over discharge, but I am careful not to overwork the cells. I have played quite a bit with the lipos in my tc3 and absolutely can tell you they are awesome. I did run some in my e-maxx a few times as well, but the packs I have aren't truly up to e-maxx duty, so I have been very careful. A 14.8 volt lipo pack, of the right configuration (strong enough to discharge at a high enough rate) will definately feel more like 14 cells than 12 cells (nickel cells). They seem to hold their voltage better and have excellent punch. The 11.1 volt lipos (Kokam 2000mah) that I use in my tc3 (used two packs in parallel -so 4000mah and 11.1 volts) seemed every bit as punchy or maybe even a little more punchy than my 12 matched, high voltage gp3300 batteries in the e-maxx! The 12 cell gps topped out a little faster (as voltage came back), but the lipos are impressive. The two Kokam packs also weigh about as much as 5.5 3300 cells, so the truck lost over a pound and had 4000mah worth of runtime! I will reserve my e-maxx for some better lipos in the future (some day, I will stock them in the store), but my budget and time hasn't allowed me to get the bigger cells. I would also try to attach the batteries in the truck in such a way that they are not prone to damage (from rocks being thrown by the spinning tires or bottoming out on a rock in the back yard, etc.). I have seen a 7xl motor run on 22.2 volts and it was about as crazy as you could imagine. The batteries put out a bit over 2000 watts in this truck (over 3hp!) and was pretty insane. The guy ended up overdischarging them on a run (ran too long) and ultimately destroyed the cells 9$$$ out the window). I say go for it, but be aware of the downfalls and take steps to avoid costly mistakes. Proper charging is another story, but it sounds like you have done some research already. Just be careful. I know I plan to keep using them!