Lipo advice needed...

[xjbebop]

I'm almost ready to make the jump from NiMH to Lipo. I want to start w/ my Losi xxxt w/ MM 5700.
I've got a Vision peak ultra charger (and a Hyperion EOS5i on the way).

What would you recommend for a 'best value' battery?

I don't need top of the line (or top $$), but I want good quality, reliability and safety. I'm not racing, just bashing.

There are sooo many different brands and numbers (2s2p or whatever..???) I don't know where to start.
I want something that will fit in the standard stick-pack tray.
I use Dean's on everything. I understand about charging at the rated capacity (3600mah = 3.6A charging...right?). And I need to set the esc to the correct cut-off voltage, whatever that number will be.

Also, is 'balancing' mandatory? I heard you only 'need' to do that once in a while...???

thnx!

How much voltage do you want to run. If you want a good solid setup with decent speed and the abililty to run on a track, then a two cell lipo pack will do you. How much runtime do you want? Since you already ordered the hyperion charger, I'd also get the hyperion balancer (lba10) to go with it. It's a solid setup and will take good care of your batteries. Just be sure to get the link that goes between the charger and balancer. A good economy battery would be a maxamps 5000mAh 2S pack. If you want more runtime, at the expense of weight, then the 2S2P 8000mAh pack would be nice. Get on the maxamps website to check the dimensions of the packs to be sure that they will fit. The maxamps packs also come standard with hyperion compatible balancing taps.

I balance charge my batteries every time I charge them. Not so much because my packs need balancing, as much as it is because the balancer can also detect problems with the packs, perhaps crash damage that wasn't visible to the eye.

If you haven't already ordered the MM setup, do your research. My favorite setup is the 4600. I like it because it is so flexible. It makes a nice controllable track motor on 2S lipo. Faster on 3S and insane on 4S. The 5700 is the next best. Fast on 2S, insane on 3S, although not quite as insane as the 4600 on 4S.

[xjbebop]

I've already been running the 5700 for awhile, and I'm -not- racing...
I'm not after 'insane' speeds, I want it to be drivable. It's almost out of control w/ the 4200 stick packs...

[BP-Revo]

In that case, its probably best to stick to 2S lipo.

If you are intersted, I have a couple 8000mah 2S2P Lipo's for sale. Send me a PM if you are interested. I've only used them twice. They are like new.

[Mr.lst]

try thr true rc packs they are cheap and from what I hear are very durable there is a thread about this on this forum

Do some research and try to figure out what your maximum current draw will be. Running on only 2S with the 5700 may draw more current than the truerc cell can handle. I don't know, that's why I'm saying you'll have to try to find out. To be safe, you might want to try the maxamps 5Ah or 8Ah packs. They are rated to over 100A constant draw, whereas the truerc is only rated to 80. On the other hand, truerc reputedly under rates his cells.

All I know is that the 5S 8Ah pack that I run in my 13lb muggy never breaks a sweat; but I am running 5S with a milder motor (8XL).