racing, batteries C's and spec classes

[JosephS]

Hey all,
I am working on building a rc10t stadium truck for racing that will be running a 17.5t motor. I am following a professional build and it specifies a 100c 5600 mah battery
https://www.associatedelectrics.com/teamassociated/parts/details/27301/ I have heard that in the last few years that racing batteries have gotten much better year on year. So I am not looking to find a vintage lipo, but understand what I need to look for in a battery for racing vs bashing.

Does a 17.5 turn racer benefit from a 100c or more battery? What about 13.5?

Does anyone race and have recommendations for respected battery brands? I have hear that some brands deliver more performance with the same reported ratings. I am concerned more about brand than spec since the price difference between c ratings of batteries is less than the difference between brands.


I'm looking at my options to see what a reasonable substitution is.

[juicedcoupe]

I'd pay closer attention to the brand instead of the ratings. Offshore batteries are well known to have complete bogus ratings.

I don't know what brands are the best but you probably can't go wrong with the well known ones.

[duckhead]

Hey all,
I am working on building a rc10t stadium truck for racing that will be running a 17.5t motor. I am following a professional build and it specifies a 100c 5600 mah battery
https://www.associatedelectrics.com/teamassociated/parts/details/27301/ I have heard that in the last few years that racing batteries have gotten much better year on year. So I am not looking to find a vintage lipo, but understand what I need to look for in a battery for racing vs bashing.

Does a 17.5 turn racer benefit from a 100c or more battery? What about 13.5?

Does anyone race and have recommendations for respected battery brands? I have hear that some brands deliver more performance with the same reported ratings. I am concerned more about brand than spec since the price difference between c ratings of batteries is less than the difference between brands.


I'm looking at my options to see what a reasonable substitution is.

Short answer, no

Slightly longer answer, if you are going to play the 'stock class' game by which you high amp charge, high amp discharge to get lower internal resistance in the pack, and then high amp charge it during that period, you might want to consider getting a 90+ C rating on a quality pack before you do that. But if your plans are just to do 1-2C charging and race that way, you technically don't need those super high C ratings

juicedcoupe brings up a valuable point, although I'd argue there is no such thing as an 'onshore' battery I've had a ton of luck with the Orion brand, Protek, and funny enough "Hobbystar" which really is more of a generic brand. Ironically, for batteries, Trinity and Reedy have been the worst for the type of charging I've mentioned above, albeit my info on their packs is dated as I don't use either anymore.

I think nowadays more what you find with a "brand name" pack is more accurate mAh ratings and lower IR ratings, everything else is really equal IMHO. I think as with most "brands" nowadays there is a perception of choice but in essence the manufacturing processes are really not much different and in some cases literally come from the same places. What you pay for in a "brand" is quality control and tighter tolerances.

[jwscab]

I run shorty lipos that are 4xxx mAh and 50-80c discharge. I'm not top of the pack by any means but my gear is capable. The shorty weighs less and with the small form factor allows you to adjust balance too.

Unless you are running the bleeding edge gear and tq in every race, I don't think you will see much difference with slightly less specs.

I have a trinity pack and an SMC pack.

[juicedcoupe]

When I said "offshore" batteries, I was referring to the Amazon and Ebay specials. While I'm sure that all batteries are made overseas now, those brands probably lack much QC and they don't have any type of reputation to uphold.

So, there really isn't any consequences for having bogus ratings. After all, creating a new "xyz" brand label is pretty easy.

[duckhead]

When I said "offshore" batteries, I was referring to the Amazon and Ebay specials. While I'm sure that all batteries are made overseas now, those brands probably lack much QC and they don't have any type of reputation to uphold.

So, there really isn't any consequences for having bogus ratings. After all, creating a new "xyz" brand label is pretty easy.

I know, I was just being funny

But yes, I think we can agree that "brand name" electronics these days are nothing more than a nice label, typically backed by a better warranty and better quality control.

[JosephS]

Hey all,
I am working on building a rc10t stadium truck for racing that will be running a 17.5t motor. I am following a professional build and it specifies a 100c 5600 mah battery
https://www.associatedelectrics.com/teamassociated/parts/details/27301/ I have heard that in the last few years that racing batteries have gotten much better year on year. So I am not looking to find a vintage lipo, but understand what I need to look for in a battery for racing vs bashing.

Does a 17.5 turn racer benefit from a 100c or more battery? What about 13.5?

Does anyone race and have recommendations for respected battery brands? I have hear that some brands deliver more performance with the same reported ratings. I am concerned more about brand than spec since the price difference between c ratings of batteries is less than the difference between brands.


I'm looking at my options to see what a reasonable substitution is.

Short answer, no

Slightly longer answer, if you are going to play the 'stock class' game by which you high amp charge, high amp discharge to get lower internal resistance in the pack, and then high amp charge it during that period, you might want to consider getting a 90+ C rating on a quality pack before you do that. But if your plans are just to do 1-2C charging and race that way, you technically don't need those super high C ratings

juicedcoupe brings up a valuable point, although I'd argue there is no such thing as an 'onshore' battery I've had a ton of luck with the Orion brand, Protek, and funny enough "Hobbystar" which really is more of a generic brand. Ironically, for batteries, Trinity and Reedy have been the worst for the type of charging I've mentioned above, albeit my info on their packs is dated as I don't use either anymore.

I think nowadays more what you find with a "brand name" pack is more accurate mAh ratings and lower IR ratings, everything else is really equal IMHO. I think as with most "brands" nowadays there is a perception of choice but in essence the manufacturing processes are really not much different and in some cases literally come from the same places. What you pay for in a "brand" is quality control and tighter tolerances.

Thanks for the helpful information. I am not planning on going the high amp charge route. It sounds like just about all of the packs should be fine above 85c.
Have you heard of gend ace being a name brand?

It sounds like for what I am looking at
Orion
Protek
Hobbystar
Trinity
Reedy
would all be fine.
Are there any other brand name makers known for good QC?

[jwscab]

Yes gens ace is a good brand as is smc.

That are lots of brands out there

[JosephS]

Since this is the right place for this question.
How tall can a battery be and still fit in the original battery holders and rear bulkhead?
Since the spec's seem not critical I was looking at what I can fit without cutting.

The normal packs at 25mm x 47mm are a tad to tall and wide. I see some low profile( 19mm tall )packs and some narrow( 37mm wide) packs. What is the Goldilocks size?


Also is the Fantom brand of batteries known to anyone ?
https://fantomracing.com/shop/batteries/2s-batteries/5200mah-100c-160c-7-4v-2-cell-super-low-profile-maxv-spec-silicon-graphene-lipo/

I was looking at this one as well
https://www.amainhobbies.com/reedy-zappers-hv-sg4-2s-85c-ultra-low-profile-lipo-battery-7.6v-5500mah-asc27361/p-qqqetstqymzrqctz

[JosephS]

Yes gens ace is a good brand as is smc.

That are lots of brands out there

Are there any 'bad' brands? Will just about any pack more an $70 be about the same?

[jkranz]

Fantom batteries (and motors for that matter) are definitely worth checking out, and are up there in the 'higher' end brand names for racing. You can't go wrong with them, I've had good experiences so far with both Fantom and Protek.

[jwscab]

Yes gens ace is a good brand as is smc.

That are lots of brands out there

Are there any 'bad' brands? Will just about any pack more an $70 be about the same?

I don't know of any bad ones, but i would definitely stay away from ones that look like they come from generic websites. stick with a reputable site and pick on that fits.

the packs that are 25mm would be the same height as cell packs. they fit like perfectly, and go with a shorty pack.

[JosephS]

Yes gens ace is a good brand as is smc.

That are lots of brands out there

Are there any 'bad' brands? Will just about any pack more an $70 be about the same?

I don't know of any bad ones, but i would definitely stay away from ones that look like they come from generic websites. stick with a reputable site and pick on that fits.

the packs that are 25mm would be the same height as cell packs. they fit like perfectly, and go with a shorty pack.

I'll have to remeasure but my existing shorty is standard size and doesn't nicely fit in the cup or the original bulk head it works ok on re-re stuff pretty easy. It's off by a few mm in width and height.