TOPIC:

I have one of those in a Hotshot - its performance is no better than a "silvercan" motor (the one supplied in the kit)

maybe a quick rethink then jr.would the sport tuned be anygood for off road?

jtf

Or a Super Stock TZ...


List was made by Mark at Tamiyagekken.nl

Can't help myself, just have to briefly stick my oar in...
PERSONALLY I've given up with NimH (Nickle metal-hydride) batteries, I've bought loads, they've all been rubbish. The instant current output always seems to be less than NiCds (Nickle cadmium) & ANY kind of heat build up seems to kill them, that includes fast charging or using in an RC car... There must be some good ones out there or people wouldn't still be buying them, but for me, unless someone releases an official list of what's good & what's not, I shall continue to use NiCd whilst I can get them, then move on to LiPo when I can't any more. Incidentally, I recently noticed RS have started offering NiCd power tool batteries as an (Expensive) upgrade from NimH, selling points being "More reliable" "Longer life" "More power".... I knew that...
LiPos (Lithium polymer) can be used for anything requiring a lot of instant current & you'll find them everywhere nowadays. They are alarmingly fragile & cause a lot of damage if/when they fail & quite frankly, I can't believe they find their way into stuff that kids or the less-informed could be using! Bearing in mind that cadmium & lead products are banned because they're poisonous IF you eat them, you should look at what Lithium can do when exposed to air or water (Yes, it's the metal that catches fire in those awesome chemistry experiments at school). Think I'd rather eat lead.....
LiFe - this is just annoying.... it comes from LITHIUM ION battery technology which was (& still is) used in laptop/consumer electronics batteries. The charged IONS of lithium do the storing of charge bit that is required of a battery. Someone at some point has obviously got the wrong end of the stick & misheard ION as IRON (Chemical symbol Fe) & I'm not gonna say any more than that cos it makes me spit....

Thanks eddrick.something to think about eh!

IF you decide that for 'playing', NiCds are cheap & will do the job without any faffing about, just be warned that the higher capacity ones seem to have the same downfalls as NimH. Up to 1400mAH/1500mAH they all seem to be good, but I've found that the 1800mAH/1900mAH & higher tend to be poor, particularly the cheapy ones.
I've got 1200mAH's here from the early 80's which are STILL far better than anything I've bought recently!

Motor-wise, these 'squashed' 'EPIC' canned motors always seem to provide good results, although they do tend to pull a lot of power - although the green "Return of the Monster Horsepower" one is only a 27 turn single wound, the performance matches/exceeds that of some of my modifieds & only a few of my ESCs can cope with it (Ok with MSCs though), run times are usually 3-5 minutes on a 1400mAH NiCd, NimH get destroyed in 1 run....

it makes me scared to charge a battery,let alone run it...)))))BOOOOOM(((((.

thanks for all the advice from everyone pros and cons alike.i now know the pitfalls.

jtf

It's like anything else - be sensible about it & it won't be a problem.
Fast charging batteries is 'iffy' anyway - that's why most consumer products come with slow chargers; the charging rate is low enough that when they're stupid enough to leave it on & go on holiday, it won't burn their houses down. There are various comments floating around about these 'exploding battery' videos on Youtube etc, most are saying "They must've done that on purpose, charging at extreme rates/voltages/time for it to do that, I've never seen one do that...".
In the past I've seen NiCds go into thermal runaway (Get so hot they short internally & then it's out of control) & yeah, they smoke, fizz make cracking sounds etc, but I've never had one out & out "explode".
Brings me back to discussions about fast chargers - seems to me I'm possibly the only person who prefers 'timer' chargers over the newer 'peak detection' type. I have various reasons for my preference, but what applies here is; if something goes titsup (eg failed electronics, melted wiring, you can't be there to keep an eye on it etc) a run-back mechanical timer will stop the charging at a preset time, usually less time than it takes to fully charge a battery, but more importantly, regardless of the battery voltage & whether or not it's charged. A peak detecting type won't, it'll keep going until it thinks the battery's charged, which in the case of charge leakage (eg battery's discharging cos the wires are shorted or the charger's protection diode has fried) means it'll keep going until something gives...
Most of the things we are surrounded by in life can kill us if we abuse them

Thanks eddrick for your views on this,i will proceed cautiously.

i have my little boy to consider too because he will be using them with me aswell.

many thanks.

jtf