Savage Flux battery options?
 

After reading the Zippy thread, I'm returning an order of four Zippy-H 3S batts to Hobbycity in favor of something better. Unfortunately, they'll only give me store credit(won't be ordering there again...) so I have two choices for good batteries:

http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=7163
http://www.hobbycity.com/hobbycity/s...idProduct=7162

Do I go for the higher C rating, or the higher Mah? If I have my math right, they're both good for 150A...

Difficult choice. What gearing and speed do you plan to run on the savvy?

I think I would go for the hardcase lipos, as they will fit in most places, the 6000 packs are longer...

Not sure if I would have returned the zippies myself. I feel the zippy/flux thread was a complete waste of time...

The problem is that the Zippy thread here is only the tip of the iceberg. Most of the MMM fire threads I've seen have been with cheaper batts, and almost all with 6S. I'd rather go for less power and higher quality than smoke a $600 truck, even if CC and HPI are covering them under warranty.

For gearing, I plan on keeping the 20T pinion for the time being. Once I start to get a feel for the truck, I may play with the gearing. Unless, of course, I get some knowledgeable advice to re-gear sooner. I don't need huge top speeds, I want big torque for bashing and racing, not straight-line speed on pavement.

Ok, the stock gearing is good for around 40mpg on 4s lipo. I would go with the hardcase packs, they have a higher c rating and are newer tech cells. Nothing wrong with the 6000 cells, but they are a few years old now, and the newer formulation cells do perform well. Plus the HC lipos will fit most 10th scale trays, and i always try to buy stuff with some versatility, even if i do not need it at the time...

40mph is plenty for me right now, lol. HCs it is. They're a little tall, but I can pop the battery box doors off and use some of the several thousand zip-ties I have infesting my apartment.
Thanks for your held Linc.

The 5ks are better than the 6ks. I have 6 of the 6ks and they all have low performance. The hard case 5ks put out more power and have better punch

Personally I think returning those batts was a bit premature. Even if the batts were the cause of the mmm failures, which I don't buy... you could easily work around that by cutting back on timing and brake power to make them work no problem. I just ordered the same batts and plan on running them in 5s with another 2s pack, slightly lower voltage, lower brake settings and lower timing and punch, but still plenty of power and run time. And for what its worth, with these settings if my mmm still craps out, I will be the first to admit the batts may have played a role, but I doubt that I will need to do that.

Linc, if I did keep the Zippy batts, what gearing and ESC settings would you recommend?

Been there myself, I stuck with the 5000mah 2s 30C packs I got from Harris RC

It seems anything on 2 * 3s Lipo on the MMM V3 is asking for trouble eventually.

well, looking at the flux gearing if you want to do around 40mph on 6s you will need a 14t pinion. punch control at 50 percent is a good start. i usually adjust the start power to my liking, if the truck does not cog with very small throttle input from a standstill it is ok, if it does cog or glitch raise the start power. leave the timing alone, no need to fool with that. just run a smaller pinion and you should be good to go.

Wow, 14T and 50%? Yeah, with that kind of big gobbing punch adjustment just to make it controllable with a tiny pinion like that, I think I'm better off going down to 4S for the time being. Later when i have more confidence with handling the truck, I'll think about getting some good 3S packs.
So, 4S, 20T, how does 20% punch sound? What should I run for timing?

I run mine on 4s, 20t pinion, 100% punch control and 0 degree timing and it's still a handful.

I wonder if there is enough adjustment available in it to run a 14T?

Punch adjustment is purely on the driver. I can adjust my punch control on the fly using my brain to finger coordination... I usually start at 50% and work my way down (towards 0%), it all depends. Leave te timing stock, no need to fool with that as the CC escs vary the timing automatically.

I am not sure... I figured someone with the truck who has tried would chime in...

I don't think there is, at least with the stock 44T spur. There is very limited adjustment on the motor mount. I believe that's why so many different spurs are available.

100% punch control? That's way too much if you ever jump it. You'll never be able to correct it in the air with that much punch control.

FWIW, I think 4S with the 20T stock pinion is about perfect for bashing. If you haven't done so, put some tires on other than the crappy stockers. The reduced diameter and reduced ballooning of better tires will make a world of difference in handling.

What punch control would you suggest?

I believe I run 30% on mine and it's easily controllable to me. If you find you need more than 30%, you should probably do some practice rolling on the throttle. Binary trigger fingers are hell on trucks like this.

I'm gonna pick up either Crimefighters or BowTies premounted on some discs. I'm also gonna grab something in the stock size to mount on a set of Axial beadlocks.

Crimefighters are good all-round tire for bashing or the track. Stick with the M2 compound if you will be bashing with it though.

Also, IIRC, the Axial beadlocks are all larger diameter wheels (40 series), so you'll need some Pro-Line 40 series tires or equivalent to mount on there. I'd recommend looking into either Mashers or Mulchers depending on where you do most of your driving. The Mashers are good for all purpose and the Mulchers are really good for grass and some dirt.

I have the stockers, Nubz (for racing), Dirtbonez and Terrapins (for the dunes)