Thinking of a new truck..
 

Well I have my T3, its almost fully hopped up, very durable truck (http://home.btconnect.com/rtsbasic/pictures/). But I want more, the car has a couple of weak points (rear shock tower, front upper plate) where I eat parts when I start doing the stupid stuff..jumping over my garage, onto/off roofs of small buildings, BMX track etc. I also want more speed, on 7 cells its coming on 40mph and 8 cells it'll pull 50mph off.

So my point of this post is I'm looking for a bigger truck, thats VERY durable, this is the biggest requirement, but also I want it to be faster/have more runtime than my T3 (it gets 5-10 mins when racing pending on the track layout/size).

What would you guys/gals recommend? How much more durable would an Emaxx be? I was thinking Emaxx + every RPM part + alloy in some areas. But I'm open to suggestions, cost is always a concern but I'm looking for the best durability wise and I know money talks.. For power I'm sorta limited to 14 cells (don't want to buy new batts yet). What sort of speeds/runtime do you think would be achievable with 14 cells? I don't want 35mph..if possible I would like the same speed my T3 can do, around 50mph. What would runtime be like with a system that can do that?

Sorry for all the questions but I figure you guys here know your stuff so best place to ask :) Cheers.

The e-maxx can be made very durable for a price, but the weight of an e-maxx vs. a t3 makes it hard to get the speed AND the runtime using only 14 cells. Better is to use more cells or Lipo. I t will cost a good buck to make a bulletproof e-maxx taht reaches 50 mph (which is very fast for a truck this size). If you do it right, you could use small tires (like komodos) and select parts to keep the weight down, which by itself increases durability as well as make sthe speed and runtime more achievable.

I wouldn't really want to run smaller wheels than stock for bashing, and was thinking of using RPM offset wheels to widen it up a bit..for racing though I would use smaller tyres so the cars lighter.

What sort of money do you think it'd take to make one bulletproof? If I put a lot of money into a bigger truck I would want to make it so part breakages are far and few between, but I know its a lot of dosh.

For speed/runtime, I know its limiting..I don't think I would use (or afford) lipo's in a emaxx..in 1:10 fair play but I wouldn't want to risk damaging $300 of batteries in one really bad accident. Regardless how much runtime do you think 14 GP3300 cells would give it, if the vehicle could hit say 45mph?

Probably get around 5 minutes of run time at that speed. There are many ways to go with the maxx trucks. You could build a serious truck for $1500 or so(including a brushless setup).

well my e-maxx has a xl3100 and 9920 with 12 sanyo 2400s that are crap and it does at least 45 with a 14/66 gearing which i need a 15. with a 15/66 gearing and 12 cells my maxx should to 50 no prob. the only thing is it weighs only 8 1/2lbs. so a heavier truck would be slower. i think to make one bulletproof would cost about 1250if you didnt have a bl setup for it. as far as cost you could save alot of money it you look on e-bay for parts. such as something i just bought that its a STEAL! i paid 112.50 for NEW proline powerstroke shocks, lunsford titanium turnbuckles, AND proline mip cvds. thats a steal. like i said just look on e-bay for stuff and you will save loads of money.

Hmm..OK if I was to go lipo, say 2x 4s packs of 4400mah, what sort of runtime do you think it might get with still being able to hit 45mph? $1500 is pricey but over time and importing everything (I'm in the UK) it doesn't work out too bad..

I could save money by using my current controller if I could keep to 12 cells, but it might be pushed for power? Would prob get the 9920 and be done with it. I buy half my stuff through ebay and so would shop on there for some hopups, and for some bits come through here. Whats runtime like with 2400's? I dread to think..

Cheers.

Make it 2x 5s packs and wire them in parllel and you could get around 20 or more minutes of runtime, depending on how you drive it. $1500 is a bit pricey, but if you want the beast, you gotta build it from premium parts!

With enough 2400s, you could get a decent runtime. If you want 45mph out of 12 2400s, you won't get a lot of runtime! Some folks run gp2200s and get great runtimes. You just use a lot of them with a slower turning motor(use voltage instead of amperage for the power) and you get higher efficiency. 20 gp2200 cells weigh about the same as 14 3300 cells.

I was thinking of making a pack of GP2200's up for my TC3..9 cells for the weight of 6-7.

OK realistically 4 packs of 5s lipo is outside my budget. But a bulk order of 40 GP2200 cells isn't much more than a single 5s lipo of a good capacity. 40 cells -> 4 packs of 10, two packs/cycle so 20 cells a run. Thats starting to sound realistic. Would it be safe to push the 9920 to 20 cells every run? I'd run a fan over it to be sure but I dont' want to risk damaging it.

What sort of runtimes do you think 20 GP2200 cells would give compared to 14 cell GP3300? Math tells me 20 GP2200 cells is about 900-950w of energy output, more for peaks. Surely thats enough to break 50mph with semi decent runtime? Thanks for the advice, I never thought of using smaller cells but simply more of them.

The controller can handle the cells with the proper motor selection. These little cells provide quite impressive power (almost as punchy as the larger 3300 or 3700 cells) and they are actually more energy dense than the larger cells. 50 mph could be achieved with 20 cells and you could still get a decent runtime. Of course, it depends on how you drive and where you drive as well. 50mph still takes a bit of energy in an e-maxx. I recently built a tuck for a customer using 20 cells and an xl2000 motor. Even dialing out half of the available power, the truck was capable of rolling wheelies at high speed simply by pulling then trigger! I didn't drain the batts(just tested them and sent the truck out), but the customer wrote me an e-mail praising the performance AND the runtime. He had run it over 10 minutes and hadn't dumped the packs yet. His truck is geared to reach high 30s to low 40mph(plenty fast for these trucks). More speed = less runtime, but the potential is there.

well my truck was actually getting aroung 10 to 11 minutes of runtime with the 2400s. but keep in mind that thats not just at high speeds. that was at normal running conditions. basically just jumping and bashing, ect.

mike, are those 2200s nimh or nicd?

nimh

is $50 good for 2 intellect 3600 6cells packs? is it worth the extra 10 dollars for the 3800 loose cells?

$50 is better than I can do on 2 packs. I assume thay are stick packs? the 3800s are better cells.

yes sticks, i think i am just gonna get the 3800s. can you match that price? $5 a cell for intellect 3800s?

I will have to find out. I can't on the matched 3800 packs I have, but perhaps I can on loose cells. I have to make a few calls.

alright, thanks mike.

i would be willing to pay up to 5.50.

I can get matched 3800 6 packs for $35. I will look into loose cells for you.

thanks, and im assumng those are sticks? if they are no big deal. i would put them in side by side anyway.

Where can you get the intellect 3800 for $5 a cell? Never seen them that cheap.

No, they are matched, unassembled packs.

i found them on some website in the far east. like china or something. dont know what the website address is anymore because i had to reformat my harddrive and lost everything :M:

@ mike: thats a pretty good deal on those batteries. why are they so cheap compared to the gp cells if there better?

Fair play, $35 for 6 cells..good price, only a bit more than what I see in hong kong but I bet you provide better customer service :) Could you get 40 matched 3800's? How much do you think you could do that many cells for?

Thinking of an Emaxx for sure, 20 3800 cells, Feigao 11L motor, 9920 controller. What do you think? Over 50mph and still have good runtime? 24V should get the motor shifting into 50-60mph if geared high enough? Figure high voltage/low amp draw = better battery life, so if geared for only 45mph maybe 10-15 mins racing on a fairly open track on grass? If the car stays in one peice long enough :)

Initally my friend is getting an Emaxx and going with whatever setup I recommend to him (bit of a foolish thing to do..:D but hey he has the money and wants a truck that isn't going to fall apart like his Academy) but in a month or two when my budget allows I will go with the same setup if it works well.

they are pretty close in price to gp3300s, actually. The higher end matched packs are around $70 (highest voltage and runtime), just like the gp cells, but the above average packs are more competitive in price (still have excellent performance, but not quite as awesome as the $70 matched sets). GP has "owned" batteries for a while, so they command a higher price is all I can figure.

GP cells everyone knows and has heard good things about, competition is going to have to price a bit cheaper at the bottom end of the market to get the attention I guess.

The matched sets come in multiple of 6, so 6, 12, 18, 24 cells can be matched up. 18 cells matched would be about $105. 24 would be about $140. The 7xl on 18 cells could get you 45mph for 10+ minutes with pretty insane torque. you would, of course, need some nice drive train parts to handle the power!

For sure the drivetrain will get spiced up a bit..would prob go for 2x 18 then..if budget allows 2x 24 and make an 12 cell pack up for another car. Does it really need the torque of an XL can? I've heard S cans work if you gear accordingly, so it'd move well on a L can? Just concerned an XL can eats more amps to get the extra torque, so shorter battery life? Would a 7XL have more or less battery life than a 11L under the same conditions with 18 cells?

The 11L would be a little easier on the batteries and would for sure be plenty powerful. I just don't happen to stock the 11L! The difference wouldn't be huge, but the L would give a slightly slower, longer run time.

Ahh I see...what about the 10L? Would that be a bit easier on the batteries than the 7XL still? Slightly higher kv, but less amp draw still. I don't know how the resistance in the motor comes into play so don't know which one would be better by the numbers.

How many watts of power do you think a 10L on 18 cells might put out? Like how Lehner have graphs showing efficiency and power output, is there anything similar for Feigao's?

The 10L would be very similar to the 7xl. Perhaps a little faster with similar runtime. 18 cells is on the high side of the rpms for the 10L (though it would certainly handle it). I am unaware of any graphs available for the Feigao motors, but for sure the system could put out well over 2000 watts of power on hard acceleration (short bursts).

I read it takes about 1000w to hit 50mph, but a lot more power to get much faster than that..my current system in my T3 is good for about 500-600w of power I think with its current setup..but its a lot lighter.

I take it the 10L wouldn't be safe to run on 20 cells then? For 20 I know really it comes down to an 11L or as you say the 7XL but 20 with a 10L and gearing down a bit would either destroy the motor or get more runtime?

The 10L would run for a while on 20 cells. It just isn't ideal for this motor is all (16 cells is a good place to be with the 10L, and 18 cells is a slightly high cell count, but could be done). 20 cells is pushing the rpms into the 60k range, which isn't efficient or recommended on a daily basis. The 10L could run on 18 cells with proper gearing, but 16 is a better cell count for this motor.

Hmm..don't want to drop to less than 18 cells..start loosing runtime.

If I brought a 10L from you and ran it on 18 cells on a regular basis (with the necessary precautions taken to avoid overheating, and geared correctly) would the motor be warrantied if it was to go? I have a 540 6s motor I rev just as much as the 10L would and not a problem with it, but I don't know how it being a longer can would affect its top rpm.

Thanks for all the info and suggestions, at least now I have a fairly clear idea where to go with motor/esc/batteries.

There would be no way of me knowing what you put the motor through. If you bought the 10L and it failed, I would replace it, unless there were obvious signs of abuse. The motors can handle the rpms. The bearings are the main reason for the rpm limitation. And yes, as the cells go down, so does the potetntial runtime. 18 3800 cells would give a very nice runtime and the power would be pretty insane. If it were me, I would dial the power out on the radio to make it more driveable (It will be a brute!).

Is this your first brushless car? (nothing wrong with 18 cells, it just is very, very powerfull ;) )

Serum, I had a brushless mini-t (mamba 8000kv) I ran 3s lipo in, and currently have a brushless touring car I'm stuffing 12 cells into and a T3 I run 7 cells in with a brushless setup. I'm not new to the game, and looking for more power than my T3 and more runtime, hence 18 cells, very very powerful as you say :) Thanks for the warning though.

Thats cool with the warranty, of course you have no way to tell what I put it through but if the motors abused you'd probably be able to tell pretty easy.

Would have to be pretty light with the throttle most of the time I would think..but I would rather be light/dial out throttle on tx but have power when I want it, than not have enough power when I need it. And when the throttles being dialed out to make it controllable runtime goes up a bit.

Besides, I would like to make a mess of my LHS owner's GS Storm buggy on the track, in a straight line that cars mad, radar'd it over 70mph, so won't be keeping up with that racing accross a field but in a track maybe.