Getting Race Ready!

[nbcaznmaster]

Oh yeah, forgot to mention teh race. I did SH***TTY! it was horrible. I spent so much time working on teh batts/limn that i forgot abouty chaning my e-revo to racing setup, i forgot i still had long travels on ethem... Not good for racing! First round...my battery strapps failed on me and my packs got dragged until the batt bars broke off, never got to finish. 2nd one, my friend used the revo for his qualifier but the pack's punch ended at about 1min before the qualifier was over. 3rd time it was driven was when i tore up my rear centerdrifshaft and i never got to finish. I literally twisted it off and there was clicking noises which i found out was a chewed up rear diff. My nitro revo didnt do so much better either. WHen practincing before the race, i drove reverse back towards the pit area and get slammed by a buggy. Funny thing is that i walled away with a bent lunsford turnbuckle. The bugy on the other hand was compeltely messed up, im talking about shock towers, shocks, a=arms, hinge pin. lol, i think my ti-skid plate saved my a$$. I was dead last in the b-main and i had to use my nitro revo. Guess what! it crapped out on me. I spent 3 minutes trying to start taht POS up and it wouldnt go! So then my friend said to use his nitro revo. BUT! guess WHAT! it didnt start up either. So i ended up not even being able to participate. Funny thign is that the top 2 racers get bumpped up to teh A-main. ANd there was only 3 racers in the b-main including me! So i had a pretty good shot at going into the a-main. This same exact thign happened last year. I never was able to get into an a-main, EVER. So it ended up me not being able to FINISH any of the qualifiers or the main.

[BrianG]

Maybe some here who uses that charger and balancer combo can shed some light on how it works and the idiosyncrasies specific to that charger. From the sounds of it, the balancer is working ok, it's just not doing anything since the pack is balanced.

Sorry to hear about the results from your races! I don't think I've ever heard of that many problems with that many trucks from one person! Did you walk under any ladders, break any mirrors, or cross the path of any black cats? ;)

About your runtime, I'd try to change gearing a little to maybe squeeze a bit more runtime. If your top speed is more than you need, maybe you can gear down a tad and take some load off the motor. That will pull less current on acceleration and hopefully make the batteries last longer. You could also try lightening up wherever possible.

[nbcaznmaster]

hmmm, i did eat a couple of black cats yesterday. MmMMMmmm, they wer3e deliscious.

[neweuser]

Interesting, cats eh? I heard dog makes a fine meal! But cats? ICK!
Anyways, sorry to hear about your troubles. Have you figured it out yet?

[nbcaznmaster]

oh, just foudn out there wanst a drop of filter oil in mmy filter at all. Not good....

[coolhandcountry]

I didn't know the brushless had a filter. Is that some new technology?
Does it make it run cooler?

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by coolhandcountry

I didn't know the brushless had a filter. Is that some new technology?
Does it make it run cooler?

I think he may be referring to his Nitro vehicle... Unless you were being facetious?

[nbcaznmaster]

Facetious?!?! well your Ducialam! SEE! I can make up big words too!

[nbcaznmaster]

Originally Posted by nbcaznmaster

nope, but i think i got teh charger working, the red light was on! BUT! they said that the error/chk will be green when fully ballanced and charge. which is what happened on the balencer. The apahce on the other hand still says its charging... Odd thing is that the the direction where it said its full charged, is right before the direction which says, than connect to teh charger and begin charge..... So i dont know if it means my pack was balenced and was still in middle of charge or that it was balanced and charged. charge time was about an hour or so if i went by the balencer.

Hmm i just heard that you do not need to balence all the tiem. That its only occasionally. Is that true? If thats true then it makes sense that the balencer doesnt help the pack charge, it only helps stabalize so then you remove the balenver adn then allow it to charge directily. But im hearing diff stuff from you guys.

[MetalMan]

The reason why you're hearing different responses as to how often you should balance your pack is because there is no 100% correct answer. Balancing is only needed when the cells go out of balance. The question is - How do you know when the cells are out of balance? The answer - By hooking up a balancer and seeing if it does anything...

In other words, it is best to use a balancer all the time, as otherwise it is difficult to tell when your battery needs balancing.

[BrianG]

Originally Posted by nbcaznmaster

Facetious?!?! well your Ducialam! SEE! I can make up big words too!

It's not made-up; it means "tongue-in-cheek", humorous. It's actually a fairly common word. ;)

You probably didn't understand it because it was spelled right! :005: :dft012:

OK, maybe that was a bit harsh... Bad Brian! :007:

And MM is right: You don't need to balance every time, but that's like saying you don't need to change your car oil exactly at 3,000 miles. It won't hurt, but it could help.

[MetalMan]

Originally Posted by BrianG

And MM is right: You don't need to balance every time, but that's like saying you don't need to change your car oil exactly at 3,000 miles. It won't hurt, but it could help.

Good analogy! Except that my dad doesn't change his oil anywhere near 3,000 miles, probably closer to 10-15,000+ miles. So in that sense it might not be so valid, but still works well as a concept.

[BrianG]

Yeah, truth to tell, I change my oil at about 5,000 miles. The 3,000 figure is just the manufacturer recommended interval (which is probably just a ploy to part us from more of our hard-earned cash, which could be better used to buy R/C stuff.:))

[nbcaznmaster]

So therefore my apache wont cant charge with the balencer hooked up? It stops charging/balencing when they are balenced? Should i balence both packs at same time since i am putting them both in series?

[neweuser]

Basically, if you are runnign them in series, then it's a good idea charging and balancing in series as well. I balance mine before i charge. But i run maxamps :)