jerohmeee123

I want a rustler vxl. im new to the hobby and have been working hard and i need a gift for myself soooo.

http://www.rcplanet.com/shoppingcart.asp

What I wanna know is will this get me to "70"? Is this the battery that will do it? I am buying 2 of these so I can slap in another when the other burns out. I figured this was a really good price for these batteries but i wanna make sure ther the right ones to get me going fast and if i need any other wires to get these batteries working. annnnnd how much run time can i get out of each of these batteries?

Also is this the right charger? Will this charge the batteries that I am purchasing? I dont really care how long it takes to charge since I have two batteries. I am just really looking for the cheapest thing and I think this is the cheapest they had.

I know these are really noob questions but ur help will be greatly appreciated and would help me into this hobby thanx!

Weaves0003

for starteres i can't see anything on the URL you attached because it says your shopping cart is empty, but i will tell you what you need to get it going 70+. First you need the Traxxas 11.1V - 8000mAH Lipo battery packs. Second you need a charger that can charge them. Just look for a charger with these specs: Charges 1-10 cells, Charges 1000 - 10000mAh, and Charges LITHIUM ION POLYMER!!! And to charge an 8000mAh battery will take quite a bit. Approximatley 1 hour and 45 minutes @ 6 amps per battery.

Hoped I helped.

Weaves

maxxdout

well, IMO,, brushless is not a good choice for newcomers to rc. Why do i say that? at 60 mph or so, a person who has little experiece with these will no doubt brake it within their first runs unless they take it easy and get used to it.

Slo-V Flyer

They don't make a Traxxas li-poly battery. But you can get one from maxamps.com. Get the 11.1v 3s 5000 mah battery for ~$130 with Traxxas connector option. And yes you do need a SPECIFIC Lithium POLYMER cell capable charger that can charge up to a 3 cell pack. Charge it between 2.5 to 4 amps, which will take about 2 hours down to 1 hour and 15 minutes. Any faster and you run the risk of damaging the battery and fire hazard.

As for what kind of lithium polymer battery, you REALLY want to pay close attention to how many AMPS it can provide, by looking for the constant discharge (not max discharge) "C" rating of the battery. You want one that can handle at the very least 80 discharge amps continuous, not max, continuous, because anything "cheap" or less than that you run the risk of stressing, overheating and other bad things.

Not trying to scare you , but keep you on the right track hopefuly.

As for 70 mph, don't bet on it. The Rustler *might* get up close to 65+ mph realistically speaking, but be happy with what you get. Also, you have to gear it up like hell in order to reach those speeds, which means your runtime will be less, AND your motor and battery and ESC can be expected to heat up more than usual.

DO NOT let your li-poly battery reach over 135-140'F or you will be saying bye-bye to the battery and maybe your truck, and other object in contact with it (like your hands). INVEST in a small infrared temperature gauge such as the Duratrax Flash, so you can point it and click to get temperature readouts of your motor, battery and speed control (the thing with all the wires and heatsink just incase you don't know what an Electronic Speed control is... sorry)

I would STRONGLY advise you to buy some decent relatively inexpensive good old Nimh batteries to start out in this hobby first, such as the 6-7 cell (7.2 - 8.4 volt) GP 3300 brand, or even better IB or DTX (Duratrax) 3800 or 4200 batteries. Those will NOT give you 70mph, but will allow you to get decent runtimes and CONTROLLABLE speed while you are LEARNING. You will want a "peak charger" that can charge Nimh batteries, and maybe even one that can charge both Nimh AND li-po for future use.

R/Cpullerdude

You can get GP3300's nice and cheap from Radio Shack in 6 cell packs.

paintstikker

I wouldn't suggest going even 30mph when starting out. 25 is about the max I would suggest, so use some GP3300 6 cell batteries anyway.

Plus, I wouldn't even suggest that vehicle. IF you do get it, I wouldn't gear that high, it is highly ridiculous, you'll probably burn out the motor like every other traxxas motor. I'm not saying Traxxas is horribly junk, it it just has been crap to what I've experienced.

It wouldn't get up to 70, and if it did, that truck would be really, really hard to control. I've driven vehicles at that speed, and even when they are meant for it, it is quite hard depending on where/how you drive.

I'd suggest a digital peak charger for lipo batteries, with a temp monitor if you get the right one. Lipo batteries need to be maintained/used properly. Although Nimh are just as bad then they explode, it takes a bit more for them to do it.

jerohmeee123

wow thanx for all the replies! damn the link didnt work! ummm that link was my shopping cart on the web site maybe these will work. this was what i was gonna get.

http://www.rcplanet.com/ProductDetai...P1003&CartID=1


http://www.rcplanet.com/ProductDetai...E2040&CartID=3


again this is with a vxl rustler.... i agree with u guys on the 70mph. helll no am i gonna do that off the start. I guess thers this training mode i can set it on that uses 50% power so i can learn the truck. The thing is i wanna prevent wastin money. I know im gonna want the full power and i know im gonna get the lipo battery sooner or later sop why wate the money on anything else? thats how i see it! but damn i hope these links work. i wanted to get ur guys opinion on wut i picked out.

how bout i do this. i will give u the decription of the battery and the charger if the link still dont work. I will check out wut u guys told me to get but i would just like to get this if i can cuz it meets my price range and its all from the same site.

BATTERY..... MaxAmps Lipo 4000HV 3S 11.1V Pack $100 (id get 2 of these so 100 bucks each)


NEW COPPER TAB CELLS
4000mah Capacity
11.1 Volts
44mm X 137mm X 20mm
20C Constant(80 amps)
30C Sustained(120 amps)
50C Burst(200 amps)
275 grams
Comes with Apache/Hyperion Taps


CHARGER............ Integy Indi 16X Lithium DC Charger $57.95



Integy 16X-Lithium DC Charger works with most types of lithium packs up to 6500mAH using 1C rate. Charge rate from .01A to 6.5 amps. Charges 1 to 4 cells. Wire Spring Clip connectors in rear accomodates all connector mates. Adjustable cutoff (4.10-4.25). 10 amp fuse protected. Green LED indicates trickle charge. Blue LED indicates fast charge. True hardware CC-CV charge circuitry. Built in cooling fan. 90 day warranty from date of purchase.

INCLUDES: One Integy DC 12V charger
One set of DC leads with alligator clips
White 2-pin battery connector with lead
One instruction unit

jerohmeee123

ok from what weaves told me the charger looks good. 1-4 cells and up to 6500 mah. the battery is only 4000 so that should be good. Now u said 8000. why 8000? what is the difference? Now the constand is only 80 amps and Slo-V said to have atleast that.... so is that a bad thing?

20C Constant(80 amps)
30C Sustained(120 amps)
50C Burst(200 amps)

thats what is says. Also what is the runtime on this battery and do I need any extra whires or connecters or anything. thanx!!

Slo-V Flyer

The 8000 mah battery can discharge at 160 amps constant. Don't really need that but to each their own, though the runtime would be crazy long. That and the 3s 8000 will weigh a lot more than the 4000 or 5000. I would stick with the 4000 or 5000 3s battery.

With that said, I really think you should stick to a Nimh battery for starting out. Due to them being a little more tolerant of crashes from my experience (not prone to being ruined as lipos can be... for one thing).

But you can try to get a charger than can charge BOTH Nimh and lipo so that when you do get Lipos you are set to go. With that said, the charger I use for both my Nimh and Lipo batteries is a Dynamite Vision Peak Ultra. It is $89 and is AC/DC so no stupid extra expensive power supply needed. However, you can only charge lipos at a maximum of 2.5 amps, so a nearly finished 5000 mah lipo will take almost 2 hours to charge. But Nicad/Nimh can be charged up to ~4 amps so you can charge those in an about an hour.

For Nimh batteries , I suggest GP 3300s, IB 3800-4200 or DTX (Duratrax) 3800-4200s. Those will run about $25 for the GP3300s to $45 for the 3800 or 4200s. The IB and DTX will give a lot more punch and performance than the GP 3300s, but any of those are better than cheap packs.

You don't want to spend hundreds of dollars on lipos only to ruin them or worse endanger yourself and the truck starting out as a r/c noobie .

jerohmeee123

i respect ur opinion slo-v. i do have a little expirience under my belt. I have a or should i say had a Mamoth St which got up to 50mph. Um ya i guess i over heated the engine on that. I wasnt taking the temps on it. So even tho this one doesnt have an engine i do have to keep the temps under control? i will def get a temp gun this time! how often do i have to take a temp? I know u told me to take temps of the batter motor and speed control and u said dont let run over 135. So what is a good temp range? and if it get up to 135 then i should turn it off for like 10 min?

im pretty dead set on gettin the lipos lol... i dont know maybe ill get the nimh but like i said im planning on setting it on training mode either way. And id only run is in grass areas atleast for a while so i can stay away from curbs. Ya i def banged my Mammy in a lot of curbs lol.

But what do u think on what i picked out?

thanx for the advice

Slo-V Flyer

That battery and charger you picked are ok. Though you'll need a powersupply or 12v battery for that particular charger.

I understand about 50% training mode, but I'm more concerned about you messing up the lipo. Oh, and running on grass is more stress on the motor and system = more heat than you'd think; loose dirt and on-road are better heatwise.

As for the temps, you want the LIPO to stay <135-140'F for sure as hell. The motor and ESC, you can let them stay around 160'F or so, but letting them cool down will make things more efficient and just keep things lasting longer. The reason you want the motor to stay below 200'F is because the magnets inside start to permanently lose their strength. The lipo battery over 140'F can start to puff up and well... you can picture the rest in the worst case... ESC heat, well you don't want to melt any wires or plastic casing for that matter.

You want to check the temp every couple of minutes when you run your model the first few times, just to make sure that all sorts of driving will work without anything unusual happening because you changed where you were driving or how hard you started to use the throttle. Then when you're comfortable with the temps being in their ranges after several checks, you can just keep an eye on them every few minutes just making sure things are going smooth.

If things are hotter than you want them to be, check the pinion/spur gear mesh, to see if that's not too tight. Also, see if you can use a pinion gear maybe a couple of teeth smaller to reduce motor/battery heat.

Hmm, and pretty much other (un)common sense things that you learned while learning on your poor Mammoth.

jerohmeee123

wow i wish i knew this with my mamoth... id prob still have it. thanx for the advice

jerohmeee123

what about this charger?

http://www.rcplanet.com/ProductDetai...RB977&CartID=3

a little more than i wanted to spend but seems like it charges everything and discharges.
Is the discharger worth it?

and how long of a run time should i get with that battery?

MaxAmps Lipo 4000HV 3S 11.1V

cen123

Just to tell you... when it's not on training mode (racing mode), someone tested it with a 6cell battery and 25/86 gears and the top speed for the stampede was 37 MPH. Would be closer to 40 MPH on the rustler. just to tell you

jerohmeee123

well i got it! just bought it