D4: Brushless + lipo + Custom hopups + HELP

[Edd]

Hey guys,


So im looking into some of the top stuff for my D4, top of the range brushless systems, lipo batteries and custom alluminium hop-ups and I've made a start with my radio gear with the futaba 3pk and 2.4ghz module that successfuly transmitted through my house so quite pleased with that.

So now im going to be looking at my brushless system, whats the best? is the simple question what will give me the performance that the D4 offers in potential. Lrp, Nosram, Novak? My budget at the moment by the way has no limit because these assets to my D4 will be added very slowly.

Now onto the battery, lipo's obviously. But I am having a tad bit of trouble with understanding this all. My charger already has the ability to do the job for lipos, it is the TLP x-15 but is there anything else i would have to do to charge the lipo, what i mean is can i just put "auto" on like it says? It was quite a price for it so I would think it would'nt do anything stupid if you get me but I am not sure. So Charger i think is in the bag now for the battery itself. Trakpower 4800mah saddlepack only 60 pounds much cheaper in HK that I can get, but what other good lipo's are there?

With the alluminium parts I am organizing with an old friend who has a massive workshop that He can help me produce the parts I need, especially the suspension wings! However I am looking at what to do about the front and rear hinge pins they seem to be quite easy to bend on impact but my friend has a lot of stuff he can give me

hop-ups I will also be purchasing such as the alluminium hub carriers, but do you think the front one way would be worth it? im not sure whether or not I should. Since I got the old version of the d4 I'l be getting the new front bumper that I will be fiberglassing for the extra strength and the lower wing mount. I will be using the Edit eu wing and shock spring set from losi, with the shock oil set.

So this is my target over how many years i do not know but i will have gone through enough birthdays and christmas's to have done it some day.

So, speed wise i'm looking high, hopefully.
,
Any contribution or help would be greatly appreciated,

Edd

[JCJC]

So much depends on where you are and what you want to do with the car, this year if you are in the UK and want to race to BRCA rules the lipo's are not on the list, next year?

Charger looks to be capable of "auto" charging any lipo you will put in the D4, occasionaly the lipo will need balancing, voltages of the cells matched to a tighter tollerance than just charging, check your charger can do that or add a balancer. Make sure the speed control has a cut off for Lipo, they must not drop below a certain voltage.

Any major make of brushless system will be OK, don't look for to much power, we run a 5.5 Novak in a 4WD car and 6.5 in 2WD, both cars can shift and with lighter Lipo's are faster.

D4 is a good car, have fun.

[Edd]

Could I use one of these top of the range brushless motors with my current esc, here are the specs:

ESC Features:
__________________________________________________ ___

Runs both sensorless brushless and sensored brushless motors (only in sensorless mode - it has no sensor cable)
Accepts NiCd/NiMH & Lipo Batteries
Programmable Functions (program unit, sold seperatley)
Low Voltage cut-off protection: Speciffically for Lipo batteries
Programable fail safe: if radio signasl from reciever is lost the ESC will shut down. When signal returns ESC will return to normal.
Thermal Overload Protection: If ESC tempature exceeds the defauklt value, ESC will reduce the motor power gradually, untill the tempature returns to normal.
Input voltage overload protection
Start Protection: Protects the ESC and motor in case of a locked rotor.


So does this mean it can take lipo?

[jim76]

what make speedo is it?
i wouldn't recommend a top spec motor with that speedo as it is sensorless, and the motors from the main 3 companies are sensored (although they will work with it in sensorless mode)
it doesn't state the motor limit for your speedo, best find out before you bolt a 5.5 to it in case it has a 9.5 limit etc

i'm guessing the bit where it says accepts lipo means it does.

oh, and don't fibreglass your car AT ALL!! It will add no strength and only cock up the free movement of parts. Also don;t waste money on bling alloy like rear hubs. If you are going to get alloy bits, get the Edit lightweight diff halves as these save weight (not add it compares to plastic for hubs!) so give better acceleration.

[Edd]

Sorry i'm a bit confused about the "t" in a motor. The brushless motor I have now is 13.5t, and now i know that the esc can only take 11t. But what i do not understand is that why a 5.5t and 6.5t are worth the same, i thought the lower the turns the better? could someone explain?


Edd

[sparrow.2]

Hi Edd

are you going to be racing the D4 at all or why are you trying to strengthen it so much. I dread to think what you're up to after the roll cage question a couple of days ago

Maybe a D4 is not quite the thing to jump off roofs and things... You can get really good basher models that will take alot more abuse than the kits designed for racing.

As for your speedo, it won't happily take anything more than the motor you're running at the moment. If you want something quicker you will need a new speedo as well.

What do you mean with "worth the same" with the 6.5 and the 5.5???

Also stay away from fiberglass and aluminium on your D4. Fiberglass won't do a thing for strength, make the whole thing heavy and look like someones been sick on your car. Aluminium wishbones or "wings" as you call them are bad! Weigh a ton and really do nothing for strength.

How old are you actually? It might be an idea to read the forum some more lest you turn yourself into Bmag-reloaded

[Edd]

Yeah i just saw him racing on youtube, don't want to follow him lol

about the roof jumping I was only joking, I would'nt do something that stupid. I get a bit eccentric at times and my "loyal" friends do well to remind me of that

The motors, im confused a bit, so ill just ask a question, The lower "turns" in a motor what effect will I get? So what would be the difference between a 10.5t and a 6.5t. When i said "worth the same" I meant in price, because there was a 9.5t selling for the same price as a 4.5t. Sorry if I am confusing you

I had a few runs with the d4 and I found it quite fragile so I thought that strengthening it would be the key, not to make me a better driver but to give the car a longer lifespan.

And thankyou about the fibre glass, I was advised by one person and I thought maybe it was just one man's bad luck but now I know that its not all that great. I also thought it might be a bit brittle.

To be truthful, I can be fairly stupid sometimes, not that I am dumb, just that I make little mistakes that can sometimes have bigger consequences

[JCJC]

There is a lot to understand and motors is only a bit of it, when we use brushed motors the number of times the wire is wound around the armiture and if that is one wire, two wires or three........tells us that the motor is - say a 12t (turn) double or a 27t single.

Just being a lower turn is not "better" but will/may provide more grunt/poke, this will not make the car easier to drive and may not effect the top speed. It will draw more from the batteries and require a speedo to suit. A Novak 5.5 is thought to equate to a 7 or 9 turn brushed, the main advantage is the motor requires little maintenance. Motors cost much the same to manufacture, labour costs/can/wire/markup etc.....

[Edd]

Thankyou, I understand it much more now. I think my problem before was I thought that the more money I throw at my car the better I will be, but when it comes down to it my driving skill is what will make the difference.

My motor at the moment is the exige speed passion sport jr tuned, 13.5t with the combo esc, here are some specs as per the manual:

Input Voltage: 6V - 14.8V DC
NiCd/NiMH 5-12 cell (6V - 14.4V)
Li-Po 2-5 cell (7.4V-14.8V)
Continuous Current: 40A
Max Current: 120A (10 sec)
BEC: 5V/2A
Drive Freq. : 8KHz
Dimensions: 40mm(L) x 28mm(W) x 13mm (H)
Weight: 44g
Recommended motor limits 13.5T or over sensored or sensor-less brushless motor.

Runs both sensorless brushless and sensored brushless motors (only in sensorless mode - it has no sensor cable)
Accepts NiCd/NiMH & Lipo Batteries
Programmable Functions (program unit, sold seperatley)
Low Voltage cut-off protection: Speciffically for Lipo batteries
Programable fail safe: if radio signasl from reciever is lost the ESC will shut down. When signal returns ESC will return to normal.
Thermal Overload Protection: If ESC tempature exceeds the defauklt value, ESC will reduce the motor power gradually, untill the tempature returns to normal.
Input voltage overload protection
Start Protection: Protects the ESC and motor in case of a locked rotor

So If i were to buy, ie a x11 vector sphere combo 5.5t what kind of performance differences would I be seeing. Would there be much more power and much harder to control and would my parts such as the slipper and differentials wear out faster? I've seen the alluminium replacement parts that are much lighter and last much longer, I've also heard of a titanium screw that is included. At the moment I have some "much more" racing nimh 4500 mah saddlepacks would the new brushless motor knack them out faster, and would i get the same effect (knackering) if i had a lipo in?

Just checking if im right or not


Edd

[sparrow.2]

If you were to get yourself a 5.5t brushless motor and a speedo to suit and then use it with a lipo you would certainly be one of the faster cars down the straight and learn nothing about car control, as the car would be a real handfull if you don't really know what you're up to yet.

Are you racing this thing at a club or somewhere? If not, there really isn't much point in putting a faster motor in as your runtimes will reduce drastically and the car will definitely wear out a lot faster!

Are all your parts wornout already? If not leave them be for the while and replace as required and then you can think about putting in other parts...

Race it!