Will my VXL kill my NiMH's?

I've been running my Venom and Trinity Reference 3000mah sport packs in my VXL powered Stampede. Will the VXL severly shorten the life of these packs? In the Pede, I don't really notice them getting super hot, just pretty much warm.

FYI - contrary to what I read almost everywhere, my Venom packs have been very good packs. The Trinty Reference on the other hand, seem like they are getting alittle spongy....and in the VXL, when they are done, the power drop is almost immediate! Like in two laps on my little backyard track, the power drops off a cliff.

So the next question is what would you recommend for a good LiPo pack? I noticed my LHS carries SMC and just recently, the new Duratrax LiPo packs. I think the Duratrax packs are so new that there probably isn't much feedback yet on these.

Thanks!

MM

the duratrax have been around for maybe 8 mo to a year not 100%
the nihm's you can't hurt um by pulling too much power no thats a lie you can but your vxl probally won't... i'd start to get worried if they were hot at the end of the run and depending on how long you've had your NIHM's they may be getting tired or you could have a bad cell in the trinitys

i did mention those other lipo's SMC"s are good from what i've heard and they stand behind they're stuff i read about a guy who got some SMC's that puffed under light use called up SMC and i gotta say they were very supportive and listened and were very interested on getting the problem solved its something you really love to see from a company

the lug

Thanks Lug! Yeah, I was at the LHS today and my guy there said pretty much the same thing, shouldn't really have to worry about the VXL...now if it was one of those Hvaoc 7700's, maybe a different story.

Hey Lug - I thought I read something you posted on the Coalalition where you said you run your Evader gearbox dry...is this true?

Just curious...I picked up a speed gems double 17T for the Eavder today...for now, I really like it! I'm currently running an XL5 ESC so no smoke ;-)

Also, is there a gear diff that works in the Evader gearbox??

Thanks for your help on the Evader...great vids on the diff too, BTW ;-)

MM

yeah once you get into high draw systems you really need to go lipo from what i've heard especailly with 1/8's but i think the vxl esc is rated at 60A so the motor is probally around 50A and nihm can do about 10C max so thats 30C for you and you're probally not really pushing it so your nihm's are limiting it but not choking it so its not really gunna try to kill them either...

running a dry tranny is purely up to you i run it with a thin coating of a silicone spray for the most part now as opposed to bone dry you can run it dry but i'm thinking it'd be better if it had some lube in there...

the lug

Roger on all Lug! Thanks again.

I'm currently using white Lith in the gearbox and OFNA 50K diff lube. I didn't realize it was 50K until today but I think I have the diff dialed in now. I did the test where you hold one tire with the palm of your hand and the spur and then try to turn the other tire - it's pretty tough to turn the other tire. My adjustment is just about a 16th of a turn off full lock. Next I tuned the slipper for a little squeak when I goose it on carpet, no diff growl, just slipper.

I discovered I had a 20 tooth pinion on my 17T motor, probably too much considering the size of the gladiators and all so I'm back down to a 19 tooth for now. I will run it again tonight and keep an eye on the motor temp, I may need to go lower but I could keep my finger on the motor case for a little over 5 seconds with the 20th last night.

I got about 10 minutes of hard run time on my track last night with the Trinity pack, not too bad, it was a lot of full on, full off...

Thanks Dudesickle ;-)

Edit - 11 minutes of run time tonight, motor temp was 147 peak...might gear down some more...

Get some zippys they look good and theyre cheap like dirt cheap for lipos

MarkM wrote:

I got about 10 minutes of hard run time on my track last night with the Trinity pack, not too bad, it was a lot of full on, full off...

Full on, full off? Did you race motocross when you were younger? Just curious because that was a really common phrase with the Moto X crowed back when I was still trying to kill myself on a bike.

<grin> That's why I like having you around SW...your old enough to understand my old school dialog ;-)

Never raced MX but when I was a kid, the dirt bike/mini bike craze was sweeping across the Midwest from the coast. All the older kids in the neighbor hood had cool dirt bikes like the Honda Elsinores, the Yamaha YZ's and eventually the Suzi RM's. Being into dirt bikes was almost like a culture, it's all we talked about, it was all we thought about.

Eventually, around when I was 12, I begged my parents to get me a mini bike, my cousin had an XR75, my neighbor had a CT70, and kids down the road had YZ80's. My Dad knew a guy who's son raced a mini that was set up for flat track and bought it. It was a Kami 80...This was a major event in my life because it was an up hill battle, my Mom had the anti-motorcycle gene in a major way! I can be somewhat relentless when I want something though and I'm an S.O.B. when it come to battles of attrition - I call it being "driven"...my wife calls it something else...

Anyway, Kami was a small Jap outfit that made two or three enduros..that was it, and they were really dated technology-wise, it featured a TANK of a frame and was powered by a Fugi 79cc two stroke engine pretty much identical with Hodakas (remember the Hodakas, the Road Toad and my favorite, the Combat Wombat?) - parts would interchange. I got alot grief from the boys in the hood for that thing but I learned to wrench on it and my old jalopy was always ready for battle...I owe a lot to that old mini bike now that I look back.

I'm sure you can relate when I say the stuff we did on those things (without helmets) would make modern soccer mom vomit LOL!

Anyway, forgive my babble but you've conjured up grand memories...I have had ALOT of street bikes and dirt bikes over the years...I currently have a 90's vintage Suzi DR350 but haven't riden it in two years...not enough time and we have to haul em so far to ride now - Wisconsin is NOT a OHV friendly state.

Lastly, ever see the movie "On Any Sunday"...narrated by Steve McQueen?. If not...I highly recommend you rent it some time...it's really a grin if you like old 70's dirt bikes. The first one is the best with great footage of a lot of old riders and even celebs and probebly the greatest rider of all time, Malcom Smith - I swear he's an alien.

Sorry for the small novel but you got me going LOL!