1/8th Scale Electric

[Randy Rapedius]

Okay ... you old schoold guys are gonna flip when you hear this. I CD'd a small race last weekend and we had an electric racer run his Phil Thomas Scale with the nitro guys. I would have to estimate his speed close to 60 mph. He was holding his own against Oliver Douglas' Miss Bardhall. If you have ever seen Olly's round nose, you know it is very quick. The electric racer told me that he was getting some new light weight battery packs that would make the boat even faster. I could not believe the speeds the electrics are racing at. They have come a long way the past few years.

On a side note, we had a few ''open'' classes where gas, nitro, and electrics raced against each other. These were some of the best heats raced. The speeds were all very equal.

After seeing what these Electric Scales can do, I would have to give them the thumbs up to race with the nitros.

Alright ..... I have my bullet proof vest on ......... start shooting.

Thanks .................. Randy

 

[waltr]

Okay ... you old schoold guys are gonna flip when you hear this. I CD'd a small race last weekend and we had an electric racer run his Phil Thomas Scale with the nitro guys. I would have to estimate his speed close to 60 mph. He was holding his own against Oliver Douglas' Miss Bardhall. If you have ever seen Olly's round nose, you know it is very quick. The electric racer told me that he was getting some new light weight battery packs that would make the boat even faster. I could not believe the speeds the electrics are racing at. They have come a long way the past few years.

On a side note, we had a few ''open'' classes where gas, nitro, and electrics raced against each other. These were some of the best heats raced. The speeds were all very equal.

After seeing what these Electric Scales can do, I would have to give them the thumbs up to race with the nitros.

Alright ..... I have my bullet proof vest on ......... start shooting.

Thanks .................. Randy

Is there a cell limit for the electric scales.If not,the electrics should eat the nitro boats alive.

Sorry to post it since I run nitro too.

But have you ever seen Merv Soudens Falk scale run.86 mph on 32 cells.That thing runs like a raped ape.

I don't think we can do that B)

http://www.lousfastrc.com/video.htm

 

[Rich Jones]

This is an interesting thought Randy. I would be interested to know what sort of equipment is required, costs, etc... vs. nitro, gas. I've heard it can cost just as much to put a scale together to run electric but my question would be how much does it run from there if you're eliminating the need for fuel and glow plugs, engine parts and other items?

 

[AlanN]

Costs are realtively the same.

Apprx cost for an elect 1/8th $2000.00 That includes everthing except charger and radio.

Howard Tucker and I have been playing with our local IMPBA club and the members all get that funny look when we run. "Huh, those are electrics...we read that you guys were fast but did not know you were that fast". BTW the club is Performance Model Boat Club. A bunch of real nice guys who let us play with them and have never given us and attitude regarding our power source.

Right now the rules are stating we can run up to and 11 cell Lipo power. I think that 10 cells is enough though. That's about 38V. There are many different types of motors and some newer cell tech that we can alter and change. That gives us more choices that I know you nitro gas guys don't have.

Currently there are alot of variables that should be narrowed down for us (electrics) to be able to run on an even basis with the nitro/gas guys. From what I have seen and done we could blow the you guys outta the water with some of our setups. Now that wouldn't be fair and quite honestly boring....I would rather keep us on the same plane for better overall competition. The best way for us to resolve this..IMO...is to keep runnin with you guys and find out where the boundaries should be drawn.

So I don't have all your answers but am sure somemore of the FE guys will chime in.

 

[Brian Schymik]

We have done this in Indy last year and also this year at the Internats the electric guys ran in open.

Honestly if the electric guys had seaducer hulls they would be great in mono too. The hull technology that they are using is holding them back in that class. Otherwise they have enough speed. In scale we ran against them and they are very quick for about 3-4 laps, more than enough to WIN a race, but then they slowed down at the end. I hope they come back, and I heard that one of the monos will be a seaducer soon.

Brian

 

[K.R.Joye]

I've run a couple of different FE 1/8th hulls in NAMBA competion & over the past few years. Its true FE technology is now on par with nitro for 1/8th and will be passing it by in no time at all.

The 2K setup ALAN speaks of is a High End Brushless Lipo combination, costs can go lower if nimh cells are use.

I'll be happy to break down some of the costs involved w/FE. Hull, Hardware, Radio & Strg servo costs are same as nitro so the only difference in the MOTOR,CELL TYPE & CHARGER.

`BRUSHLESS MOTOR' $350.00-$600.00 (New) can vary from ( Lehner, Plettenberg & Neu brands work best)

`CELLS' UNMATCHED $192.00 nimh subC cells(32) about 5-6 bucks each (should last about 1.5 seasons)

MATCHED $320.00 nimh subC cells (32) about 9-10 bucks each (should last about 2 seasons)

Note: NIMH cells can survive water imersion also High Amp setups may require 2 sets of nimh cells in parallel.

`LIPO' $1000.00 equivalent cost is about 3 times what a matched set of nimh (correct me if im wrong lipo freaks) Note: Less tolerant to water imersion than NIMH

`CHARGER' $140.00-$600.00 1-40 Cell Chargers work best for Nimh. Lipo chargers are similiar in cost.

Note: Lipo requires longer charge times but less frequent charges due to their higher capacity.

Bottom line you can do a complete FE RTR 1/8 for under $1600.00 I have one that runs 55MPH+ and is very competitive.

 

[Mark Anderson]

How many sets of batteries do you need to get through a race day?

 

[K.R.Joye]

How many sets of batteries do you need to get through a race day?

Most racers use 1 set in FE but keep mind our NAMBA classes are 3 rounds a day.

 

[AlanN]

The cost on Lipos has decreased.

I bought mine at the Toledo show for a special price of $750 for (2) 5S packs. You could buy smaller(mah) packs for a little bit less too...just add ballast to your hull for lighter cells.

The regular price is about $50 more. Don't quote me exactly on price.....I just play a battery salesman on TV.

We only need one set of batts for 1/8th. I have a 7400mah set that will let me run 10-11 laps at least before having to recharge. In MI this year the guys using Nimh cells were easily capable of re-charging with no ill effects.

The cells take about 1 hour to recharge...depending on how much you took out and at what amp rate your charging at. But ample time to run multiple times per day.

Also,

We run on the average 20,000 to 30,000 RPM with our motors...so the prop selection for us is usually a bit smaller than what I have seen the 14,000 RPM gas guys use....I know nitro in 1/8th...just an example.

 

[Olly]

I really enjoyed racing with the electric scale. It was very competitive and I can see more of these coming along soon.

As has already be mentioned, we will need to see how this goes. Currently, I am limited to a 67 engine but I believe the electric guys can keep adding batteries which potentially can make their speeds soon surpass a nitro scale.

However, what the added weight would do (if that was the case) to their speeds I don't know. I'm obviously not an electric dude - yet LOL

Perhaps, as this type of scale increases in popularity, rules will be introduced for limits to number of batteries or battery power or they will have enough competitors for their own class.

Olly

 

[Paul Pachmayer]

Hi Guys,

Seems to me my FE powered 1/8th scale took 2nd in open hydro at the Internats this year. We are limited by the rules as to how many cells we can use but more cells don't really mean more power. The big white mono that was running 64.8 at the Internats had an 8S system, my Mountain Dew boat was running a 10S and was 3 MPH slower. This was simply a matter of motor choice.

Honestly if the electric guys had seaducer hulls they would be great in mono too.

OUCH! That hurts, lol. :lol:

he hull technology that they are using is holding them back in that class. Otherwise they have enough speed.

Not any more, I have a new mono hull that you'll see at Indy this year.(not a Seaducer) I think the new beast will open some eye's, projected speeds around 70 with no battery fade like last year. Tune um up guys, I'm coming fully loaded this year.

Paul.

 

[LOU]

I'm really enjoying racing my 1/8th scale electric with or without nitro hulls. I know there's gonna be people who want to keep them seperate and maybe thats fine, but I think the performance is pretty equal with exsisting electric rules 32 cellsNimh or 10S lipo max. Rtr weight with 32 Nimh cells is 16.92 lbs and the cells won't last long the way I was running them against Olly. With Lipo I should lose 2 lbs and the cells should last longer. I'm hoping for minimum 100 cycles. Cost for the Lipo's I'm looking at right now is about $650US but batt tech is changing so fast it might be half that 4 months from now.

 

[Andy Greene]

Honestly if the electric guys had seaducer hulls they would be great in mono too.

OUCH! That hurts, lol.

There are 3 mono Seaducers running SAWS right now and 2 of them are holding world records.The same person also is making one for ovals,look out here they come Also newer battery technology has JUST hit the market that from all initial tests are BETTER than lipo,safer to use and have an incredible charge turn around time. I think its high time to start running all the power sources together,more involvement,more exposure helps everyone,but thats just my 2cents worth.

 

[Thomas Hulbert]

I'm really enjoying racing my 1/8th scale electric with or without nitro hulls. I know there's gonna be people who want to keep them seperate and maybe thats fine, but I think the performance is pretty equal with exsisting electric rules 32 cellsNimh or 10S lipo max. Rtr weight with 32 Nimh cells is 16.92 lbs and the cells won't last long the way I was running them against Olly. With Lipo I should lose 2 lbs and the cells should last longer. I'm hoping for minimum 100 cycles. Cost for the Lipo's I'm looking at right now is about $650US but batt tech is changing so fast it might be half that 4 months from now.

Hope you will be able to run it in London later in the month to show others what she will do vs there nitro boats.

I saw her run and am impressed at the amount of tech improvmint to bats and motors over the years.

 

[LOU]

Hey Tom, Wish I could make it but so far No Go May get out to watch the racing on Sat or Sun.

 

[Randy Rapedius]

''No go'' because they will not let you enter your electric Scale?

Randy

 

[LOU]

''No go'' because they will not let you enter your electric Scale?

No, I havn't asked Mike yet

No Go because I'm getting low on brownie points and cash

 

[Don Ferrette]

''No go'' because they will not let you enter your electric Scale?

No, I havn't asked Mike yet

No Go because I'm getting low on brownie points and cash

................ a dozen roses & dining out will do wonders for the brownie points at least.

The thought of an FE 1/8 scale continues to intrigue me............. just wish the drivetrain wasn't so **** expensive. h34r:

 

[Dennis Whitt]

Hey,I remember that boat.Maybe the builder had alittle to do with it.Hahaha.Allthough the Lipos are fast.You can stiil race a a light weight 8th with NicMetal batts.The present NAMBA FE scale record boat took it with the cheaper cells.

 

[LOU]

Hey Dennis, Great hull!! I made a couple changes. I now get the 32 cells all upfront in the cockpit. The strut end is sealed and I got a kick ass hydro rudder that lets me put the boat where I want. A couple blow overs, so she's a little rough cosmetically.

Dinner and Roses it is!!!