I would bet the 4200 cell "will not" be roar approved before Jan 1st....However..
Since our "Oval" season starts in September for most of us in New England..
was wondering if any of the tracks will allow them for events starting in the fall?......
Curious if racers from thier tracks have gotten any word yet.........
K/N
Maximus
Lakes Region
Radical Ricks
R/C Madness
Barre
Fairfield
Marshalls
any others?

North Haverhill RC Speedway , North Haverhill NH


We're staying with a 3800 for our first season . then we'll see what happens after Jan 1st.

Mostly up to our racers decision if we allow 4200's to run. not Roar .

If the majority vote that the change can't be afforded then we'll stay with the 3800's.

I believe in the past, the new cells were allowed in Sept. to avoid buying 2 sets of batteries for the year.

our roll out track LOL, I have used the 4200's since months ago and pretty much the only place been used. I havent seen that much of a differnece but run time unless its those new HV 4200's those I havent played with.

The difference is HUGE !!

The discharge voltage , Ir and capacity is so much better

My 4200's will discharge at an av. of 1.255 for 300 seconds.

We will be allowing the 4200's at Thunder Road, in Gordonsville, VA; starting on September 1st. I don't want our racers to have to buy two sets of batteries for the season. Besides; we can vote and decide all we want, but if the manufacturers decide to stop making the 3800's (that's a hint, racers) at the end of the year, the matter is decided. Besides; our back-to-back testing over the past couple of months indicates there isn't really any difference, other than run time. JMHO. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

it's a fact that 4200's will not be roar legal until at least january 1st. roar approves batteries the 1st of each year.

if you look on rc tech there are a few new cells coming out.

I don't know how the back to back testing was done but on my equipment there is alot of difference.

Any racer who says its only runtime wants to run them against the competition with 3800's.

Absolutely the best nimh battery's you can buy !!!!!!!!!!!

Kat, give me a clue, where on RCTECH. Remember I run 12th scale so I think small>

The big question really is will the 4200 be legal @ Snowbirds??...Mike??

Thats what my hope is guys...Oval is starting to make a comeback in New England..
(thanks to guys like Nick and the NEOT tour)....Most of the oval guys like myself buy new batteries In Sept.............If everyone is forced to by 3800's then 3 months later
buy 4200's........It may hurt racing in general........what do you guys in New England
think...Hoping to hear from the track owners........

Rick, I think most tracks will allow 4200 in september, that is the norm for the past few years anyway, when the new cells come out, no one wants to buy left overs
or cells that are on the way out...

my guess is for tracks that will host some big events...Like Maximus..K/N ect........
how about the NEOT Tour..........

ron it's on the electric threads.

east power cells

Maxumis will allow 4200 in sept

We will be allowing the 4200's at Thunder Road, in Gordonsville, VA; starting on September 1st. I don't want our racers to have to buy two sets of batteries for the season. Besides; we can vote and decide all we want, but if the manufacturers decide to stop making the 3800's (that's a hint, racers) at the end of the year, the matter is decided. Besides; our back-to-back testing over the past couple of months indicates there isn't really any difference, other than run time. JMHO. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

And I have found the runtime to be about the same, but the resistance and voltage is WAYYYYYYY better...Off the charts better :thumbsup: .

The run time of the 3800's and the 4200's could be the same; and the voltages could be a lot different. But, that's not what the labels say; thats not what the matchers say; and it isn't what our testing indicates.

We ran back to back comparisons, over several weeks; and couldn't see any appreciable difference in performance. We ran four cell oval cars and six cell Touring Cars; and saw no noticeable difference, when we switched back and forth.

If your results differ, thats fine; go with it. But it doesn't change the fact that the 3800's aren't going to be around much longer. So, we're debating the relative size of an ice cube in July. The 4200's are coming; it's just a matter of "when".

I don't see any merit in forcing our racers to stock up on 3800's at the start of the season; and then switch to 4200's a few months later. I'm simply not going to treat our racers that way. So, we'll be running the 4200's, starting in September. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

So, we're debating the relative size of an ice cube in July. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

That's a good one :thumbsup: , I'll be using that in the future.

I'm on the same page with allowing 4200s in Sept.

Ernie, were your tests done with the latest version of the 4200??? The latest version (Like always) is better than the eairler.

Later, Bret

post poning 4200's untill Jan 1st will allow most racers to run their current 3800's untill then.

I'm not sure if IB is going to eliminate the 3800 in the near future, maybe the 3600 cell.

There's always a place for any mah cell and thats why you can still get 2000 and 2400 nicad cells.

Maybe allow 4200 's in open comp but any spec 19 or stock class should stay with the 3800 mah max cell.

JUST MY OPINION :wave:

from what i hear...IB will not be putting anymore R&D into the 3800 cells. all there time and effort is being put into the 4200 cells.i figure between now and sept or october the 4200 cells will be 124 volts 460 run time at 35 amps....lol

from what i hear...IB will not be putting anymore R&D into the 3800 cells. all there time and effort is being put into the 4200 cells.i figure between now and sept or october the 4200 cells will be 124 volts 460 run time at 35 amps....lol

Wont be that long!! Probably next batch...LOL

The 4200 cell is the most consistant cell I have ever matched. Out of 600 cells I just done 520 of them are 1.22's, 25 of them are 1.23's and the rest are 1.21's. Thats pretty good for a small batch like I just did. Its much tighter than the 1000 3800's I did at the same time.

I have heard that IB will stop trying to make ANY improvements on the 3800 and might not be making it very much longer. They are only concentrating on the 4200 as it is being run in EVERY country except the US....

EA

I have heard the same thing 3800 are not a priority right now and thats a shame . I hope we dont see price fixing because some matchers have left over stock .This is supposed to happen in end of sept not end of june! Telling people that all there gonna get is left overs is not cool hopefully this is not the case .People save money to go on vacation with there family to the roar nationals. and if they cant get what they feel are top notch cells why go and compeate against the boys who have? Sorry to rant but I want everyone to be able to have a good time in oval racing and this is just something to turn more people off of it !

Don't know about price fixing, but I see some matchers selling the 4200's at the same price (or less) than the 3800's.

My guess is that hardly anyone is buying the 4200's yet and they just dumping them, while with the 3800's there is strong demand for them so they keeping prices up.

I'm cheap, I bought 3600's, you can get 3 packs for the price of 2 3800's pack.

Bret; we tested the latest batch of 4200's available. I forgot to mention... the 4200's will be no more expensive, and quite possibly cheaper, than the 3800's. Which were cheaper than the old 3300's. The batteries keep getting cheaper, better, more powerful, more consistent; and yet we find a reason to gripe about it! If some one wants to run their 3800's until they're finished, fine; do so! They won't really be at much of a disadvantage. Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:


--------Bret wrote--------------
That's a good one , I'll be using that in the future.

I'm on the same page with allowing 4200s in Sept.

Ernie, were your tests done with the latest version of the 4200??? The latest version (Like always) is better than the eairler.

Later, Bret

it! If some one wants to run their 3800's until they're finished, fine; do so! They won't really be at much of a disadvantage. Thanks; Ernie P.


ERNIE I CAN TELL YA THIS IF WE HAD A BIG RACE AT YOUR TRACK TODAY WITH TOP NAMES IN IT AND 4200 S WERE ALLOWED THEYD ALL WANT TO RUN THE 4200 THERE ARE NO 3800 S WITH 1.225 TO 1.229 OR HIGHER VOLTAGE . THERE IS A BIG DIFFRENCE

I find it hard to believe .015 of a volt per cell (or a 4.84 pack compared to 4.90)makes much difference in stock. Actually I know it doesn't make hardly any difference. It's too bad some think it matters that much, it's discourages racers from racing.

some have tried them @ K&N and saw no diff in lap times between 38 and 42..
K&N HAS approved 4200 for september....

They Said That Abought Every New Cell That Has Come Out For The Last 15 Years They Will Be Faster With 4200 You Can Bank On It!


50 laps at k&n at winter blast 1 got ya in the a main modified with 6 cell mod now what are ya running in 4 cell stock ? :thumbsup:

Tommy, here's the big finding for me. My best 3800 (4.85) holds 5 volts for 62 seconds, my worst 4200 holds 5 volts for 160 seconds :cool: .

Best 3800 @ 100sec.............4.97 @ 300sec........4.74
worst 4200 @ 100sec............5.04 @ 300sec.........4.82
Resistance on my best 3800s was 7.1
Resistance on my 4200s are 6.4 :eek:

Both packs have the same runtime 420.

I'll eat my hat if these batteries dont run faster :thumbsup:

I'll eat my hat if these batteries dont run faster :thumbsup:[/QUOTE]


YOU WONT HAVE TO EAT YOUR HAT TRUST ME ON THAT WAITE TILL WINTER COMES AROUND COOLER TEMPS +HIGHER VOLTAGE = BROKEN RECORDS!

Anyone who goes from a 4.84 pack to a 4.90 pack and doesnt notice a difference has a chassis issue!!

Voltage is king in every form of electric racing....Even Modified!!

EA

Eric; isn't an increase from 4.84 to 4.90, less than a two per cent (as in .02) increase? Do you really think two per cent would be felt that readily? Thanks; Ernie P. :cool:

2 percent of a 5 second lap is 1 tenth.... I wouldn't mind picking up a .1 by changing batteries..

Actually I think going from a 4.84 pack to a 4.90 pack is about a 1.2% increase in voltage.

I've ran packs with a difference of about .15 average voltage (3300's vs 3800's) (big difference!) According to the math, with this 3% increase in voltage I should go about 7 laps faster! :tongue:

If your results are different that's cool, that's what makes it fun, all the variables. Now back to the original question, what the heck was it? oh, september or jan. for 4200's? makes no difference to me. haha. sorry bout gettin a little off topic

What people tend to forget is that 2% increase in voltage makes a difference over about 10% of the length of the whole racetrack, that being the end of the straightaway. So multiply 0.02 X 0.1 and that gives you a whopping 0.002 increase in total speed! Wow! Now that's worth shelling the big bucks for.:O

That being said bring on the 4200 mah, if they're even better than what we've got. Again, it's not as if there was a huge gain in power right off the bat. Like always, batts get better and better slowly but surely. So the racer who buys one or two batterys every few months will still be able to be competitive, even if he has to run his first heats with older batts. Now if they were WEAKER than the 3800mahs we got right now I'd be having a fit. More voltage at the same price seems like a good deal for me. Besides, trying to stop progress would be against human nature.

OK Now take into consideration that we race for 4 minutes... go to the 240 sec. mark and look at the discharge curve of both to this point.... and there is your answer... I think you will be surpised by your results... Both batteries at the present time are pretty stout. I don't think it will add laps to this point, Now if they impove them like they did with the 3800's then we will see laps added at at a later time, Will see. Justin

OK Now take into consideration that we race for 4 minutes... go to the 240 sec. mark and look at the discharge curve of both to this point.... and there is your answer... I think you will be surpised by your results...
Justin,
It's funny how everyone is always worried about the discharge curve all the way down to .9v per cell! The car is back in the pits and battery out of the car before it gets discharged down to that point. You make the same point I have been making for a year now.... the packs' performance for the first 240 seconds is the only thing that matters. It can fall off the map at 245 seconds and it just doesn't matter. It's all about the slope of the discharge curve.

I copied this noice about 4200's being allowed directly from the K&N thread.

"Official call from the BOSS - September 1st - is a GO.....No waiting until January ...
__________________
Danielle ~ K&N R/C Speedway "

Justin,
It's funny how everyone is always worried about the discharge curve all the way down to .9v per cell! The car is back in the pits and battery out of the car before it gets discharged down to that point. You make the same point I have been making for a year now.... the packs' performance for the first 240 seconds is the only thing that matters. It can fall off the map at 245 seconds and it just doesn't matter. It's all about the slope of the discharge curve.

Whats even funnier is people who thing STOCK is the only form of racing :rolleyes: .

JET I have to agree. Stock isn't the only form of racing!!

Mr Valentine, when will we be seeing you again? Looking to do some mod racing, because I don't run stock. (Unless I have a full time wrench so all I have to do is drive) LOL How about you doing some 19 turn racing with us?

The discharge curve is the ONLY thing that matters !!

All our race packs average voltage is figured at 300 sec's.

I think with the lower IR and slightly higher voltage you will see a
difference on the track.

There are some so-so 4200's out there as I just bought some bulk cells
for my sons e-max and they cycled out at 3722 mah discharge :(

Should have probably spent the extra for a decent matched pack.