I have just bought a TC4 1/10 electric that has a Novak 4.5 Velociti motor and GTB ESC - it's currently got NiMH 6 cell sticks but I'm thinking of a LiPo upgrade.

The question is, what sort of amp draw would this setup have - how many amps can a 4200 mAHr 6 cell pack deliver and what C LiPo would I need - 10c is a 40-50amp max and 20C is 80-100amp - is that enough?

You'll need at least a 20c lipo, but if you can a get like a 25c or higher rating would be great.

Thanks - I'll check what's available.

What is the max charging current for LiPos these days?
I need to work out how many packs I need.

Also at what rate do people charge 6 cell NiMh packs?
I remember years ago that we used to connect our 6 cell NiCad packs to a 25W 1 Ohm resistor and put it straight across a 12V car battery and really cook them, but I guess that's all changed now :)

With Lipo's never go above 1c, which means take your milliamp rating and divide it by 1000. I.E. (3600mah/1000= 3.6amps), thats what you charge it at. Most people I know charge NIMh's at about 6amps.

But if your just looking for a 2s lipo cheapbatterypacks.com has a 25c 4800mah for $65

But if your just looking for a 2s lipo cheapbatterypacks.com has a 25c 4800mah for $65

Has anyone any experience of these packs - do they meet their claims on capacity and discharge rates?

Unfortunately most lipo cells are made in China (probably because of environmental concerns over the manufacturing process) and there are excellent cells available and some copies that are very inferior and cheaper. It's also impossible to tell them apart by external examination, so the only way to know what you have got is by testing them.

We should have a thread specific to the test results of the available lipo packs so we can be wary of the 'fakes'.

The guys that run cheapbatterypacks.com, say they test the claims made by the manufacturers of there cells, and have found those cells to be accurate.

I have 3 truerc and 1 kokam all my true rc are still working very well after 1 1/2 years. same with my kokam. I race em almost every week with every thing from 13.5 motors all the way to 4.5 and never had an issue. The more mah you get the longer the run tim. My favorite battery has been the 6400 15c from true rc. Almost same weight as 6cell and more runtime. The 8000 10c is good also at a 80 amp but wont fit in conentinal battery slots. the 6400 fits perfect.