Newbie LST2 questions

[pnut]

I did search. I am considering buying one, don't have one yet. We have a Stampede, so that is my frame of reference.


What is the run time of the LST2 out of the box with the standard battery (1100mAh Nimh)? I can't seem to find much info on this.

I'm debating what kind of batteries to buy to go with it. I could spend $$ on Lipo, but what about higher mAh batteries? To run Lipo I would have to buy a new charger and don't want to spend the $$.

Last thing:
Will this thing run on dunes well out of the box? Will I need to re-gear?

Thank you in advance.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

The stock battery makes it feel like a toy. I stepped up to a 1500 dynamite first, and that really brought it to life. Then I went with the Losi 1000mah lipo/charger combo and it was a little faster yet. This is a Raminator I'm talking about with a single engine. The lipo gives me about 20 min. before the low voltage alarm kicks in. About the same with the dynamite, though I don't wait for it to slow down too much with nimhs. The stock battery's weak, but good for newbies and kids.

 

[symmetricon]

From what I've heard they roll over about as easy as a Stampede.

 

[pnut]

The stock battery makes it feel like a toy. I stepped up to a 1500 dynamite first, and that really brought it to life. Then I went with the Losi 1000mah lipo/charger combo and it was a little faster yet. This is a Raminator I'm talking about with a single engine. The lipo gives me about 20 min. before the low voltage alarm kicks in. About the same with the dynamite, though I don't wait for it to slow down too much with nimhs. The stock battery's weak, but good for newbies and kids.

I've been doing alot of reading on Lipo versus Nimh. It seems that I could get almost the same performance out of a good Nimh as a Lipo. I don't care that much about retaining charge and the lighter weight. However I do NOT like the disadvantages of Lipo.
- Must be very careful not to discharge too much
- I need a different (more $$) charger
- Physical damage risk
- Should balance them when charging (don't have to, but should)
- Must charge carefully to avoid risk

I'm leaning toward a large Nimh battery instead of Lipo.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

I'm with ya. For $25, I had to try the lipo. But after reading the instructions for both the low voltage alarm and the charger, neither did what they were supposed to. The l.v.a. was supposed to interrupt the throttle input with a cogging effect. It didn't; just held a constant slow speed with the led blinking. The light on the charger was supposed to blink before turning solid green, indicating it is getting close to charge completion. It didn't; just went red(charging) to solid green(full charge). As dangerous as lipos are, I was disappointed to find these glitches. No battery is worth a fire. I like the dynamite battery way more then the lipo. It does what it's supposed to. And the clutter of the l.v.a sucks on such a small rig. And yes, they roll fairly easy. That's what Mt's do. You can't expect it to handle like a touring car. It's no problem to avoid roll overs if you use it as it was intended. It loves catching air. Flies straight and lands smooth. And they're tough little trucks. On a hard cartwheel, watch for driveshafts popping out in the front, causing a steering bind. It's a quick fix, but is has to be hard on the servos; so get 'er shut down a.s.a.p. Do your steering servos twitch a little bit?

 

[Runaway Jim]

I have one of these things and I haven't done anything with the battery yet. I have converted to a full size, single, stearing servo. The dual minis it comes with are terrible. I went through both of mine in no time. I bought the single servo conversion kit from exotek. It's great and haven't had one issue with stearing on it since the conversion.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

Thanks Jim. I wondered about those little servos from the moment I first turned the truck on. They like to twitch and glitch, even though they have calmed down a bit. I run the steering rate at about 10-11 o'clock. I figured not going lock to lock would help a little. I recommend a better battery. It makes the fun factor go up 10 fold.

 

[pnut]

I got a smoking deal on an LST2 at the hobby store, and ordered some 1500 Nimh batteries. I did not want to deal with Lipo.

I have a quick charger for my 1/10 Stampede which is digital and programmable. Can someone tell me what amp rating (and any other settings) I should use to charge these little 1500 Nimh batteries?

Also, can someone fill me in on the improved mini servo solutions. I don't want to spend as much as I did on the car for the big single servo conversion.

 

[Lessen]

I would charge those around .5 to .8 Amps. There is a rule of thumb out there that says you should not charge a 2/3A size cell more than 1A but I don't even trust 1A anymore. 0.5A is safe although it'll take 3 hours to charge your 1500mah pack. You just can't charge small cells very fast or they overheat.

 

[ALL-IN.]

it s a shame about the std servos in the minilst2 but the exotek conversion is really nice and it will save you in the long run. It might be a bit to outlay but it changes your truck for the better handling wise and by the time you muck around with a couple other cheaper solutions you ve spent the money anyway.

 

[Metalhead Matt]

There has to be a single mini servo that's tougher than the stockers. I'm rough as hell on mine and had no problems yet. I run the servo saver as loose as I can, though.

 

[pnut]

I would charge those around .5 to .8 Amps. There is a rule of thumb out there that says you should not charge a 2/3A size cell more than 1A but I don't even trust 1A anymore. 0.5A is safe although it'll take 3 hours to charge your 1500mah pack. You just can't charge small cells very fast or they overheat.

Wow that is a long time to charge. I guess I will be buying more batteries. I'll try 1amp and monitor them carefully.

Side note: I ordered up a pair of JR22 servos after doing some research last night. I plan to tie them tightly together to help reduce independant servo flex.

Post script:
I spoke with Dynamite batteries, who make the 1500Mah batteries I ordered. They said I can charge them up to 1.5 amps.

 

[ALL-IN.]

i hope that goes well, my mlst2 is a little sad atm i over juiced it and it caught on fire so don t run standard gearing with mamba sidewinder 8000kv 3cell 11.1v lipo what ever you do haha. mind you it was almost worth it for the 20 minutes of crazy speed and wheelies in the sand dunes . don t know what I'm going to do now either going the same setup with 7.4v 2 cell which i ve run before and it was awesome or might squeeze a 1/10 scale brushless system in and see how it goes still can t decide.