5000mah+ sub c cells for rc car

I see that some of the reputable RC car brands have 5000’s and even 5100. Duratrax and Orion respectively.Has anyone ever used any of these batteries in a light. I was using 3 sub c 3000’s in a 2d mag with 7135’s but the cells are pretty old and crappy and have no runtime left in them. I am experimenting with 4 1/2D’s instead but thats not working well for me. So I might need to go back to 3 sub c cells.

Can I interest you in some 10,000 mAh 18650’s? Maybe some 6000 lumen XML’s? Or perhaps a spiffy bridge in Brooklyn?

The 4/5 sub c’s I’ve used seem to sag under any real load. I generally use them in parallel sets for mtb lights. If I remove the spacers I can cram 7 into a nightstick tube instead of 5 sub c’s to get an 8.4V battery. Then I use the twin battery holder with a 2 into 1 connector to halve the draw on each stick.

Oh so it’s like that eh :frowning: What do you think are realistic specs for a sub c? 4200?

I have noticed some claims of high C rates on these batteries have changed or been removed. From the ones I have played with, they don't seem to be high C cells at all. The ones that were 3800mA would die quickly with a 4 amp load, so I don't think they are all they are cracked up to be. They sagged quickly and run time was poor.

amp draw will be less than 5amps. Something like this and this is what I’m looking at. I like the 3 sub c’s in a 2d mag with a 7135 board for it’s simplicity.

Well, you say there was a problem with 4 cells, but I don't see why it would be. 4 charged cells (say 1.4v each to start), should sag enough to not create a problem. I have done 4 cells many times. 1/2D should not be an issue, but 3 Sub C should work fine with no problem. It just won't run as long, but that's the way it works.

As far as 5100mA cells, unless there's some testing on them, they could be 5100 or less than that. Ratings are only true if they have been tested and proved out. If they are well known cells, there should be some testing done already that shows actual rating.

I’d be surprised if a cell as small as a sub c tested out much over 3Ah with any substantial current draw. The high current types used in power tool packs were usually in the 1.5 –2Ah range and even then were paralled cells.

rc cars put dome pretty high loads on cells, I’d look at some rc sites to see what they recommend. I know I had a motor that would draw in the region of 100a on full chat, my planes also draw some pretty scary currents compared to a simple torch.

They also turn at sime pretty scary speeds taking things off topic, like say 96000rpm springs to mind for my last build, that one was using two out runners and it was basically they would take as much as you threw at them…….

I certainly had an rc car drawing 100+a from a sub c pack, for about 5 minutes lol, which was about the amount of time all four tires lasted, I’d be amazed if cell life hasn’t improved since then.