Kraton CAP PACK QUESTION!

[rotauq]

I stopped using cap packs. All my onroads run on a XLX2 and ripple never really gets high enough to be a concern.

 

[Diem Turner]

I stopped using cap packs. All my onroads run on a XLX2 and ripple never really gets high enough to be a concern.

Yeah but....what am I going to do with all that space on my chassis?!

 

[Velodromed]

You did very well my man. Maybe it was the different colors that threw him off or watching too much Sesame Street I don’t know, but your diagram was extremely clear to me. Answered some questions creeping through my mind and I appreciate it.

Well…

You know I was totally kidding brother. Just couldn’t resist

 

[AIan]

Yeah but....what am I going to do with all that space on my chassis?!

You could put yoga there the force will be with you

 

[Diem Turner]

You could put yoga there the force will be with you
View attachment 223127

I don't do

in my RC car...I don't do yoga at all to be frank

 

[AIan]

I just saw the typo darn autocorrect

 

[Velodromed]

You could put yoga there the force will be with you
View attachment 223127

Think I would prefer a little Yoghurt

 

[AIan]

 

[Diem Turner]

 

[six7jedi]

I prefer to do it like this but...whatever floats your boat :
View attachment 222935

Do you have the pos/neg running to batteries then joining the batteries with a 3rd wire? Just 8mm connectors, no qs8s? Im annoyed with how hard it is to connect them and hobby shop guy literally just told me about this earlier today. Mind sharing a full pic of wiring job?

 

[Diem Turner]

Do you have the pos/neg running to batteries then joining the batteries with a 3rd wire? Just 8mm connectors, no qs8s? Im annoyed with how hard it is to connect them and hobby shop guy literally just told me about this earlier today. Mind sharing a full pic of wiring job?

Sure thing. The two shorter wires with black shrink tubing are the ones I connect to the cap pack, the longer wires in red/blue mesh are the power leads that connect to the batteries.

This is the cap pack.

 

[jkflow]

Hard to connect? Just take some pliers and GENTLY press the prongs together. Don't overdo it. You can always pry them back open, it's a fine balance. Do it in tiny increments t get enough friction yet not too much.
That is true for any connector that use these type connections.

 

[Diem Turner]

Hard to connect? Just take some pliers and GENTLY press the prongs together. Don't overdo it. You can always pry them back open, it's a fine balance. Do it in tiny increments t get enough friction yet not too much.
That is true for any connector that use these type connections.

FWIW, I've never had issues with Castle 8mm bullets. They always seem to have the right amount of tension and also seem to maintain that tension really well. They're firm enough that you get a positive sense of engagement but not so stiff that it makes pushing them together or pulling them apart a chore.

 

[six7jedi]

Sure thing. The two shorter wires with black shrink tubing are the ones I connect to the cap pack, the longer wires in red/blue mesh are the power leads that connect to the batteries.
View attachment 246364

This is the cap pack.
View attachment 246365

Damn, thats a huge cap pack. Did you do all the wiring yourself? What’s the wire you use for connecting the batteries together? Sorry for the 20 questions. Ill see how the qs8s treat me for now, no sense in swapping everything out since its all done (batteries/esc connectors).

 

[Diem Turner]

Damn, thats a huge cap pack. Did you do all the wiring yourself? What’s the wire you use for connecting the batteries together? Sorry for the 20 questions. Ill see how the qs8s treat me for now, no sense in swapping everything out since its all done (batteries/esc connectors).

Yessir, I do everything myself. Yeah, the cap pack is a big boy. It's 15000μF 8-12S cap pack by Dr. AB Racing. I'm fine with questions, always happy to answer anything I can to the best of my knowledge and ability. On my MMX8S I had soldered the cap pack directly to the ESC without connectors but found it cumbersome as removing either component meant taking both out. Strictly speaking, the XLX2 doesn't really need a cap pack. I only use it because I have it in addition to the necessary real estate on my chassis. QS8s are the way to go as far as battery connectors are concerned imo. The fact that they can accept large gauge wires in addition to the anti-spark functionality make them the best connectors on the market. Yes, there are QS10 connectors, but their price tag is exorbitant and I don't think they would offer any tangible advantages at the currents RC cars operate at.

Oh and as far as what wire I use for connecting my batteries together...I'm not sure what exactly you're asking. I use 8AWG for everything. This is a picture of my battery connectors. At the top are two parallel connectors with 8mm bullets (the + and - from the ESC connect to the bottom of the connector and the left and right ends go into the + and - of each battery respectively), in the middle is a parallel connector with QS8s (to combine two batteries into one big parallel battery) and at the bottom are what I use for connecting two packs in series that I made from the bullets I pulled out of QS8 connectors (the negative lead from the ESC goes to the - of battery one, the serial connector goes from the + of battery one to the - of battery two and the positive lead from the ESC connects to the + of battery two). If that doesn't answer your question let me know.

 

[six7jedi]

Yessir, I do everything myself. Yeah, the cap pack is a big boy. It's 15000μF 8-12S cap pack by Dr. AB Racing. I'm fine with questions, always happy to answer anything I can to the best of my knowledge and ability. On my MMX8S I had soldered the cap pack directly to the ESC without connectors but found it cumbersome as removing either component meant taking both out. Strictly speaking, the XLX2 doesn't really need a cap pack. I only use it because I have it in addition to the necessary real estate on my chassis. QS8s are the way to go as far as battery connectors are concerned imo. The fact that they can accept large gauge wires in addition to the anti-spark functionality make them the best connectors on the market. Yes, there are QS10 connectors, but their price tag is exorbitant and I don't think they would offer any tangible advantages at the currents RC cars operate at.

Oh and as far as what wire I use for connecting my batteries together...I'm not sure what exactly you're asking. I use 8AWG for everything. This is a picture of my battery connectors. At the top are two parallel connectors with 8mm bullets (the + and - from the ESC connect to the bottom of the connector and the left and right ends go into the + and - of each battery respectively), in the middle is a parallel connector with QS8s (to combine two batteries into one big parallel battery) and at the bottom are what I use for connecting two packs in series that I made from the bullets I pulled out of QS8 connectors (the negative lead from the ESC goes to the - of battery one, the serial connector goes from the + of battery one to the - of battery two and the positive lead from the ESC connects to the + of battery two). If that doesn't answer your question let me know.
View attachment 246445

Answered it perfectly, thank you. Thanks for the info about the xlx2 not needing a cap pack, I was definitely on the fense about it and was unfer the impression that it was powerful enough. Doing a couple speed runs per outing shouldnt stress it that much anyway.

I think I might go the route of just doing the 8mm wire without the qs8s once I grab an Infraction. I don't plan to do speed runs in it. Thatll be straight bashing. Once again, I appreciate the feedback and insight.

One last question: Any idea if the 160esc/1250 spektrum combo fits in a Talion without any modifications? If not Ill keep looking. So far haven't found any info and trying to talk to someone is much easier with castle than horizon

 

[Diem Turner]

Answered it perfectly, thank you. Thanks for the info about the xlx2 not needing a cap pack, I was definitely on the fense about it and was unfer the impression that it was powerful enough. Doing a couple speed runs per outing shouldnt stress it that much anyway.

I think I might go the route of just doing the 8mm wire without the qs8s once I grab an Infraction. I don't plan to do speed runs in it. Thatll be straight bashing. Once again, I appreciate the feedback and insight.

One last question: Any idea if the 160esc/1250 spektrum combo fits in a Talion without any modifications? If not Ill keep looking. So far haven't found any info and trying to talk to someone is much easier with castle than horizon

Anytime

The voltage ripple on the XLX2 is really low, even without a cap pack. You'll be golden without one, even if you do speed run. Raz doesn't use them and he goes fast enough.

The QS8s are fantastic. Without the anti-spark resistor of QS8s, you get a fair bit of arcing when plugging your batteries in which, over time, will damage your connectors taking a little nib out of it each time you plug them in. That's why I use QS8s on my batteries and bullets in the car. Not a deal breaker, but I prefer not having bang-sparks when plugging in my batteries. Just make sure you always plug the positive in last if you're combining QS8 and bullets and you won't get sparks.

On the Talion question, I'll have to defer to someone else. I don't have one so I can't tell you for certain. I would think that it does, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

 

[six7jedi]

Anytime

The voltage ripple on the XLX2 is really low, even without a cap pack. You'll be golden without one, even if you do speed run. Raz doesn't use them and he goes fast enough.

The QS8s are fantastic. Without the anti-spark resistor of QS8s, you get a fair bit of arcing when plugging your batteries in which, over time, will damage your connectors taking a little nib out of it each time you plug them in. That's why I use QS8s on my batteries and bullets in the car. Not a deal breaker, but I prefer not having bang-sparks when plugging in my batteries. Just make sure you always plug the positive in last if you're combining QS8 and bullets and you won't get sparks.

On the Talion question, I'll have to defer to someone else. I don't have one so I can't tell you for certain. I would think that it does, but I'm not 100% certain on that.

Cool beans. Much appreciated!!!

 

[LibertyMKiii]

.

Long live the XLX2

I had made a monstrosity cap pack at one point also. With the old XL-X and the MMX-8s it was necessary.