Kraton Crunch time 5s or 6s

[ParkRacing]

Now I know that plenty has been written about what batteries to run, but I am new to owning a Kraton and lipo's are a large investment, so for the people that have owned a Kraton for a while now and have run different batteries, what would you use if you could only run one battery? Would you run 6s or 5s?

 

[WoodiE]

If you're new with the Kraton I'd recommend getting a 5s @ParkRacing. The 5s is going to be loads fast enough and provide plenty of power. 6s is going to be stupid power and makes it far more easier to break stuff. Seriously, you'll have fun with 5s for sure.

 

[Ole Fart51]

You cannot use 5s in the Kraton unless you disable the low voltage cut off. 4s is really fast in the Kraton and 6s is insane.

 

[Julian]

I'm running large 7' Goliath Set from HPI so I can't run my usual 7200MAH 70c 11.1v from now defunct SPC Racing - have 3 sets. They will blow them if run with 6s.Sooooo I'm running a 4s 5000 MAH 90c turnigy Graphene brick..

 

[ParkRacing]

You cannot use 5s in the Kraton unless you disable the low voltage cut off. 4s is really fast in the Kraton and 6s is insane.

I just now realized how much information I left out on that first question. I actually don't have any stock Electronics in it anymore I'm running my Tekin RX8 esc with a hobbywing xerun 4274 motor, so it has no problem running for 5 or 6 s lipos. So that's not an issue at all. Also I am an experienced racer, I used to race an associated rc8t converted to electric running 4s. I guess I was just wondering if I really needed 6s or if 5s was enough of an adrenaline rush without pushing the Kraton to its limits!

 

[ninadada]

I run 5S on a Talion which is plenty fast and powerful. I agree with WoodiE that 6S is only going to increase risk with little gain in reward for all around bashing.

 

[The German]

I think it is depending on what you want to do with your Kraton.
Speed racing with enough space to drive on smooth ground, 6s will sure be the best.
Bashing and having fun on raw ground, 5s should be okay.

I am driving on 4s with the 14t pinion gear and its a lot of fun and fast enough. (For me.)

 

[Vanning]

It depends on what you want to do with your Kraton and everyone is different. The 5S seems to be my go to battery for the Kraton using the Stock motor, Mamba Monster X, 14T pinion. It just works well with my area I run in and my power system seems happy on 5S. I'm trying not to be real harsh on my stuff and still have a wow factor. 5S in my opinion is the sweet spot on the Kraton, but it can be plenty fun on 4S and handle a 6S pack also. After looking over some data logs....My power system is well in the safe zone on 5S. With 6, I was seeing some insane ESC heat. The Mamba Monster X can take it...it's a pure basher ESC...However, I like to make stuff last a while.

5S is my go to battery but it sure is fun on 6S once in a while.

 

[Julian]

I wish someone could simply say how many amps the mamba is. I've heard 400A and that kinda freaks me out as 150A seems to be the standard - maybe I'm wrong but I've learned that these beasts will take but so much.

 

[Vanning]

The only info I could find on it says 120 continuous amps per Tower Hobbies. They don't use much when driving around...during some hard acceleration of a heavy RC...you will see some high amp bursts. A crappy esc will burn up if it can't take the heat. Most quality ESC's have thermal shut downs in them. I have never burnt up a ESC in 30 years......However, I started out with mechanical speed controllers with ceramic resistors, ....Never fried one of them also.

 

[Swerny]

5s was plenty fast on the Kraton. I had 2 Vant 5s packs.

I only switched to 6s due to new stock electronics not liking 5s.

 

[ParkRacing]

Thanks for all the input everyone! 5s it is!

 

[The German]

You cannot use 5s in the Kraton unless you disable the low voltage cut off. 4s is really fast in the Kraton and 6s is insane.

Could you explain this a bit more ?
Why and how do I have to disable the low voltage cut off ?
I am running on 4s at the moment.

 

[Julian]

The only info I could find on it says 120 continuous amps per Tower Hobbies. They don't use much when driving around...during some hard acceleration of a heavy RC...you will see some high amp bursts. A crappy esc will burn up if it can't take the heat. Most quality ESC's have thermal shut downs in them. I have never burnt up a ESC in 30 years......However, I started out with mechanical speed controllers with ceramic resistors, ....Never fried one of them also.

So - why did u change the stock hobbywing? What did u find wrong about it? Is it significantly more powerful with less amps? 120 vs 150

 

[Vanning]

So - why did u change the stock hobbywing? What did u find wrong about it? Is it significantly more powerful with less amps? 120 vs 150

120 continuous is what that rating probably is....which is plenty. I never see the amps get near that driving around. Under acceleration...they get up pretty high. The Castle Mamba Max X is just smoother than the stock ESC. It feels more connected and you can fine tune a 6S pack to be much smoother also. Just set a throttle curve up on a graph and adjust it to where it runs smooth. Problem with electric motors is they just want to go 100% asap. This hobby is radio control....the more ability you have to control stuff...the less you bust and stress out. You fine tune a 6S through a ESC with lots of features....You got yourself a vehicle that runs great on any battery. I can run 3S to 6S and make it all happen without blowing tires, puffing packs, exploding diffs etc.

The op is using a Tekin ESC....great choice. There is no comparison between a roller Kraton built with quality electronics and a bone stock one. There is no way they will feel the same.

 

[Julian]

120 continuous is what that rating probably is....which is plenty. I never see the amps get near that driving around. Under acceleration...they get up pretty high. The Castle Mamba Max X is just smoother than the stock ESC. It feels more connected and you can fine tune a 6S pack to be much smoother also. Just set a throttle curve up on a graph and adjust it to where it runs smooth. Problem with electric motors is they just want to go 100% asap. This hobby is radio control....the more ability you have to control stuff...the less you bust and stress out. You fine tune a 6S through a ESC with lots of features....You got yourself a vehicle that runs great on any battery. I can run 3S to 6S and make it all happen without blowing tires, puffing packs, exploding diffs etc.

The op is using a Tekin ESC....great choice. There is no comparison between a roller Kraton built with quality electronics and a bone stock one. There is no way they will feel the same.

Speechless. Amazed and totally get it. I just wish I knew how to fine tune. I started this hobby in January and now it's time to learn more. Hell - all I do is adjust the throttle &a steering trim. And all I do with the throttle trim is adjust it until the rc doesn't move. The steering trim I'm constantly adjusting to drive straight. All I know about the esc is resetting the factory default settings. So what would u recommend the mamba or the tekin ? And which rc? I have Nero & Kraton V2. I'm leaving my Senton alone.

 

[Vanning]

Don't get me wrong, rtr stock electronics are fine in most vehicles.....The Kraton, in my opinion, felt sketchy and scary bone stock RTR on 6S. I had that thing take off on me while I had a hold of it luckily. OMG, that has some pulling power. I hit the off switch and it shut down. Jeezus.....it almost pulled my shoulder out of the socket. I know what caused it and that TX got removed asap. That's why I changed all of it and now love it. I have other rtr's that are fine with basic TX etc.

For ESC's, I like Castle, Tekin and Hobbywing ESC's that have more features. For a transmitter, I like the Spectrum DX4S or equivalent Futaba....doesn't need to be the highest model. The vehicles feel much better with some better equipment in them. Just my opinion. As far as recommending an ESC or RC vehicle....I say get one of each. (I wish) I do like the Kraton the best out of all the Arrma rides. I like the layout of a 1/8 truggy. It's easy to work on. I lean more to 5S as my go to battery in it for now. It's all about what you feel is best for you..Take other peoples advice and just take what you want from it. If you are new to RC....I feel you will enjoy some good batteries with more ability to fine tune more and get something dialed in real good for yourself. You can get use to anything but if you are into rc for a long time....you start to look for stuff that works real good.....for you. You need a roller project soon !!!!!!! lol

 

[ninadada]

Could you explain this a bit more ?
Why and how do I have to disable the low voltage cut off ?
I am running on 4s at the moment.

I believe the next LVC interval above 4s is 19.2v. Fully charged 5s and 6s lipos are 21v and 25.2v respectively. The ESC can't distinguish a 5s from 6s so you'll trigger the 19.2v LVC after only a minute or two with a 5s.

I found 5s to be the sweet spot with my Talion. I opted to disable the LVC and just use a LVC alarm instead.

 

[Vanning]

I believe the next LVC interval above 4s is 19.2v. Fully charged 5s and 6s lipos are 21v and 25.2v respectively. The ESC can't distinguish a 5s from 6s so you'll trigger the 19.2v LVC after only a minute or two with a 5s.



I found 5s to be the sweet spot with my Talion. I opted to disable the LVC and just use a LVC alarm instead.

Just wanted to add a little more info to ninadada's good info.

The stock Kraton ESC can't recognize a 5S battery plugged into it. It can only recognize a 6S or a 4S. The low voltage cut off will not work properly. If you set the ESC to Nickle Metal Hydride battery and run a 5S Lipo pack, you won't have to worry about the ESC's low voltage cut off. Instead you can just use a Lipo alarm set to about 3.3V or so and plug it into the balancing port of the 5S battery. It has to be secured well. It will sound a loud alarm when you need to stop driving. This helps protect the Lipo from going too low and you can run 5S in the stock Kraton ESC..

It's strange that the Kraton ESC wasn't designed for 5S...if you look at the KV of the motor....it's perfect for it.

 

[The German]

Thank you Vanning.