ASK Cub Reporter, 09.12.2013, Version- Another Week of Me Skimming Your Questions and Posting Shady Answers

(Since we have had a few emails asking us to change out the ‘Letter’ font, but haven’t found a good one, just going simple today)

“Hi,
I read your July post on the Protek 2s lipo and I did two things: I bought that battery, and I bought a West Mountin Radio CBA IV.
Have you ever posted an article on how to use the CBA to test lipos? Or can you point me to a website that tells me what I need to know?

I ran my first test tonight on a 2s lipo — 7200 mAh/90c. I ran a discharge test. But I couldn’t go higher than 17 Amps, where you were able to do 30 and even 60 amps.

Just wondering if I need the extended software, or if the CBA needs an amplifier, or…. I dunno!
Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks,
Mike S.”

Cubby– Hey ya Mike. Interesting question ya have there, but a bit worrisome to me. I find it a bit sobering that someone would actually buy a West Mountain CBA without knowing what its maximum discharge rate was.

A base CBA is good for up to 150 watts. 150 watts divided by 8.4 volts (2S pack) equals.. wait for it… wait… 17 amps. We use a 500 watt West Mountain amp for our higher current testing. 500 watts divided by 8.4 volts equals… I know you know it
already… 60 amps. Or 120 amps on one lipo cell, or 30 amps on a 4S pack.

Testing up to 17 amps on a 2S pack is still quite helpful. If you feel the need to conduct tests at higher current levels you will need to invest in one of the West Mountain amplifiers. The 500 watt unit is about a grand, it’s about $1800 for the 1000 watter, and just over 3 grand for the big daddy 2000.

Have fun and try not to burn your house down. If you feel “iffy” on your testing procedures, contact the West Mountain folks or shoot me another email and I’ll give you a call and walk you through the process.

“I have a question!

I’m not going to beat around the bush, I want to be a driver. Its been my dream to get involved with racing and being on a team. I know you probably get emails like this all the time, but if you just so happen to come across this, I hope you hear me
out.

I’ve been driving since I was 15, and I will admit, I had a record (its expunged now because i all happened before I turned 18). I used to sneak out out at night, and find races to hop into. I know its not the smart thing to do, but I was young, who
doesn’t do stupid things when they’re young. Anyways, I was driving my step fathers Acura Vigor, and I was going up against mustangs, camaros, hondas, etc. And they aren’t slow cars by any means, these cars were performance tuned, made for racing.
Now keep in mind I was only 15 years old at the time, and at that age, I was getting anywhere between 1st and 4th place, and there were at least 8 racers at one time. I didn’t win because the car I was driving was fast or they were scared to go faster
than most cars go. I knew what I was doing, we were driving in traffic, highways, neighborhoods and even with people in V8’s I was still passing them, I honestly can’t explain my technique as far as racing other drivers, it just comes naturally to me. I could tell you I know what to look for, but if you were to ask me what I look for I’d tell you I don’t know simply because
it comes naturally to me. And I’m not trying to get into racing for fame or money, I want to get into it because I like it.

And I’m not asking for a handout or anything like that. I just want to know what I would need to do to become apart of a team, an more importantly, a driver. I hope you don’t skip over me message thinking I’m just another guy looking to get into a
fast car just for the hell of it.
This is my dream, my passion, and something I would like to make a career out of!
Sincerely,
Adrean S”

Cubby– Ummmmm….. ya, hey there Adrean.

So…. you can’t figure out how to be a paid driver? Maybe I am just that warped (read- understatement of the century), but I can’t figure out how you don’t already know.

But… if you really can’t figure it out… Street racing isn’t cool, at all, ever. Real men race on tracks where you can truly hang it out, not on the street where you might kill some innocent soccer mom and her 3 kids.

So lets say you don’t have a lot of cash, there are cheap ways of racing non-rc vehicles. Karting is awesome and racing the lower classes won’t put too much of a dent into the old bank account. But lets say that even karting is too expensive. The SCCA can be your friend. You can race virtually stock cars in SCCA timed events, maybe even the one you drive daily with minimal mods.

Once you are actually behind the wheel and racing, if you are half as fast and want it half as much as your email states, you will get noticed and picked up by someone with some cash. I can assure you that there are plenty of “teams” out there looking
for the next Schumacher, if you are exceptionally fast, you will be noticed/picked-up. Teams have no issue throwing massive piles of cash at someone with mad skillz. However, you gotta pay your way at the start, and if you are just Joe Blow fast, expect to foot the bills your entire racing career. If racing truly is your passion/dream then you should have no issue picking up a second/third/fourth job to pay for it.

Yes, you’re welcome. Go fast (responsibly), have fun, and you owe me big a thank you speech from the top step of the podium at COTA a few years from now.

Yes, that’s all the mindless drivel I could come up with for this week. Submit your questions, rants, and blatant groveling to Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If your letter hits the big-time you get a free sticker pack, if I proclaim yours as “letter of the
month” you’ll win a free t-shirt.

YOUR Cub Reporter