THURSDAY TESTIMONIALS: SMC True Spec Premium 14.8v 6700 mAh LiPo Battery Pack

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Tyler Hooks

0 Aug. 30, 2017, 5:23 p.m.

By Tyler Hooks
LiveRC.com

With the ever-growing popularity of the E-buggy class around the nation, many electronics companies have jumped into the market offering batteries with various different capacities which seem to boast either higher performance or a lower price. SMC has been made known for cheap prices, without compromising quality. I am always skeptical of specific items for racing that are below a certain price, but there is no harm in trying. 

*Full Disclaimer* I personally needed some new batteries for E-buggy, so I contacted Joe Bornhorst who put me in touch with SMC Racing. They were kind enough to send the batteries free of charge.

SMC True Spec Premium 14.8V 6700mAh 131Amps/90C Extended Capacity LiPo battery pack
#67131-4S2P, $74.95
www.smc-racing.net

The SMC True Spec Premium 6700mAh 14.8v 4S LiPo features wide tab cells, which are designed for the lowest possible internal resistance. The battery pack includes 10AWG wires soldered straight to the tabs, with your choice of connector specified when ordering. The 6700mAh pack weighs in at 613 grams, and is ROAR approved.

Specs from SMC:

• Battery Type: LIPO
• Cells: 4
• MAH: 6700
• C Rating: 90C
• Length: 139mm
• Width: 48mm
• Height: 48mm
• Weight: 613 Grams
• Color: Black
• Possible Connectors: Deans, Traxxas, XT60, XT90, EC5

As far as my actual opinion; first off, as stated earlier, I was both impressed by and skeptical of the price. At less than $80, there are only a handful of batteries that are available in the capacity range of the 6700mAh, and even fewer that are worth buying for heavy competition. When it came down to actual use. though, I was wholly impressed wtih the batteries. All of my runs lasted between seven and fifteen minutes, so these batteries were definitely put to the test. I noticed less capacity drain when compared to the other batteries I have used in the same application for a given amount of time. On the topic of fade, which is a super-relative term as it it hard to quantify during a run, I felt like I didn't have to change my driving much in order to compensate for the continual use of the pack. Lastly, for those who are Internal Resistance-conscious, my charger won't test each cell independently, but the overall internal resistance was never over 5.5 ohms for the whole pack when charging. 

Pros:

• Price
• Consistency of the pack during a run
• Ease of installation (can mount on any of the four sides)
• Ability to choose pre-soldered connectors

Cons:

• SMC's website is the exclusive distributor, so you will not find these batteries at your local hobby shop

Final Call:

Overall I have been very impressed, I demand quite a bit out of batteries week-in and week-out, and these are up to the challenge. The price is super hard to beat, so in the future when the time comes to buy some new packs, I would not hesitate to pick up some more of these for all my racing applications. 

Beacon Rating: 5/5