Stech WernerWhen choosing batteries for your RC car, we are usually limited by just two options, which is the LiPo or NiMH battery. To those who are not familiar, LiPo is the shorthand for lithium polymer while NiMH is short for nickel metal hydride. Both of these types of batteries are currently being commonly used in RC cars.
LiPo Vs NiMH
Usually, most of the RC cars are fitted with NiMH batteries as they are considered to be relatively cheaper than the LiPo counterparts. But putting cost aside, which of the batteries is actually better? Let us do a quick comparison between the LiPo battery and the NiMH battery.
LiPo
Thanks to a robust and highly competitive RC Car racing environment, LiPo battery packs are definitely the newer and preferred power source for today’s power and speed hungry RC car enthusiast.
So what exactly is it that makes LiPo batteries so popular with the RC car crowd? There are more sizes to choose from, and now there are RC Car specific packs rather than those originally sized for model aeroplanes. The chargers for LiPo battery packs have also become less expensive and generally easier to use. With a higher power density, lower weight as well as having a higher voltage and current output than NiMH, the speediest of all RC cars will be running some form of LiPo power pack. Indeed, the current world record speed holders are now powered by LiPo batteries rather than banks of NiMH cells!
NiMH
Low cost is still a factor in favor of NiMH despite cheap LiPo littering the market. NiMH uses technology that is now 20 years old. With that in mind, simple chargers are very easy on the budget.
A decent NiMH battery can still produce the same number of charge-discharge cycles as a LiPo battery-and without the special balance chargers which LiPos require.
Personally, when I was a child, I did not have a good experience in using NiMH batteries, simply because they tend to lose their charge fast, and they usually do not hold charge well either.
Final Thoughts
It really depends on one’s budget and application. Many hobbyists have both NiMH and LiPo battery packs. The LiPo batteries are becoming cheaper by the day, mainly due to new hobbyists and LiPo friendly equipment entering the market. As such, we can guess that NiMH will become less of a choice for the consumer.
Our team at RCH advocates the usage of LiPo batteries!
