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Why Choose to Upgrade Your RC Car to a LiPo Battery

By Josh •  Updated: 03/09/21 •  7 min read
RC Cars & Trucks

You might have heard of LiPo batteries that has taken the tech world by storm. As a RC car owner, the battery is understandably half of your concern. So, this new technology should spark your interest.

Upgrading your RC cars battery to a LiPo one is a smart choice because such batteries have a good density of energy, the thickness is pretty thin, the internal resistance of such battery is pretty low, the shapes are customizable, the discharging and charging characteristics are good and thus it will make your RC car perform smoothly and swiftly.

I’ve mentioned some basic advantages of upgrading your RC car’s battery into a LiPo one, and now I’d like to provide some more valuable insights into this topic. In this article, I will extensively discuss whether or not will a LiPo battery makes an RC car faster. For a better understanding of this topic, it would be wise to read through the whole article.

Reasons for Upgrading Your RC Car to a LiPo Battery

Many people do not understand the importance of upgrading an RC car’s battery, especially when you are preparing for a race.

A good quality battery can make a significant difference in terms of speed and performance and I can honestly say, with a good quality Lithium Polymer battery, you will extend your winning possibility by around 40 percent.

There are multiple reasons why a LiPo battery is a far better choice than any other one when it comes to RC cars. I will extensively discuss the advantages of LiPo batteries below.

LiPo batteries are of Low volume and High Density

We all know that batteries can contribute a significant amount of load to the overall weight of the RC car. One of the biggest advantages of using a LiPo battery is, it weighs much less than almost any other one out there.

For example, a nickel hydride or a nickel-cadmium battery can weigh two times more than a LiPo battery while having a lower amount of capacity. This is very bad for the overall speed of the vehicle.

 As we all know, lighter RC cars will have much more speed than heavier ones. That means, if you upgrade your RC car’s battery to a LiPo one, not only your car will run faster, you will have a better battery capacity.

The Internal Resistance of Such Batteries is Very Low

You might not know that but having a lower amount of internal resistance on a battery will put a significant difference on the overall performance.

Such batteries will run much more efficiently, will extensively reduce the power of the battery when needed, and most importantly, will significantly increase the amount of standby time.

Lithium Polymer batteries have a very low amount of internal resistance. Some good quality LiPo batteries can have as low as 35 Milli Ohms of resistance, which you won’t find in any other battery.

For RC cars, it is very important to have a good standby time. So, LiPo batteries will work best in such vehicles.

The Shapes of LiPo Batteries are Customizable

If you are an expert on RC cars, you should know that they come in various shapes and sizes and you can pick different cars for different surfaces. One of the best advantages of purchasing LiPo batteries is, you will find them of different shapes and sizes.

Say you are going to take part in a race that will not last long. It means the track of that race is pretty small. In that case, you can purchase a LiPo battery of a smaller capacity. It will be a bit lighter and you don’t need a huge capacity as the race itself is pretty short.

Lithium Polymer Batteries Have a Good Charge and Discharge Time

Having a good charging and discharging time is very important when it comes to batteries. You don’t want to wait for 12 hours until your RC car’s battery is fully charged.

If you see your battery has discharged within only 2 hours, you might lose it. There are many batteries out there in the market that will perform similar or even worse.

The good news is, LiPo batteries have a fantastic charging and discharging time. For example, if you buy a good quality LiPo battery, it will change within one to two hours.

But for having such performance, you must use a constant voltage and current charger that has 4.2v of rated voltage. You should find such a charger within the package.

A Lithium Polymer battery has a very good and stable discharging because of the colloidal electrolytes used in it. Most of the batteries out there have Liquid or fluid electrolytes which are not efficient at all.

So, for an overall better and long-lasting discharge of energy, you should definitely choose a LiPo battery for your RC car.

The Voltage of LiPo Batteries are High

LiPo batteries have much higher voltage (while operating) than most other batteries out there in the market. That means, if you use a LiPo battery for your RC car, then the motor should rotate much faster compared to using other types of battery. It will give you a massive advantage while racing.

For example, a singular LiPo battery can have more than 3.7v of voltage on average, which is almost the same as 3 nickel hydride or cadmium batteries plugged in series.

Now, you might get an idea of the massive power LiPo batteries can provide. It was one of the finest inventions in the engineering department and will be best for your RC car.

A LiPo battery has a Longer Life Cycle than its Competitors

Batteries should have a decent amount of life-cycle especially if they will be used on an RC car. I am pretty sure that you won’t like to run to an electronic store every day to buy a new battery.

Most of the NiMH batteries have a terrible life cycle and RC cars are usually very power-hungry. How long do LiPo batteries last in RC cars is a very commonly asked question.

Fortunately, a lithium Polymer battery can have as many as 500 charging and discharging cycles. It is more than enough for you to go through 15 days if you are extensively using your RC car.

Some of the batteries claim to last for a straight 30 days but they are way too expensive and not very suitable for RC’s as they usually weigh a lot.

Cautions While Using a LiPo Battery

I have talked about how a LiPo battery can affect the performance of your RC car. There is no denying that these batteries will make your vehicle run much faster and for a longer period of time. But there are some dangerous elements linked with using such a battery.

If you overcharge them, there is a good chance that they will burst into flames. It can lead to a drastic accident. Although nowadays, almost every battery charger comes with a new technology that prevents overcharging, you should never use a different charger other than the one provided in the box.

Final Thoughts on Will a LiPo Battery Make My RC Car Faster

As you can see, using a good quality LiPo battery can be considered a decent upgrade of your RC car as it will increase the capacity and speed. In this article, I have extensively discussed whether or not will a LiPo battery makes my RC car faster.

Hopefully, after reading the whole article, you will understand the importance of upgrading your RC car’s battery.

Prices pulled from the Amazon Product Advertising API on:

Josh

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