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80 articles published
The Rustler 4X4 battery tray is 143.45mm long, and that one number quietly disqualifies most high-capacity 2S packs sold for 1/10 scale trucks, including some advertised for the Rustler by name.
Buying a pack for a Slash is mostly a measuring problem. The tray Traxxas publishes is 166 by 49.5mm, and your electronics set the cell count. Get both right and most decent packs work.
NiMH is not obsolete and LiPo is not automatically the upgrade. Which one you should run depends more on how you use the vehicle than on which chemistry is technically superior.
A LiPo is not retired on a cycle count. Puffing, impact damage, a cell that will not come back into balance, and heat on a normal charge are the signs a pack is finished, plus how to dispose of it.
XT60, XT30, EC5, Deans and TRX compared: what each connector handles, why product titles rarely make it obvious, and how to decide between fitting an adapter and resoldering.
Storage voltage costs nothing and takes one button press. It is the difference between packs that last years and packs that puff in a season. The number is 3.80V to 3.85V per cell.
C rating is printed largest on almost every LiPo pack and is the least reliable number on the label. What the multiplier actually claims, why it is optimistic, and what to read instead.
Two packs with the same 3S label can differ threefold in price per unit of capacity, and may not fit the same chassis. How to read past the label and pick the right one.
Packs are consumables. A charger is bought once, and it decides whether balancing is accurate and whether storage mode is a button or a chore. All six Ovonic chargers sold in the US, compared.
Charging a LiPo is mostly habit: balance every time, pick a sane rate, never walk away. Here is the full routine, plus storage, disposal, and what to do if a pack catches fire.
