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Battery Packs
 Batteries come in an amazing variety of shapes, sizes, capacities, and prices. Most electric rc cars use a 7.2volt, sub-C size, NiCd (nickel cadmium) or NiMH (nickel metal hydride) battery pack made up of six individual cells. Most Sub-C batteries are in the range of 1200 to 4200 mAh (milliampere hours). Batteries with high amp-hour rating, run longer a time and are higher in price.
If you use your remote control car mostly for fun or sport, an economical battery will work fine and be very reliable. For racing, however, a good pack of batteries can give you that extra power to get you to the finish line first. Matched batteries have been charged independently, rated, and then the cells that have the closest ratings are grouped together. Matched racing batteries will usually come as individual cells, requiring you to assemble (solder) the pack and are the most expensive.
Battery Chargers  If you're on a budget, a timer-charger or AC/DC quick charger with meter will do fine. Most sport packs work great on a timer-type charger.
For about the cost of an extra battery or two, you can upgrade to a peak voltage detection charger. Peak chargers use an internal voltage-sensing computer chip to cut off the charge at your battery's optimum peak voltage. This eliminates overcharging which weakens and prematurely ages cells. A peak charger is cheap insurance that you'll get the most power and longest life from your batteries. Don't invest in matched batteries unless you have a peak charger.
Racers always discharge their battery packs then fully charge them to keep them in top shape. Never ever let your batteries run completely dead this will “kill” your battery. To store your batteries for a long time, it’s best to charge them for storage and recharge them prior to use.
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