derrickh_00

What's the deal with matched battery packs? Do they make that big of a difference?

Platinum_Racing

Matched packs are simply a higher quality battery pack, with all the cells specifically labled and assembled with other cells that most closely resemble each other. If you are running cells that aren't matched, you may have one cell running at 1.17V, and another running at 1.13V, for example. Now, the inconsistancy in the batteries can make for uneven charging, and discharging, and also make your pack seem to have less run time, because the battery is really, in my opinion, only as good as the worst cell. If you have a matched pack, you are running cells with specs of mabey 1.15V on one cell, and 1.16 on another. The voltage won't vary that much from cell to cell, making for a very consistant charge/discharge rate, and a longer lasting, higher output battery. When your dealing with high quality batteries, it's good to go for matched cells, but when your building your own, or just looking to bash around the backyard, it isn't required. You can also make your cells more consistant by using the dead short method, to completely discharge your battery. I have never personally tried dead shorting a battery, and I don't have the required tools, (I.E. shorting tray) so I really don't know what kind of results you get from that, but if you build your own batteries for racing, like I do, it would probably be a good idea to check out, even if you are running matched packs. Mabey someone else would know more about the shorting method, but for right now, if I had to decide, I would say go for some good GP cells, matched by Trinity. They seem to have the whole matching process down to a science with their VIS Matching technology. If your still not sure, I would say build your own battery, and run them through a couple really good charge/discharge cycles.