HPI RS4 MT and batteries
 

I have HPI RS4 MT truck ,I bought it used a few years ago, with used batteries and have never had much in the luck with run times on the batteries. I'm assuming it's because the batteries are old and worn. What sort of run times should I expect with new batteries, will the 4WD make a dramatic difference in the run time?

thanks in advance for your help!!!

Your question is a loaded one. There are so many different batteries you can buy for your car that it is dificult to reccomend one individual type.

I would reccomend some type of GP battery, matched with good voltage across the pack. 3300's are good, we have 10 that we use here for racing and practice.

If you have any preferences or price range, it would make it easier to find out what you need.

I'm not into racing, except up and down the driveway and making my son say wow when it does wild things. I don't wanna spend too much, I wanna find a screaming deal on a battery. I know that a 1500 is cheaper than a 3300, I'd prefer a 3300 but i don't wanna spend $80 on 1 battery.I'd like to get 2 decent ones for under that amount. My main priority is run time, so if i'd get more time by spending more $$ then i can justify that. at the moment, i'm lucky if i get 60 secs from my batteries. Does the 4wd reduce your run time?
Also, what about batteries like this - http://cgi.ebay.ca/Two-7-2V-3300-mAh...QQcmdZViewItem
Looks like a very cheap price for 2 3300 batteries. I'm guessing they're crap. Please educate a novice on this.

anyone.....Bueller....

Don't get those ebay stick packs. Get ones like these: Ebay batts
Watch and see if you can get a couple in one auction. Last year I got two six cell packs for $23 shipped. They just like those and I still race with em. If you're not competitively racing they should do you fine even being unmatched.

Or you can usually find those kind of batts in the for sale forums here pretty much everyday.

And yes the 4x4 will eat more of your batt power as the motor is working harder to turn 4 tires instead of two. What motor do you run in it?

You may need a different charger to use these nimh batts though. What charger do you currently have?

my charger is the same as this one
http://cgi.ebay.com/Pro-Max-AC-DC-Qu...QQcmdZViewItem
Motor is Midnight 2 Trinity

I originally wanted the 4wd as I lived in snow country, but I'm now in SoCal, so I could always disconnect one of the drive belts to increase run time. Any thoughts on how much the 4wd would decrease run time?

let's do the bump

You'll want to get a different charger if you go with the 3300 nimh batts. You could probably use that charger if you wanted to babysit them with a temp gun and shut them off when the batts heat up to 110-120* F.

I'd leave the 4wd connected. With good batts and a clean motor you should still get a good runtime out of your batts. 5 minutes would be decent even though it'll probably go longer before the batt dies. But the longer you go the more you strain your batts and motor.

I'm sure there's some more qualified elec guys who can give you some better answers. I'm more of a nitro guy myself. But just thought I'd throw in my opinion.

since your not racing, you will probably want runtime. try the new IB3800 cells. you might want to check into www.axxis-racing.com they have some very good packs! he has a process of equalizing and matching the cells he made on his own. its hard to explain but all i know is it works better than any other battery company ive used. check them out for sure.