The answer to everything is: it depends. In speculiar class the Uber serious guys are discharging and charging at high amps, yes. Is it necessary? Depends. It does lower the internal resistance and the newer lipos seem to be more apt to handle it. But until you're racong consistent laps, putting your batteries through that won't really yield better results. A good idea is to keep an eye on the for sale section here for deals on an icharger duo, they come up sometimes. As far as esc's. If you're running f1 then the hobbywing justock speedos are perfect. Motors are always a matter of opinion but you won't go wrong with schuur speed, team powers, or team scream. But you'll get more answers from people here who swear by others as well. It'll just come down to doing some research and going with your gut. As far as radios, there's not really a lot that has changed and widely used. The temp and telemetry features arent really used a lot and not really worthe the extra money for you right now. If you're just getting back in to it there's going to be a lot to learn. You just need track time.