NiMH vs LiPo Battery Top Speed!? RC GPS Speed Tests! (Tamiya DT-02MS Sand Viper Brushless)

So, is it a myth that LiPo batteries will provide your RC with a lot more top speed compared to the old-school NiMH batteries? Time to test and find out!

I believe that all RC enthusiasts who have tried running with both LiPo and NiMH batteries have experienced that the LiPo batteries not only give a little more burst/acceleration/power but also provides you with a much more effective run time.

But I've also seen a lot of exaggerations when it comes to the top speed that LiPo batteries can provide compared to NiMH batteries. The difference just isn't that big.

Another myth, connected to the above, is that freshly charged 6S NiMH 7.2v batteries are charged to 7.2v, where as a freshly balance charged 2S LiPo 7.4v charges to 8.4v. The part about the LiPo battery is correct, but few people know that a healthy 6S NiMH 7.2v battery actually charges to +9v.

To be as fair as possible I measured the top speed with 6S 7.2v NiMHs and 2S 7.4v LiPos. The difference in voltage is as minimal as I can get and at the same time these are also the most commonly used batteries in the hobby. To prove another point, I measured the top speed of 2 different NiMHs (one old and one new) and 2 different LiPos (one old and one new).

Now, please note that this is a very non-scientific test. This proves absolutely nothing. To be more accurate we should have tested a lot more batteries and many times in a row, and we should have measured the actual speed more thoroughly with different devices (small differences in the recorded top speed could actually be caused by the GPS itself and not the batteries). But it definitely can give a non-scientific hint at the possibility that the difference in top speed is very minimal and most often in the range of 1 or 2 kph/mph. Other GPS speed tests that I've done in the past support this hypothesis. More importantly: the same difference of a couple of kph can sometimes be found when comparing two different LiPo batteries to each other and when comparing two different NiMH batteries to each other. As seen in the video too.

Granted, as stated above, the LiPo actually provides you with one or two kph more, and, as mentioned, there are a lot of other benefits of LiPo batteries. The ability to be able to balance charge is probably one of the most important things, but the effective run time is another. If we had done this test after 10 minutes of run time with both the LiPo and NiMH, I suspect the difference in top speed (and acceleration) would have increased significantly. The volts of the NiMH just drops a lot faster than the LiPo.

For those interested in the test car, the Tamiya DT-02MS Sand Viper 2WD 1/10 Buggy, I have a lot of other videos and a complete restoration and upgrade series in my channel. Check it out! Love this buggy.

In this video the DT-02MS runs with a Tamiya TBLE-02S 60A ESC with a Tamiya TFU-01 fan and a TBLM-02S 10.5T Brushless Sensored Motor. It has the standard gearing of a Tamiya DT-02/DT-03 with a 17T steel pinion, full ball bearings, ball differential and universal axles (and a lot of other hop-up options from Tamiya and 3racing).

Interestingly (at least for me personally), the run with the standard 2S LiPo 30C (from LRP) measured +2 kph more than a previous speed test I did with the exact same battery. Currently I have no other explanation than it is the work of the high-grip Louise E-Rocket 1/10 Street Buggy tires or the surface which was smoother in the last run here). Basically the only two differences compared to the two speed tests. It could of course also be the work of the battery or the GPS, but it could be quite cool to do a similar GPS speed test, with different tires and see how much of an impact these have on top speed. Interested in this?

The Awanfi batteries was sent to me, free for review and tests. Watch the initial review (tested with the Tamiya Grasshopper and the WLToys A959-B) here: https://youtu.be/CrL23m4ZpiA

You can check out prices and pick them up from Amazon with these (NON-affiliate!) links:
- Awanfi 7.4V 1500mAh LiPo Battery: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07DSB733Q
- Awanfi 7.2V 3600mAh NiMH Battery: https://www.amazon.de/dp/B07F351NJN

I have no idea why Awanfi send me links to the German Amazon (since I am not from Germany and the main language of this channel is English) but you can always try to do a search for the Awanfi batteries on other Amazon platforms as well.

Hope you enjoyed the video! Don't take it too seriously! Have fun!

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