I disagree with you, Nitro, on the NiMhs. Yes, IF you had REALLY GOOD NiMhs, and you just happened to have an ESC that was engineered against ripple, and that ESC (and motor) were only rated at 35Amps, or less, then you might get away with the NiMhs. (Not on a Castle system tho!)
But I'd never run them. Lipo only. NiMhs are for brushed systems. and even then.......Lipo is so much better.
As for what system to get, you should look for a
system, or combo....that is, a motor and ESC that's already paired as a package. Lots to choose from.
If you're not planning on racing or crawling, a sensorLESS system will do ya just fine, and is generally a little cheaper than a sensored system. I would suggest looking at the HobbyWing EZrun or Xerun combos at HobbyPartz.com Great systems for budget prices, and the combos frequently come with a programming card for setting the options in the ESC. Other companies charge you extra for that. Castle Creations make popular systems, and their motors are excellent. But IMO, their ESCs in the past have not been the most robust. They have come out with new versions tho lately, so maybe they're better now. (My buddy and I fried both our Sidewinder Sv2 systems, I think because we were using NiMhs at the time)
"What motor KV should I get, then?" will be your next question. That will depend on your car and how and where you drive. I'm not familiar with the TC3, so maybe someone who knows the car can advise you better, but I'd guess that something around 4000KV would work well for you. 4000kv on a 2S (two-cell) Lipo will be pretty fast. 5600kv CRAZY fast.
I highly recommend this charger:
Thunder AC680 Professional Dual-Power LiPo Balance Charger Discharger w AC Adapter for 1-6 Lipo 1-15 Nimh + USB to PC Software Less than $60 and does everything you need, quietly.
I also suggest looking at the FlySky GT3C radio for $39. 2.4ghz is where we're at today, and FLySky makes good sportsman (basher) grade stuff. The GT3C can be bound to ten different RCs. If you really want to go cheap, the single-car GT2 is only $20.