Basically it goes like this,

I’ve been on hiatus from the hobby for about 16 years. The last R/C’s I owned were the Losi JrX2 jr and the Traxxas Sledge Hammer. So for those of you that remember those cars know that A LOT has changed. I started reading R/C car action just recently to see if I could catch up on things. SOOOO MUCH HAS CHANGED. I have an 8 year old son who I have been trying to get into the hobby; he seems to enjoy it so far. I bought a Heng long Mad Truck… Let me say that was the biggest waste of money I ever had to spend. But at the time it was cheap, I upgraded all the electronics to make it a little more competitive, but there built so poorly that I would say 9 out of 10 times I run it something breaks. Any way on to my questions, oh and thanks in advance for the help.

1. With all these different battery types out there (NIHM, LIPO, 1500mah, 2400mah etc...) I’m not sure which is good and which isn’t. All I know is I have two NIHMs one is 1600mah and the other is 1800mah and on a full charge I get less than 10minutes on a battery. I know a lot has to do with gear ratio and such but in general if I were to purchase a new battery and wanted to get more drive time what would you suggest???

2. My son tells me he wants a hobby grade R/C for his bday, and although I have done research on different websites, I’d would like to know your thoughts. The lower the price the better, and he likes the monster trucks but I don’t think he would mind if it was a buggy as long as there fast.