🔋 NiMH
Nickel-Metal Hydride battery — heavier and lower-voltage than LiPo, but tougher, cheaper and more forgiving of abuse. Common in beginner RTRs.
What it actually does
Nickel-metal hydride was the standard RC battery before lithium took over, and it still has a place. NiMH is far more forgiving than LiPo: it does not need balance charging, it tolerates being left partly charged, and it will not be ruined by one careless session. That makes it the sensible choice for a child's first model and for toy-grade replacements.
In practice
The trade-off is weight and performance. A NiMH pack of the same capacity is heavier than its LiPo equivalent and its voltage sags more as it drains, so the car slows noticeably towards the end of a run rather than staying strong. Packs are usually 6-cell (7.2V) or 7-cell (8.4V) in the sizes fitted to RC cars.
Worth knowing
Set your ESC to NiMH mode when you run one. An ESC left on the lithium setting will cut power far too early and make a perfectly healthy NiMH pack feel dead.