Lipos last a lot longer than any AAA's i've had.

I'm not sure with the charger since I don't have a power supply for it. It needs a 10.5-15V power supply that can output 2A. Someone is borrowing my laptop, otherwise I was going to use that power supply rated at 15V and 5A. It will charge at 1C which is basically all the faster you can charge lipos with... I've run mine now for probably 20 min with stacked FETs and a 180 motor drawing more current and it still runs as new. My AAA's would be dying out by now. I bought 10 AA lipos figuring I could always keep some charging and some running. Using battery mounts and don't just solder them onto the car. This way I can swap and charge other ones.

The 15 min AAA battery chargers aren't what they're cracked up to be. only certain batteries can handle the amperage that goes through them. Tow of the cheaper nimh I got from walmart popped while charging. Most of the time too they add smaller capacity batteries with the chargers to decrease the charging time.

I'm going to put some 1800mAh cells on the truck I just picked up free from RS. They'll fit underneath, I also think I can get a 180 motor in the back of it. It will have more weight but will run a long time.

I agree with wanting cars that can be more practically driven, which is why I have enough to do both. My hook ups at RS haven't been able to get me any trucks yet which is the reason I don't have any.

I still jump some of my cars around both, with an extra skid plate mounted on the front and some bigger tires. My firebird is that way.... the body is pretty scratched up from all the flips. That thing has been pretty darn durable, that's for sure.