[Bungleaio]

I have also come back into the hobby after a good few years break.

If you are looking at an S4 then you will need to use the NMIH cells.

There has been significant leaps forward in technology making life easier at the track so you can concentrate on your setup and driving ability.

Lipo - These have massive capacity and are really easy to look after, as long as you don't discharge them below 6v (make sure you esc has a lipo cut off) you can't really go wrong. I use two packs to make life easier but you can get away with one. There's no discharging to be done and they are happy being charged as often as you want, plus they don't really lose their charge over time so you can charge up on monday and they will still be completly fine for racing at the weekend, no top up required. They can be a bit volatile if they are over charged but by using a balancer and ensuring your charger is in Lipo mode then all should be well. They are currently not legal for regional/national level but most clubs are allowing them to be run at normal club meetings, just double check with them 1st.

Brushless- No skiming the comm, no brushes to keep changing and no regular cleaning. Plus the torque they produce is immense. I'm running a 6.5 in my B44 and it's plenty fast enough, I think its equivalent to about an 8 turn brushed, a mate has a 4,5 turn and he's looking to get a slower motor as its too fast.

2.4ghz radio - The main point to this is no interferance, the reciever locks onto the signal that your radio is giving out and will ignore everything else, it's basically the same frequency that wifi is using, 40mhz is still widely used though but the cost of 2.4 is dropping. I just bought a 2.4 module to fit into my 40 mhz radio so you could upgrade to this at a later date.

Personal transponders - Pure luxury really as the handout transponders work just as well but it saves you having to collect and return them all day, plus you can't forget to put it in the car.

I've been racing again since march and I'm really enjoying being back in it, but remember what ever your budget is expect it to be blown!