^^^ z-fire, I missed your post. I have a SPC soft 5000 20c lipo (highly regarded among the gurus on the Traxxas forums that I payed about $53 shipped for. I cannot tell the difference bashing though I do not race. Run times are about equal and the batts take about the same mah on the charger after hitting lvc. My street Bandit has the same grunt and pulls the same. If you buy just one, the shipping from china (don't get the cheapest shipping!) brings the Hobby City pack within $10-15 of the spc. Either buy a few or get someone to share an order with to get the most value out of the purchase.