Skip to content
What Does 3S Mean in RC Cars?
RC cars and RC trucks come in a wide variety of different classifications. One such category you have likely come across is the term 3S. What does 3S mean in RC cars, and is it a feature you should be looking out for?
To help clear up any questions you might have, here’s all you need to know about the nature of 3S and other similar terms in the world of RC cars and trucks.
Understanding the Basics of Battery Voltage and Cell Count
To understand what 3S means for RC cars, you first need to learn a little bit about batteries.
Batteries have two primary characteristics: their voltage and their battery cell count. Voltage is measured in volts, whereas cell count is just a number of how many cells the total battery uses.
Because most modern RC car batteries are made of lithium polymer, or LiPo for short, the term 3S refers to the fact that there are three battery cells connected to form the final LiPo battery package.
Another important fact to keep in mind is that your standard LiPo battery cell has a voltage of 3.7v. So to understand the total voltage of a battery, simply multiply 3.7 by how many cells there are.
For example, a 2S battery has 7.4v, whereas a 3S battery has 11.1v, and a 4S battery has 14.8v.
Cell count and battery voltage are intrinsically tied to one another, so if you ever want to find out if a RC car battery has good voltage, it should have a higher number next to the “S”.
What Does a Higher Battery Cell Count do for a RC Car?
The battery is one of the most important components of any RC car or RC truck, so understandably one would hope that they get an RC car with a higher voltage than average. But what exactly does 3S mean in RC cars when it comes to performance in action?
Battery voltage is very important for determining the top speed of your RC vehicle. Voltage, and by extension battery cell count, is directly tied to the RPM (revolutions per minute) of your RC car’s motor. This dynamic is improved if you are using an RC car or RC truck that has a brushless motor instead of a brushed motor.
With a 2S LiPo RC car battery, you can expect around 25,000 RPM, but with a 3S LiPo RC car battery, you can achieve around 37,500 RPM instead. This means that a 3S battery is considerably more powerful and faster than a 2S one.
Related Reading: What is the Best 1/16 Scale RC Truck
Are 3S Batteries Good for RC Cars?
One of the great benefits of 3S batteries is that they provide an excellent middle ground between price and performance. While there are more powerful batteries such as 5S and 6S, they tend to be quite expensive and don’t lend themselves well to being good entry points for people just getting into the world of RC car racing.
3S batteries with their 11.1 voltage are more than enough juice for people to get a taste of some reasonably fast high speeds, especially when paired with a brushless motor. Not only that, but 3S batteries are not going to break the bank. These days they are a particularly popular battery format, meaning that they are both readily accessible and affordable.
3S batteries are also great for people who are invested in RC car races. While 3S batteries don’t have the highest battery capacity, meaning they don’t have exceptionally long battery life, they can still pump out a lot of juice in the time they have. This makes them a great choice for people who care more about speed than longevity. If you don’t mind having to charge your battery at least once a day, an RC car with a 3S battery could be the perfect choice for you.
The Bezgar HP161S – A Great 3S RC Car
If you’re now wondering what kind of 3S RC car you should get for yourself, look no further than the Bezgar HP161S, a fantastic and affordable RC monster truck that has the battery power you’re looking for.
As mentioned before, 11.1v 3S LiPo batteries have higher RPM and top speeds than many other RC car batteries. These high-capacity cells offer the kind of acceleration and speed that will come in handy off the road and on the race track.
Thanks to these batteries, the Bezgar HP161S offers superb performance in all domains. It has great stability, unreal acceleration and an impressive maximum speed of 38 mph.
While it may be a smaller 1/16 scale RC monster truck, you shouldn’t let its size throw you off. This is a very powerful RC truck for its size and its price range, and you can’t truly understand the power it has until you use it for yourself.
One of the best things about the Bezgar HP161S is its brushless motor. Combined with its cooling fan, it maintains a quiet profile and lower temperatures. This helps the internal components have a longer lifespan, but more importantly, the combination of the brushless motor and the 3S LiPo battery is really why the Bezgar HP161S is so fast.
Final Thoughts
So, the next time you ask yourself what does 3S mean in RC cars, hopefully you’ll remember everything that was taught to you in this article. Battery cell count is inherently tied to the voltage, and a higher voltage means a faster RC car. While many great RC cars and trucks come with 2S batteries, get yourself a 3S battery if you really want to experience a car with a lot of value.
And remember, the battery isn’t the only thing that determines how fast an RC car can go. The motor is another important determining factor that you have to keep in mind, whether it’s brushed or brushless. But a brushless motor like the Bezgar HP161S has is typically the better choice since that will allow your RC car or truck to potentially go faster!