2s vs 3s Lipo Battery

2s vs 3s lipo conversations are popular nowadays because of the LiPo battery. Lithium Polymer batteries have taken themselves to the pinnacle of the radio control industry in the last few years. Their popularity is out of reach because every RC racers want long run times, support, and high power within a limited weight.  

Here, our primary focus is on 2s lipo and 3s lipo batteries. Both batteries offer longer run time, and high speed as well as are compatible with WL Toys, Traxxas Slash, crawler, and mini FPV drones. 

Our target is to learn about both 3s and 2s batteries and give you guys an actual idea about what will happen if we put 3s batteries in a 2s car and vice versa. Also, we will discuss why not always we get high power using more powerful batteries. Let’s get started. 

What does It Mean By 2s and 3s Batteries?

 The voltage of LiPo batteries is determined by the number of cells that we define as “S”. Therefore, 1s battery shows only one 3.7v cell. Similarly, 2s and 3s batteries show 7.4v and 11.1 v, respectively. Also, 1s means only one cell of the battery. 2s and 3s mean two and three cells of the battery, respectively. 

If 2s2p numbers on a battery, it means 4 cells of LiPo, but they are connected in parallel. Here is a knowledgeable thing to understand, cells connected in series connection increase the voltage, but cells connected in parallel increases the capacity (mAh)

Indication of Other Numbers in a LiPo Battery 

Before purchasing any 2s and 3s batteries, you must know the meaning of other numbers written on the sticker of a battery. Otherwise, only 2s or 3s batteries won’t give the run time or power you want. 

There are three main ratings one should know about, these are-

Voltage

We already have discussed the number of cells and how much voltage we get from 2s and 3s batteries. Earlier in LiPo battery time, we used to see a 2s2p mark on the battery; it means two batteries are connected in series, and two more are connected in parallel. But in the new LiPo batteries, we don’t see these numbers because technology developed the batteries to hold more energy in series connection. 

The voltage determines how fast your RC car will run as voltage directly impacts RPM (Revolution Per Minute). If the RC car motor shows 3500kV, it means the motor RPM is 3500 for every volt. So, 2s battery ensures 25,900 RPM and 3s battery ensures 38,850 RPM for a 3500kV motor. So clearly, voltage influences motor RPM.  

Capacity

You’ll see the 5000mAh mark on most of the RC cars and trucks. It means how much power the battery can hold before you need to recharge the battery again. So easily, 2s vs 3s lipo run time can be detected. Different brands of RC cars give various capacities of batteries. Even we see Traxxas slash 2s vs 3s lipo offers to 12,000 mAh. 

Also, there are a couple of obvious downsides of a 12,000 mAh battery which are really crucial. The more the capacity will be, the more weight the RC car will have to carry. A bigger battery produces more heat buildup, sometimes, which is enough to burn out the motor. 

Discharge Rating 

We see another rating or number written on 2s and 3s battery stickers, indicating discharge rating “C”. We mostly see 50C and 25C in both 2s and 3s batteries. It means you can safely draw it at 50 or 25 times more than the pack’s capacity. The discharge capacity indicates maximum sustained load for 2s and 3s batteries. If the number goes higher than the discharge capacity, the battery degradation will be faster than usual, and, in the worst case, the battery can burst. 

2s vs 3s LiPo Run Time

We already clarified that runtime depends on battery capacity. It means if both 2s and 3s batteries have 5000mAh capacity, both have the same run time. There are some considerations. For 3s LiPo, get a maximum 50% longer runtime because the battery has three cells. But it will only happen when the driving speed will remain like 2s and when gearing will be adjusted to keep the wheel speed the same.

But we see 3s has less runtime in most cases. It happens because most of us use extra power on tap, and we do not gear down enough to offset the RPM increase. Because all of us love speed. 

2s and 3s lipo voltage chart 

Before showing the Voltage Chart for both 2s and 3s batteries, we would like to tell you that the average LiPo voltage per cell is 3.8V. But maximum LiPo Voltage is 4.2V that we don’t count, and LiPo nominal voltage is 3.7V. 

How to Choose for RC Cars: LiPo vs lithium Ion Battery

First, it is pretty close when we try to find differences between lipo battery vs lithium battery. Though the Lithium-ion battery is sleek, it has more weight. Lithium Polymer battery is robust but is pretty lightweight, which helps your RC cars be more compatible and faster for racing. We mostly see 2s vs 3s lipo crawler RC cars. 

Though Li-ion batteries have lower costs and high power density, you need something low profile and flexible for RC cars. That’s why every RC car brand uses LiPo batteries. 

FAQ

Does 3s lipo last longer than 2s? 

– Theoretically, 3s should last 50% longer than 2s. But it doesn’t, because we run 3s RC cars faster than 2s, and it consumes more power. That’s why 3s doesn’t last longer. 

Can you run 2s and 3s LiPo together? 

 – Yeah 2s and 3s can be wired in series connection and make 5s setup. But be careful about the charging system. Unlike parallel charging, where it doesn’t matter how you connect to the charging port, a series connection demands a certain order. 

What does 2s and 3s mean?

– “S” indicates the cell number of a battery. 2s means 2 cells of 3.7 (3.7 x 2=7.4V) and 3s means 3 cells of 3.7 (3.7 x 3=11.1V). 

How long does a 3s Lipo battery last? 

– 3s LiPo battery lasted a minimum of 300,000 miles. But average RC car’s drivers run the car maximum of 13,000 miles. Sometimes, their batteries last a year or a few more years. 

Final Note

So far, we have tried to explain all the specific matters of 2s vs 3s lipo. But not always the battery determines the speed we will get. If your motor has less RPM, the RC car won’t get the expected speed no matter how powerful your battery is.