God I know this is an old thread but, for the noobs, buy either the IC-3's for the instant rechargeability 15mins tops or go for the more expensive yet way more powerful Li-Ion or Li-Poly batts from
www.atomicxmods.com they have some badass batteries for decent prices. Also
www.batteryspace.com has some good deals on batts too. Just get a decent charger. That should give you some more top speed/ acceleration. Also for your range, DO NOT WORK ON THE CAR WITH THE BATTERIES IN IT! If you happen to touch the antenna to the battery or the motor you are likely to short out the diode for the antenna and will have 5-10ft range on it compaired to the normal 15-20ft range. Hope this helps you guys. -Josh