ONYX Tabless Lithium Battery

Tabless real-world vs spec sheet

A lot of people get tripped up by the difference between pulse ratings, burst ratings, and what a battery can actually deliver in a real ONYX pack.

You will often see wild numbers like 300A or even 600A thrown around. Those are ultra-short spikes measured under controlled lab conditions. They look great on a spec sheet, but they are not something a battery pack can hit over and over in real riding. Treating those figures like usable power is a fast way to cook a pack and shorten cell life.

In reality, true short-burst capability is much lower, even for modern high-output tabless cells. The Reliance RS50 is closer to the ~90A per-cell range, and the Ampace JP50 is closer to ~100A per cell under ideal conditions. The JP50 does stand out at the top end, but even that assumes excellent pack design and serious thermal management.

This is also why upcoming cells are worth paying attention to. Reliance has already confirmed the RS60 for 2026, which looks to be aimed around 30A continuous and 50A burst, very much in line with their usual focus on stability instead of hype. Tenpower’s 60XG is still a question mark. On paper it does not clearly beat the 50GX, so real-world testing will decide whether it is a true upgrade or just a new label.

It also puts JAWS MODE into perspective. Cells like the JP50 and Tenpower 50GX already live in pre-race territory. On a 680 controller, pushing harder than that usually means trading reliability for bragging rights. The 1000-class controllers are for extreme builds only, where both the hardware and the rider’s discipline are on a different level.

Specs sell batteries. Heat and voltage behavior decide whether they last.

Continuous, Pulse, and Burst

Continuous, Pulse, and Burst ratings describe how long a cell can safely deliver a certain amount of current.

• Continuous means the current level the cell can provide indefinitely without overheating or accelerating wear.

• Pulse refers to short spikes in current, usually around 2 to 10 seconds. These are limited by heat buildup and depend heavily on cooling and pack design.

• Burst is for very short spikes, roughly 1 to 2 seconds. This is near the electrical limit of the cell and is only safe for brief moments, such as hard launches or sudden throttle hits.

CPB Reference

• Continuous = what the cell can sustain indefinitely with proper cooling.
• Pulse = short current (≈5–10s) limited by heat buildup.
• Burst = very short spikes (≈1–2s) near the cell’s electrical limit.

The simple version

Not all “30 amp” batteries are the same.

On paper, a Samsung 50S and a Reliance RS50 can look similar. On an ONYX, they do not feel similar at all.

Thirty amps from a Samsung 50S is like swinging a wiffle ball bat. It works, but it flexes, heats up, and loses power fast.

Thirty amps from an RS50, EVE 50PL, or Tenpower 50GX is like swinging a solid steel rod. Stable, stiff, and consistent.

Same number. Completely different result.

That difference comes down to two things most spec sheets do not make obvious.

• Internal resistance
• Heat management

Lower resistance means less heat, less voltage sag, and more real power making it to the motor.

That is why tabless cells matter.

They do not just survive hard riding.

They are built for it.

Why this matters on an ONYX

The ONYX RCR pulls real current. Hard launches. Field weakening. Long full throttle runs.

That exposes weak cells fast.

With traditional cells

• Voltage drops early
• Heat climbs fast
• Power fades
• Cell life shortens

With tabless cells

• Voltage stays higher
• Temps stay lower
• Power stays consistent
• Packs last longer

Same controller. Same motor. Same settings.

Different battery equals different bike.

What “tabless” actually means

Normal lithium cells use small metal tabs to move current from the electrodes to the terminals.

Those tabs become choke points. They add resistance, trap heat, and limit how fast power can flow.

Tabless cells spread that connection across the entire edge of the electrode instead.

So instead of forcing power through two tiny bottlenecks, current flows across the whole surface.

Two lane road versus ten lane highway.

Tesla popularized this idea with their 4680 cells. Same concept here, just in the 21700 size that fits ONYX packs.

Future Tabless Cell Releases

We are also watching the next wave of tabless cells closely and waiting on real world testing. Verified results matter more than marketing specs and will ultimately show which new cells are truly worth building packs around.

Tabless Lithium Battery Cells

Tabless cells are the real upgrade for ONYX. They deliver their rated power with less heat and less voltage sag, so the performance actually matches the spec sheet.

Amp ratings alone do not tell the story.

Internal resistance and thermal stability are what determine how strong a pack really feels.

Same rating. Completely different results.

That is the difference between a battery that merely survives hard riding and one that thrives.

Tesla-Style Tabless Cells

Think Tesla style tabless cells, just in a shape that fits ONYX perfectly.

Tabless plus verified equals ONYX gold.

When you combine tabless construction with real world validation, you get cells that can actually deliver what their ratings promise without excessive heat or voltage sag.

That is why the tabless Reliance RS50 and Tenpower 50GX stand out as true drop in powerhouse upgrades for any ONYX RCR running 21700 NMC cells.

Here is the part that gets misunderstood.

Amp ratings alone do not tell the full story.

Two cells can both be labeled 30 amps and behave completely differently once you lean on them.

What separates them is internal resistance, thermal stability, and how well they hold voltage under sustained load.

Thirty amps from a Samsung 50S is like swinging a wiffle ball bat. It gets the job done, but it flexes under pressure. With its higher internal resistance, voltage sags quickly, heat builds faster, and performance falls off sooner.

It works best in lower demand applications where sustained current and heat are not major concerns.

Now compare that to 30 amps from a P45B, P50B, EVE 40PL, or Reliance RS50.

That is like swinging a solid steel rod.

The structure is rigid, the voltage holds, and the cell stays composed under stress. Even when continuous amp ratings look similar, lower resistance and better thermal behavior mean these cells deliver power more cleanly and consistently.

Step up again to the tabless heavy hitters like the Tenpower 50GX and especially the Reliance RS50 and the difference becomes even more obvious.

The Reliance RS50, with its extremely low resistance, can push very high current with minimal sag and heat. The Tenpower 50GX and RS50 sit right behind it, offering an excellent balance between capacity, output, and thermal control.

These cells are not just meeting their ratings.

They are doing it comfortably.

This is why two packs built with the same amp ratings can feel completely different on the road.

Lower resistance cells waste less energy as heat, maintain higher voltage under load, and feel stronger and more responsive at the same current.

Higher resistance cells may technically hit the same number, but they do it less efficiently and with more stress.

Same amp rating. Completely different performance in the real world.

That is the difference between a battery that survives hard riding and one that thrives on it.

Non-Tabless Lithium Battery Cells

ONYX Tabless Lithium Battery

Building on what we covered earlier, the ONYX RCR uses standard 21700 format lithium ion cells.

All tabless 21700 cells share that exact size, so they drop straight into existing battery layouts without changing the pack shape or dimensions.

That makes them fully compatible with custom builds and aftermarket packs while delivering the lower resistance and higher real world performance discussed above.

Using tabless 21700 cells in an ONYX RCR is not just possible.

It is one of the most advanced battery upgrades you can do.

The 45D is ideal for powerful daily rides and mid tier racing builds, while the 50D is made for riders chasing maximum torque, speed, and output.

Perfect for field weakening, hard launches, and track level performance.

Benefits of Using Tabless

• Lower internal resistance: more efficient current flow and less voltage sag under load
• Higher discharge output: sustains 35A to 60A per cell, ideal for high performance builds, racing, or FW
• Cooler running: tabless design spreads heat better and lowers temperatures under full throttle
• Better lifespan under stress: less heat means less long term cell degradation
• More consistent power delivery: smoother acceleration, especially at high speed or low state of charge

Tabless Lithium Cells

A “tabless lithium battery” refers to the same concept popularized by Tesla’s 4680 cell design.

In traditional lithium ion cells, internal current collector tabs connect the electrode layers to the terminals.

Those tabs act like bottlenecks. They limit how fast power can flow and they concentrate heat.

A tabless design removes those bottlenecks by spreading the current path across the entire edge of the electrode.

It is effectively the same two lane road versus ten lane highway upgrade.

What is a Tabless Lithium Battery

In traditional lithium ion cells, current must travel through small tab connection points.

In tabless cells, current exits across the entire electrode edge.

That reduces resistance, improves cooling, and allows higher sustained current without excessive heat buildup.

Why Tabless Is Better

• Less resistance means more efficiency
• Better cooling means more usable power
• Faster charging and discharging
• Higher performance in electric vehicles and high drain applications

Tesla’s 4680 Cell as an Example

Tesla’s 4680 tabless cell uses a jellyroll design where the electrode layers are laser patterned to remove the need for tabs.

That design change helped enable

• Increased range
• Boosted power
• Reduced manufacturing costs