Best Traxxas TRX-4 upgrades and TRX-4 mods

[@RCReviewChannel]

Click on this link to Amainhobbies and anything you purchase there for the next 30 days will help the RC Review channel deliver more content. bit.ly/2PGrJav

[@mr.shelly1812]

It is interesting to see the scale trend continue to develop. I like performance in my crawlers, but I tend toward more "scale" performance. If I can't climb a rock face at a 45 degree angle, then like a real rig, I try to find another way around. It is the challenge of climbing that fascinates me. Not saying seeing a rig scaling a 45 degree slope isn't amazing. Guys who mod their rigs to that point are paving the way for new and better scale models. That's how we continue to progress as a hobby. Keep it up guys, you have my admiration.

[@RCReviewChannel]

"another way around" that's good if there's that option. Usually it requires carrying the vehicle and that's not realistic either. In the real world, there will usually be a way around since vehicles have to get through. :) In rock gardens or steep terrain, it's good to have 8 option lines to play with instead of two. Opens up terrain and options where it's usually limited. Anyway, that's what is good about the hobby, we can take it into different directions and all have fun. Playing with our very heavy and scale LC70 and Defender rigs now and making cool videos.

[@tmprod3925]

I approve this message! :D I can tell you actually use the Trx & know what you're talking about (&needed)... unlike so many that simply buy all the after-market upgrades just because everyone is doing it/saying so, or 'it looks cool' (shinny fancy metal)... :)) I bought MIP offsets, alloy axles/rims & tires, but haven't mounted them yet because I've been very satisfied with how my Tactical Unit performs out of the box... +500hrs in, on the 4th Titan (due to my abusive nature, not the motor, which is awesome!) Haven't dismantled it yet, to do some maintenance, doesn't seem to ask for it, but when I do, the OD/UD sounds like a thing to do. Thanks! I wouldn't have thought about that... I was just going to get rid/trim the bumpers, and add some brass to the front-portals, that's it! Those are my only issues so far, approach angle and getting caught on the rear bumper, but never so annoying that they make me install the upgrades I got. I have the Hyraxes, but also due to my preferred terrain, never used them yet, stock tires are great.

[@SJTYSKA]

love this guys videos, explains things well and has a pleasant way about him.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thank you. We learn from each other. We help save you money so you can spend more money! But on the right stuff. :)

[@thecandyman9308]

Thank you very much for the tips. 🙂 I'm building my first TRX-4 now and just went ahead and ordered a Traxxas metal servo horn. Can see the plastic one not standing up to much abuse and the metal on is only $6 so it's a no-brainer.

[@thereasonableamericans411]

Underdrive/overdriving will put a highly accelerated amount of wear on all drive-train components. Since it's an R/C, and cheap compared to your real vehicle, you might not care. Just be aware it will wear out parts faster. I personally think that overdrive/underdrive kits are TOO much, 25% is excessive IMO, I opt for closer to 10% when possible, I find this obtains the greater majority of the advantage without quite so much wear when normally driving it. You may find your battery life suffers a little when changing drive speeds in this manner. If you wanted to try just O/D the front or ONLY U/D the rear that might be a good half way point. Just an option plus hey it's cheaper! It's one way to slightly change the overall speed/tq of your vehicle too. If you wished your vehicle was geared down just a little more you could choose to U/D just the rear for example. As he mentioned, when you do this, you will find just like lockers on a real vehicle in the snow while side-hilling, you'll slide down a little as you drive. This is an expected trade off.

[@firstsuperduke3944]

You are the absolute TRX4 / Crawler Expert !!!!! 👍👍 Thanks for each of your videos and Tips !!!!!! Greetings from Austria.

[@RCReviewChannel]

High praise from Austria, home of great rock crawling. What's really cool is all these tips apply to the other brands, Axial, Redcat, HPI, etc.

[@firstsuperduke3944]

Yes that's true. 😉 But have become an absolute TRX4 fan through your videos and comparison test. Looking forward to your next video. 😄

[@matthewleach8821]

Thanks for the OD/UD explanation. Gonna buy the gears today.

[@RRED2]

You explain things that I can understand. Thank You for being helpful. 😄

[@johnwaynetska]

I really appreciate what you do. Just wanted you to know.

[@josephguisleman6490]

been doing this hobby for a wile now and always learn new things from your page.Thanks!

[@ruben25900]

Trx4’s are such a great platform

[@RCReviewChannel]

No doubt. It's so rewarding to mod it since it has such huge upside.

[@justdoinit88ray50]

Yes they are! Like him I have Abt 4 Trx4s! 3 Broncos & 1 Defender Chassis with Pickup Body! My first bronco has over 50 upgrades od/ud is one of them & I absolutely love it! One of the best upgrades not mentioned would be extended Hexes & extended hubs! I noticed tht if you do these 2 upgrades on the bronco it’s less likely to tip during high speed turns & on the angles it helps plant the truck more vs tipping so easily! Brass & Aluminum works too! I kno he said brass over aluminum bt my entire rig 100% fully metal upgraded & it changed the whole dynamic of driving this truck! My defender Chassis is also 100% fully metal upgraded Bt More Brass & Aluminum! Both rigs are heavy bt performance is just incredible!

[@pauldavis1915]

Thanks. Your vids are the ones to watch along with you’re humor.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Appreciated that. Our main goal is to get more folks in the hobby having fun.

[@lonesurvivor450]

Thanks for the info. Good stuff, will go to work. Keep it up!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Yeah, yeah, more coming!

[@RCVOODOO]

Nice mods. 👍 I think the low center of gravity battery tray is a very good mod that I did a vídeo test on, and gives an extra 2° on climbing before it flips back✌

[@Piolin768]

Thank you for making videos like this!! It's greatly appreciated.

[@danytremblay6168]

Very nice video, nice job even when you are sick :). For my trx4 I didn't want to add too mutch weight in front, Yeah racing is nice and I have some parts from them like my c-hubs in aluminium, I added samix Brass Steering Knuckle, Portal Cover & Scale Brake Rotor Set in front, about 157g and on the back Brass Portal Cover & Scale Brake Rotor Set, about 55g and it's working well. I dont have the courage nor the skills to change all the axel housing like you did, nice job :) another upgrade done at Christmas, the samix high clearance links. For the body I was like you and loved the defender body, that's the main reason I bought this rig, but after over a year I changed the body for the Ford raptor, I did not have the chance to try it out in the trail as we have a lot of snow where I am at the moment, can't wait to get to the spring time, also two brand new 3s batteries to try out as I always used 2s before, will see how it goes. Please continue to post your great videos. Can't wait for you to post the test of the shocks as I want to change them on my truck.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Right on buddy. Yes, our main rig still has the defender body. It's been equalized by matching weight near the bottom of the car. Cheater rig when it crushes mini body style crawlers.

[@RcCrawlerGuy]

Our minds and mods think alike!! ☺️ job well done.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thank you Vlogs!!

[@voodootrucker]

Keep up the good work brother.

[@RCVOODOO]

Nice name👍

[@voodootrucker]

RC VOODOO back at ya bro 🤘🏼

[@wulfkaiser6612]

Greetings from Germany. Your videos are by far the best I could find. I’m new in RC but based on your videos I make good progress. Question regarding Overdrive AND Underdrive: what is your experience regarding wearing? I don‘t want to destroy my differentials. I drive my TRX-4 with Proline body (what a difference....) almost always in steep rocky areas.

[@runnerbaba]

Hi. Wo findest du diese steinigen Hügel? Ich komme aus Hessen und bekomme am Wochenende meinen Trx-4 Sport. Lg

[@HearnsHobbiesMelbourne]

Really good advise!

[@sroc3]

Great explanation of upgrades man!!!! :)

[@ronaldvargasmontero9404]

Great video hi from Costa Rica 🇨🇷

[@RCReviewChannel]

Love it!!!!!

[@remkojerphanion4686]

Good, sensible video, Thanks!

[@carl3810]

Thank you for this information what a great channal this is I subbed!

[@RCReviewChannel]

We learn and share, repeat. :)

[@UAERCADDICTS]

i agree

[@prillerman]

I like your channel very informative question do you recommend a brushed motor for the trx4 best high-end

[@robm.6825]

Hi, great video. Do you run the stock shock preload settings on your trx-4?

[@rrenegadoo]

Thanks for the secrets, what a about the micro servos? I have 2 trx4 and already change 1 micro servo on each car.

[@prillerman]

I like my trx4 like it is but I would like to upgrade the brushed motor

[@tmprod3925]

WHY??? I'm so satisfied with my stock Tactical... +500hrs in... I only run 3S, so the speed is enough for me... went through 4 Titans, because I abuse them a lot, in deep rivers and mud, and I'd rather change them every month, rather than get a $200 combo and worry about damaging it... still, the stock Titan is an awesome motor! I also bought MIP offsets, metal axles, alloy beadlocks, but haven't mounted them because I'm happy with it as is... Then again, don't know what you're into... if you like bashing a lot, by all means, Mamba-X or the new AXE. Cheers

[@andyb9994]

Love your vids and your rigs, I'm not sure on changing the front gearing without changing the rear to match. Not saying your wrong, I'm going buy what you said it's not practical on real vehicles, very critical on real vehicles for gear ratio to match, but great vid and thanks for your top 5..👍

[@citizen6610]

Nice info. Thanks 👌🏼

[@dangavin]

This channel was one of the reasons I got my trx 4, all the videos and reviews are great. I’ve got a trx 4 jeep and I’m loading accessories on it now. Anyway I left a like and sub, happy new year. 😎😀👍 also I make videos on my trx 4 aswell 😃

[@RCReviewChannel]

Appreciate it very much.

[@zenithstolemysoul]

Great guy, great videos thanks.

[@ametykathy]

Excellent video. With the overdrive and underdrive. I can use the stock pinion motor?. Thanks! From Puerto Rico.

[@RCReviewChannel]

yes, stock pinion. top speed will remain the same

[@ametykathy]

@@RCReviewChannel ok thanks a lot

[@shawnreel5809]

Where can I get the under drive and over drive gears at ? Thanks awesome info and video 👍

[@ruben25900]

shawn reel, traxxas sells them

[@RCReviewChannel]

We added the part number and links in the description.

[@justdoinit88ray50]

eBay $80 for Front & Rear together

[@moosc]

I'm interested in those gears? I've got aluminum axles that I'm swapping in

[@RCReviewChannel]

We've added the part number and links in the description now.

[@moosc]

If I'm doing the axles upgrade should I get all new internals ? Or use stock parts? I seen some. Portal gears with different gear ratio back now can't find them.

[@knightmpw]

What is your recommendation for the pinion gears of trx6? Is it 3 sets of 33T /12Ts???

[@lloyderc]

Could you just overdrive the front? If so what would best gear for that? Without doing rears.

[@BLACKBOX1004]

my bro good video😍😍🇰🇷🇰🇷

[@RCReviewChannel]

Korea crawling power!!!

[@bigpapa3348]

I'm new to this but I love my bronco trx4. I'm trying to learn whatever I can lol

[@RCReviewChannel]

It's such a cool hobby of playing, upgrading, learning, repeat.

[@bigpapa3348]

@@RCReviewChannel hey I do have a question though. Okay so I am a cross-country truck driver. I pull a flatbed and I keep my TRX Bronco in my truck. But I've noticed that once in a while it has overheating issues. How do you fix this? Like I'll play with it for like an hour or two and then the red light will start blinking. I'll unplug the battery plug it back in and then it'll run for like another half hour and then it'll start doing it again. I thought maybe the battery was dying. But when I plug in my battery to charge it it still has a ton of juice. And when I rock crawl cuz I take it out the Rocky mountains with me a lot I use low gear. Like Traxxas suggests. Any ideas how to fix overheating issue?

[@RCReviewChannel]

You need some heat sinks and fans. Fan on the motor or fan on the ESC, depending on what's overheating.

[@bigpapa3348]

@@RCReviewChannel I'll see what I can find thanks for the advice.

[@dramacidalrc9714]

Can you still trail with you truck when you Change the over under drive?

[@ntg4135]

You can, but it puts stress on the drivetrain when you drive fast while walking, but on the trx4 the drivetrain probably is bulletproof enough. Also the handling is a bit funny at higher speeds with higher overdrive and in my opinion on loose dirt for example, like you often have on trails, the traction isn’t as good. So if you just go for a walk with your trail truck and don’t want just hit the rocks or crazy climbs, overdrive isn’t worth it in my opinion. Edit: What I like is to put under drive gears in the rear and in the front to get a higher gear reduction in the axles, which results in less torque twist.

[@dramacidalrc9714]

@@ntg4135 thank you so much for your time Tom 😁💯💯🤙

[@ntg4135]

@@dramacidalrc9714 You’re welcome!

[@baleallout4172]

Is there something for the battery tray

[@orion000]

What gears would you recommend for 5.4” tires on a trx4?

[@joncon4746]

Thanks!

[@devingable8467]

Will this effect my truck when I go trailing?

[@waynemcclanahan9058]

I put the over drive in my trx4 if I put the under drive in will it mess up my Trans it I do any trailing instead of crawling

[@gunlakepaddlesports]

thank you

[@RCReviewChannel]

You're welcome

[@braddahdussifyoumuss596]

Is there such thing as over greasing your axles???

[@RCReviewChannel]

Yes don’t fill up too much or it will bind up movement

[@jimsrc2196]

Wouldnt locking front diff help it pull so it isnt loaded in rear and lifting front with rear unlocked? I understand the od/ud, but i still prefer just locking front diff for them hard climb

[@ruben25900]

Jim Wolfe Jr, I noticed that it can really screw you over sometimes

[@AckageHSC]

The Trx4 has locking diffs, you can run both open, open front locked rear, or both locked from a switch on the radio

[@jimsrc2196]

@@AckageHSC in stock form, middle position, the front locks first and then next click is all locked . . Only way rear licks first is if diff servos were switched on the receiver or have aftermarket rx & tx

[@RCReviewChannel]

Yes, locked diffs are essential for tough climbs. This is in addition to locked diffs since the rear will still unweight the front tires.

[@rgcmotorsports]

Dont need to get $200 worth of brass.. but i want $500 worth of brass..

[@G00DDAVE]

👍🎥👍

[@gofast3415]

What is your opinion on brass differential and knuckle components? My reason for asking is that I think that whatever plastic the heavy brass is attached to would create a weak point. Thank you. Nice video.

[@monkfry]

J D Just someone else’s two cents here if you want. I installed the HR brass axles, brass portals, brass portal weights, skid plates and TREAL +3 brass axle extensions with a lift kit. I’m not too thrilled with the lift kit but I also have huge tires so I needed the clearance. I haven’t had any weak or broken parts issues in regards to your question. This guy always has some pretty good info.

[@RCReviewChannel]

I think they’re good since they are the lowest point in the whole vehicle. Plastics in this car are very high quality and are fine. Never seen one broken. Alloy housings and skid plates create edges and lower points that hang up

[@monkfry]

RCReview never had my skid plates hang up and they protect the axles from being ground down. To each his own though.

[@gofast3415]

@@monkfry Thank you. I agree this guy is sharp.

[@gofast3415]

@@RCReviewChannel Thank you for your response. I've been subbed and enjoy your content.

[@igeliga]

What do I need to put on front od or ud?

[@RCReviewChannel]

Front, you need OD. Need to overdrive the front so they spin faster and pull the rig up more.

[@Soyandres99]

First one to like and comment !! Jejejeje like your videos thanks

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thanks buddy!!

[@kenreynolds1092]

The real truck back in the day had 4.10 gear in the front and 4.11 gear in the rear. That is why you can't run 4 wheel drive on dry pavement only off road.

[@yormmm]

what kind of foams should i go with? The one coming with the hyrax or the dual stage people talk about. What compond of hyrax?

[@RCReviewChannel]

Normal soft compound is what we use. Super soft predator compound is good for ultimate grip if your terrain is slippery. Proline foam is good. Dual stage goalmouths is handy for lateral support if you have a lot of side hilling. Always vent the wheels so air pressure does not build up. Let the foam do the articulation work

[@johngisbourne7197]

That was the wrong motion for unweighting the front lol

[@JoeOvercoat]

The title should say *crawler* mods, to clarify. Without that context every other mod is a downgrade.

[@tomv3361]

wtf's with those OD/UD gears, it's so unrealistic and puts so much stress on the vehicle so it makes simple trailing impossible

[@RCReviewChannel]

Impossible??? O jeez, it's hardly even noticeable. Real rock crawlers have it. It's not practical on the freeway of course but these rock crawlers going 3mph have no issue. Running 2 years now on a trx4 with absolutely no issue. Also consider that overdrive can be 5% to 50% so it's highly configurable and not safe to generalize.

[@tomv3361]

@@RCReviewChannel Well I think I will never understand what's up with all that extreme "rock crawling" many people do, I do long trails runs like 10s of kms with my trx4.

[@jasonsrcstuff9278]

I completely disagree with most of this video!!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Without any specifics or reasoning, it's very hard to take this seriously.

[@jasonsrcstuff9278]

Because I have also owned several TRX4’s. As well as have 32 years experience with RC. Od/UD will only help in an climb. Which is less than 25% of the challenges you face. Will pull you over sideways and forward on a decent. Hyrax tyres are way more hype than anything else. Worst tire on the world unless your always on dry rocks and your truck is under 8 lbs. Not having bumpers will keep you out of damn near every comp held around the US!! So changing it is the proper advice. Not get rid of it. 1210 savox is junk!! Reef’s 555 is better and Protek 370tbl is the best. Only servo with a factory rating to be submerged and 650 oz-in at 7.4v. And finally, I compete nationally and do not have a single ounce of brass on my truck!!! Terrible advice! Adding weight outside the frame rails will also cause an ill effect. Even when “unsprung” I will pull on the axles like a fat kid on a teeter totter!!! Only advice you should be giving is, “know your truck, understand what it does and doesn’t do for your style. Then lower center of gravity for stability. Many ways to do this. Once you understand the characteristics of your vehicle on the terrain you drive on, mods will be easy to sort and select.” Not, “BRASS BRASS BRASS!!! Hyrax!!! Savox!! Everyone take off your bumpers!!!” Why not leave the body off? That would increase performance. But doesn’t really go with the spirit of a scale truck now does it. I can continue all day about how wrong your advice is as well as how wrong you are for giving it out like it’s written in the crawler bible!!!

[@jasonsrcstuff9278]

We could gate up a course on the grounds of your choice and I guarantee my Trx4 will out perform yours. Cause I build with knowledge, physics, geometry and experience!!!

[@jasonsrcstuff9278]

Enough or should I continue?

[@juantabby4787]

Jason’s RC Stuff to bad it didn’t help with your attitude. 32 years of thinking you’re better than everyone else. If you read your post it’s pretty obvious you’re a dink.