HS 18301 RC Truck - Essential Upgrades and Review

[@ronwalsh]

Great information to have. I have had an HS18331 for a few months now, and while I have had no failures, I would rather keep some spares kicking around for when they are needed. Thanks for posting this.

[@rcmindset2876]

Great video. You should do bigger rc’s and your channel will blow up. Not many channels are able to communicate like you are doing. Hopefully you make it happen!

[@MadJoker92]

Your video is very good you should record more of them, I would like to see more of how you change things in the RC car

[@rafwiel]

I just ordered this car for my son, and i was planning to replace parts as they worn out, but now i can see it will be better to order all parts you mentioned in advance. Thank you

[@chrishaskins3505]

Just bought this RC for my wife for birthday I'm going through and doing some upgrades myself. I found that the metal diff cups fit the wltoys 959 metal dogbones without modding them, unlike the stock plastic diff. Also upgraded the shocks and switched the tires

[@samgustafson308]

Yeah, if you don't have the plastic sleeve around the diff cup, there's nothing to limit the length of the pin. Thanks for pointing that out.

[@MrTrickydisco]

Ditto what others have said. Very good video. Your approach and explanation is top notch. More like this

[@ticktock858]

I enjoyed and really appreciated the advice. It's a shame that you won't be making more RC videos, because you seem very knowledgeable and concise in your explanation. It definitely gave me a good sense of what to expect on my son's HS 18311. Thank you.

[@AnthonyCowley]

These are great suggestions! On our truck, we killed the pinions from the main driveshaft into the diffs long before anything else. After about 20 battery cycles in forests, sand, quarries, and street driving, those are the only things that have gone wrong. We have one twisted wheel driveshaft, but none broken yet. So I'd definitely say the metal diffs are essential; I've done one and it has worked great without needing any shims. Also, the bearings! They improve wheel tracking immensely, and the bushings only get worse over time. Without those two upgrades, I think the truck's lifetime is unlikely to be more than a handful of battery cycles. My only ongoing frustration with the truck is that I don't have any screws that match the ones it uses, and I'm not sure what standard they are. They seem like #2-32 flat head machine screws, but I haven't turned up such a thing yet. Oh, and you didn't mention your battery cover modification (e.g. 6:46)! Ours looks more or less identical.

[@samgustafson308]

Thanks! Nice to here someone else's experience with the truck isn't too far from my own. It would be nice to know what the screw size was, in terms of standard specs. I measured the major diameter at 2.3 mm with a pitch of ~0.9 mm but I can't match it to a standard screw size. I was saving the battery cover mod for another video :). The short story is that I couldn't fit my deans connectors in there so I cut out the bottom (top?). But I would recommend the hack even for a car with stock connectors.

[@AnthonyCowley]

@@samgustafson308 I purchased a slightly larger capacity battery (1500 mah) with the same locking JST connector as the original battery. It turned out to be 1mm longer, and has longer wires, so I had to cut out that same part of the battery cover to let me push the connectors through the hole to make room for everything. I tried contacting banggood to see if they could find out about the screw size. They could not. It's frustrating as preserving the original screws through every cleaning and upgrade is going to be impossible, which will then leave me having to re-tap the holes or something else ridiculous.

[@hoffix1690]

Would love to see a video of you disasembling the car and implementing these upgrades!

[@skywalker81394]

I'd say adding the bearings is an essential upgrade

[@reekooism]

Do you feel a real difference while driving. I mean while you release the accelerator, it rolls more far away?

[@rctraildriversuk-lone-wolfvide]

Very helpful video, i had been looking at getting an HS on price but by time you put the upgrades it takes it to a higher model level

[@dezmond91_hu]

i have the same problem (wobbly wheels), after 2-3 uses. thank you, very useful video!

[@atamata237]

Only good video on KZbin about this car

[@chb4940]

i have the same car and i never had any problem with it just one broken drive shaft the only thing that i did is fill all of bushings and gear with grease

[@darrenkent1276]

Really nice video, very detailed and informative. Please upload some vids of you making these changes, also interested in tyres and shocks. I know I could buy an expensive car but there is some satisfaction in upgrading something and learning along the way. Also i think the HS18311 is just a good looking car.

[@dt4807]

Great video! Thanks for the detailed explanation! New to the channel, please keep posting great content like this one.

[@lapiaz2226]

Gear and pinion on one of mine stripped for good. Need to find replacement.

[@tomek2012]

Hi, great video, thanks a lot. I have a question because I am about to buy one of these cars. Absima Storm, Revell Storm, HoSpeed Storm. They look the same, differ greatly in price. Is it all exactly the same (component quality)? Choose the cheapest with the assumption that you will still need to upgrade according to your guide, or the most expensive with the option that maybe they will not break down so much?

[@reneboyvallekamipoaykaisan3592]

Sir where's the video for replacing differentials of this model?

[@liam4080]

Great vid and commentary man should do more RC videos! 👍🏼

[@marcsangiuliano4273]

I'm expecting this car from Amazon tomorrow but after watching your video I think I'm just gonna send it back. I only paid $49 for it but all the things you talked about in this video sounds like a pain in the ass! Thanks for such a good video, just wish I had watched it a few days ago.

[@samgustafson308]

If you're just looking for a plug and play experience, this probably ain't it :)

[@Backyard_KLX]

Haha right I almost pulled the trigger but seeing this video and the time and money to upgrade, you might as well just get the Teton

[@cpurage]

I've mixed plastic with metal gear and it works great so I put rear metal differential then on the drive shaft I used both ends plastic and on the front differential I left it plastic so far no failures for more than 2-3 months ;)

[@carmasterjil2695]

More videos like this but with different RCs would be great.

[@Baka1991-8]

Thanks god I watched your video before I bought one! Thanks a lot for the infos!

[@joeljoel12428]

Great explanation, I have a 18322 and I bought the differencials, the dogbone, the bearings (rodajes in Spanish) I have not installed them yet because the plastic components still works.My question is whe you changed the differencials and the dog bone did youfelta great difference?Or the new pieces is just for large duration?

[@sausagesmcgee7079]

18421 is the brushless version that features metal parts such as dog bones - so just look for 18421 parts to upgrade 👍

[@sebsrcobsession4573]

Thank you for making this video. It really helped! I had decided to purchase the Thunder for my God-son for his 6th bday and was stoked to be able to upgrade it so it lasts longer.

[@timbenefield5197]

Great video and great cars for the money, but the thing I hate about them is the screw hole stripping about the 3rd time you take the battery cover off...

[@alex_ig_j1378]

Hello, i have accidentaly snapped the steering wheel on the remote to the left, any tips on fixing it?

[@samgustafson308]

Yeah, I broke one of the remotes as well. There's a plastic post that acts as a stop and it snaps off pretty easy. I was able to take mine apart and put a screw in place of the broken post. Reinforce it with a zip tie so you don't break through the remaining plastic. You may also have to reshape the return spring a little. It may have gotten over stretched when the original stop broke.

[@The666Reaver]

Great, informative video. Any advice on replacement wheels/tyres, and shocks? I have the HS 18421. I find it's great, but too bouncy.

[@simonstanbrook9230]

Have you had any issues with the car just not turning on? Red light on transmitter flashing but car doesn’t respond. Tried switching esc but no joy. Don’t believe it needs binding as manual says it is automatic.... Great cars when working!

[@tomiller10]

This video was very helpful. Have you tried upgrading the suspension or motors?

[@samgustafson308]

I actually just upgraded one of our cars to brushless. The motor went bad and I decided it was a good time to experiment. KZbin isn't really my thing so I documented it in an imgur post instead. imgur.com/a/QhHLeAs Long story short, the thing is absurdly fast. Can't even come close to top speed unless you are on pavement.

[@mennoverzijl6857]

When will you make a video about the shims on the diff?

[@sudenurayan1053]

Which of the hs 18301, hs 18311 vehicles should I choose?

[@sausagesmcgee7079]

18421 on Banggood!

[@bipantera]

Dear Gustafson, what tires did you installed on 18321? They are narrow. I like them. Thanks for the video

[@memfault]

Hi. I'm thinking about buying cheap(amazon returns, so it's lottery) Revell X-treme Cross Storm/Thunder cars to apply most of your mods(most, except brushless motor/ESC). I'm also unsure about which differentials to use, because one GPM costs more than I have to pay for car, and both GPM(front/rear combo) will cost way more than new stock car. On the other hand buying something brittle or that will strip away and saving money in the long run would be smart decision. Do you think it was worth the money, two years after? I guess that "metal hem arms" are totally not worth it? (and will cause premature chasis failure after 1st crash). I never had any AWD or even terrain R/C cars and while I don't like using dremel or epoxy, I like reassembling stuff and soldering. This cars are cheap to get, but without ball bearings they will die quickly. Mods will prevent it, but all of them(especially GPM) will probably costs more then Traxxas cars(but still no GPM diff), so I'm unsure to start modding it, or buy something more expensive (I don't want anything to big/heavy) cheers

[@bipantera]

​ @Sam Gustafson Dear sir, when you are analyzing the effect of bushing friction you told that this situation is after about one month of driving but could you convert it in driving hours? How many hours did the cars run in that month?

[@malnadgowda_inusa3734]

You can get dog bone at Ali express for $5/4 pcs. I changed all 4.

[@Hamzamakesfunvideos]

AMAZING VIDEO MAN!!! Keep it up!

[@Tylenol888]

Hi what grit of sand paper for dog bone? I have mine and its kinda hard to sand it. Pls help me maybe i am using wrong grit of sand paper

[@samgustafson308]

Something around 100-250 should work. It does take a bit to remove enough material. Gotta be patient.

[@Tylenol888]

@@samgustafson308 ok thanks i will get those and i think i will have to be more patient. Hehe.

[@fazmin202]

Nice video very informative and useful as I’ve just purchased 2 of these cars I’ve done the bearings upgrade and in the process of doing the diffs didn’t know about the shims so thanks for that my problem is I’m struggling for a way to fit a brushless motor any ideas thanks again

[@samgustafson308]

I have put a brushless motor in one of my cars. There's a link to an imgur album in the description that has all the details of the upgrade process. Finding a brushless motor that fit was tricky and still required quite a bit of modification. Basically, I picked a 2838 size motor (same can size as a 380 so it fit snuggly in the housing). But the shaft was too long so I had to cut it shorter and also adjust the flat so I could push the pinion gear on farther. Oh, and the shaft size is too big to simply replace the pinion gear with another 10T gear so I had to go up several sizes, which also required a new spur gear....yeah, it's a whole thing. Check out the imgur post.

[@Crownedheadqueso]

did you have to break the motor in?

[@goodeorganics]

Awesome work mate! Really appreciate the Info!!!

[@falconzwaht]

Can they fit bigger wheels

[@killer-nx3yp]

Hello can anyone recommend a motor pinion and spur set or individual part numbers or links ? Thanks for any help

[@Lycan_24_7]

Traxxas Latrax Teton parts compatible with this version?

[@samgustafson308]

There are a few parts in the drive train that are compatible. In addition to the ones mentioned in the video, the main drive shaft is compatible as is the large spur gear. I may mention some more about compatibility in my imgur link in the description. Can't remember. But not much else is compatible. Electronics, suspension, wheels etc are not generally compatible.

[@shawnkauffman924]

Do the LaTrax driveshafts not work? How about a shock upgrade to oil filled?

[@samgustafson308]

The center drive shafts for the Teton and Rally work. I'm running one right now. You will have to use LaTrax pinions with it, because the size of the flats on the ends is different.

[@raphsenson]

How to get the black nut off the axle? There is a pin inside, how to get that out?

[@samgustafson308]

It just pulls off. Might need a pair of pliers. Pin should slide out easily. I've actually lost a bunch of them 🙂

[@raphsenson]

@@samgustafson308 Thanks it worked, I was able to install the bearings, nice. Can you give me a hint how to change the differentials, how can I open the housing? Do I need the remove all the top plastic covers (motor, electronics, driveshaft etc?). I tried today, but I did not succeed because of the cables of the motor being in the way... could not find anywhere a manual on how to do this

[@samgustafson308]

@@raphsenson Yeah, you'll need to take off the plastic electronics cover. That will give you enough slack in the wires to get the motor cover completely off. You shouldn't need to take out the electronics board. If you haven't already, you'll need to take the shocks off and disconnect the top suspension arm. After that, you should be able to finish unscrewing the differential cover and be in. It's kind of a pain, which is why I've tried a lot of different things to extend their life :)

[@danielzajic6789]

Great video. Finally an owner of multiple cars. I have HS 18311 at home and I want to buy second car, probably HS 18322. Can I race them together or will the radio signal get mixed up?

[@samgustafson308]

As long as you turn them on and let them pair one at a time, there won't be any mix ups. Once a remote is paired with a vehicle, it will only talk to that vehicle until the power is cycled.

[@danielzajic6789]

@@samgustafson308 Thanks, I like to hear that.

[@pilina666]

I bought A959 metal dog bones, which are shorter as you measured. I found out, it is a problem and it tends to fall off the wheel hub quite a lot. Any suggenstions for longer metal dogbones, that fits?

[@samgustafson308]

I only had this happen on one of our cars and it was due to the hubs getting worn down by the bushings (mentioned in the video). The extra looseness was just enough to let the already short dog bone slip out. Replacing the hubs and installing bearings has fixed that problem. Unfortunately, I haven't found any longer dog bones that would work more reliably.

[@jamesmarkjackson1979]

Great video but makes me think it would better to spend more money on something like a A959 that already has the metal parts for not much more.

[@janhaviuttamjareofficialvi2381]

Nice Cars

[@albertogallardo5815]

Thanks for your video. Can I change the battery and put a lipo battery? Is there anything I should be concerned about if I do it? Like the ESC not cutting off the battery power when it's low or something? I'm a noob so excuse me if I said something silly.

[@samgustafson308]

Good question! The car can safely use a lipo battery. My battery charger consistently measures the voltage of a fully discharged pack at about 6.4 V, which is a good cut off point for lipo. However, I don't think you'll see a big performance improvement. The main advantage is a higher max current draw but this motor doesn't draw a ton. Some youtubers have done speed comparisons between li-ion and lipo for this car and it only gains a couple mph. But if you have some spare lipos laying around, you can certainly use them (assuming the connector is compatible).

[@albertogallardo5815]

@@samgustafson308 Well, What I want to improve is the batteries charging time. I thought a lipo would get charged in less time?

[@samgustafson308]

@@albertogallardo5815 You can charge Lipos faster (safely push more current into them) but you'll need a different charger. The charger that comes with the car will only charge at a few hundred mA regardless of the type of battery it is charging. I charge my li-ion batteries with a hobby grade charger at 1.0 A, which reduces the charge time quite a bit (about an hour). The problem with hobby grade chargers is that they probably won't come with a connector adapter that fits the stock battery so you'll need to hunt one of those down or change your car's connectors to something more common. I ended up changing everything to Dean's connectors.

[@albertogallardo5815]

@@samgustafson308 will a Dean connector fit in the battery compartment of this car? Have you tried that? The battery fits so tight. I received todaybthe WLToys 12428 and it comes with a battery with a Dean connector. It looks bigger than the connector used in the HS car. Also, the cables are way thicker. I've tried to put it in the other cars's box but it's too big. Should I change the connectors AND THE CABLES too? I hop I explained myself well. I'd send you a pic but I can't here on the KZbin comments.

[@samgustafson308]

@@albertogallardo5815 It will not fit in the compartment but there is a simple fix. Basically, you cut out the bottom of the compartment that holds the connectors. That allows you to push the wires and connectors through into the open space underneath the body. You can see my mod in the video in shots where I have the top of the car off.

[@GodWeenSatan]

Will a wltoys body fit?

[@benfitch8795]

Brilliant video. I've been waiting for someone to upload this video. Very informative and really useful. Thanks 👍 I have snapped a shock and looking to replace with an oil filled version. Looks like a WL toys A959 metal upgrade shock will fit. Any experience upgrading shocks?

[@samgustafson308]

I am definitely planning on upgrading the shocks eventually. I just wanted to get the drivetrain sorted out first. The Wltoys A959 shocks should fit, based on what I've read. I'm also going to try the shocks for the HBX Rampage. They are aluminum throughout and look a little sturdier than the Wltoys. amzn.to/2EK82Lv

[@benfitch8795]

@@samgustafson308 I'll have a look into these thank you.

[@bipantera]

@@samgustafson308 Dear Sam why your 18321 has narrow tires while on the market is available only with wide tires? Where did you get that model with narrow tires? Thanks for help

[@sabotage3d]

Can you please provide the dimensions of the wheel bearings?

[@Lloyd.B.]

4X8X3mm & 8X12X3.5mm

[@NoProcrastinationMiniatures]

Great video. Just picked up a couple of the cars and have ordered the dog bones, metal diff, and also got some bearings. I know it would've been more cost effective to buy a £90 car with metal parts, but the tinkering is fun. Struggling to find shims in the UK for the metal differencial though

[@MrTrickydisco]

I found some here wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/222184/

[@NoProcrastinationMiniatures]

@@MrTrickydisco hey thanks, i did manage to find some on ebay, but when I put in the metal differentials I found that they fit really snug with no play. Maybe a slight manufacturing variation? I'll check again after more runs to see if they've loosened up a bit

[@MrTrickydisco]

Cool. I ordered the hbx last week and cane across this vid today. I've gone and ordered bearings, metal axles and shims

[@MrTrickydisco]

Have you ordered oil shocks yet? Like to get them from the UK if poss

[@NoProcrastinationMiniatures]

@@MrTrickydisco yeh I got these on ebay ( item 143839523618, still active currently). Came without oil so I put some in. Way less bouncy than the standard ones, much better. You can probably get better but for £9 for 4 delivered in a few days they're good. They were a bit cheaper in Dec, you might find the same for cheaper from other sellers on ebay

[@LorieMTB]

I don't like the fact that the truck hits the chassis off the floor when it is dropped before the shocks bottom out, do you have any suggestions on how I could stop this happening

[@samgustafson308]

Yeah, I've noticed that the truck bottoms out pretty regularly when you go off jumps. But, honestly, it's probably better to have the chassis hit the ground than to have the shocks bottom out. If the shocks bottom out, your probably going to be breaking the shock towers cause they're not that beefy. Ideally, the shocks would absorb all the energy of the landing before either the shock or the chassis bottom out, but the stock shocks aren't capable of doing that. I replaced the shocks on one of my trucks with adjustable, oil filled shocks. They are better but the chassis still hits off of jumps.

[@LorieMTB]

@@samgustafson308 thanks for the help. Which shocks did you get for one of your trucks?

[@samgustafson308]

@@LorieMTB I used these. www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07K29THWC/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o04_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1 I did have to make a small modification. You'll notice that four of the screws are longer than the others, and they are too long for the front shock towers. I cut two of them down using a Dremel and they worked just fine. Not a big deal if you have the right tool but kind of a pain if you don't. If you wanted to reduced bottoming out, you could drain the oil and put in a higher weight. Unfortunately, I don't know what the stock oil is so I don't know what weight to recommend. But they are nice shocks!

[@rcalltypes8230]

Nice Video, GPM make a ball diff for the Teton. 👍🏻😎

[@samgustafson308]

Thanks! I had looked into the RC18T ball diff but hadn't found the ones from GPM. These would be great for avoiding outdrive gear failures (cause there are no outdrive gears) and for getting actual adjustability for the power distribution to the wheels. However, my main point of failure is currently the spur gear. I keep losing teeth. I'm guessing the spur gears on the GPM diffs are of a higher quality steel and would last longer but I don't know for sure. Also, at $25 a pop, it better be bulletproof :).

[@rcalltypes8230]

@@samgustafson308 GPM, usually makes decent quality items. The GPM Ball Diffs is Not cheap, but either is one cheep Diff, every second run or so 😎

[@samgustafson308]

@@rcalltypes8230 Too true, lol.

[@air-rifles]

Hi can my rc’s front steering hub has been broken and cannot find it on banggood so please please help me which streeing hubs will fit in these rc’s?

[@samgustafson308]

Do you mean the metal piece that the wheel nut screws on to? Or the plastic piece that holds everything. Either way, I don't know of any compatible parts from other RCs. You'll have to hunt around other sites to see if you can find manufacturer's parts for the car.

[@air-rifles]

@@samgustafson308 can I use wltoys a959 differential gears for this?

[@samgustafson308]

@@air-rifles No, the parts are too different.

[@air-rifles]

@@samgustafson308 but these metal differential gears are grinding more than plastic one , changed twice

[@Lloyd.B.]

Why is there not one tear-down video of these cars on YT when they are so popular?.. I want to know how to change the gears to metal. I just had a look to see if there are bearings in the wheels because it says something about bearings on the box, and I tried to turn the plastic nut thing that holds the retention pin in. It's not broken but could have broken it doing that. It just pulls off >.< If I had a tear-down video I could have avoided that. Hs-18311 - £18.88 Metal Gears x2 - £10.30 8Pcs Ball Bearings 4X8X3mm 8X12X3.5mm - £3.72 4x T-power Front and Rear Drive Shafts - £4.33 Total - £37.23 Hope the dog-bones don't fall out like some people have said.

[@Lloyd.B.]

Does anyone else's stop by itself when reversing?.. Is it a safety feature or is it defective?... Sometimes it will carry on so I expect it's defective.... Maybe that is why it was so cheap?.. kzbin.info/www/bejne/qJvUf6OebNOrmtE

[@Lloyd.B.]

The dog-bones I got were about 51mm long & 48.1mm between the outside of the pins, and were too close to the edge of the cups. I stuck some cylindrical neodymium magnets in the diff ends of the cups, to space the dog-bones out better. I hope they don't explode, apparently those magnets are fragile - might swap them for something else after watching some smash on YT lol.. ----- Swapped some for 5mm ball bearings.

[@LorieMTB]

Thanks this video was really helpful

[@overnightclassic2]

At the current price of this $52 I don't think it's worth buying and upgrading anymore. I did see a similar model which looks a bit upgraded from this on ebay for $35 and I think at that price this car is worth tinkering with

[@locualoein8543]

The car is durable because it is slow. But the material are quite poor, they wear quite easy. I have a 198311 for two weeks and all has play. I have played only 6 times with only one battery each. Not the best choice. Needs more power and perhaps the 14410 is a bit better option despite near 3 times the price

[@Junker_1]

I want to buy the HS 18301 as a gift for someone but I am afraid it will be broken quickly. Is that the case? The difficulty is that I cannot buy spare parts here in Europe (Belgium) because they come from China. Does anyone know any other places in Europe that sell these spare parts? Thank you.

[@samgustafson308]

I would not recommend buying any RC vehicle if you don't have easy access to replacement parts. It's just part of the hobby.

[@Junker_1]

@@samgustafson308 Ok thank you.

[@bipantera]

@@Junker_1 I live in Italy and I purchased two 18301 yesterday which I should receive in about 10dd. After your question I checked Amazon Italy and many parts are available. The most of them come from China also if sold by Amazon anyway, but delivery dates could be a lot different from a shop to another one. Hope this can help.

[@Junker_1]

@@bipantera Thank you

[@bipantera]

@@Junker_1 welcome.

[@rcmindset2876]

Nut retention

[@miskasteskaralis]

I didnt want the parts review BUT THE cars review