MAXIMIZE Traxxas TRX4M PERFORMANCE on a $100 Budget

[@jagman999]

When I upgraded my shocks I installed 2 springs per shock and added preload to the right rear to avoid torque sag. Works a treat now

[@DoURC]

Sounds like a cool idea. I appreciate could make changes to the body or swap it too, but for me personally, the only thing I actually like about this rig is the fact it's a Defender! 🤣😬

[@jagman999]

@@DoURC I agree, I love the defender stock look which is why I’m reverting most changes to keep it looking original. I think firmer springs and brass wheels is all I’ll change

[@DoURC]

@jagman999 Yeah it's the main thing that drew me to it, as I love my TRX4 Defender. I think tbh you don't have to spend loads, like you say, brass wheels, better tyres and low range gears and it's quite a transformation. 👍

[@jackbk2721]

5:50 RIP ant 💀

[@DoURC]

🤣🤣🤣 I spotted that too, sorry ant! 😬

[@00Styx00-xn8hc]

Every gram counts on these little guys. If your going for a rock crawler ya need to shed that weight and not expect these things to compete with the trx4. I love mine stock or upgraded there fun as hell choosing lines. Choosing a proper line with this little guy is key!

[@DoURC]

I think it would be a bit silly to expect it to compete with a trx4, they're on completely different levels. Yes you could change the body etc to lower cg, but the point of this video was seeing how much of a difference upgrades can make to the stock rig. 👍

[@crawlstockrc]

Awesome video mate. I love my Defender to bits. I can’t wait to get out for a run together. I’ll show you how to drive it 😂

[@DoURC]

Thanks very much mate. 👍 I look forward to being schooled! 🤣👍😉

[@stephant3665]

That's just great, I honestly had most of these on my list! Just got mine few days ago so I'm looking... thanks

[@DoURC]

Excellent, glad it was helpful, good luck with your build. 👍

[@duard8652]

Found your channel when I was looking for tires replacement for my Ascent Fusion, since I run it trail and mud. I already use Swamp Claws, small ones, on my FX 118, and was about just to buy a big quad of them, but decided to see alternatives. Saw video on "extreme mud", some others, then this one. 2 minutes and 30 seconds into the video, just time to buy next Swamp Claws.

[@DoURC]

Excellent, hope you enjoy the rest of my content. If you like mud be sure to check out my Land Rover playlist and Crawling & Trailing playlist. 👍 I do like the Swamp Claws, really good tyres in the mud. 👍

[@RabbiJesus]

Definitely better. You can get inexpensive bearing kits that aren’t OEM. They did wonders on the High Trail.

[@DoURC]

Thanks very much mate. 👍 Yeah I was looking at the Injora set which I think were like $20. It definitely needs them tbh. 👍

[@jackbk2721]

those tyres look really nice ill see if I can get them for regular trx 4!

[@DoURC]

Yeah they're nice tyres. Great in the mud too. 👍😁

[@DustinRea]

Nice go at it. Came out pretty good actually for not much $. Mine got a set of DJ Crawler deep dish wheels and 64mm MT tires. And I swapped in stock shock towers from a High Trail and then did a truck conversion and painted it gunmetal.

[@DoURC]

That sounds awesome, do love a truck. 👍 Yeah it was definitely an improvement over stock performance, especially its ability to climb. 👍

[@Destin65]

You need the High Trail kit for the Defender like my girlfriend has on hers. She loves the bigger 2.4" (about 62mm) tires and extra ground clearance. She doesn't have the rooftop nest on hers yet but is working on adding to it. She bought the 12-spoke version of the wheels you are using and wow, they really plant her BF Goodrich tires and it's as high my F-150 HT, but hers is hard to tip. She's got the All-Terrain version of the Injora tires on the way, more aggressive tread should help. Can't wait to see her tackle a course like this, she'd do well I suspect. But anyways, great job on your build and good performance for being a stock height Defender.

[@DoURC]

Thanks and yours sounds cool. I've already got a high trail with portal axles on it, turned it into a Mega Mud Truck 👍 The Defender is already quite top heavy, so didn't want to raise it any higher tbh. I prefer my other mini's to the TRX4M tbh, I always find the TRX4M a bit of a disappointment tbh! 🤷‍♂️

[@Destin65]

@@DoURC no doubt, the Defender is a little on the top and rear heavy side. But I was surprised that after she put the Traxxas lift kit on hers, combined with just 2 plastic spring clips, the rear of her Defender now sits noticeably higher than the front. That surprised me. But hers is a work in progress still and we'll see how it ultimately turns out.

[@Destin65]

@@DoURC One other thing I forgot to mention, I was expecting hers to be like my F-150 High Trail, but it's not. Hers is still a shorter wheelbase vehicle, just sits up like a High Trail now. So, whatever kit she used is made for her vehicle. I never knew Traxxas made such a kit. I thought she was BS'ing when she asked the guy at the hobby store if he had one, nope, but he said he would order it, just had to find the stock number. I was worried cause I'm thinking, "Yah, just probably be a trick with different shock mounts." but no, it came with a full package of all new links too!

[@oknights112]

Great video, the Defender is very top heavy. I really like the Little Guy Racing Trail Kings, they are my favorite tires for all around terrain.

[@DoURC]

Thanks very much 👍 Yeah, I'm sure a Bronco would perform better, but I prefer a Defender. The LGRP tyres are great aren't they. 👍

[@oknights112]

@@DoURC Yep the Defender is so much better. I spent a lot of money getting mine to perform ok on rock crawling but the Defender looks so cool.

[@DoURC]

@oknights112 Yeah, got to love a Defender. There's definitely better rigs out the box for the money. 👍

[@dantevanniekerk]

great video mate, thanks!!! 06:11 - someone call triple A... 🙃 11:05 - definately maybe glue the tyres to the rims, agreed... regarding the weight distribution; couldn't you add some lead pieces or something low down on the chassis? the motor has plenty power, the rig should handle the additional weight?

[@DoURC]

Thanks very much 👍 Yeah stock tyres are pretty good, I'd just use them on better beadlock wheels. Yeah people do use lead etc, it's just where you put it. There's plenty of upgrade options like the ones in this vid to add low down weight. 👍

[@SandJ-Adventures]

Some interesting stuff, but I'm not a fan of the big tyres. I lean towards scale rather than non-scale performance, so I'm not as critical of the TRX4m as you are!😀 I don't find the TRX4m that bad (check out our two Defenders on Mont Ventoux on our channel) and no, I haven't gone to the low gears. Some extra brass on the front definitely helped ours and I fitted slightly stronger spring to the right rear, to counteract the torque twist. I'm looking at aluminium bumpers, which will add more weight, but I don't expect to ever achieve TRX4 type performance🙂

[@DoURC]

The tyres are only like 1-2mm bigger than stock, hence why we didn't really gain any ground clearance. 👍 I don't mean to be overly critical, but comparing it to other rigs of a similar type it's just a bit of a disappointment. As I said in the video, I want to love it, but it's just a bit of a let down. Kinda like the FCX18 K10, I just can't take to it! If you're just trailing etc then stock gearing is probably OK, but there's no denying it's awful slow speed control, especially when compared to others. All the upgrades definitely improved it overall, but considering the money I just threw it at, plus the £180 I bought it for, I'm like getting close to £300, or like $350 for something that still has serious limitations and tbh isn't worth the money. By the time you add in bearings, different electronics etc you're well into tenth scale territory! 😬🤣

[@romanwyszynski4032]

In my opinion, you missed axle helical gears as must be. The first part which where stripped in mine. Second part was platic gear in steering servo. So I recommend replace ALL plastic gears for metal ones.

[@DoURC]

If you're on a budget it's about picking upgrades to fit your budget. I've had no issues with the gears on mine, still running stock plastic gears with a brushless setup, so they can't be that weak. 👍

[@backshedrc]

The vertical climb with the new parts was a big leap over stock. More decals maybe? Just kidding, we dig your rig!

[@DoURC]

Yeah definitely a big improvement over stock, it couldn't even get up onto the course stock! 🤣 More stickers is always the answer! 🤣👍😁

[@manuelpiston]

Super cool! Wonder what you can do with a rig that comes from the factory with half this mods 🤔

[@DoURC]

Thanks very much 👍 I've got other videos in my Mini Crawlers playlist with just other mods on this and other rigs. Just adding weighted wheels and brass on the front can make a big difference. 👍

[@joshc3576]

thanks for saving my sunday evening from pure boredom lol. which fcx18 you doing? i hope its the lc80. this is going to be a great ongoing series awesome job man 👍🏻

[@DoURC]

🤣🤣🤣 Happy to be of service. 👍😁 Yeah will be the LC80, I much prefer it to the K10. I can do a K10 build at a later date too though. I'm looking forward to some upgrade showdowns between them all. 👍😁

[@bencrocker9444]

ive got thoose tyres on my fms power wagon love them on that. the only stock thing ive got left on my trx4m bronco is the tyres i still think they are really good and u know what ive done to the rest of it lol. i wonder how it would do with the injora esc designed for these scale crawlers as ive got in my fms k5 and it certainly feels decent

[@DoURC]

Good tyres aren't they the Swamp Claws, great in the mud. 👍 Yeah the stock TRX4M tyres are decent. Your Bronco is a beast. 👍😎 Yeah definitely be interesting to try a different esc, I think remaining slow speed control issues are either esc or bushings! 👍

[@jodymcnab5977]

I am curious how it would perform with upgrades and the gear removed from the safari rack up top.

[@DoURC]

Probably not much difference, the roof rack stuff is very light. The overall body design is top rear heavy. A Bronco would be better. 👍

[@julianweeks326]

nice job mate, mine weighs 962gr. i put the crawler gear's in now i have the injora 180/ 48t motor to get some wheel speed.

[@DoURC]

Oh wow, that's a proper heavyweight, very nice. 👍 Yeah I've picked up the same motor fir mine as wheel speed with the low range gears is like going backwards isn't it! 🤣😬👍

[@julianweeks326]

Literally if it was going any slower it would be backwards. Really enjoyed your video.

[@DoURC]

@julianweeks326 🤣🤣🤣 I know what you mean. The gears are essential but you fit them and you're like, man that's slow! I'm virtually tripping over on it the trail! 🤣 Thanks very much 👍

[@thedave83]

Awesome build try the injora silicone inserts so worth it

[@DoURC]

Thanks very much, I keep meaning to try them. 👍

[@thedave83]

@DoURC so worth it an vent them

[@joshc3576]

mate im just upgrading the fcx18 lc80 what wt shock oil did you use

[@DoURC]

I use 20wt in all mine 👍

[@joshc3576]

@@DoURC thanks

[@DoURC]

@@joshc3576 No problem 👍

[@Aaronofficial2310]

Thank u I can buy it My dada is buying a TRX4M DEFENDER YAY 😊😊

[@DoURC]

Excellent, hope you like it. 👍😎

[@Rc_impulse]

Injora is awesome! What sucks is Amazon in my region is three times the cost and were third world nation, Just got my Bronco like 4 hours ago it binds like crazy but is butter smooth on straight’s Esc little noisy it needs work for sure not good out of the box build feels premium and that proprietary stuff feels good for my son to have a good truck with friends Km comparing to my fms Fcx 24 m and older and 18 and Scx24

[@DoURC]

Yeah they do some great products at decent prices. Would it be cheaper to buy direct from them instead of Amazon? TRX4M is still a decent rig, just a bit annoying out the box imo. 👍

[@jonathanmcdonald5411]

Nice vid. The same upgrades on the 4m Bronco would do better. I hated the crawler gears in my 4m because you have no wheel speed. Meus racing makes a set of steel trans gears for the 4m that are a 25.87:1 gear ratio, comes with trans bearings and they're only $14. Has good slow speed control and the wheels speed is much better.

[@DoURC]

Yeah the Bronco will definitely perform better with that lower cg. 👍 That sounds cool on the gears. It is very slow with the low range gears but at least it can crawl better than stock...mostly! 🤣🤦

[@evertoneverton4249]

What is The part number for The tires and wheels?

[@DoURC]

The wheels are Injora CRAW18258_09GL, their 1.9 beadlocks. The tyres are HPI Rover red/rock Crawlers. 👍

[@Jigdoeslife]

My halfshaft pins on the front kept on popping out and i cant find any if you have any recomendation pls let me know

[@DoURC]

Do you mean the front drive shaft or axle shafts? If its the stock front drive shaft, just replace it with metal ones from Injora or someone else, as stock ones can do that when the ring covering them takes some hits. 👍

[@joshuasalisbury789]

Them scale accessories and rear tyre are really hurting the rig as mine with just tyres and brass steering link without rear wheel is beastly

[@DoURC]

Yeah I appreciate they don't help, but compared to the weight we added they're pretty insignificant tbh. For me personally I'd rather the overland trail rig look with more limited performance than a plain body with better performance. 👍

[@joshuasalisbury789]

@@DoURC also u can move the esc forward slightly to improve it

[@DoURC]

@@joshuasalisbury789 Thanks very much, I'll take a look. 👍

[@joshuasalisbury789]

@@DoURC if u look at the shock mounts there’s 3 sets of holes so if u move it forward to the two closest to the motor it alters shock angle

[@DoURC]

@joshuasalisbury789 Thanks very much, think I've seen a video on that before. Will take a look. 👍😎

[@jonathanblaga13]

what brand are those rooftop accessories from?

[@DoURC]

Most I made, others like the spade, barrel etc are from Injora. 👍

[@DoURC]

Most I made, others like the spade, barrel etc are from Injora. 👍

[@jonathanblaga13]

@@DoURC you should do a video how to make some of the rooftop supplies

[@DoURC]

@jonathanblaga13 Yeah I keep meaning too, just haven't got around to it yet. 👍

[@Harry-ye5vt]

What would you say is rhe best 1/10 crawler for £200

[@DoURC]

For £200 you may struggle. If you could stretch your budget you'll get a much better rig. What type of crawling you looking to do? Scale, rock crawling, trailing etc? The element rigs are good, some of the FTX ones are decent too and close to your budget. 👍

[@Harry-ye5vt]

@@DoURC thanks I am thinking more scale side

[@TCRCGARAGE]

What kind of light kit do you have

[@DoURC]

Injora, got a review and install guide on it in my Mini Crawlers playlist 👍

[@TCRCGARAGE]

What do you think is the injora light kit or the Traxxas light kit

[@DoURC]

@@TCRCGARAGE I haven't tried the Traxxas light kit. It does have look better made tbh, as it has the light covers, so the light doesn't shine out the body like the Injora ones do. 👍

[@TCRCGARAGE]

Ok thanks for the information

[@DoURC]

@@TCRCGARAGE No problem 👍

[@00Styx00-xn8hc]

Also heading straight onto an obstacle that's bigger than the truck is a poor line. You almost always will hit the bumpers and high center your rig.

[@DoURC]

🤣 well yeah, but that's not the point of my tests is it and it's still making a point. Out in the real world you have to deal with the terrain you're on, there isn't always an easier line. 👍

[@Aaronofficial2310]

Can you tell me the weights you putted on top of the car

[@DoURC]

I haven't weighed them sorry. 👍

[@Aaronofficial2310]

@@DoURC ok Pls make a video on Toyota land cruiser LC80

[@DoURC]

@@Aaronofficial2310 Will be doing that one soon. 👍

[@Beamngkid28]

What scale is it 1/10th?

[@DoURC]

1/18 👍

[@traxxasfans]

I think you need to either buy a different truck but it was a good video

[@DoURC]

🤣 I prefer running my other mini's tbh to the TRX4M, as I find it a bit of a frustrating rig in comparison to others. But over 600 people voted in my recent post they wanted to see a TRX4M build so I delivered. 👍

[@evertoneverton4249]

What scale 1/18?

[@DoURC]

Yeah

[@TF23DayRespawn]

No injora bearings?

[@DoURC]

Wanted too, but they would have blown the budget by another $20.

[@boiledtea479]

budget builds in a nutshells: Have you ever heard of injora?

[@DoURC]

🤣 Basically yeah. 👍

[@dirtybauer7022]

Besrings, crawl gears, alloy front and rear diffs, and a servo should ha e been the first things done. Then a proper diet and bulk.

[@DoURC]

It depends what you're looking to get out of it really imo. I'd agree bearings would be good too. Servo yeah it's not great, but it works. 👍

[@Ryker13]

8 min group 😊

[@DoURC]

Not sure what that means sorry? You made it 8 mins in before falling asleep? 🤣🤔😬

[@mrvang8077]

Just doesn't look like a worthy investment. Too unrealistic and the fact that everything is made of cheap flimsy plastic parts. I had opted out of buying one after looking at it over and over again. There's just too much con then

[@DoURC]

I hear you. I wouldn't say the trx4m is cheap flimsy parts though, tbf to it, its pretty tough for what it is. I agree it's not really good value for money though. 👍

[@Lonewolf00003]

Absima Landi/ Yikong 4104 is pretty amazing. I recently bought one, used it stock, no mods at all, and I’m not regretting it one bit. I’m very excited to upgrade it slowly.

[@TriMeX1987]

​@@DoURC so in this price range what is a good value? Cause I was told this is good.

[@DoURC]

@TriMeX1987 It's not bad, it's just there are better rigs for the money imo. Depends what you want to use it for. All out performance I'd go for the brushless Hobbyplus CR18P Evo Pro, also known as the FTX Utah in the UK. For scale I'd say the FCX24 or FCX18 are better. I've got reviews and comparisons on my channel in my Mini Crawlers playlist 👍

[@TriMeX1987]

@@DoURC thank you I will check out those vids. I have 0 rc cars. I am an FPV pilot. And my son is trying to get in the hobby (7yo) we live on Aruba where there is lots of rocky terrain for him to play around with even in the backyard. The traxxas was recommended by and RC friend. And I liked it was waterproof and the looks. My son is more into pickups. I do want performance because offcourse I am gonna pick up the transmitter aswell. But I rather buy a straight good crawler with premium parts then have to upgrade all parts in the end.