Top 5 Upgrades For Traxxas Rustler 4x4 VXL

Today I go over what are in my opinion the top 5 upgrades for the Traxxas Rustler 4x4 VXL! Let us know in the comments some of your favorite upgrades! Please consider subscribing!
Link to products featured:
Fan - www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas-...
Shocks - www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas-...
LiPo - www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas-...
Tires - www.amainhobbies.com/proline-...
Servo - www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas-...
Light Kit - www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas-...
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:07 - 1st
0:29 - 2nd
1:07 - 3rd
1:41 - 4th
2:06 - 5th
2:24 - BONUS!

[@realseesreal120]

Love this video man!

[@3DudesRC]

Thank you!

[@JustGrant25]

Awesome list of upgrades!! I love the looks of the rustler light kit it’s sooo sick!

[@3DudesRC]

Thanks man! Yeah the light kit really adds an extra effect to the car!

[@michaelrowe5896]

​@@3DudesRC what battery straps do you use? Not really liking the Traxxas battery holder. It works but I have some lipos that don't fit and I want to try the straps finally. Thanks!

[@3DudesRC]

@@michaelrowe5896 We are currently still using the stock battery strap since we still use Traxxas batteries. If we end up switching over to a different brand of battery I’ll let you know if we change the straps! I’m sure they are some strap conversion kits or something out there!

[@michaelrowe5896]

@@3DudesRC oh ok. I figured you were using straps when you said you duct taped batteries because of the straps. I misunderstood sorry

[@3DudesRC]

@@michaelrowe5896 Oh yeah, sorry about the confusion. I meant I taped the batteries because the plastic holder seems to wear into the battery casing. If you used traditional straps that probably wouldn’t be an issue!

[@usernameistakentryanother]

yo bro were did you get that lighting kit its sick! also u just earned a new sub!

[@3DudesRC]

We got it off Amain hobbies website. Thanks so much for watching and for the sub! Here’s the link: www.amainhobbies.com/traxxas-rustler-4x4-led-light-set-tra6795/p1272071?gclid=CjwKCAjw5MOlBhBTEiwAAJ8e1kEwWCsHknr0hS7Pv0QjJeLTna5E4Kffar2tD-SLLuhRE9UBFgg44RoCLeQQAvD_BwE.

[@maszkalman3676]

I already have two of these upgrades the shocks and the cooling fan... :D

[@3DudesRC]

Those are both great upgrades!

[@rogator1074]

Sweet.🙂

[@3DudesRC]

Thanks!

[@user-ht8qx4ce9j]

2:27 - That shits hilarious. Great video, thank you!

[@3DudesRC]

😂 Thanks for watching!

[@BodofLegend]

Would you recommend the sledgehammer tires for the rustler without any additional upgrades? I’ve been eyeballing those for about a year and couldn’t get at least 1 opinion. I don’t do anything heavy with my rustler. I just drive it around mostly flat surfaces.. shorter grass, driveways, basketball courts etc.

[@3DudesRC]

I haven’t had any personal experience with the sledgehammers, but from what I’ve seen, they look like a good option. They are about $5 cheaper than the trenchers so that’s nice. But the trenchers do come with removable hexes so you can just replace the hex instead of the entire wheel if you happen to strip or crack it. Personally I prefer the trenchers, but I can’t say anything bad about the sledgehammers. Let me know if that helps! Thanks for watching!

[@michaelrowe5896]

Awesome choice of tires!! I just got my 4x4 rustler to get back into the hobby. I need to check out light sets looks pretty sweet. I got mx28 badlands put on but I think I need some wheel bearing s or something cuz the front is wobbly. Tires are bigger than I thought. Hope they don't rub. What gearing is your buddy using? Do you know? I think with stock vxl I may have to gear down with the badlands. Definitely gonna need a better servo as well. Seems pretty weak for my liking. Nice video! Subbed

[@3DudesRC]

Awesome! The light kit works really nicely and looks sweet as well! I believe he is a running an 11 tooth pinion with 54 tooth spur, which I'm pretty sure is the stock gearing (stock might be 13t) I can't remember. So you might want to gear down to like a 9 tooth or so, just to ease the strain on your motor. Yeah the stock servos aren't great lol! Thanks so much for watching and I really appreciate the sub! Let me know if I can help with anything else Michael.

[@michaelrowe5896]

@@3DudesRC I have a 9 tooth pinion on the way. Bought some smaller badlands from proline that look pretty cool also. How is that Traxxas servo holding up? I've had people recommend me Savox and a bunch of other servos that are close to $200. Seems a bit much for a rustler imo. I can't make up my mind about slipper clutch vs. center diff. I don't want to sink too much money into this project right away but maybe eventually. I prefer ec5 connectors on my batteries. Never been a fan of Traxxas connectors. Are Zeee lipo any good?

[@3DudesRC]

@@michaelrowe5896 Awesome! The Traxxas servo is fine, nothing crazy though. Yeah there is no need to buy a $200+ servo, I think most of the high end servos are just Chinese rebrands anyways. My buddy had one of the $80 savoxs on his slash and that was plenty. I don’t even know if that’s necessary. I would recommend buying one of the $30-$40 servos off Amazon. We are still running the stock slipper clutch. Zeee batteries are ok. They are dirt cheap, but we’ve had a number of them puff. I have couple buddies who have been running the same Lectron Pro batteries going on 4 years. So those seem to be really good, a little higher price, but worth it from our experience. Enjoyed taking with ya, let me know how your project comes along!

[@michaelrowe5896]

@@3DudesRC will do thanks!

[@3DudesRC]

@@michaelrowe5896 No problem. Take care!

[@but531]

Can you fit motor cooling fan and lights to work together ? The esc I know it has it's own fan cable.

[@3DudesRC]

I’d assume you could get another y splitter and be able to run the motor fan as well. Haven’t tried it to know for sure tho. Thanks for watching and commenting!

[@MatMabee]

I've got a 2050kV, a Firma 150a, and a Zeee 6s 100C. 21:32 gearing, GTR shocks. Only frame upgrades I've had to do are the arms with RPM arms and rear aluminium hubs because hitting pebbles at 90 breaks the hole the stainless threaded pin goes through. On nearly 1:1 gearing I don't have a single problem with the grey plastic driveshafts. That being said, it doesn't even have the torque necessary to wheelie with my punch setting.

[@3DudesRC]

Dang! That sounds sweet! Yeah those grey driveshafts are surprisingly durable! Appreciate you watching Bryan!

[@joewhite8079]

Do you reccomended upgrading to the differential from the slipper, i found when jumping i stripped my spur gear but if i loosen then sliiper it well slips alot under heavy throttle i cant find the perfect spot for it and i know atleast with the 6780 diff it will handle much more abuse what are your thoughts on this and considering it's about $130au aswell.

[@3DudesRC]

I haven’t tried the differential swap myself, but it does seem like it would eliminate or at least limit the issues with the spur gears. We have stripped an unreasonable amount of them over the years lol. Sorry I can’t speak from experience on the differential, but hope that helps!

[@user-ht8qx4ce9j]

Standard Upgrades: Steel Spur Gear from the Hoss HD Suspension Kit that comes on the BL2-s HD Driveshafts that come on the BL2-s Extreme Upgrades: 540VxL w/ correct ESC Aluminum Motor Mount Aluminum Bell Crank Aluminum Steering Servo

[@cazadon]

Yes eco-system also know as keep spending money on things you don't need

[@3DudesRC]

Essentially yes, you’re right.

[@markoftheus]

How do those trenchers compare in size to the stock tires? All the videos I've seen online make them look small on this truck. Do they feel small to you?

[@3DudesRC]

They are definitely smaller than stock, I can get a diameter difference once I get home if you want. We originally we going to get the “regular” trenchers and those were massive so. I do wish they were a bit bigger but they’re not too small.

[@flhandster4395]

While I know this is an Upgrades video, I’m just curious if you may know what could cause my Rustler 4WD to stop popping wheelies!?! I’ve adjusted the shipper clutch and still no wheelies. PLMK if you may have any thoughts or insights. Trying to get my grandson’s truck up and running. Thank you for the video and your time. 😎🙏🏼

[@3DudesRC]

Interesting you say that. Because both our 2wd and 4wd rustlers seem to have been less likely to pop wheelies as time has gone on. Honestly don’t know the answer to it. My only real guess would be the diff oil loosening up or slowly seeping out. It doesn’t seem to matter how tight the clutch is and even if we throw new tires on it still doesn’t pop wheelies like it didn’t out of the box. Sorry I don’t have a good answer for you. It’s one of the mysteries I’ve been trying to figure out as well! Let me know if you figure anything out. - Cole

[@flhandster4395]

@@3DudesRC I’m looking at the gear meshing currently. Not sure, but the truck makes a noise when rolling it forward or backward. I’m trying to determine if a spur gear is slipping, or what else may be going on. The Traxxas guy I spoke with tonight is puzzled by it. 😏😨

[@3DudesRC]

@@flhandster4395 Well… good luck! Hopefully you can get it all figured out!

[@wildreptile6043]

i subed

[@3DudesRC]

Thanks! We appreciate that!

[@Luismnegrito]

Hey guys what batteries do you all recommend? And charger? I’m new to this hobby just bought a rustler 4x4 I keep hearing that the traxxas batteries are bad and expensive. What is the alternative? What are u guys using? Thanks

[@3DudesRC]

I’ve had a lectron pro battery for about sixth months now and that seems to be working much better than the Traxxas batteries. No issues with charging. I’ve been using the Proteck Prodigy 610ez charger with thar battery and it seems to work well. You just need to get an adapter lead that has the right connector for your battery. Let me know if you have any other questions or if I can clarify something!

[@20BKing]

Ok,so I just got the ultimate version of this truck which is beefed up quite a bit. What more could I do to that version?

[@3DudesRC]

The ultimate looks sweet! I would say just run it how it is until something breaks. Those have a ton of nice parts on them, so there isn’t whole lot that needs upgrading right away. Eventually you’ll want new tires, but that will be a while.

[@xandercook6504]

what about the shafts for wheels cause I have a slash 4x4 and my driveshaft keep on breaking all the time

[@3DudesRC]

We use the Traxxas extreme duty driveshafts. They are the same design as the stock ones but a much stronger plastic. Part numbers: Trx6852A and Trx6851A. They should last much longer!

[@justinkorbel9313]

Get steel ones

[@Brettloves_RCS]

Hello I know it’s an old video but do those tires pretty good at backflips or ballon at all?

[@3DudesRC]

The stock tires seemed to be better for backflips than these. If you get the regular trenchers instead of the low profile ones like us, those would probably balloon a bit more and help you with flipping. Thanks for watching!

[@joeyzoccolillo3512]

Any tips for spur gears, my Rustler keeps on shredding through them

[@3DudesRC]

Have you looked at your pinion gear? Sometimes the teeth on the pinions get warped and do not mesh properly with the spur. We run the Robinson Racing hardened steel pinions and have had much better luck! Hope that helps and thanks for watching!

[@ChooChoo_4u]

I just bought one of these the other day. Got a 5000mAh battery 3s 25c (same one you got in the video). Traxxas claims this thing will do 65mph+. Will my battery be sufficient or do i need a bigger one? Completely new to this hobby.

[@3DudesRC]

Yes that is the highest power battery you can run without burning up the stock electronics. In order to get the complete speed potential out of the car, you will need to install the high speed gearing. But I'm sure you'll find it plenty fast on the stock gearing and on 3s. We run ours on stock gearing it is plenty! Hope you enjoy your new rig, let me know if you have any other questions, I'd be happy to help! -Cole

[@ChooChoo_4u]

@3DudesRC Thanks man! I appreciate it. Looking forward to playing with it. You earned a subscriber!

[@3DudesRC]

@@ChooChoo_4u Your welcome! Appreciate you subscribing!

[@ChooChoo_4u]

@3DudesRC are there any metal parts I should consider upgrading to before it's first run or at some point?

[@3DudesRC]

@@ChooChoo_4u We don’t really run any metal parts on our cars. We have had good luck upgrading to RPM parts, they are made of a more durable plastic. But I would just wait until you break something before upgrading.

[@robeswin]

I put way too many upgrades in my Rustler 4x4 vxl including a hobbywing max 8 g2 combo, running 6s on 2 5200 batteries. U name it I’ve done it 🤦🏼‍♂️🤷‍♂️

[@3DudesRC]

Dang! I didn't realize the Rustler was such a popular platform to convert to 6s, you're the second or third person to say that now. Thanks for watching Robert!

[@robeswin]

@@3DudesRC lol it’s really not tho, it’s overkill lmao. Had to custom make a wheelie bar for it cause all it would do is wheelie and do standing backflips… but yes it is a beast with all the upgrades I put into it. Only the chassis is stock and front bumper lol. It’s been bulletproof for me so can’t complain.

[@3DudesRC]

@@robeswin Lol, as long as its fun who cares!

[@karlfortuin5794]

Does anyone know if police flashers would fit cuz I'm upgrading my rustler 4x4 into a police truck

[@3DudesRC]

I'm sure you could make something work. I don't know of a police flasher kit specifically for the rustler tho.

[@Game_Good1.0]

can i put a more powerful engine in it?

[@3DudesRC]

You could definitely go up to a 4s capable system, but bigger than that and you’ll start running out of room.

[@bobbybatman4585]

Driveshaft upgrades???

[@3DudesRC]

Honestly we haven’t had much trouble with the stock “extreme duty” driveshafts. Sure they break once in a while, but it’s still much cheaper than buying a set of metal ones. Thanks for watching!

[@bobbybatman4585]

@@3DudesRCyeah true

[@jeffrenman4146]

but wait! Traxxas claims their batteries are the best… 25C special technology… Laughing out loud… At only twice the price of a regular battery it's a bargain… Tracks designs cars not bad but their sales techniques and their flat out sales gimmicks really suck…in my opinion you should not have wasted your money on a Traxxas servo… You could've had more power with metal gears ball bearing to for half the price… Try to stay away from Traxxas whenever possible but sure by their parts when there acceptable and make sense… Servos no no no no… Hey those lights are really cool… Thanks for the video you did a wonderful job

[@3DudesRC]

Exactly lol. I should’ve never bought the Traxxas batteries or chargers in the first place. But they make it sooo easy just to plug into the charger and go. That’s how they get the newbies into buying their stuff. Now I’m trapped in the ecosystem. I’m going to have to bite the bullet and buy some different branded batteries. I agree that their regular parts are just fine. Thanks for watching! Glad you enjoyed it!

[@ByRosay]

What would yield recommend?

[@Nachfrageweibchen]

thank you for video... my rustler gets gtr shocks and unbreakable cover and lightset from aliexpress, i dont like the traxxas lights... tooo big :))) , now badlands mx28 and his first 3s lipo.... i drive it for two years on 2s and get basic shocks und weels broken.... today i go first time 3s on scaterpark.... i think after that i will upgrade the heavy duty kit for rustler/slash/horse

[@3DudesRC]

Thanks for watching! Sounds like you have a nice list of upgrades going bad well! The heavy duty kit should add lots of durability. Good luck at the skate park and have fun!

[@Nachfrageweibchen]

@@3DudesRC bloody hell.... this beast on 3s and badlands is uncontrollable!!!! i just want to do a speedtest on the road.... full speed than full break, than rustler jump up in a air, do loopings and crashed to the wall on the left bevor i come to skatepark -. - now heavy duty kit is ordered.... man... what will happend on 6s?!?!?!

[@michaelrowe5896]

​@@Nachfrageweibchen this truck is not designed for 6s

[@3DudesRC]

@@Nachfrageweibchen It takes some practice getting used to 3s lol! Don't run it on 6s without upgrading your ESC and motor, the stock system is not designed for 6s.

[@Nachfrageweibchen]

@@3DudesRC hmm.... now heavy duty is build in... now my main gear is without teeth?!?! after 50mins on 3s.... now new metall gear fromaliexpress is on the way.... omg.... 3s is killing all the time my rustlerafter 3 years usage and yes i know that 6s only with new hardware available is.... but still tooooo much power for this wight and chassis.... i think at the moment.... i dream to drive it again on 2s hahaha