Traxxas Maxx 4s Castle 1/8 2200KV Upgrade (Install, Running, Overall Opinion)

Installed a Castle 1/8 Sidewinder System in the Traxxas Maxx. Very nice improvement over the stock VXL-4S.

[@joebartell3656]

I have this truck and I had the exact same problem. Turns out I had a faulty esc from the factory and Traxxas replaced it for free with no questions asked. Its been ripping around hard ever since!

[@thatdodgeguy345]

I had the same issue with mine. Internal failure at a month old. Replaced esc at local hobby town. Well took mine out today which is right about a month later and within 5 mins of running i have another fried esc.

[@UDRC85]

Great build, awesome information and love the send. It’s a tough truck.

[@tomtizumsrc963]

She is definitely a beast of a RC now with that 2200kv motor and sidewinder ESC 👍🏻👍🏻 your definitely sending off the ramp like she is a 🚀🚀 Definitely a big thank you for sharing the video. 👍🏻👍🏻 From what I hear on KZbin is if you go 5s or 6s you will want the widen the stance because the narrowness becomes a problem

[@ThePalmfreak]

Nice video… running same motor with 6s and wide kit. It’s ridiculously insane. Have 26 tooth pinion and motor only gets warm. Set up is a beast. Best truck I’ve had

[@josephwright4888]

What is your pinion and spur setup, I have the same setup and run 23/50 and my motor goes into shutoff at 170 degrees after like 15 mins of running

[@jonvoogd511]

I think you can tune alot of end points if you put the bluetooth module in the transmitter and you can set up the esc with it alot of times the esc isn't set to full punch at the factory. The blue tooth module is a must for most of traxxas RC'S

[@charlesfoster6661]

Great info, as for the wide kit you would not be disappointed its still a tank

[@KaizerTest]

Awesome upgrades Jason.👍 Thats the same motor that got me 132Mph with my Slash 4x4.😃 I just bought a Maxx as well. It looks like a solid truck🤟😀

[@CharlieFultonSC]

Next time check for training mode lol

[@BlackhawkTDI]

No punch? no power? huh? The stock system works very well in this truck. It's not tunable like the Castle system you just put in, which honestly seems to really be the reason for switching the electronics.

[@bulldogtech2941]

Changing the tyres fucks this truck up. Stock tyres its lively but install heavy tyres really kills it. I changed mine back to stock as the prolines made it numb and boring

[@astrogiblet]

I'm wondering if he had it in training mode (50% power).. this truck is NOT sluggish or slow. It feels too powerful out of the box. I can pull wheelies at 30mph.

[@DerekRC]

@@astrogiblet I agree. My truck rips stock on 4S.

[@rixsta911]

@@bulldogtech2941 Not true. Dboots Copperhead 2's with 54/20 gearing, a hell of a blast.

[@mattmckie6967]

Omg . 9 month old video and I've way through..my maxx's and absolutely lunatics...to fast to drive sometimes..your batteries are you problem

[@joseCalderon1976]

Nice. The only thing I've done to my Maxx 4s : Installed an xmaxx 8s esc that I had laying around since I burned the stock ESC, using bigger tires (Kaiju tires), installed the widemaxx kit and steel cvds. Gorilla taped the inside of the body. It's plenty fast for me on 4s and I can even run 6s if I put the right hold downs, but honestly I think it's overkill. The Maxx does like 50mph on freaking grass. That's enough for me 😂. It's easily my most durable RC basher. Except for the body.

[@christianadkins2305]

I like that motor setup. Btw, I highly recommend vg racing springs for it. The handling and jumps are significantly better than stock springs

[@kenmarlow690]

Congratz on making a Maxx perform like a stock Maxx. You should have asked around a bit or made a video of it being sluggish. Off that ramp, I’d be attempting triples with stock/4s

[@2004greenjeep]

Only issue I have is pretty bad cogging at a standstill. Once it’s moving it’s a beast. All stock and it don’t look a whole lot different then the castle upgrade.. ran past them roadside radars and hit 48mph. Still had a little more in it but had a hard time keeping it on the road.

[@RobertCarrizal]

i have stock for my maxx solar flare 4s last month my birthday gift july 30th was so lighting!!

[@CharlieFultonSC]

Man so weird. We love our maxx stock on 4s. If you have the Bluetooth link thing you can adjust a lot more.

[@dakotarc5729]

i have the stock maxx and the performance looks no different with the stuff you installed

[@choke666]

I'D HAV 2 AGREE W/ U. I LOVE THE WAY MY MAXX RUNS. IT'S NOT STOCK BY ANY MEANS, BUT THE MOTOR/ESC IS ORIGINAL.

[@johngantner9314]

I like your work space. Wish I could get that organized. Lol

[@johngantner9314]

no kidn rt. Im a clutter bug. everytime i work on my rcs i have stuff every were. I dont know how to get organized

[@rickdavid1795]

I put a Castle Creations sensored 2200 motor and a Mamba Monster X 8s ESC in my my Maxx. It’s insane fast,. The sensored motor and ESC are so smooth it makes it really controllable..it will actually rock crawl. I also have a Castle Creations BEC running the Reef 777 steering servo. I put Proline 3.8 belted trenchers, and a widemaxx kit on it The things a beast.

[@backyardbashing6136]

I just did the same upgrade. I love the sensored setup as well. But what’s your reason for the BEC? I don’t know or understand much about them except for being a capacitor to help with the servo but I saw on the Castle link that you can change the BEC voltage. Why did you add a BEC and do I need to if I want to turn mine up? I’m running a Savox 1210

[@rickdavid1795]

Backyard Bashing I put on a BEC because my Reef 777 steering servo requires 14 Volts the BEC in the ESC only provides up to 8 volts. The Mamba EsC BEC (5.25V-8.0V) adjustable. I think the Savox runs on 6 volts. Adjust your BEC output to match your steering servo voltage. I hope this helps.

[@FlashBro-r4w]

Is it still running strong with your setup ?

[@rickdavid1795]

@@FlashBro-r4w Yes

[@tylergray6308]

I had the same problem.. It was in training mode..lol..

[@rixsta911]

Yeah I bet his was as this thing has so much power

[@CharlieFultonSC]

That must have been what it was. Thumbs down on this video for me.

[@earthring]

That’s a really good point

[@WhiteTrash731]

Ummmm, I took mine out the box. Walked out side and was doing 53mph up and down my street. Doing double backflips over my picnic table lol. The stock components are amazing in this.

[@rnrc3404]

Castle sidewinder esc in my widemaxx brought mine to life and the stock motor can handle 6s with no problem stock esc is weak

[@geraldanthony7324]

Nice build let that rig rip👊🏾✌🏽

[@tuffgong83]

This is crazy tallk.

[@jessheffren6841]

That's what I'm running in my Maxx v2

[@jamesblake1848]

I put that set-up in my old emaxx 👍

[@BatmanRcRider]

Good job bro

[@CoReBunnyToes]

Your video is awesome quality, thanks! Content is great..you flash the camera to stuff quickly so as not to bore anyone, but your quality is great enough to pause on things that people wanted to see, like the link module. I must know....the front bumper mount...I am on my 2nd one, which also destroyed the wiring for my light kit...I searched and searched for aftermarket tougher bumper mount for the front...no luck...did you find one??! I know this part will break again, and drive me crazy. Thanks! (Did you ever find one?)

[@CoReBunnyToes]

Oh yeah, I called the wife downstairs and told her I want a hobby den like yours...awesome!

[@24racing91]

YOU CAN CHANGE THROTTLE SETTINGS WITH THE MULTIFUNCTION NOB LOOK AT THE RADIO PROGRAMING DIAGRAM

[@mkebrewcity]

I see all the comments about oh it’s better stock smh. The point of the hobby is to tinker take setups to the next level smh. I totally agree with setup and he wasn’t going all out just getting comfortable with the truck. Just because your plain Jane don’t judge others for spicing it up.

[@GreatLakesRC]

Nice! Glad to see you didn't give up on it. The Maxx handles like crap but it's though as nails!! That's a great system for the Maxx and would well in your Proline too 😉

[@justinbeamon6624]

Yah that is very strange. My Maxx runs exactly like this upgraded truck on 4s. I struggle to keep the front tires on the ground at any speed.

[@jaredhollinger2911]

I upgraded to bigger wheels off of the revo added the wide max kit steel cv shafts the truck rips off of a little big of work 4s is plenty

[@ronniecreason7870]

Nice good job 👍

[@whitsrcleftovers2707]

I'm satisfied with the power of the stock system. That isn't a hate sentence, haha, just my opinion. Could it use more, will it get more, absolutely! Lol. As with you, almost all my other trucks have aftermarket "too big" of setups in them. Nice to know the motor mount works perfectly still for when I do put bigger in.

[@jr1985ii1]

So glad I found this video. I actually thought something was wrong with the factory esc in my Maxx 4s. It’s like it has a delay or something. Won’t even pull the front tire up. I just bought the same setup for it and was about to put it in and decided to search KZbin first. Guess there’s no reason to send it back to traxxas it just sucks.

[@newfonewhodis5156]

mine easily pulls the front up on 3s

[@jr1985ii1]

new fone who dis damn I must have gotten a bad esc or something. Oh well I put the sidewinder 8th in it today. Five minutes in and I bent the input shaft in the transmission. It’s stupid fast. Couldn’t get more than half throttle.

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

It has more power but it’s also a way better esc. Options, etc. I can’t stand Traxxas escs. I change them out of all my Traxxas rigs.

[@jr1985ii1]

Jason Perrin yeah they definitely leave a lot to be desired. I’m debating between the mamba monster X or Hobbywing for the XMaxx now.

[@sam97eck]

Great video 👍👍

[@backyardbashing6136]

Thanks for the idea. I just did the upgrade as well but I got the Monster X instead and the combo cost me $270. Amazing power and no more cogging. I wouldn’t have known about this or known it was possible without this video. So thanks for helping me spend more money! lol

[@rixsta911]

Cogging is due to the gearing, nothing wrong with the stock motor if you gear it properly

[@backyardbashing6136]

@@rixsta911 Have you personally tested what you claim? Because I have and you are wrong.

[@rixsta911]

@@backyardbashing6136 Yep I run 54/20 no cogging.

[@senditcody3130]

isn't the monster x 6s rated for like 6lbs? Sidewinder 8 11lbs. and Mamba Monster 2 @ 15 lbs. Im thinking of getting the monster 2 since the sidewinder is pushing the max weight. Does anybody have insight into this?

[@kveitehitmaker6316]

Use the generic blue ec5. The Spektrum ones are not fitted with especially sturdy plastic, the blue ones will survive a nuclear blast,lol. I loved the video, and I am thinking about copying you with my Mamba X and 1515 censored.

[@SliverRc]

well with the traxxas Bluetooth link you can turn your esc power up to a 120% Brand new esc is not always calibrated too 100%. then on the phone app if you switch tires, gear ratio extra you have to reinput that for the receiver. You can fix every thing but cogging if your tires weigh over 13 ozs. trust me i own the Wide Maxx, and she will be going on a sensored system. then shell be a beast. but that traxxas link dose a lot! Rc Fan Boy

[@johnkuchjr.]

I noticed when I bought the proline tires that it didn't flip as well because the tires don't balloon like the stock tires other that then I think the truck runs great with the stock 4s motor and esc but hey everyone got their own little ticks.

[@dannydelk9257]

A heavier grease in center differential will make a huge difference in the punch of the maxx..

[@yarbo9900]

Kick the bottom of the shocks to the outer hole. Upgrade to gpm gold shocks. And add 70 to 80 weight oil. And with that power system get the cv driveshafts

[@bigboytoyzrc9258]

Yeah you were in training mode. Lol And that same motor, I've pushed over 100mph on my 4tec 3.0🏎💨

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

Nope. Stock esc is just garbage.

[@bigboytoyzrc9258]

@@JasonPerrinRCVlogs I respectfully disagree. My 4tec 3.0 running vxl motor and esc pushing 110mph without breaking a sweat. I'd maybe think you got a faulty esc as mentioned before.

[@donalds2982]

Powerhobby makes a clip on fan that fits perfect. You can get it on eBay for about $15usd

[@chrissolo8472]

Did the esc in that mamba monster combo come with a on/off switch or did you have to install one ? Either way that system seems to be beastly for the price point. 😎 thinking bout getting for my 8ight t truggy build and one possibly for my team associated mgt 4.6 electro build .

[@Markkrochuk1979]

What battery are you running in the videos? Would this setup fit in the new Stampede (replacing the BL2s)

[@marcossantiagozicarelli135]

thanks for your videos! Whats the main reason of changing original engine for castle? is not enaugh the original motor?

[@barricaderc7007]

Maybe I’m just a newbie or something, but I bought the first Maxx available and it’s a monster. Really wondering how your setup is to drive🤔

[@giuseppegambino790]

Hey man I love mine too I have the wide kit steel shafts the steel steering arms and e revo proline tires

[@guerian84]

@@giuseppegambino790 just got mine with all those upgrades already off Facebook

[@rccosplay3249]

I Had my Traxxas UDR for over 2 years now. Mild bashing, plenty of doughnuts and jumping... Nothing broken, a few items like the front skid plate I replaced and the servo. Same ESC and motor. I wouldn't buy a RC with the sole purpose to get another ESC and motor?? WTF! Folks, don't throw away your money on what others say to do. He calls it a upgrade. It's a 4S 1/10th scale! Nothing to upgrade except maybe get a 1/8th or larger.

[@INSIDIOUS-ONE]

What??? There’s tons of people that buy rc’s & yank the stock electronics out & upgrade to good quality tekin ,castle,hobby wing etc before they even run them. Then they sell them as new! We all know traxxas electronics are junk “hit & miss” I always have back up electronics whenever I buy a traxxas lol.

[@rccosplay3249]

@@INSIDIOUS-ONE Maybe hit or miss? I heard of horror the stories😢 I had one of my VXL 6S UDR ESC for over 2 years. Still going💖

[@thatdodgeguy345]

My maxx is 3 months old and i just had my 2nd esc take a shit this morning. Ill be switching to castle here soon. 😂

[@DerekRC]

I'll stick with the stock Traxxas motor and esc.

[@3X7Outdoor]

Cool Dude!

[@mrslyds8602]

It doesn't look faster than my stock maxx, it actually looks slower because I can do triple backflips easily..I have a same size ramp too

[@bitcheslovecannons5073]

Probably because he's running a lower kv motor, which means he needs to gear it up a bit.

[@Jackson-ml1nj]

Only thing I changed on mine was the esc I put the sidewinder 8th esc I still have the stock motor and there's definitely some power difference over stock but the stock esc worked quite well to be honest mine stopped working unfortunately that's the only reason I put a different one in it but I beat the hell out of mine

[@olds97lss]

Looks like you used a 24T pinion. Isn't that what comes stock in the maxx? I just bought the maxx last night. I'm about to put a castle mmx/2200kv sensored in mine, just finished the widemaxx install last night. I wasn't even going to try the stock system since I had the mmx/2200kv on hand from my savage flux I sold.

[@reznya2700]

What I need to know is how does your body stay on with two nose dives..... What kinda magic are you using

[@abrahamshabatee4384]

hey thanks for the video can u tell me where i csn fine the same motore mount same as urs ?

[@t.e.n.archery2809]

You should try it on 6 or 8s esc wow it's a beast.

[@3630FS]

Nice work ! What is the velcro for ?

[@rudyruelas9219]

Dust cover I’m guessing

[@oscararechiga6829]

Are you sure the esc wasn't on training mode?

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

Lol. It definitely wasn’t.

[@astrogiblet]

Agreed! How else would it feel sluggish?! Bad truck from the factory or training mode.

[@patricegoulinet]

Mine is just unbox and it's impossible to lift the front of the car, it's not on training mod and it have a problem. Sometimes it stay on stop and i hear "tac, tac, tac". I'm sorry for the text, i'm french.

[@hydrobud89]

How can you say it has no punch are you sure you're not in training mode or something? Mine will backflip with 4s when I punch the throttle from stop. I personally think it almost has too much power

[@santretaylor4352]

I didn't change the motor on mine I just put a 6S ESC in it

[@mrhuangsta]

Where did you set the mesh pin? I had mine at the stock "D" hole with the 2200kv motor and it shredded the 50T spur

[@MegaLeonidovich]

Hi, where can i find Dremel Driver like you have in video? thanks

[@Annonymous0283745]

if anyone stumbles on this way-too-late comment, the ESC in the old Maxx was a pile of crap. The motor is great, and can handle 6s. Just swap in a max 8 from hobbywing or something similar, and she will do 50+ on grass

[@michalk7561]

I have many rc's never felt the need for so many backflips, it is a great way to turn your rc in to a pile of s#&t fast

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

I could do them all day. It's what I enjoy.

[@senditcody3130]

A great way for you to turn into a pile of shit? Leave worthless comments like this lol. Stop forcing your views as the only f#@$%n way a person should see it.

[@raven5347]

If you could have one car...arrma kraton or maxx? Thnx, great vid👍

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

Kraton.

[@caroltremblay3123]

If you prefer playing then repairing maxx is the way. I have a few arrma 6s and if you bash hard you’ll always be waiting on parts, upgrades truck all apart.

[@Largetalons]

The maxx is probably one of the bigger rip offs in the rc game. Cost as much as a 1/8 scale and you still need a decent esc and a wide kit to be usable. The hoss is $470 and still comes with a plastic geared servo, plastic shocks, and a vxl3s lol. I don't know what traxxas has been smoking lately but neither are impressive. Get the kraton and don't look back lol.

[@yamkaw346]

@@Largetalons Kraton hasn’t done me well durability wise, has me looking at this

[@6spd85notch]

My brand new erevo 2.0 with 2 brand new lipos has the Lvc shutting the truck down at 3.9v per cel. Lol that gives me a solid 6 minutes run time. Now most likely I would say I’m stuck buying a mamba monster esc so I can adjust the Lvc or be able to run non Traxxas batteries and not have that problem. Pretty annoying.

[@tynaia78]

Just curious have done a speed test on it with your new setup?

[@sebbbou5455]

Are you geared up? It seem like 0 mods? Or 4s ?

[@sserva3117]

can i use this castle creations motor with the stock maxx esc?

[@appleslider999]

👍👍👍

[@adin1404]

Hey, so when I install the MMX 6S after my stock VXL 4S died, I get a lot of high pitch winning noise. Is the normal with these ESCs? It's quite a bit more annoying than the Traxxas ESC. Thanks.

[@RegularSledding]

Man they are dragging this guy through the comments

[@ZeuZLoD]

I just noticed that you didn't put in the motor strap around the motor to the mount on the Castle motor. Did that not fit around it or is that not really needed?

[@testrak]

The motor strap does not fit around Castle 1515 motor diameter of 41.4mm.

[@BlackBirdFPV]

People can't feel the torque diff in video There a huge gap between booth haha

[@rixsta911]

Changing the gearing would of achieved that at a much lower cost

[@vitodambra72]

Hey bud you have an link? For esc/motor combo? Thanks buddy. Also for motor mount. I thinking i need to go this way with my Maxx,

[@christopherh6361]

Im torn. The xmaxx, or this. This is appealing because of its portability and not being 30 lbs ready to go

[@fishsnatcher6230]

I like castle stuff but the traxxas esc is tunable so that's not true what was said it has the app to adjust punch end pts also no different but I did just have mine esc fail after many packs so I'm going to try a hobbywing or maybe castle's.

[@TheATeam_2014]

Wide Maxx is next...

[@alankowalski8781]

Do you ever do anything other than backflips off a ramp?

[@TheCrys1976]

what is that screw gun called that's perfect I need to get 1

[@masondenton8090]

Do a slash ultimate unboxing

[@TrashCanNinja87]

that is odd breaking the connector. My only negative thing on this truck is the price. after wide max kit your at the 600 dollar range.

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

I agree. Here in Canada the widemaxx kit and the axle upgrade are $250 bucks. That’s a bit much.

[@bulldogtech2941]

Widemaxx kills the shafts tho. Especially the rears

[@bulldogtech2941]

They twist after 10 minutes

[@rudyruelas9219]

bulldog tech I put steel Cvds and the thing rips now

[@rickyeversole68]

Wish i woulda seen these comments 3 days ago. Installed wide kit and 20 mins later i had 4 broke axles. Replaced them last night and today i have both rear axles twisting again after another 30 mim run. Next step is going with the steel axles.

[@beamshobbyshack266]

Yo! Don't break my truck. 🤨

[@austinbarker1877]

It's probably not the truck it's the driver

[@Michiel_0706]

Is the Castle motor and esc waterproof?

[@rixsta911]

Nope

[@lukerecore]

4s-6s??

[@DeRock401]

I love how people are so butt hurt about defending Traxxas they say there stock truck performs just as well as this upgraded system by judging a video 😂. You can't feel the power difference by watching a KZbin video. If you think the Traxxas stock motor and ESC is just as powerful as a castle system you are just ignorant. Sorry. The Maxx is one of my fav trucks. I mean look at my profile photo. Obviously. But stop taking everything so personal. The Traxxas Maxx is a great truck with 💩 stock electronics.

[@DanHovarter]

Dude! You don’t even go fast. Keep it stock

[@elchappo1320]

Shoulda kept the stock tires on

[@untearly8212]

Link to wheels?

[@tat2man68]

What gearing are you running?

[@rixsta911]

It must be stock, that was the original problem. People buy these rigs not knowing what the hell they are doing. That stock gearing is just a basic standard for the truck. It's totally wrong in my opinion. This needs Erevo gearing, especially with bigger tires. Rear diff needs way thicker oil too. So many inexperienced noobs blame the electrics and swap them out, very silly.

[@xXxREDEEMEDxXx-yc9ne]

Where does the 2200kv motor benefit that the 2400kv doesn't?

[@caroltremblay3123]

Bigger motor, more torque, you can gear up a little bit more and that motor can handle 6s

[@backyardbashing6136]

Higher kv is more speed and lower kv is more torque

[@Largetalons]

Higher kv means higher peak motor rpm. Won't mean it's faster. That's why the successful speed run cars run big low kv motors and novices replace their stock system with some crummy 3650 4600kv can.

[@landshark40lol77]

something was up with the electrionics

[@tuffgong83]

What tires are you running here?

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

LP Trenchers.

[@Puffalupagus360]

All the traxxas brushless esc's are programmable. You don't ended need a program card or the hobbywing box programmer. You should have done done research. That said I don't see the traxxas as a worthy competitor to a castle motor and esc.

[@MrJoe478]

Can't really enjoy it with all that speed. Truck is to high off the ground. I have the same system but mine is going into a 4X4 Rustler, LCG.

[@billmeyer3728]

Great Traxxas Max 4s Castle you have! Check out my Traxxas Bigfoot on my channel!

[@papazola5300]

What size do you use on motor pinion

[@JasonPerrinRCVlogs]

I used a Robinson Racing 24t.

[@papazola5300]

@@JasonPerrinRCVlogs how the speed with stock motor n esc? Good improvment?

[@barxkyRC]

hi van u put the link? thanks