TRX-4 Defender Upgrades - How to make it crawl steep rocks

[@jeffparryncc1701]

My first mod. Changed the shock oil to 10 wt. It makes such a difference. The shocks actually work now and the car doesn't bounce all over the place at full speed over rough grass or gravel roads. It tracks way better too.

[@monkfry]

Under/Over Drive makes a HUGE difference. Best tip I ever got from you guys. 👍

[@RCReviewChannel]

We could not believe it ourselves so had to share. Here's the link for others to check out amzn.to/2TszT9p

[@cesco_rc]

This is what I did and it improved a lot. It is a different beast now. Low profile bumpers. Brass link set gives it 250 grams at a very low point. Aluminum wheels also add a bit of weight. In the front wheels I added a strip of lead. Low profile battery holder from Thingiverse. I kept the stock tires that are pretty good. Modded the treath to improve them even more. Added MIP 17120 Wide Track Kit 4mm , so adding a total of 8mm extra track wide. Changed the foam for Crazy Crawler foams, soft ones in the front wheels (but stil harder than the original Traxxas ones) , harder ones in the rear wheels. Then I removed the springs in the front and changed them fo the stiffer (0.54 rate, green stripe) springs from the rear shocks. And on the rear shocks I added #8045 (0.61 rate, blue stripe) springs. 60/40 weight distribution now.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Thank you for that.

[@adnanbaigmirza]

Another mod/thing you can do is replace the rear tire with a yeah racing tire cover which you can fill up with foam or an empty tire without wheel to remove that back weight.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Great suggestion. Foam and vinyl cover will be light and will conform.

[@souledoutrc8174]

Dang that’s some good crawling right there bro

[@RCReviewChannel]

Much appreciated

[@gdaproductions9521]

I did cut the original back bumper and added shackles, change front bumper for high profile, change wheels for metal, add winch and a battery under the hood. That gave me front cg and incredible crawl performance.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Yeah, the battery mod is huge.

[@DFDuck55]

I like adding weight inside the tires on the wheels. I have been thinking of looking for tires with the same tread but 1 to 2 mm difference in diameter, putting the larger tire up front which would effectively give me overdrive without any gear changes. --- Another thing you can do to lose weight from the spare tire, other than using a smaller tire, is use a plastic wheel (instead of alloy) and no foam insert. You're basically trading a "usable spare" for less weight. --- On one of my rigs for "front weight" I added a winch. Even though I don't have the receiver electronics so it's not really a usable winch, it looks good and adds weight up front. You can also wrap some tow chain around the bumper to add some front weight.

[@RCReviewChannel]

Interesting. Harder foam on the rear is another trick

[@gaffle-411]

These new crawlers are on my list!

[@RCReviewChannel]

Yeah, lots of new R&D has pushed the category.

[@factoryrollracing3847]

Haha love the ending!

[@williamwang7216]

Your videos are so good lm subscribe to you

[@mikep8085]

Can you do a video of the upgrades you've done to your TRX4? Not just talk about them but show them in detail? Which components? Which manufacturer etc..

[@RCReviewChannel]

Here you go kzbin.info/www/bejne/hoq6qaWKmbeDh7c

[@RCReviewChannel]

Another one here kzbin.info/www/bejne/roWtdWOFhpugjqs

[@greggk1061]

Is the 12.8 wheelbase an advantage or disadvantage over traditional 12.3" wheelbases?

[@Burge13]

Impressive mods

[@earlhamil731]

How do you modify the front panhard rod so it doesn’t hit the steering servo horn?

[@e3nrcchannel81]

Very nice

[@rc-dom-uk]

Good tips . Is the trx bronco less too heavy ?

[@westcoastdabs2503]

Thanks for that video

[@jaysonespinosa7389]

I'm very interested in the trx4 I just got one and love the video but if possible can u write down the parts please and thank you

[@tomandrews5392]

I just did some upgrades to a TRX 4 long wheel base 1) Removed stock motor add Revolver 1800 KV and Mamba X 2) Alloy axels and brass to front 3) 2.2 wheels and Hyrax tires 4) Lift kit Changing motor and esc lost weight in front climbing and side slop was affected for this reason I added brass and alloy axels to put weight back on front improved greatly . My thinking on the next change is to upgrade tires to my surprise very little change now the tires rubbed ..

[@laurentletor3130]

Hey Rc Review, thxs for those excellent videos!!! I have a question and was wondering if you could advise me on how to prevent my trx-4 tipping over when side hilling where the body role/weight transfer causes the tipping over? It's a K5 Blazer body with already some additional weight down low like 350 grams, but the body has a roof rack fairly close to the added down low weight. Would changing the suspension oil and springs help with this? I am so confused as how to deal with the weight transfer from left to right and how to deal with it and stop my trx4 from tipping over caused by the body role. Any ideas or videos you may have on this?

[@abzyberdy]

pen spring mod, or just rubber bands mod.

[@rcbigsmall5810]

Well have have done a great job its a crawler with that heavy body that's impressive just think what it would be like with the sport body on it

[@gaffle-411]

Do you mean the Traxxas sport pick up truck body? Compared to modern day detailed crawlers, that thing looks terrible.

[@rcbigsmall5810]

@@gaffle-411 yes it does but the performance that the light body would give would be one hell of a crawler with all the upgrades done to it

[@gaffle-411]

YETI XL I use to race 1/8th scale roadies and RC doesn’t get any uglier than they were. Retarding today’s uber-realistic bodies for the sake of “performance” is taking a step back into the RC Stone Age, the way I see it. The Sport is not absolutely horrible but look-wise, it does take several steps backwards in comparison to the rest of their lineup.

[@rcbigsmall5810]

@@gaffle-411 don't get me wrong and with what he has done he has best of both worlds looks and performance i was just saying could you imagine what it would do with a lighter body

[@InvisiMan2006]

How much damage does the body take without the bumpers?

[@johnmiller4553]

THANK YOU FOR THE GREAT INFO 🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙🤙

[@tenncutt]

Great video, i know its a year old but would you get a defender as your first 1/10 scale crawler today or what would you get? Thanks

[@Bikes_N_Adventure]

Absolutely spend the extra coin on a Traxxas, parts availability is unlimited!

[@RCPropaganda]

Hows the over drive setup on trails?

[@RCReviewChannel]

Not noticeable. Wear and tear is harder on the gears but these UD/OD gears are bulletproof.

[@tomandrews5392]

Great video …..

[@RCReviewChannel]

a few edits here and there :)

[@jamesswift4641]

Neato👍👍

[@petermayer7281]

Take the cage off, it helps a lot

[@RCReviewChannel]

Agree. We took the roof rack off which is the best bang for the bu ck.