RC Upgrades: What to Upgrade First
Shop RC upgrades that make your car faster and tougher, from tires, batteries and steering servos to brushless motors, unbreakable parts and lights, at RC Car World.
1. Tires — The Upgrade You Feel First
Stock tires are built to a price. A real set of tires changes how the car launches, turns, and stops more than any other single part. Match the tire to the surface: belted tires for high speed on pavement, soft compound for dirt and grass, mounted on wheels so it is a bolt-on job. Check the hex size, 12mm for most 1/10 cars, 17mm for the big ones.
Crawler & Drift Tires — The Specialists
Crawlers want soft, sticky rubber on 1.9 or 2.2 inch wheels, ideally with weighted or bead-lock rims. Drift cars want the opposite: hard plastic tires that slide on purpose, on wheels chosen for the look. Both are the number one upgrade in their world.
2. Battery — Free Speed and Longer Runs
If your car came with a NiMH pack, a LiPo of the same cell count is the cheapest speed upgrade there is: lighter, stronger, and it holds its punch to the end of the run. If the manual allows a higher cell count, that is the next step up. A second pack doubles your afternoon.
3. Steering Servo — Faster, Stronger Turns
The stock servo is slow and its plastic gears strip in a hard crash. A metal-gear, waterproof servo turns quicker, holds the wheels straight at speed, and survives. This is the upgrade crawler drivers feel most, because a strong servo is what turns the wheels against a rock.
4. Unbreakable Parts — Stop Buying the Same Arm Twice
Suspension arms, bumpers, and servo savers are what break. RPM makes flexible versions that bend instead of snapping, and Hot Racing makes aluminum ones for the parts that must not flex. Replace them as they break and the car gets tougher every month.
5. Brushless Motor & Speed Control — The Big Jump
Going from brushed to brushless roughly doubles the speed and removes the part that wears out. Buy the motor and speed control as a matched combo, sized to your car's cell count. Arrma's Boost Box is a plug-in kit for the Granite, Vorteks, and Gorgon. Do this after tires and a good battery, or the extra power just spins the wheels.
6. Gearing — A Six-Dollar Tune
The small gear on the motor is the pinion. A bigger pinion raises top speed. A smaller one gives harder launches and keeps the motor cooler. Changing it takes five minutes and one hex driver, and it is the cheapest way to make a car feel new. Match the pitch, 48P on most 1/10 cars, Mod 1 on 1/8 and up.
7. Lights & Cooling — Run Later, Run Cooler
LED kits turn a daytime toy into a night-time truck, and on a crawler they are half the fun. A motor or ESC fan matters more than it looks: heat is what kills electronics on hot days and with bigger pinions. Both are cheap and take minutes to install.
8. Radio — When You Own More Than One Car
The stock radio is fine for one car. Once you own two or three, one good transmitter with a receiver in each car means one set of batteries, one feel, and adjustable steering and throttle. Racers and crawler drivers also gain trims and speed limits the stock radio does not have.
Which RC Upgrades to Buy First
RC upgrades can make every car faster, tougher, and better looking. The trick is the order. Most people buy a motor first and wonder why the car still flips in corners. Here is the order that actually works, with our picks for each step.
1 Tires → 2 Battery → 3 Steering servo → 4 Unbreakable parts → 5 Motor and speed control → 6 Gearing → 7 Lights and cooling → 8 Radio
Tell Us the Problem, We'll Name the Part
It flips over in every corner. Tires first, softer and wider. Then lower the ride height.
I keep breaking the same arm. RPM arms. They bend, they don't snap.
I want it faster, cheap. A LiPo battery, then a bigger pinion. Brushless comes after that.
Steering feels lazy. A metal-gear servo. Night and day on a crawler.
The motor is too hot to touch. A smaller pinion and a fan. Heat is the warning before the failure.
Not sure which part fits your car? Bring it in. We look up the exact fit and can install any upgrades.
RC Upgrades Installed in Cinnaminson, NJ
Not every upgrade is a five-minute job. If you would rather not do it yourself, bring your car to our hobby shop at 2305 Garry Rd in Cinnaminson, NJ. We look up the exact parts that fit your model and can install the RC upgrades for you through our repair service.
Before you spend on power, read our RC batteries guide, since the right battery is often the cheapest speed upgrade, and check what is on sale for discounted parts and RC upgrades. Most RC upgrades are bolt-on, so a few basic hex drivers and an afternoon are all you need.