That said, it’s still nice to gain performance on a tight budget. Here’s a few tricks to pull a little extra out of your Axial SCX10 (other makes and models may have similar results). These mods were done on an Axial SCX10 Honcho (available at http://www.axialracing.com).
Gain up travel:The factory coilovers come with a rubber bump stop that can easily be removed with a knife or scissors. Simply lift the coil spring up to reveal the bump and carefully cut the rubber bump out. This will give you a little extra up travel and zero cost!
Secure coil spring:On some occasions, on full extension with the coilover on zero preload, the coil spring can lift off the lower perch. This can leave to your lower spring perch prone to falling out. A simple solution is to drill a small hole in the perch and run a thin wire around the spring to hold it in position.
Ride height and travel: Not free, but a cheap mod. There are many options out
there for shock relocations. This version keeps the shocks outside of the frame, but allows you to easily add lift and adjust the suspension travel.
Tire performance: There are a few things you can do to the factory tires to get a little better performance out of them. First is to thin out the foam insert to allow for more tire flex and the second is to add weight to the wheel while the tire is apart. Adding weight to the wheel, especially the front tires, will help keep the tires planted while on steep climbs and off-camber terrain.
The tires come from Axial glued to the wheels. To separate the tires from the wheel, preheat the oven to 325 degrees F and bake the tires for up to 10 minutes.
Using thick gloves to avoid any burns, grab the heated tires and peal back to separate the rubber from the wheel. Go slowly, if the tire is not separating from the wheel, put the tire back in the oven for a little longer.
With the tires separated, you can now modify the foam and add the tire weights. Tire weights are available for purchase or you can wrap the wheel with wire or solder. There are different ways to cut the foam. Here I have shown a “V” and reverse “V” compared to the full foam. Another option is to run without any foam for a very flexible tire.
To reattach the rubber to the wheel, use a strong glue along the inner and outer beads. I suggest setting one bead at a time, allowing the glue to set before working on the other bead.
The mods with these RCs are endless and these are only a few of the cheap/free mods you can easily do to squeak out a little more performance.
Do you have any cheap tricks that you’d like to share? Please let us know by visiting our Facebook page, maybe your cheap trick can make it into our next installment!
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