Expert Built Beetle Rally “Required” Upgrades?

[Andreas W 2853]

I see what you mean by slow . But it's surprisingly stable. I thought it would waggle more on the high chassis. 

 

Besides a larger pinion, as suggested, you could also think about upgrading to a Torque Tuned motor. Ihave ran that in my M-05 and M-08 (20t and 23t pinion respectively) and it's zippy enough for that little car and has enough revs to give a little more challenge while running. It's fast enough so you need to practice throtle control,  but still controllable on NiHm and Tamiya tyres. 

[Gratuit 136]

I'd first go for a bigger pinion, but certainly also for bearings. They will reduces losses in the drivetrain and make the car go faster

[Andreas W 2853]

21 hours ago, Gratuit said:

I'd first go for a bigger pinion, but certainly also for bearings. They will reduces losses in the drivetrain and make the car go faster

I fully agree with you. I read earlier in the thread that the OP did not want to dismantle the car (quite understandable when buying an expert built in the first place), so I did not suggest that. At some point he'll do it anyway - possibly after building the second car . 

[OnTheTrail 1397]

On 2/4/2025 at 8:40 PM, Burned_out_motor said:

 

Here’s a clip - sorry for the poor camera angle in the first link.

Car in action.

Car in action - better angle.

I'm guessing it's the camera angle but to me, the car looks noticeably quicker in the first video than the second one.

[Burned_out_motor 16]

Quick Parking Lot Test Run 3

I don’t think the car is getting slower.  I have noticed that a very fresh battery pack gives the car a boost of quickness for the first few minutes.  I think in one of those clips I’d been running it for a while so could’ve been batteries.   Hey, if it gets much slower, it’ll be going backwards, lol!!

Its just the way this model was designed.  High torque, best suited for skidding across a flat dirt surface like a dirt road, baseball diamond, or some other mild off-road surface.  Like a real rally car, I suppose.  
 

I’m considering bigger wheels, a pinion with more teeth, & faster motor as suggested.  No rush.  I’m going to drive it around the parking lot some more for now.  I don’t think anything’s in danger of breaking or wearing out like I was originally worried about.

[Burned_out_motor 16]

I bought a Torque Tuned 540 motor, and a set of pinions (22t, 23t).  It looks like an easy swap.  I have Tamiya Cerra Grease and the tools.

Now all I need is the time and energy to work on the car!  

 I also intend to change the wheels and tires.  Those stock rally block tires are excessively soft.  It’s as if the car is riding on 4 flat tires.  I bet just new harder tires would make the RC faster.

 

Stay tuned. 

[Andreas W 2853]

May I suggest M-grips in 60D 50684 with inserts 50686. I am weak for the 50569 wheel,  which also looks superb under a Beetle. For the first attempt I would go for a simple single tone paint in a solid color, sort of like this by our own @Willy iine.

 

 

 

Good luck. Next up is bearings. You can start with the easy accessible ones in the hubs.

[Burned_out_motor 16]

As much as I wanted to keep it stock, there’s no way.  It’s really boring as is.  Yes, I’m going to have to take a screwdriver and upgrade bearings as well, eventually.

I bought four 53215 tires and four 51666 wheels with foam inserts before I even unboxed the car.  I’m going to try those since I already have them.  

It’s kind of sad that the “Expert Built” 100% stock version is so lame.  Ridiculously, laughably lame.  I can foresee my building another MF01X chassis rally beetle from a kit.  This time, doing it right, with the right parts, from the start.  Maybe even going brushless.

[alvinlwh 7494]

5 hours ago, Burned_out_motor said:

It’s kind of sad that the “Expert Built” 100% stock version is so lame.

The only "expert" is the cheap labour on a production line building the same thing day in day out. Most of us will know to take a (A)RTR car apart immediately and rebuild it. I once opened up a gearbox to find it full of what looks like caramel. Cleaned it all out and reapplied proper grease. 

[Andreas W 2853]

When you decide to build a kit I would go for different car, just to get a different driving experience. The M-05 is still around and well proved. Just keep the hop ups on a minimum (bearings,  pinion and shocks). Wit a Torque Tuned and 20t pinion it goes well enough on the rock hard kit slicks. It's good for learning throtle and brake control and getting used to givenone input at the time.

 

 

[Burned_out_motor 16]

On 2/14/2025 at 9:41 AM, alvinlwh said:

The only "expert" is the cheap labour on a production line building the same thing day in day out. Most of us will know to take a (A)RTR car apart immediately and rebuild it. I once opened up a gearbox to find it full of what looks like caramel. Cleaned it all out and reapplied proper grease. 

Well - that actually makes me feel better!  The only “Expert Built” machine I’m ever going to own, is the one I build myself.  I confess, I was being lazy when I ordered an RTR RC.   I should’ve gone with a kit.  Live and learn.

On 2/14/2025 at 2:42 PM, Andreas W said:

When you decide to build a kit I would go for different car, just to get a different driving experience. The M-05 is still around and well proved. Just keep the hop ups on a minimum (bearings,  pinion and shocks). Wit a Torque Tuned and 20t pinion it goes well enough on the rock hard kit slicks. It's good for learning throtle and brake control and getting used to givenone input at the time.

 

 

Oh yeah, I already have one or two RC vehicles I want to build.  First up after upgrading the Rally Beetle is the Fast Attack Vehicle rerelease!!

I’ll send some videos of the Beetle once I get it up to par.  I am happy with the appearance of this RC.    Thanks everybody for the replies!  More to come…