Do you know what is fun? RC cars! They are just little zippy bundles of joy. RC car enthusiasts know just how much you can do with them. You might be wondering how you could make your RC car faster Speed is something every RC car lover wants. So, here are 6 ways to make your RC car faster for free:
- Reducing the weight to your RC car
- Changing the bushings for ball bearings
- Adjusting the gear ratio
- Changing the wheels
- Using a more aerodynamic body
- Keep the engine clean
- Stop overshooting. Practice taking turns better
That’s only scratching the surface, though. Let’s get into more details about the options. One thing is for sure, after reading this whole guide you will wish you knew these tips sooner. So, without further to do, let’s get started.
7 Ways to Make Your RC Car Faster for Free
There are actually a few of ways to make any RC car faster. Some require a little bit of technical knowledge, others not so much. Here are 6 ways to do so.
1. Make It Lighter
This one is probably the easiest and most obvious one. If you want to make your RC car faster, reducing the weight will help you get more speed without changing much about it.
The motors will work more efficiently and controlling it will be easier too! Not to mention more fun. And that is something I am sure all of us want.
Reducing weight to your RC car is easy and will certainly improve your cars speed. If you want to go one step further and improve your speed even more, try different weight distribution.
Experiment with different weight distribution
Experimenting with weight distribution can improve what you want to achieve from your RC car.
Front Or Rear Heavy?
Front heavy cars tend to be better at climbing hills because they have more traction from their weight on the wheels in contact with the ground, whereas heavy rear cars usually provide greater acceleration and top speed (somewhat counterintuitive).
In some cases you might be able to move the position of the battery pack to improve weight distribution.
You can see a huge range of different types of RC car weights to suit your needs on Amazon by clicking here
2. Replace Bushings with Ball Bearings
If you look at an RC car, you perhaps noticed they generally come with bushings. These are not really made to perform that well. It is just something the manufacturer installs at the factory. The good news is you can replace them with ball bearings yourself and it is pretty easy to do.
What you will need to do is first disassemble your car. Start by removing the wheels from the axles and remove the washers. Next use a screwdriver to open up the housing that is around the drive shaft.
Replace the bushings and then just use some good-quality ball bearings. You will notice the speed increase. The speed increase depends on a couple of factors. For example, the motor that is already in it. But you should get some improvement, nonetheless.
3. Tinker with The Gear Ratio
Adjusting the gear ratio is another very simple and common step you can take to increase the speed of your RC car for free. This is one of the cheapest and easiest ways. Most RC cars will have a spur gear and a pinion gear. You can adjust both of these to give your acceleration and speed some much-needed boost.
Spur Gear
If you adjust the spur gear you can get either high acceleration or more top speed. It is the larger gear that the pinion gear turns (more on pinion gears a bit later). If you simply decrease the size of the gear, you will see an improvement. A smaller gear will give you more top speed.
Increasing the size of the spur gear will give you faster acceleration but reduce the top speed. Here you need to make a choice and decide which one is more important to you. Whichever you do though, the impact is less compared to adjusting the pinion gear.
Pinion Gear
This is the gear that attaches directly to your motor. So, you can see why it has the bigger impact. Pinion gears have teeth on them. Increasing the teeth count will make the car go faster. One good thing about changing the teeth of the pinion gear to get more acceleration is it does not affect the acceleration.
You can remove it and replace it with a better one just by using a hex driver – pretty simple stuff. Don’t go too overboard, though. Increasing the number of teeth, or the size of the pinion gear can also increase the temperature.
Too high temperatures are obviously a big no-no. Rather make gradual changes. Try testing with one or two more teeth initially and then check what your temperatures are like. If you want lower temperatures and also high acceleration, a smaller pinion gear with fewer teeth will do the job. You will get less top speed though. Keep that in mind.
I suggest adjusting both the spur and pinion to get your desired results. Tuning one gear and leaving the rest untouched is not really the best idea.
4. Change the Wheels
You can also just switch the wheels to something more suited for the task at hand. This will give you a speed boost as well.
For example, using spiked tires gives you more traction. More traction is always good. On the other hand, if you use mini pins for turfs and carpet you will get good results too!
5. Aerodynamic Body
One thing that is keeping your RC car from reaching high speeds is air friction. Using a more aerodynamic body will reduce air friction and also give you more speed. A sleek body equals less drag and wind resistance.
Some RC car lovers can go a little crazy in pursuit of the most aerodynamic body. RC cars with super aerodynamic bodies look more like a spaceship on wheels.
This just goes to show the options that are available to you. And it is quite a lot. If you need that extra bit of boost to achieve those faster top speeds, this one will surely help.
6. Keep The Engine Clean
The engine of your RC car is the part that provides power and needs to be clean for it to operate at its best. If dirt or grime are not removed from around the engine before driving again, this can cause a decrease in its performance. How you perform cleaning will vary depending on what type of engine your RC car has (gasoline vs electric).
Cleaning Tips For Gas Engines
Cleaning a gas-powered RC vehicle is fairly straightforward: Remove any excess dirt or grime by wiping the surface with a damp cloth, then apply some dishwashing liquid and water to a cloth or sponge for cleaning.
Cleaning the fuel injector is also important: Spray alcohol on all exposed surfaces of the engine block, then spray it onto the carburettor (if there is one). Make sure that you clean any dirt particles with rubbing alcohol before spraying them out.
You should also clean the outside of the engine. Any dirt or grime on an RC car’s external body will make it more difficult for air to flow, thereby reducing its speed.
Cleaning Tips For Electric Engines.
You can wipe off the dust by using an electric duster with foam attachment (or if there is only light dusting, use newspaper).
If grease stains from oils used in electricity production, use a dry cloth dipped in alcohol when cleaning them off. This should work for most types of electric engines. Please make sure the area where they’re located has been dried first.
7. Stop Overshooting Turns
A very good free way to make your RC car go faster is just by driving it better. Overshooting turns is something many people out there do pretty often. If you let off the throttle when going into a corner or turn and wash out wide, it will kill your momentum. Not to mention your speed will reduce as well.
Related post: Will A Lipo Battery Make My RC Car Faster?
What is worse is if you slap your car off the outside barrier. When taking a corner, going wide is the fastest way. You will need to slow down so your car becomes easy to control, then you can take the exact line you want. You will also be able to accelerate faster on the straight that will be coming up.
Set Realistic Goals for Yourself
When you are trying all these ways, do not think that you will completely smash your previous speed record.
That is quite unrealistic and you will probably just end up being disappointed. Rather set realistic goals for yourself.
Make small adjustments and gain performance in small increments. You will see it is much more consistent that way. This also allows you to keep track of what has changed. Has your temperature gone up or is there anything else that might be an issue?
Wrapping up
These 7 ways to make your RC car faster for free are just my suggestions. You can also tinker around with your car to see if there are any other improvements you can make yourself. If you happen to be on the technical side, it will be easier for you.
Just remember to not make too drastic changes. Otherwise, you might damage your car. Adjust things in small increments and see how it improves first. Sometimes you might even need to dial things back a bit for safety.