144001/124018/124019 - EVERY ONE OF MY UPGRADE GUIDES AND REVIEW HERE PLUS PARTS I WOULD BUY

144001/124018/124019 - Every one of my Upgrade guides And Review here plus parts I Would buy

2/8/2021

I've now built up quite a library of articles for the WL Toys 144001 (and 124019 / 124018) and thought I would use this page to share them. As of 3 August 2021 I've finally done a bit of an overhaul to make sure all articles are included and have added some new categories plus reviews. Enjoy!

144001, 124018 and 124019 free and budget tuning for noobs

124019 BUDGET SETUP AND TUNING GUIDE 2021: GET THE MOST OUT OF YOUR CAR
The 124019 and 124018 had a number of improvements from the factory over the 144001 so tuning is a little more easy. This guide has been customised for these models

WL TOYS 144001 SETUP: 3 THINGS YOU MUST DO BEFORE YOU EVEN TURN IT ON
Setup the shocks so the work properly, tie rods so the car runs straight, and grease the diffs so you get more traction and they don't explode. If you do nothing else on your 144001, make sure you do these.

WL TOYS 144001: FREE OR BUDGET UPGRADES (PART 2)
Building on the first article you can make further free/cheap improvements here by fixing the rear toe in, install 'droop' screws in improve dampening in the shocks.

WL TOYS 144001 UPGRADE: WHEELBASE EXTENSION FOR HIGH SPEED STABILITY
Extend the wheelbase on your 144001 for free with this 5-10 minute mod.

WL TOYS 144001 UPGRADE: THE CLEANEST ESC INSTALL AND COOLING IMPROVEMENT
Quick and easy article here on the tidiest way to trim your bodyshell to fit a larger ESC

WL TOYS 144001 UPGRADE: THE BEST MOTOR COOLING FOR LESS THAN $2

Use thermal paste to drastically improve motor cooling on your stock 144001.

SOLDERING FOR RC CAR NOOBS
Soldering is such a crucial skill to learn. I've spent some time on an easy to understand guide and some good bang for buck tools to get you started on.

Low Cost Upgrade Parts for the 144001 / 124018 /124019

WL TOYS 144001 UPGRADE: METAL PART UPGRADES AND REVIEW
There are many metal parts available for the 144001. Some improve performance, some don't make any difference and some make it a lot worse. Here are my thoughts on these.

WL TOYS 144001 UPGRADE WHEELS: BEST FOR BASHING?
Stock wheels have poor traction outside of fine smooth dirt and carpet, I've found some wheels that are great for bashing on a lot more varied off-road surfaces.

HOW TO VINYL WRAP AN RC CAR (AND WHY)

The WL Toys RC Car bodies are only available pre-painted which makes it really hard to customise. Geoffrey has come up with a guide to wrap your car instead which is cheap and easily reversible

WL TOYS 124016 124017 TOP 5 MODS*
Here are my top 5 upgrades for the new brushless 124016 and 124016 where I focus on handling and durability (with a dash of power)

WL TOYS 144001 BASHER UPGRADE - MAKE IT TOUGH!

I've taken my cheapest brushless upgrade 144001 here and made it into a tough basher with much better wheels and a full monster truck makeover.

WL TOYS 144001 124018 124019 CUSTOM DRIVESHAFT UPGRADE MOD
A very technical mod prepared by Ron and Scott that shows you how to make a more durable floating driveshafts and all the parts needed to do so.

WHICH LC RACING PARTS FIT THE 144001 124018 124019? THE FULL COMPATIBILITY LIST
Full list of which LC racing parts fit the WL TOys cars. These are superior parts and if you are looking to upgrade your car are a great place to start

Brushless Upgrade guides for the 144001 / 124018 / 124019

WL TOYS 124019 SPEED RUN BUILD AND TRICKS I'VE LEARNED ON THE WAY
If you want to build a speed run car out of the WL Toys 124019 then I cover not only my motor/ESC setup but also lots of other tricks to help you go faster and be more stable.

144001 BRUSHLESS UPGRADE: THE CHEAPEST SETUP WORTH HAVING
As the title says I've put together the cheapest full brushless upgrade set into this car that is reliable, you can get all of the parts - motor, esc, radio and servo for as little as $50-$70 depending on sales etc. This is presently my favourite car because it is so light.

BRUSHLESS MOTOR THEORY: ADJUST ESC TIMING TO CONTROL POWER AND HEAT
If your brushless setup runs too hot then reducing ESC timing (particularly on hobbywing ESCs) can yield you some reduction in heat.

RC CAR THEORY: 2S VS. 3S, HIGH KV VS. LOW KV
In this article I geek out on motor kV vs cell count and where you can get benefits in efficiency. I also outline why you shouldn't necessarily run 3s in a 2s car just because you can

DROP IN BRUSHLESS UPGRADE GUIDE FOR WL TOYS 144001, 124018 AND 124019
As of Feb 2021 this is my latest brushless upgrade and the one I tend to recommend because it is much easier to install. This requires no drilling or cutting and run faster but a little hotter than the 2838 with a better ESC. This setup achieved 109 km/h on 3s.

WL TOYS 144001 BRUSHLESS 2838 UPGRADE EASY NO CUT OPTION
This is about the most simple install for the 2838 brushless motor as possible but still requires a reboring of the pinion out to 3.2mm. If you are not afraid to do this then this is a great setup.

WL TOYS 144001: ULTIMATE BRUSHLESS UPGRADE GUIDE
If you don't mind slotting the motor mount and drilling out the pinion, this is actually my favourite brushless motor size and gearing. This is a very full guide that will take you through the modding and install process.

WL TOYS 144001 UPGRADE: BRUSHLESS SPEED RUN BUILD AND SETUP FULL GUIDE
Here it is guys my speed build. My objective here was to retain stock body and chassis with no machining or fabricating so as to keep it simple and inexpensive. Lots of detail on parts used and how to set up for maximum speed and reliability.

HOW TO CUSTOMISE YOUR BUDGET ESC SETTINGS FOR <$10
The Racerstar ESC Programming card is a simple but fantastic tool that allows you to customise the settings on the budget Racerstar, Surpass Hobby and similar ESCs (brushed and brushless). In this guide I cover what the settings mean and what might work best for you.

BUDGET BRUSHLESS UPGRADE - SURPASS HOBBIES 3650 3900KV + 60A ESC COMBO (UPDATED WITH 3S!)

Personally I think this setup is better suited for a larger 1/10 scale car but if you are looking for something big, fast and cheap then this will also fit in a 144001, 124018 or 124019. Mine has been very reliable even on 2s

Radio Gear and Battery Reviews and Education

A quick word from our sponsors: Banggood is currently having a spring sale and there are some deals on many of the cars and parts listed here, especially on this custom spreadsheet http://bit.ly/QRCspringsale

FLYSKY FS-GT5 TRANSMITTER REVIEW AND SETUP
This is the Radio gear I used for my 144001 and couldn't be happier with it. Good build quality, intuitive menu, 20 model memory and fully adjustable gyro. I've also recommended some lower price radios if you're willing to spend $60-80 on this one.

DUMBORC TRANSMITTER / RECEIVER REVIEW AND SETUP
This is my favourite radio gear if you are not looking to run multiple models. In this in-depth review I'll look at all the features and de-mystify the differences between the similar - looking models.

UNDERSTANDING LIPO "C" RATINGS FOR RC CARS (PLUS VOLTAGE AND CAPACITY)
Lipo battery technology can be confusing, I break down what is important and what is not in simple terms with examples for the 144001

A BETTER CHARGER FOR YOUR RC CAR BATTERIES
The charger for the 144001 will at best shorten your battery life and at worst cause a fire. Here a look at the most cost effective hobby-grade chargers that will help you get the most out of you battery.

RC Car Reviews

WL TOYS 124016 124017 PREVIEW: FIRST FACTORY BRUSHLESS WL TOYS RC CARS
First look at the brushless version of the 124019 and 124018 and what we can expect from these performance-wise

WL TOYS 124018 REVIEW - WHAT MAKES IT DIFFERENT TO THE 124019 BUGGY
The WL TOys 124018 shares over 90% of its parts with the hugely successful 124019 (and 144001) buggies but there are several key differences. In this article I dig in to the differences and why they add up to more that just the look of the car.

WL TOYS 124019 REVIEW - ALL OF 144001 IMPROVEMENTS THAT NO ONE HAS MENTIONED
This is a full review of the 124019 and I get really technical about the improvements made since the 144001 that it is based on.

SG 1601, SG1602 BRUSHLESS RC TRUCK LONG TERM USE UPDATE
Long term review and follow up for the good and bad things about the SG 1601 / SG 1602 / HXB 16889

SG 1603 / SG 1604 REVIEW AND THE SIMPLE FIXES THAT ARE CRITICAL
The SG 1603 and SG 1604 are surprisingly fun little cars that are well equipped with a nice body and a fully working gyro. Out of the factory they do need some tweaks to make them run properly and I go into that detail here.

SG 1602/1601 AND HBX 16889 REVIEW - AN EXCELLENT BUDGET BRUSHLESS 1/16 TRUCK
First part of my review of the little brushless 4WD SG 1602 truggy.

THE BEST SMALL SCALE BUDGET RC CAR BASHERS FOR 2020
I rate my favourite smalle scale RC car bashers for 2020 Including the 144001, the 124019, the EMB-MT, the K989 and the HBX 16889. The winner is probably not what you'd think.

XLF F16 1/14 4WD BUGGY REVIEW: THIS OR THE 144001?
When the XLF F16 was released it looked like an upgraded version of the 144001 with metal arms and other parts. Full review is here.

HS10422 REVIEW: THE BEST VALUE BIG RC TRUCK FOR BEGINNERS?
Big 2wd truck for cheap (although it has since gone up in price). See if this is a good option for you or the kids.

WPL C24 1/16 REVIEW: A CHEAP MINI CRAWLER TO GET YOU HOOKED
This cheap little 1/16 scale crawler is a surprisingly capable crawler and very life like. Great option for kids at this lower speed.

Project WLC Racing 124018

Here are Geoffrey Chan's Comprehensive guides on modifying a 124018 to get a excellent balance of looks, durability, handling and power

PROJECT WLC RACING 124018 STAGE 2: BRUSHLESS POWER
In this final stage of Project WLC Racing 124018, Geoffrey looks at the brushless ESC and motor he will go ahead with and makes a decision on tyres/wheels

PROJECT WLCRACING 124018 STAGE 1: SUSPENSION AND STEERING UPGRADES
A lot of detail here about the length Geoffrey has gone to in order strengthen this car and make it handle better before he rushes in with a power upgrade

PROJECT WLCRACING 124018 STAGE 0: IMPROVING THE LOOKS

First in the series where a carbon fibre wrap is completed and wheels are decided on

Parts I like for the WL Toys 144001, 124018 and 124019

Now that I've had experience with quite a few upgrades and replacements, here are the parts I can actually recommend:

ISDT 608AC AC 60W DC 200W 8A BattGo Smart Battery Charger
The USB charger included with WL toys cars is. This ISDT charger represents the best bang for buck at present. Full review here.

Wltoys 7.4V 2200mAh 20C 2S T Plug Lipo Battery for 124018 124019 144001
The stock battery on the 124019 is very underrated and is the battery I recommend for extras on both the 124018/9 and 144001

Remo P6973 Rubber RC Car Tires
Quite simply the best offroad tyres for the 144001, 124019 and 124018. As well as excellent grip, these crucially have the same diameter as stock. More in the above article.

Spare Diff (front and rear)
Probably the easiest way to replace a damaged diff. Don't forget to grease them!

Hobbywing QuicRun WP-16BL30 Brushless Waterproof 30A ESC
Now my go to ESC for small motors. Happy with 2 or 3s, smooth and reliable.

Racerstar 2445 Motor Senseless Brushless Waterproof 5400/3600/3000KV
The easiest to install small (but fast) motor out there. The 5400kv variant will hit 109km/h on 3s

Surpass-Hobby 17g Metal Tooth Digital Steering Gear Servo
My favourite bolt in servo for the 144001. Fast and reliable. If this is unavailable get the PDI 1181-MG here

0.7m 15t pinion with 2.3mm bore.
The only pinion available in this size. The magical piece that allows you to run the 2445 or 2838 motor without having to slot the motor mount

Hobbywing Quicrun 10BL120 Sensored 120A 2-3S Lipo Speed Brushless ESC
My favourite large ESC if you want something with more hair on it's chest. Not waterproof but it is light and has support for sensored motors

FlySky FS-GT5 2.4G 6CH Remote Controller Transmitter with FS-BS6 Receiver
This radio is a little more expensive but offers a lot more features, especially if you want to use it to control multiple cars. Review is here

DumboRC X6 2.4G 6CH Transmitter with X6FG Receiver
If you don't need the level of fine control or to control multiple models, this is the best value for money surface radio out there.

144001 / 124019 / 124018 Motor mount
The least exciting item here but always always get the motor mount if upgrading because if you can get the motor screws out, the pinion will always sink you.

Wltoys 144001 1/14 2.4G 4WD High Speed Racing RC Car Vehicle Models 60km/h

Wltoys 124019 RTR 1/12 2.4G 4WD 60km/h Metal Chassis RC Car

Wltoys 124018 RTR 1/12 2.4G 4WD 60km/h Metal Chassis RC Car

HBX 16889 Brushed 1/16 2.4G 4WD RC Car with LED Light Electric Off-Road Truck RTR Model

Thanks for reading, if you found this article useful please feel free to like or share, the facebook links below directly link/like this article. Links are affiliated and help me buy the bits I need to produce this type of content. If you are looking for RC cars, quads or parts check out my coupons and discounts page which I keep updated with only the RC cars, parts and quads I like at a proper discount

28 Comments

José Carlos Simões

30/9/2020 11:31:50 am

Very very good!
Great explanation, I'm starting with this car thing and I loved the step by step.
Thankfully, there are those who like to share knowledge.
Thank you very much.

QuadifyRC

30/9/2020 12:11:41 pm

My pleasure Jose, it's such a fun journey learning and playing, I' glad I could help!

Aostrand

18/10/2020 09:49:36 pm

Hi! First of all thank you for a incredible series, it's been really helpful and fun to read. I've been following your guide and made a brushless conversion. During my first test run I've found that something wasn't right. So I did a complete maintenance teardown and found one complete shut bearing and another one close to go. Changed the damaged parts and reassembled and time for another testdrive and wow what a transformation!

But somehow I have now lost reverse?! It only stutters and barely moves the wheels even if I lift it up. It's also very jittering and stuttering to get going forward from a standstill. But as soon as the wheels move a quarter of a turn it basically flyes away.
During my first testdrive this didn't happend even when I then had excessive friction due to damaged bearings.

Thx for a great blog!

20/10/2020 09:25:28 am

Hey there

My pleasure, I'm glad you have found them useful. I've not come across that issue before. If it were mine I'd use the programming card to play with the settings - there is typically a setting where you can set the reverse power. Not certain that this would fix but it would certainly help. Here is a link: https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/better-brushless-esc-control-budget-program-card-for-racerstar-surpass-goolrc

Weej

8/11/2020 10:40:24 am

Great set of guides, thanks so much for these!
Will definitely keep referring to these when helping my son look after and upgrade his 144001. I’m tempted to get myself one and race him...
Do you have any recommendations for compatible (budget) paddle tires? We’re looking to improve traction on the beach.
Thanks

12/1/2021 10:36:38 am

Hi there, sorry for missing you comment earlier. These cars are great for father and son time, you should definitely get one too! Sorry I'm not to sure around paddle tyres, all the ones i've seen are too large. Between sand and salt I'm a bit nervous to run on the beach

patrick

12/1/2021 07:30:37 am

On the strength of your comments, guides and the avalanche of enthusiastic reviews out there, Ive ordered a 124019. You'll be pleased to know that your discount code still works just fine.
I ordered the Remo wheels you reccomend and a second battery. As a complete newbie to all this, Im pretty nervous about the whole disassembly to grease the diffs. That toolkit is no longer available and I wonder if you had an alternative you could reccomend ? Thanks again.

12/1/2021 10:39:53 am

Hi Patrick
Good on you for jumping in! Thanks for confirming the code still works (long may it last). Are you talking about the screw set? I noticed they aren't selling that anymore which is a shame. It is not critical anyway, all I can recommend for tools is a good Philips screw driver which you can get from a hardware store - take your car with you to match. The 124019 is less in need of invasive tuning - see my guide here https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/124019-budget-setup-and-tuning-guide-2021-get-the-most-out-of-your-car

12/1/2021 10:34:37 pm

Thanks again. Have now saved that updated guide as a favourite for when the car arrives. Im going to go back and order that 608AC charger and lipo buzzer you reccomend, too. A couple more questions if I may :
1. Once youve returned the batteries to the reccomended voltage is it quite safe to leave them unattended. Never having used Lipos before Im obviously a bit concerned about burning the house down. The car will really only get used at weekends and not every weekend at that.
2. Do you keep the batteries and charger in some kind of metal or fire resistant tray ? I see that other batteries from other brands get provided in charging sacks. Not sure if thats the same for these
3. How does the lipo buzzer get connected to the battery ? Do I need to buy an addition cable and how do you afix it to the car ?
Thanks again for making it all so clear for people like me. Im finding myself spending more and more time watching RC videos having never really been that interested before. I fear an expensive addiction coming on.

Daniel

18/1/2021 12:22:47 am

Hola, muy buen artículo, se que recomiendas el motor 2838 para. Estos modelos, pero hay que hacerle una pequeña modificación en los agujeros de fijacion. Tengo un 124019, y le quiero colocar el motor 2440 que me pareció que con ese no hace falta modificar nada. Es recomendable ese motor para ese coche? Con cuentos dientes en el piñón trabajaría bien, 14t o 17t? Muchas gracias

Nimma Sherpa

18/1/2021 09:19:47 am

Hola Daniel. I don't recommend the 2440, it is a little too small in stator volume. With that said I am working on something that will be more of a drop in option but until I confirm it works, the 2838 motor with 15t pinion is my best recommendation.

Stratus

5/2/2021 08:32:02 am

Hello, today I received my wltoys, I charged the battery for about 20 minutes and then I started the car to test it, at the same time I turned on the control and the car automatically started to accelerate backwards, the only way to stop it was to accelerate forward and that stopped the car, but if I stop accelerating, the car again starts accelerating backwards, is there any way to fix this? (sorry for my bad English, I'm using Google translator)

5/2/2021 10:04:58 am

Sounds like the car was set at the wrong binding position. Remove and reinstall the transmitter batteries then make sure you turn the transmitter on without touching the trigger or steering. Good luck

6/2/2021 05:06:04 am

Thanks for the answer, but it did not solve my problem, I even put some new batteries in the remote control but the car keeps accelerating backwards, also, I have another problem, when I turn to the right the car moves forward and when I turn to the left the car accelerates backwards, which means I can't move forward while I'm turning left

notG10

25/3/2021 06:14:33 pm

Thank you for all the nice write ups and information! I notice the Screw set, servo and m3 locknuts are discontinued. Do you have any other recommendations/links for these?

26/3/2021 10:37:32 am

My pleasure! Sadly they are discontinued. The LC racing set is mostly compatible but is much stronger if you want to try that: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_AegHC4

Martin Huber

7/4/2021 07:47:06 pm

Hi! Thanks for giving all this information to us! I have a question... I just bought the 124018 with 3 batterys and then got me the isdt 608 ac as you recommend. When i now load the batterys the charger says that those are lipos and not li ion!? Banggoods description says those are li ions... I am new to the hobby and dont want to burn my flat haha so i wanted to know if i am right if i use the lipo option for charging!

Thx alot for helping

7/4/2021 11:31:16 pm

Hi Martin

The batteries that come with the 124018 are definitely lipos but regardless you would charge modern li ion batteries on the lipo setting anyway.

Martin

8/4/2021 02:41:30 am

Thank you for your fast response!

MattyBe

12/8/2021 08:52:43 am

Hello! Thanks to Your articles I've decided to kinda upgrade my 124019 ;)

My goal is not clearly 'speedruns', but to achieve 100km/h (around 62 mph) with possibility to just bashing and having fun with a car with maybe small changes like tires etc.

Maybe You can help me littlebit?

I think about DumboRC X6 for sure, Surpass-Hobby 17g servo S0017M and Contack 32mm tires with 70mm diameter like in Your guide.
Problem is - what ESC and motor should I run?
Hobbywing QuicRun WP 16BL30 30A will be ok for 3s battery?
Im little bit confused about motor, couse I really want to achive my 62 mph goal, but with kinda 'normal' rc car. Can You reccomend something and say is this ok setup?

Thanks <3

12/8/2021 02:49:20 pm

My pleasure. 100km/s is still very fast for a car this size and if you plan on bashing with this sort of power then you will break things. I find 70km/h about the fastest I like to go with this car which I get with 3s using the hobbywing 16BL30 and the 2445 3600kv motor as I wrote about here: https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/rc-car-theory-2s-vs-3s-high-kv-vs-low-kv
This is my favourite setup which I feel is at something of a sweet spot and on 3s is as fast as I like to go outside of speed runs.

If you still wish to go for 100km/h with bashing mindset then you will need the 120A hobbywing ESC https://bit.ly/38Dgngr
You'll need a motor of around 4500kV. There is nothing that will drop straight in with enough power so you'll need a 2838 or more likely 2845 in which case you need to drill the motor mount to M3 and bore the 15t pinion from 2.3mm to 3.2

12/8/2021 04:31:06 pm

Maybe thats the fault of my language, I wasnt clear enough for sure :)

My plan is to upgrade car to the point, when with the same ESC and motor setup i can just switch tires to foam and 2s to 3s lipo to go 'speedrun' setup 100km/h and then other day switch back to 2s and stock tires to just do bashing for a standard time fe :)

Youre 100% right, that bashing at 100km/h will be dangerous to the car :D

So Your reccomended ESC and motor setup
Hobbywing QuicRun WP-16BL30 Brushless Waterproof 30A ESC
+
Racerstar 2445 Motor Senseless Brushless Waterproof 3600KV

Can give me possibity to reach 100km/h on 3s then other day on standard 2s jus do bashing for some time?

17/8/2021 04:27:03 pm

I'm afraid I can't think of a setup that would do both. Part the problem is you need a different gear ratio between bashing and speed runs, especially when the smaller diameter foam tyres are confirmed. I'd probably recommend the 120a Hobbwing ESC and a F540 motor around 4000kv with stock gearing. That *may* be able to do both.

Personally I'd go the 30a 3600kv setup and make to with 72km/h for speed runs on 3s.

17/8/2021 05:42:28 pm

Hmm, tbh after second read of Your articles ive decided to go 2445 5400kV from this guide (https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/drop-in-brushless-upgrade-guide-for-wl-toys-144001-124018-and-124019-quadifyrc).
The setup You get is almost 100% what i expected to get.
3s lipo can give me possibility to go over 100km/h, but on 2s its just better stock.
Now im confused ;)

18/8/2021 09:38:26 am

It did cross my mind to recommend but even on 2s it runs hot bashing. TBH my recommendation for you would be to but both motors and try them to get what you want, they are pretty cheap.

Leo

27/8/2021 05:29:42 pm

does the WLtoys 144001 and wltoys 124019 share the same parts? aside from chasis and center drive shaft?

Walter

30/8/2021 11:40:00 pm

Yes everything is the same.

I had a 144001 but crashed it hard so bought a new 124019 and use the 144001 for parts :)

31/8/2021 12:06:40 am

Yes same parts although a few minor improvements were made on the 124019 which have made their way through to the 144001 now anyway. Top deck, chassis, dive shaft, body are the only differences.

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