CRAZYFASTRC CF1401 Review: A MOdded Lightweight 144001 Roller

Recently I was given the opportunity to look at the CrazyFastRC CF1401: a new RC Car based on the ever popular WL Toys 144001 1/14 scale 4wd buggy I have written over 40 articles on. The CrazyFastRC CF1401 and is a pre-modded rolling chassis version of this popular car, exclusively available from their new Aliexpress store. A rolling chassis is the basic car only and you will need to add your own radio, motor and ESC and battery and this is typically how higher end race cars are sold. As such, these are a very good option if you were planning to mod anyway, something these cars are so well suited to. In this review I'll be reviewing the CrazyFastRC CF1401 as ordered and in future articles I will be showing you the components I will build with.

The CrazyFastRC store can be found on Aliexpress here and have a number of common Chinese RC car brands like WL Toys, ZD Racing, UDIRC and more but it is their own branded CF1401 I am most interested in and will be reviewing here. As I said before this is a rolling chassis and you will need your own radio, power system and battery to run this car. Now that that is clear, lets get on with the review:

What is included in the box?

Just the basics

17t M0.7 pinion with 3.175mm bore for 28xx brushless motors

It really is just the car itself and a 17t pinion gear (3.175mm bore). There are literally no extras in the car that was delivered to me but this is what to expect when ordering a kit car (rolling chassis).

How does it differ from the 144001?

It really is just the car itself and a 17t pinion gear (3.175mm bore). There are literally no extras in the car that was delivered to me but this is what to expect when ordering a kit car (rolling chassis).

So this car costs about the same as an RTR WL Toys 144001 with all the gear included, why would you buy it? Easy, it's the upgrades, many of which you can buy separately off the shelf but a few choice items that are unique to this model. Let's break it down and compare area by area and I'll give you my thoughts on whether we can expect an improvement or where we might actually go backwards compared to the 144001

Chassis
The most obvious difference is the chassis. Rather than being a pressed 1.5mm thick aluminium chassis of questionable aluminium quality, this is genuine 2mm thick woven carbon fibre with a full carbon fibre core. Unlike earlier aftermarket carbon fibre chassis options, this has a moulded kick up at the front for the front that means stock castor angles are maintained without the use of packing blocks. The carbon fibre has a nice matte finished and looks to be good quality. Better yet I've noticed that instead of using the junky Philips head screws like WL toys, they have used proper counter sunk hex-headed m2 screws throughout - much more durable and user friendly over the long term.
My thoughts: This chassis will look better, be lighter and have similar stiffness to the aluminium chassis compared to the 144001. A nice to have rather than critical improvement.

2mm thick carbon has a nice matte finish

Full carbon sheet with no balsa core

Carbon is moulded for the correct contours rather than being cut from a plate

Body 
The body is a cab forward design, copied directly from the LC Racing EMB-1h pre-2021. Interesting that the top plate (where the ESC mounts) has been adapted so that the ESC sits forward too, directly below the cabin hump.
My thoughts: A good improvement in looks, uniqueness and practicality.

Here is the car as received

I trimmed the nose piece off the body because it looked like a beak!

Dip in the top tray for the ESC is further forward to account for cab-forward body

Comparison to the 144010 / 144001 where the dip is further back

Wing
The wing is a moulded plastic and the new mount has a more positive and stronger fixing mechanism. It is MUCH more robust that the stock 144001 wing, more in line with the EMB-TG wing from LC racing which I usually recommend.
My thoughts: A good practical upgrade.

Wing is injection moulded plastic and is very sturdy, plus the mount is much stronger

Comparison to the 144001 wing

Suspension
Firstly the shocks themselves are the same as the standard 144001 oil units but they mount to towers with a non-captive pillow ball rather than captive. This makes it easier to service without tools but is only and advantage if the balls stay on through regular driving (which they feel like they should). Speaking of towers these are made from the same 2mm carbon fibre. Lighter yes and the look cool but I probably would have preferred the malleability of the 144001 aluminium towers. 
My thoughts: This setup has better serviceability and less weight than stock but may be a little less durable as a result

Same shocks as 144001 but not captive pillow ball upper mount. See the carbon shock towers.

Carbon shock towers on the rear too

Diff mounts
The CF1401 uses aluminium mounts rather than plastic. I feel that aluminium is not really necessary on these cars but they seem to be well made. They are also tapped and ready to add an anti-roll bar kit if desired - installation detail is here
My thoughts: The only time I've seen plastic diff mounts as an issue is when you crash into the tyre of a parked car at an angle. This should make it stronger against this crash but you will definitely be breaking shock towers instead which is actually a more practical outcome.

Front bulkheads (diff mounts) are pre-tapped for adding an anti-roll bar.

You can add an LC racing or GEM-RC anti roll bar like I did here with my 144010

Suspension arms
Suspension arms front and rear are aluminium compared to plastic on the 144001. I have not seen this design before, there is a lot less material compared to aftermarket 144001 aluminium arms which have too much material. I do tend to favour plastic arms as a sacrificial part but want to give these light weight arms a change. They are pre-tapped for M3 droop screws which I recommend adding as per this article I wrote a couple of years ago.
My thoughts: Knee jerk reaction is that I prefer plastic but the lighter weight aluminium design of the CF1401 may sway me - let's see how they perform when I build.

Lightweight aluminium suspension arms front...

...And rear

Comparison to the metal arms I changed to on my 144001 above - see there is much less material now (an improvement)

Wheel Hubs
I do prefer aluminium wheels hubs as I think this is were the extra strength belongs. Design looks good and should fit a wide range of wheels (including my favourite REMO P6973 wheels as reviewed here). Interesting that they mount with a long screw rather than a captive pin which I think is a good choice. Note: Dogbone driveshafts rear, CVDs front and plastic 12mm hex drives are the same as the regular 144001
My thoughs: A good upgrade for durability

Front alloy hubs with plastic hex

Mounting of hub to arms is improved with a bold and nylock nut

Motor Mount
The CR1401 has an adjustable motor mount and this is the first time I have seen one of this style - similar to that found on the LC racing EMB cars. This style is superior to the GEMRC adjustable mount that became available recently since the motor mount is divorced from the adjustment assembly, a much better designed solution
My thoughts: Frankly I'm happy that adjustable mounts now exists on these cars but this is the best execution I've ever seen on this cars and is unique to the CF1401

Excellent motor mount design which separates the mounting from the adjusting screws as per LC Racing

Spur Gear
It's metal on the CF1401 which I am not a fan of as the plastic one on the 144001 is actually very durable and the heavier weight of the metal one means more rotating mass and hence the motor has less ability to rapidly change engine RPM. This is the regular M0.7 pitch spur with 44t.
My thoughs: I'll live with the metal one but would have preferred plastic

I generally prefer the plastic spur on these cars

Differential
The diffs on the CF1401 are the upgraded units with the stronger, bronze coloured metal on bevel pinions and the mating diff drive. The cases are plastic (my preference) and are smooth running. I don't believe they are using the new sealed diff as offered by GEM RC.
My thoughts: A good reliable diff upgrade

Diff has the stronger, better cast metal gears that mesh nicely

Wheels and Tyres.
Tyres are identical to the 144001 which themselves are a copy from the LC racing 144001. They are optimally designed for carpet or hard packed smooth dirt and a bit average for most other applications. Wheels are plain white which IMHO are a big improvement over the decal-ridden 144001 models. They are clean and look a lot like the LC Racing EMB-1 and LC12B1 wheels for which I am grateful.
My thoughts: Tyres are fine, really pleased with the plain wheels.

Not my best pic but I much prefer the plain wheels.

Overall Conclusions

Overall it's a better car than I first thought and based on the sheer number of obvious and less obvious differences compared to the 144001, I'm tempted to think it may actually come out of a different factory. The big draw for me is the carbon chassis, new body and wind plus the motor mount. I had a pre-concieved idea that the aluminium suspension arms would be unsuitable but the new lightweight design used here are a nice surprise and may actually have some benefit than detriment. The only definite downside for me is the metal spur gear.

All in all it's actually a nice roller and saves you jettisoning a whole lot of useless electronics if you were planning on upgrading anyway. Personally I'll be building mine as a backup carpet race car and when I do that I'll document and share the build with you as well as the outcome. Thanks for reading.

The CrazyFastRC CF1401 is available exclusively from the CrazyFastRC store on Aliexpress

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