The Ultimate pinion gear guide for WL Toys 144001 144002 144010 124016 124017 124018 124019

The WL toys 1/14 and 1/12 scale cars are fanstastic value and offer a myriad of options for tinkering and modding. One area where they are woefully inadequate though is gearing. They have chosen a very uncommon mod 0.7 gear pitch meaning there are very few options outside of stock because the standard 27t or even the more recent 19t offer very tall gearing only. In this gearing guide I have laid out all known available options in this guide to help you get the most out of your car.

Let's start this conversation by saying that the stick spur gear for these cars (44 teeth) is fixed - an immovable object with no alternative options*. Thus it is only the pinions we can change to alter gear ratios. Next we can say that motors with a 36mm diameter (ie stock 550 brushed, 3650 brushless, 3652 brushless and 3660 brushless cannot move closer to the top brace and therefore cannot use a smaller pinion, even with this adjustable mount. This with these motors you can use the stock 27t pinion only and the tall gearing (4.074:1)

This means that the only way to alter gear ratio is to use a smaller motor suck as a brushed 380 or 390 or a brushless 2440, 2445, 2838, 2845, 2850. This is a good thing because for the brushless motors in particular they are smaller, lighter, faster, more efficient and run cooler but with less torque they need the smaller pinions which provide shorter gearing. This is the basis of every brushless upgrade I have written which provide a much more well rounded performance for these cars. Anyway lets go directly to the options readily available.

*Custom made Mod1 spurs are available, talk to Michael Koebbe on the QuadifyRC facebook group.

Option 1: 27t stock pinion, drive ratio = 4.074:1

I only recommend the 27t pinion for stock or for large motor on road speed runs. Click on the pick for more speed run detail

As I keep banging on about the stock 27t pinion gives very tall gearing and only really suited to speed running rather than offroad. The stock 550 brushed motor only just manages this one because of the large torque output it has at the expense of battery life. The downside of this tall gearing was best illustrated in the initial V1 release of the 124017 and the Eachine EAT14. Even though they used a decent sized 2845 with a relatively low 3400kv, the car cogged badly due to this gearing.

For this reason I only recommend this gearing for the stock motor or for on road speed runs with a motor 3650+ in size as per this build

Physically The 27t pinion gear has a 3.2mm bore meaning it will physically fit the following motor sizes: brushed - 540, 550. Brushless - 3650, 3652, 3660, 2838, 2845, 2850.
Parts needed:

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Standard motor mount from 144001

27t pinion gear

Surpass Hobby 3650 brushless motors are good value for money

Option 2: 19t pinion from 144010, drive ratio = 5.79:1

The new 19 tooth pinion still has reasonably tall gearing but way better than the 27t. This setup comes stock on the 124017 and 124016 V2 and the 144010. On these cars with the brushless 2845 4300kv motor it will hit around 70km/h on 2s which is very quick but battery hungry especially offroad. This pinion has a 3.2mm bore meaning it is only suitable for a brushed 390 motor or a brushless 2838, 2845, 2850 motor. Parts needed:

Here is the 19t stock in the WL Toys brushless 144010. Click on the image to go to the review.

124017 V2 or 144010 motor mount (this vendor on Aliexpress ships quickly)

19t pinion gear

The Surpass Hobby Brushless 2845 motor is a cost effective motor for this setup. I prefer the 3800kv here.

Option 3: 17t pinion from A959, drive ratio = 6.47:1

The 17t pinion is a good gearing option for mid high kv motors in the 2838-2850 brushless motor range. The pinion is somewhat uncommon but I can confirm this is the correct one here. You will need to slot a motor mount to allow it to mesh properly as per my original ultimate brushless upgrade guide here. The gearing is well suited to a motor speed of 4000-4500kv. The pinion bore is only 2.3mm meaning you will need to drill it out if you wish to fit it to a 2838, 2845 or 2850 motor. This will however fit directly on to a 2440 or 2445 motor. Parts needed:

I used this 17t pinion in the very first brushless upgrade I wrote. Click on the pic to go to the guide.

17t pinion from the a959 comes in a set of 2

144001 motor mount is the best start point but needs slotting

I like the Surpass Hobby 2838 brushless motor with the 17 pinion.

Option 4: Unicorn 15t pinion, drive ratio = 7.33:1

The 15t pinion is my favourite pinion because the final gear ratio is more conventional for race cars which allows the motor to run cool and efficiently with fantastic acceleration. Better yet this small 2.3mm bore is a direct fit for lightweight 2440 and 2445 brushless motors which bolt up directly to the 144001 motor mount inner holes making this truly a drop in upgrade. My full installation guide for this setup can be found here.

Clink on the image to take you to my install guide

With this pinion I have achieved to following speeds:

• 2445 3600kv 2s 50km/h, 3s 72 km/h (see here for more detail)
• 2445 5400kv 2s 78km/h, 3s 109 km/h (see here for more detail)
• 2845 3900kv 2s 56km/h (I'm running this at present but have not written up yet)
• 2440 4600kv 2s 59km/h (see here for more detail)

​You can still achieve a top speed of over 70km/h on 2s with a 2445 5400kv motor and even 50km/h on 2s with a 2445 3600kv motor which is just magic for off-roading with bigger wheels and no risk over overheating. This pinion gear is something of a unicorn and is only available from two sellers on aliexpress. Both are reliable vendors and are listed below.

The 15t pinion is available exclusively from Aliexpress

144001 motor mount is the one you need here

The Racerstar 2445 brushless motor is a direct fit. I like 3600kv for off-road

Conclusions

In my experience this is a complete list of the pinion gears that are commonly available for these cars and should provide you with a decent range of options depending on your application and depending on whether you want a straight bolt up option or a more involved one that requires filing and drilling.

As I've made clear my favourite option here for a street or offroad basher type application is the 15t pinion which provides a gear ratio of 7.33:1 which is in line with typical race cars. You may think this is slow but with the right brushless motor it is anything but and the acceleration and increased battery life on offer puts it on a whole different level. Anyway hopefully you find this useful as a resource when building your own car to suit your own driving location and style.

Other possibilities - the Motor mounts

WL toys do not make an adjustable motor mount for the 144001 series of cars meaning you need their stock hole locations that fit pinions only of a specific size. It's amazing to think that for the same base car WL toys have actually made 4 different mounts:

The original motor mount from the 144001, 124018 and 124019 had a mount for the 550 motor/27t pinion but as we found out later, the spare set of holes was for a 2440/2445 motor and 15t pinion.

On the first release of the brushless 124017, 124016 and Eachine EAT14 this was changed to a single set of holes only for the included 2845 brushless motor and 27t pinion. This is the worst of the mounts since it only has one set of holes

I've just found that the V2 124017 mount has three sets of holes. One of course for the included 19t pinion but I have also estimated is has holes for a 21t and 25t pinion - not that they are currently available.

The latest 144010 reviewed here has a different mount again! 1 for the stock 19t pinion of course but another set for the 27t pinion on a 550 sized motor. This mount is not yet available as a part that I am aware of.

If you are looking for a discount on this car, I will post any coupon codes or flash sales for it over here on my coupons and discounts page. Remember buying from any of these links supports my page without any cost to you and is appreciated especially since I don't ask for money via patreon and the like. If you want to get involved in this discussion, feel free to join the QuadifyRC Facebook Group Here or like my page below.