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WL TOys 144001 BASHER upgrade - Make it tough!

17/4/2021

21 Comments

 
The WL Toys 144001 is a great car for the money and pretty durable but certainly not the toughest thing out - for my money that goes to the SG 1601 / HBX 16889 (long term review here). I have however found an tested a few direct bolt on parts that you can install in about 20 minutes to make this way more resilient to crashes than stock
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Background
As far as bashing is concerned, the monster truck style of RC tends to have the most advantages for bashing:
  • Large diameter wheels with wide grippy tyres for maximum traction and shock absorption plus better ground clearance
  • Reinforced bumper front and rear with 'nerf' bars to absorb shock from direct collisions. These typically come up high to product the body as well
  • Slim pickup truck style body that protects the shock absorbers and allow plenty of room for electronic equipment with good cooling. Tyres are outboard meaning body is compact and less likely to get damaged.
Disadvantages make them less suited for precision and track driving for the following reasons:
  • Large tyres are more likely to flex and so a little more soft in response during cornering on high grip surfaces
  • Additional ground clearance can make them more prone to rolling and wheelies
  • Outboard wheels (compared to inboard wheels like in a short course truck) can make side by side racing more treacherous.
As you can see if you have offroad bashing in mind these are well suited and this is why I have gone down this part for my basher.
My Build
Power Train. Firstly I wanted something light and tough so I chose my Brushless upgraded 144001 from my cheapest brushless worth having build here. As well as being fast and efficient this is also very light meaning durability is up before we even start with the monster truck mods. Gearing is short with the 15t pinion mean this should also have the acceleration power I want.
Wheels. There are 2 good options here; The tried and tested Remo P6973 wheels I wrote about here and the LC racing EMB-MT wheels (Geoffrey has written about these here). I've chosen the P6973 wheels as I don't want to stress the motor with the large diameter EMB-MT wheels. Also, the EMB-MT wheels make the car more flippy, especially with the small wheelbase of the 144001. Lastly I think the Remo P6973 wheels have a better size proportion look for this setup
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My favourite bashing wheels - Remo P6973.
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Genuine LC Racing EMB-MT Monster Truck wheels
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Remo P6973 wheels on my budget brushless build before the monster truck treatment
Body. I chose the LC Raching EMB-MT body because I know it fits well given the 144001 drew HEAVY inspiration from the LC racing EMB series. It is a high quality body made from decently thick polycarbonate meaning it holds up well too.
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LC Racing EMB-MT pre-painted and stickered Monster Truck Body
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LC Racing EMB-MT Clear Monster Truck Body
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Here's the body on my LC Racing EMB-MT
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You can of course bask with the stock bod but the wing in particular gets damaged pretty quick
Body mounts
The LC Racing EMB-MT/SC mounts are well made, fit perfectly and cheap. The pre-cut holes on the body are in exactly the correct location. These are adjustable so you can used with practically and truck non-buggy shell.
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EMB-MT body mounts are cheap and allow you to install practically any body
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Rear mount on (direct bolt on)
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Front mount on (direct bolt on)
Bumpers. This was a no brainer. I went with EMB-MT bumper front and rear. They are high mounted meaning the car will want to go over rather than into models. Being an LC racing part the plastic is high quality and durable. They are also reinforced with 'nerf' bar shock absorptions so will be protected even in a direct hit. And of course they fit perfectly with the shell, offering excellent protection. The only potential downside is that that the front bumper does not extend to cover the front wheels like the t-bone racing bumper. 
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EMB-MT Monster Truck Bumper Set is a direct bolt on options with no mods needed
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Front bumper directly bolts on, comes up nice and high and integrates well with the body
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Rear bumper provides added protection from rolls and cartwheels and integrates will with the body
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Additional support from these 'nerf' bars front and rear make these bumpers super durable and effective
Review
I like it. I feel the P6973 wheels are a good improvement over the MT wheels on this shorter wheelbase because they have similar level of grip but the smaller diameter means that the car is not as easy to roll as as the EMB-MT wheels. Also, as I mentioned the proportion looks nicer on the car and it keeps the effective gear ratio nice and low which means the power train can retain it's efficiency and ability to accelerate quickly.
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144001 MT basher on the P6973 wheels with 75mm diameter
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EMB-MT on the EMB-MT wheels with 85mm diameter. Fun but it rolls a lot more.
Going in to this mod I know that our our collaborator Geoffrey had sung the praises of the EMB-MT bumper set but now I see why. It is much more complete and stronger than the tiny stock bumper and will engineered with the 'nerf' shock absorbing sections front and rear. The big rise of the bumper also means you are more likely to bounce over obstacles rather than just donk into them. It also fits beautifull with the stock shell.

Speaking of the shell the finish and quality is really good as you'd expect from LC but it does sit a little higher on the car than I'm used to. I tend to like to keep things low profile but it's probably just a change in mindset needed from me. Make no mistake though, this body will not do any sort of job of keeping dirt and dust out, especially when compared to a snug fitting buggy body. It will offer excellent airflow for cooling however.
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Here is the gap between bog and chassis exaggerated with camera angle. This is the same gap as on the EMB-MT
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This is how I'd prefer it to look when I mocked it up without the body mounts in place. I think I can get this look with a bit of playing around
BASHING!!
Now I'm sure you didn't come here just for build pics but instead want some proof of this rig getting down and dirty. This session was just after the rain, 3 packs through back to back in dirt and medium length grass. After 3 packs motor and ESC was hot but could hold my finger to it for a little while before it became uncomfortable. Lots of rolls, cartwheels and bad landings but nothing broken or lost.
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Conclusion
Although the 144001 can be made into a passable track racing car with suitable mods I don't think that is why most are buying it. It seems like people are mostly using as a fast and somewhat durable platform for bashing in backyards plus local on and off-road areas. If off-road is more your thing then I consider these mods a fun and practical upgrade for not a lot of money. They make for a car with more grip, more ability to get over obstacles and more ability to take a hit on inevitable crashes. The brushless upgrade part isn't critical but certainly adds to the experience with the extra power and weight reduction it brings.
Full list of parts used here to achieve the same outcome:
  • QuadifyRC Budget Brushless Setup
  • Remo P6973 wheels
  • ​LC Racing EMB-MT/SC mounts
  • ​LC Raching EMB-MT body
  • ​EMB-MT bumper front and rear
​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. I don't believe in asking for money by patreon nor by paypal but if you do wish to help me, the affiliated links in these articles help me buy the bits and services 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
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21 Comments
Isaac
14/4/2021 02:29:53 pm

I've got to say it, I love the trucks and the EMB-MT body on the 144001 looks sick!! I've got to get the posts and the body now! I've always wanted to turn my 144001 into a "truck", now I have a link to body posts!

I know this is subjective, but do you think the truck body paired with the stock wheels (I'm upgrading to the Remos after the stock ones wear out) would look weird/strange?

I've been on the hunt for a "basher bumper" for the 144001 for some while, and I went with the TBR (T Bone Racing) front bumper for the LC Racing EMB-1/Wltoys 144001/Tocan soar.
I paid $17 total for it, that's including shipping, and tax.

It fits really well, looks cool, offers very good protection, and it's super light! It weighs 12g with the included, longer screws installed! It has some flex to it, so it should absorb some impact in the event of a crash. It also has an upward bend, to provide more clearance.

Great post, good to see you giving the 144001 some more love (it's big brothers seem to overshadow it sometimes)!

Reply
QuadifyRC
15/4/2021 12:04:01 pm

Thanks! Those T-bone racing bumpers are the best as far as protection goes for sure but I like the way these MT bumpers integrate with the body better.

144001 will always get some love in my books, it's still the best value of all of their cars.

Reply
Hartkor
15/4/2021 01:58:50 am

Hi

Nice presentation and I really like how you update this rc car. I have a query. What about the shock? Did you change the oil? Or we can imagine to change the shock itself?
Normally those monster truck are supposed to do some big jump, no?

Reply
QuadifyRC
15/4/2021 12:05:57 pm

Cheers Harktor, appreciate the kind words. I kept stock fluid here. The weight is down so much as a result of the smaller motor that the stock dampening as actually ok now compared to previously where it bottomed out a lot with the heavy stock motor.

This has been doing some big jumps and is now very dirty! 😅

Reply
RCFREAK
17/4/2021 07:34:17 am

Love this series of upgrades. So informative.

One question, I've been running the metal gearboxes, which nobody else ever seems to use. They ARE quite heavy and there IS more play for the diffs than the plastic boxes, but after shattering one of the plastic ones on my first drive and ruining multiple parts, I'm really skeptical about changing out my nice shiny metal boxes.

Reply
RCFREAK
17/4/2021 10:32:53 am

Also, anyone find a wheelie bar capable of fitting on these? I'm trying to find a solution to the back of my short course shell getting bashed up when I wheelie.

Reply
QuadifyRC
6/5/2021 08:56:29 am

Thanks again! Personally I prefer the plastic ones but if you have a working solution then who is to argue with that?

Reply
PC
21/4/2021 12:47:54 am

Can you recommend a truck body shell that would fit the 124019? Thanks.

Reply
Nimma Sherpa
30/4/2021 12:42:13 pm

I think I may have answered you elsewhere but it's just the truggy that I know of for this wheelbase

Reply
Lionel
29/4/2021 07:04:36 pm

If I leave the original car but with your basher wheels and body as well as the bumper/back. Can the engine handle it? I never put the remote at full I stay at maximum 70% because it quickly becomes uncontrollable

Reply
Nimma Sherpa
30/4/2021 12:43:11 pm

Yes it should be ok, I have purposely chosen these wheels because diameter is similar to stock and so overall drive ratio remains similar

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SCOTT CAMPBELL
5/5/2021 07:14:03 pm

I was hoping to use these bumpers with the stock shell and wing. is it possible to keep the wing when using the rear bumper? from the pictures, it looks like the bumper attaches to 2 of the locations currently occupied by screws used to hold the wing support.

Reply
HartKor
5/5/2021 07:38:41 pm

Hi,
If you use a longer screw it may be possible to use it. It is correct. The rear bumper use 2 holes used for the wing support.

Reply
QuadifyRC
6/5/2021 09:07:05 am

You are right, it does share 2 screws with the wing mount. I'd just omit the rear bumper - it doesn't see a lot of action anyway otherwise you could come up with a creative solution to use both.

Reply
SCOTT CAMPBELL
13/5/2021 12:07:57 am

Thanks. I am still waiting for the bumper set to arrive, so will look at it then - I doubt the rear will fit with the wing mount attached, unless i get creative with maybe some kind of spacer between the shock tower and wing mount, but it probably wouldnt be worth the trouble. yes, I think the front bumper will definitely be more useful than the rear (my bent front shocks would attest to that), and i might not bother with the rear bumper. with the arrival of some 60wt shock oil today, i have completed 5 of your 6 recommended basic setup tweaks. just waiting on the screw set, and droop adj will done soon. your articles are very much appreciated. thanks again.

Freelander link
19/7/2021 03:03:59 pm

I did exactly this. Just left the wing mount on since I have a composite spoiler that prevents backflips and acts like a ridiculous wheelie bar. It also protects the back end of the car.

Thanks so much for your guides! My truck turned out pretty awesome with it's new body and front bumper.

I used wheels for the mini e revo. They are huge but excellent quality and look very good with the monster truck body.

WL144001 mod. https://imgur.com/gallery/VWHX9JT

Moskito
3/9/2021 11:02:33 pm

I like the LC Racing L6039 SC Bumper Set, which fits perfectly but looks a bit huge with the original body.

Reply
Ian B
6/4/2022 08:17:02 pm

Fantastic set of guides. Thanks!

I'm planning to do brushless conversions on all my Wltoys 124018, 124019 & 144002. Which would you consider to be the best choice for the 144002 given it's extra weight and larger diameter wheels?

I really like the bumpers in this article and was wondering if they would fit a 144002 (I lent my 144002 to a newbie and the orginal front bumper didn't survive). Has anyone tried fitting the EMB-MT bumpers to a 144002?

Reply
Ian B
10/4/2022 05:17:51 am

I've just tried out my first brushless upgrade on the 124019 with the 2445 3600KV 15T gearing with large tyres to see what happens....... still have a huge grin on my face! .......... Genius :-)

The 2445 3600KV with 15T gearing is more than capable of transforming the performance of the 144002. I'll be fitting this as soon as the parts arrive.

Thanks again for a brilliant set of guides and suggesting this 'light weight, efficiency route' for upgrading, rather than the heavy weight option of a 3650 and stock gearing.

Reply
QuadifyRC
12/4/2022 12:17:36 pm

My pleasure mate, people underestimate the small motors but they are just so much better suited to these cars - even the seemingly low kv 3600kv option but it is such a solid performer

QuadifyRC
12/4/2022 12:23:58 pm

I think you may have already answered but I'd use 2445 3600kv with 15t - a good match for the big wheels. EMB-MT bumper will fit the chassis

Reply



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