WL TOys 144001 Brushless 2838 upgrade Easy No cut option

Recently I upgraded to brushless power in the WL Toys 14401 as you can see in this article:

WL TOYS 144001: ULTIMATE BRUSHLESS UPGRADE GUIDE

Performance is so much better than stock and battery life has increased by over 50%. I much prefer this smaller brushless that the larger 3650 size that are usually limited to on road and speed runs. The install is fairly straightforward but you need to slot the motor mount to set the mesh on the smaller 17t pinion gear and this can be tricky. Good news though, I've found a workaround where no machining nor tricky gear mesh setting is required.

The 144001 uses a 0.7 modulus gear pitch and is very rare for pinions. We are typically limited to the very large stock 27t pinion (way too big for this application) or the 17t pinion from the WL Toys A959 / A969. The 17t pinion offers an excellent ratio for the 2838 and 2845 motors but you need to mod the motor plate as mentioned in my original brushless upgrade article.

Good news though, I've found that using the stock 380 motor mounts on the motor plate you can use a 15t pinion gear. Up until recently these have been impossible to find but I've done a LOT of testing and have found three options for you.

Stock 540/550 mounted motor

380/390 mounted (brushless) motor. See how it is closer to where the spur gear mound so requires the smaller pinion

See how much smaller the 15t pinion is compared to the stock 27t

Option 1: 15t from Hobbyking
Hobbyking still have some old stock of a 15t 0.7m pinion that we used on certain helis but it is not a bolt on option - as it has an oversize 5.0mm bore. Because of this you need a 5mm to 3.2mm reducer which is available here. You may also need to file down the grub screw a little if it fouls on the mount.

Hobbyking™ 0.7M Hardened Steel Helicopter Pinion Gear 5mm Shaft - 15T

​HOBBYWING Motor Axle 3.17mm To 5mm Change-over Shaft Adapter

Adaptor fits nicely with the Hobbyking pinion

The larger bore means the pinion collar is larger. It fits but the grub screw needs reducing in length just a little.

Option 2: 15t from Aliexpress 2.3mm bore
This pinion is a nice fit but you will need to increase the bore of the pinion from 2.3mm to 3.2mm. This can be done easily with the appropriate drill bit such as this cheap 3.2mm bit option here. The other option is to run a motor with a 2.3mm shaft like the one below

0.7m 15t pinion gear from Aliexpress with 2.3mm shaft bore

You'll need to drill like this, see my original brushless upgrade article for a more in-depth guide.

​Racerstar 2440 Motor Brushless Waterproof Sensorless 6080 /4600 /4000KV
This motor is a little smaller but should still power the 144001 fine. I prefer the 2838 but this has a 2.3mm shaft and mean you won't need to drill out the pinion

This is what it looks like in the car and what I am running presently. Virgin motor mount with no slotting!

Option 3: 15t from Aliexpress 3.2mm bore
This option will bolt up directly and requires no modification whatsoever. They are a little more expensive because I think they are a specialist item but no mods are needed for this whatsoever. Make sure you choose 15t and 3.17mm

Update: Although the pitch is correct this pinion is too long as reported by a user. Unfortunately mine was lost in the post before I could confirm. I'll work with this supplier to see if they can make a bolt on option but at present I would recommend the above 15t gear and drill out the shaft.

This should be the minimum work option but is the most expensive. I've ordered one to try but have not yet received. Will report back here once I have confirmed it is working as expected. Update, see above note.

Performance
Final mesh is just a little tighter than I'd like (although 14t is too loose after extensive testing). It does settle down after less than half a pack and I can now feel the the backlash is spot on. Understandably top speed is a little down on where the 17t was but still faster than the stock motor. acceleration is bonkers and due to the relatively low load on the motor battery life is crazy, even on the stock 2s lipo.

Given this is  little undergeared, it really opens up the opportunity to run 3s where this should be capable of fairly ludicrous offroad speed. I want to do some more testing in this space around durability so please watch this space and I'll update later on with my experiences.

Final recommendations
Although the 17t pinion is probably more suitable for the 2838 4500kv motor I'm running, it takes a lot of work and fiddling to install. Using the one of the 15t gear options I've recommended above will make it a little slower but the install is so much cleaner and probably more robust in the long run. It also makes it more viable for a 3s battery upgrade for some serious power. All in all I'd recommend this over the 17t as per my first brushless upgrade article not because of the out and out performance but because of ease and long term durability.

More power? Yep. More efficient? Yep. Longer life? Yep. Lastly, check out the difference in weight...

Summary of the full recommended parts list to upgrade the WL TOys 144001 from stock brushed to 2838 brushless:

​$28 Brushless 2838 motor / 35A esc combo 4500kv I like this size and KV rating. It offers the balance of power, efficiency and weight savings that I think are ideal

​​$9 PDI-1181MG digital metal gear servo. This servo fits exactly with no mods required

$76 Flysky FS-GT5. If this is too expensive and you don't need a gyro in the receiver consider the​$30 Flysky FS-GT2E

​​$5 WL Toys 144001 spare motor mount. Please trust me and buy this part rather than trying to reuse the one in your car. They are impossible to remove without damaging something

0.7m 15t pinion gear. This will need drilling but if you don't wish to drill consider this option although I have not yet tested myself.

3.2mm hardened drill bit for drilling out pinon gear This bit makes short work of boring out the pinion if required

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Thanks for checking out my article and please let me know on my facebook page or in the 144001 group if it worked out for you. I've created a reference page below for all of the 144001 articles I've published here:
144001 UPGRADES - EVERY ONE OF MY GUIDES HERE.