QuadifyrRC.com WL TOYS 144001 / 124018 / 124019: FREE OR BUDGET UPGRADES (PART 2)

WL Toys 144001 / 124018 / 124019: free or Budget Upgrades (Part 2)

5/6/2020

This is the second part of my free and budget upgrade walkthrough for the WL Toys 144001. The first part can be found here. These are also completely relevant for the 124019 and 124018 as well

The first series of upgrades I made to the WL toys 144001 was to improve longevity and handling by getting the shock absorber fluid level right, the diffs lubed properly and camber and toe in set correctly. This articles expands on that by further improving the handling through minor tweaks the are either free or cost very little. It is really important you get the handling right to make the car more predictable, especially if you plan on power upgrades further down the line. The upgrades I'll detail in this article are:

Decrease the REAR toe in
Set the droop on front and rear arms
Improve the dampening in the rear shocks

1. Decreasing the rear toe in
The WL toys 144001 comes set with a LOT of rear toe in (which is the amount the rear wheels point in towards the car when looking from above). Rear toe in does help with cornering stability by decreasing useful steering when powering on in the corner but comes at the cost of straight line speed, especially in high grip situations. In simple terms rear toe in does help make the car feel more stable through corners however I feel the 144001 has much too much and this is easily remedied for free as below:

Remove the 2 screws that fix the arm bracket to the diff housing as above

This is what it looks like removed - try not to disassemble other parts

You can see the plastic inserts have the holes towards the outside causing the heavy toe in

Remove each of the inserts

Flip them over so both are closer to the centre

Reinstall

After completing this mod we've gone from a LOT of rear toe in to just a little which is ideal and a really good improvement for most drivers. Sorry I cannot quantify but see below for the pictures of before and after. This change takes 5 minutes to do, costs nothing and is easy to reverse if you really want to

A lot of toe in before the start - this would cause a lot of tyre scrub which makes the tyres wear out fast and limit top speed

The smallest amount of toe in after the change. I'd guess around 1° combined - perfect!

2 Setting the droop on the suspension arms.
Firstly the term "droop" refers to the amount of angle the suspension lower arms sag down (droop) when there is no weight on the wheels like when you are holding the car up off the ground. The reason you want to reduce the droop over stock is because when fully extended the suspension arms droop down past their working limit meaning drive shaft and steering components can foul and rub and can become damaged. Reducing this droop is simple and cheap - all you need is 4 x m3 grubs screws. You can buy a grub screw pack like this one but I'd actually recommend the WL toys specific kit here: This has only 5 grub screws but the other screws will obviously be a lot more useful as spares.

If you want to use regular M3 screws I'd recommend 7-8mm long but would recommend grub screws for better adjustibility

This 144001 screw kit includes 5 x m3 grub screws and every other screw for the 144001 - a very useful set of fasteners and tools to have available

Circlead ares shows where the screws are to be wound in. They will tap the arms as you go

This picture shows where the screw goes into the arm as cirecly

This picture shows the result of winding in the screw on arm extension. I wound it back about halfway from here

Arrow points where to do the same in the back

So that was pretty easy. I'd suggest that once you first set your droop you should need to adjust again - it has no impact on suspension performance or ride height, it simply stops your drive shafts and steering getting damaged when your wheels are turning with no weight on them (e.g. jumping or being held off the ground). Adjust the droop so that arms are not quite extended to the maximum but no more. Please note the metal arms do not have these holes in them - if you want to set droop you will need to use the stock arms.

3. Improve the dampening in the rear shocks
The dampening in the rear shocks in this car is too light. This is because they are modelled after the LC racing EMB-1 which has a smaller 2838 motor making it much lighter in the rear than the brushed 550-equipped 144001. As a result the 144001 needs more bound and rebound (dampening) to stop it from bottoming out over jumps and obstacles. This can easily be done but you will need to by a heavier shock oil - I recommend 60wt oil as below. See pictures and captions for full walkthough

I chose 60wt which seemed about right. This is team associated oil which my local store stocked but any brand is fine

Shocks removed from the car. If you need more instructions how to do this see this article

Remove the black plastic lower collar first, then the spring and then wind off the spring tensioner. Make sure you wipe ANY dirt off before going further as this will contaminate the oil and increase wear

Keep the shock upright and unscrew the top cap. Then, empty out the oil in the shock.

Here is a picture of the piston now that the oil is out. See that is has four open holes meaning the 60wt oil is justified

Refill the shock with the new oil to the top and pump SLOWLYto get any air out. The oil should be level with the top of the shock Screw the top back on. If it doesn't fully compress as above, follow these instructions to let some of the oil out.

60 Wt oil feels about right, my guess is the stock oil was somewhere in the 30-40 range. Now when you drop the car the front and rear shocks compress about the same amount which is the goal and can be seen in the video below. This will make for a lot more consistent performance over jumps and bumps in general and will go some way to making up for the heavy weight of the massive 550 motor towards the rear of the car. It's worth noting that the suspension would also likely benefit from some stiffer springs in the rear for the same reason but for not I'm ok with the stock springs being would right down.

Final words
Well that's it for round 2 of upgrades to the WL Toys 144001 where I have aimed to improve handling at a minimum of cost, I congratulate you for getting this far and I hope you've enjoyed it. Again, if you haven't already seen my first upgrade guide, please make sure you check it out here and make these changes before you even start running this car. For my next article I'll start spending money and recommending which parts from the ever-increasing catalogue of parts for the 144001 I'd recommend, for what purpose and why. Later in down the track I'll start looking a the big overhaul - ESCs, receivers, servos and brushless power.

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 cars, quads or parts check out my coupons and discounts page which I keep updated with only the parts and quads I like at a proper discount

Useful parts and upgrades - click image to Banggood product page

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.

7.4V 2600 MAH Lipo Battery T Plug For Wltoys 1/14 144001
This is the largest 2s battery that will fit

Wltoys 144001 Upgrade Metal Front/Rear Tower
Stronger shock tower upgrade to replace the bendy stock ones. 4 colours available

Wltoys 144001 1/14 Metal RC Car Whole Screw Set
I strongly recommend these on hand because - even if they are soft you don't want to run out

Second Floor For Wltoys 144001
Aluminium upper deck to add stiffness to the chassis

RC Car Wheel For Wltoys 144001 1/14 4WD
These are cheap enough and good enough to run on or offroad.

Front+Rear Suspension Arms For Wltoys 144001
At this stage I recommend the stock plastic ones over the aluminium one as you are better breaking an arm in a crash rather than a diff housing

2838 Sensorless Waterproof Motor 3600/4500KV 35A ESC
Cheap brushless combo for balanced power, I'll be installing this and writing up soon.

Surpass Hobby Waterproof 3650 3900KV Brushless RC Car Motor With 60A ESC
Good cheap combo for speed runs. I've reviewed here

Aluminum Alloy Motor Mount Seat For Wltoys 144001
If you install a new motor you'll need one of these, the old motor screws are super-glued in

37 Comments

Nico8D

19/6/2020 10:27:21 pm

You say : "Please note the metal arms do not have these holes in them " This is a false statement as the front ones have a hole in them to adjust the droop just like the original ones. What I have seen is that the rear metal ones don't have the hole in them.

Quadify RC

19/6/2020 10:57:52 pm

False statement? Not from where I'm sitting. I have both sitting on my bench at present and neither have holes. Must be a few variants around. Are yours tapped?

RC-fanboy

15/1/2021 08:47:38 am

Yeah, would be nice to know. Also would like to know the partnumber/brand if available.

(Then again, I agree it's better breaking a plastic arm then the diff)

Sydney

15/8/2020 10:06:15 am

The dog bones keep coming dislodged in my 144001. Have you had that problem? If so, any solid fixes?

19/8/2020 08:55:44 am

Hi Sydney. If you are having issues with the dog bones I'd recommend getting some CVDs for the rear as well: https://bit.ly/3fqjrgu

Mistermax80

19/8/2020 07:13:21 am

thanks very good article!
I think the first upgrade or maintenance to do is put a lot of grease in the differentials, stock assembly it is very to do bad... I used siliconic grease.

19/8/2020 08:56:40 am

Thanks Max, yes the diffs definitely need the grease to prolong life and improve grip

Trihet

29/8/2020 03:46:27 am

Hey, thanks for the article

I followed your advice and used 60 wt oil on the rear but still found that when I drop the car the rear of the chassis hits the ground. I don't understand, what have I done wrong?

29/8/2020 08:09:24 pm

Hey no problem. Very difficult for me to tell without seeing it. Assuming that nothing is broken the first place I'd look is to make sure they are filled to the correct level

29/8/2020 08:14:47 pm

Thanks. Appreciate really you need to see it.

So I checked one of the rear shocks yesterday, topped it up so much that it wouldn't close completely (also waited until all bubbles had gone) I then let sa little leak out and when I last squeezed it, there was enough so that when I let go it pushed back without the spring in place. I have also wound down the springs so that they are as compressed as possible

29/8/2020 09:40:54 pm

Hmm sounds like you are going exactly how I would. 60WT oil should be a bid improvement so if you're not happy with that you'd really need to look at some stiffer springs - the LC racing EMB has springs available in varying stiffness - that's where I'd look if you want harder.

29/8/2020 09:42:56 pm

Thanks

John

20/9/2020 06:51:04 am

If you recommend 60wt for the rear, what do you recommend for the front? My shocks came underfilled.

20/9/2020 11:11:56 pm

I just used stock but if you need to up up then probably 30-40wt with the stock motor doe to rear weight bias

Shawn Cartwright

6/1/2021 03:42:44 pm

Have you run your rear toe-in changes at an off-road RC track? Curious as to your perceived handling changes from the stock configuration.

I’ve changed the shock oils out same as you. Also decreased the droop by adding grub screws. Handles much better. I was getting a little chassis slap and tail kick up, but mostly dialed it out by adding more spring compression in the rear using the spring screw adjusters. It didn’t take much more to get as right as it could be without changing out the stock springs.

I’ve also removed a slight bit of toe-out from the front, as well as a taking out a wee bit of camber - haven’t run it again on the local track since the changes to the front.

Does anyone know if the EMB-1 Arms+spindles will fit the 144001?

6/1/2021 04:28:28 pm

Haven't been to a track for about 25 years I'm afraid? It's mostly bashing with the kids these days. If you are looking at running on a track, you may actually get some benefit from the rear toe in setting.

Arms definitely are a straight sway. EMB runs a larger OD bearing so as long as you swap the bearings you can use the spindles as well.

Pierre

8/1/2021 11:50:13 pm

Hi,

are there any better diff-outs available?
Mine are worn out a lot and I only run on 2s.
Thanks for your help.

Pierre

11/1/2021 09:09:15 am

Hi Pierre

Is is the internal gears that are worn out? Keeping the stock one well greased greatly reduces wear in these. I have ordered strengthened parts to evaluate but haven't received yet so cannot confirm.

11/1/2021 10:09:51 am

Hi,

the internals are ok so far.
I have the steel upgrade internals as spares but not used yet.
But the outdrives where the dogbones are sitting, have strong wear.
Do you know if there are some stronger ones available from a different manufacturer which will fit the wltoys 144001?

11/1/2021 10:22:58 am

Ahh I've not seen any replacements for the outdrives yet I am afraid. The stock diffs are cheap and easier to replace as a unit I find.

Paul

27/1/2021 09:37:35 am

Hey awesome guide. Great job! Quick question though I bought the 2838 brushless combo and while testing everything before installation I plugged the esc into battery it immediately started sizzling and smoking...any idea why? Thanks

28/1/2021 11:46:35 pm

That doesn't sound good. As you've probably figured out, it shouldn't be doing that. Check fright that the battery polarity was correct (red to red, black to black) but it sounds like a claim I'm afraid.

batracio

13/2/2021 12:12:36 pm

Once you´ve run this little beauty on 3S you´ll not want to run on 2S again. There is an enormous difference and there is no real need -in my humble opinion- to make any other modificaction nor upgrade apart from greaseing diffs etc.
But there is another part that, regardless the lipo 2 or 3S we run on, we must pay much attention to; suspenssions.
As QUADIFYRC said, shock absorbers seem to be clearly improvable. I´ve tested various densities oils, from 500 to 2500, and i must say that hiher densities are more recommendable, but do not solve the issue. I think the solution might be going to stiffer/harder springs. Any suggestion about this pont?
By the way, I´m not trying to push anyone to use 3S on this car, as I know there´s a real risk to fry the ESC, I´m just explaining my own experience..
Best regards

15/2/2021 11:30:04 pm

You must have one of the lucky ESCs, it seems to be a bit hit and miss. Enjoy it!

As for springs I'd recommend the LC racing ones, they actually come in a range of different spring strengths. These are some of the harder rear ones they sell: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Aa3Cu4

Jason

15/2/2021 08:18:49 pm

The reae shocks on my son's car bottom out & don't rebound much at all (unless you manually lift the wieght of the car)... I'm assuming the seals have probably blown and all oil leaked... Does this seem likely?

Was going to try replacing with thicker oil, but maybe I should just get new shocks... Do you have a recommendation on replacement shocks?

15/2/2021 11:32:12 pm

Hey Jason

Actually as best as I can tell from your description the shocks are fine but you may need to wind down the spring colars to increase the ground clearance which allows the car to pop up again more easily if you push it down. Try that and let me know, would rather you didn't waste money on parts you may not need!

Isaac

31/3/2021 09:44:08 am

Hi Quadify, I've been following your site for a while now, great work! I always eagerly look forward to new posts!

So I'm looking for the ideal wt for my 144001 shocks, I have only messed with the springs and spring tensioners. The shocks can be fully compressed, so I know they aren't over filled. I'm not sure if they are under filled though. I've had my car for 5 months now.

I've actually had it since Jan of 2020, but one month in I stripped the servo, and I spent the next 6 months learning more about R/Cs, and researching on how to upgrade my RC/fix it. I've ended up with replacing most of the electronics. Right now I have the Dumbo RC radio/receiver, Hobbywing 1060 quicrun brushed ESC (I'm probably going brushless after the stock motor dies), and the PDI servo you linked.

Anyway, I went way off topic, so my question is would 40wt be good for the rear shocks? I think all of my shocks need a good cleaning inside out, right now the first ~2/3 of the travel is smooth, but the last 1/3 of the travel feels gritty. When I compress the shocks by hand, it almost feels as if there's sand or dirt in the shock, I can hear it going "shwee shwee". I think dirt got on the shafts and the dirt got into the shock.

I know that when asking what wt to use I should also tell you my driving style. With my various upgrades and homemade stuff on there, it weighs a little over 2 pounds (about 1030g I think, to be exact). I do some small jumps (I never get more than 2ish feet of air, but I might go up to 3 feet in the future), I run off road, from gravel to hard pack dirt, to loose dirt, to pine needles, ect. I also do a little bit of running on road, but no speed runs. I do bottom out sometimes in the rear.

I've asked around, and everyone says 60wt is too heavy for my purposes. Would 40wt be good? I don't want to go to heavy because then I'll lose grip on bumpier sections (because the heavier wt would make the shock less sensitive). Did you only put 60wt in the rear shocks, or all the shocks? Would you recommend only putting the 40wt in the rear (as the front shocks aren't over loaded)?

Thanks in advance, sorry that this is a bit long and rambly!

31/3/2021 12:57:09 pm

Hi Isaac

I'd say 40wt would be fine in a regular shock but the piston used here have more open area than normal. At that weight and jumping I'd use 60wt as a minimum to start but you may need 80-100wt. Best thing is buy a few different weights and experiment yourself but since the 144001 shocks are really free-flowing you do need to use a heavier oil when compared to other cars. If you are on FB feel free to join my group and discuss https://www.facebook.com/groups/quadifyrc

7/4/2021 08:01:35 am

Sorry for the late reply, I didn't see the notification in my inbox. When I asked on Reddit, I did say that my car was the Wltoys 144001, but I don't think the people who responded knew how free flowing the 144001 shock is. I knew from one of your pictures that it is a 4 hole piston, but I don't know much about shock designs.

Thanks for explaining why I should use a heavier oil! Would 60wt compromise low-speed handling and traction on bumpy surfaces? I mostly run at 1/4-1/3 throttle (because of multiple reasons), so low speed handling and traction on surfaces like gravel, loose dirt with twigs and stuff is important to me. I don't want a shock that's not very sensitive.

However, I'm worried if I go with an oil that's too thin it will compromise higher speed handling.

TLDR: What wt would give me good low and higher speed performance and handling? I know this is a tall order, but I think this would be the best place to ask this question, because of your knowledge on these Wl toys cars.

Thank you in adavnce!

7/4/2021 11:16:19 am

Hi Isaac
For low speed a lighter weight like 30wt will help but it won't handle jumps and big bumps as well as the 60wt. My recommendation is to try both and if you need somthing in between? Mix a bit together.

Patric

6/4/2021 09:37:30 am

Hi! Honestly thankˋs for these perfect article’s. New to the hobby and got into the 124018. unfortunately I directly will go for brushless due to battery lifetime compared to an hbx my son runs. Anyway. Can you give me a hint where to get siutable rear springs or whole suspensions that aren’t filling that weak. The damping itself may be adjusted by thicker oil, but even now the spring doesn’t move back suspensions properly. https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_Aa3Cu4 Doesn‘t tell the length so I‘m not sure about them being ca 45mm. Have you an idea?
Br

6/4/2021 09:57:00 am

My pleasure Patric!
Just checking - have you wound the collars right down to maximise spring tension? The only springs I've had direct experience with are the LC racing ones of which these are the hardest I'm aware of: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_A7UeeU

7/4/2021 09:29:00 am

Front max open collars, rear max down, so maximum pre tension. From my DH bike setup I technically don‘t like pre tensioned springs. It technically is only reducing height of the object but doesn‘t give more power to a spring. I ordered two types of rear EMD-DT springs (medium + hard) and 400 600 800 oil, so we will see. Hope they fit.

7/4/2021 11:18:53 am

If you are maxed out rear then you are going to need new springs for sure. I don't like pre-loaded springs either for reasons you already know about. EMB-DT springs should be good

Dicky

1/12/2021 03:22:15 pm

Hi Guys,
new to RC Car.
if I want to user my existing Frsky X4RSB receiver to WL 144001, is it compatible?
or do I have to swap the esc also?

1/12/2021 04:02:15 pm

Hi Dicky, it's not Quadify, but me, Isaac. You won't be able to use the RX with the stock 144001 radio, but you should be able to use it with another bindable radio of your liking (of course, make sure they are cross-compatible first).

And it goes without saying, you won't be able to use this RX with any of the stock electronics, you'll need a new 3 wire servo, an ESC (brushed or brushless), and radio.

You can use the stock brushed motor with a brushed ESC (I used a Hobbywing Quicrun 1060 brushed for a year, the Quicrun worked well, just did a brushless conversion to my 144001), or go brushless (good opprotunity to do it, seeing as you're already replacing the electrics).

The RX you have seems to be designed for drones/quadcopters, I'm pretty sure that'll work with RC ground vehicle ESCs, radios, and servos. I don't know squat about arial RCs though, Quadify will know (he's into drones, check out his user name, QUAD-ify-RC!)

10/12/2021 11:16:34 am

Sounds like you are running a fixed wing or quad radio! Unfortunately these cars run electronics that are somewhat unique so you'd need a new ESC and a 3 wire receiver too. To be honest the stock radio is fine and you'll get used to the trigger/wheel style quickly. If you do go down this path though it makes sense to go brushless while you are at it.

QUADIFYRC RC Car Review and Upgrade Guides

WL Toys 144001 / 124018 / 124019: free or Budget Upgrades (Part 2)

Useful parts and upgrades - click image to Banggood product page

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