Note, this is not a review. You've probably seen a ton of those already. This is about how to set your car up once you've already bought one.
Firstly, "must do" is a bit strong and a bit of a pisstake of the clickbait Youtube videos out there. With that said I do strongly recommend them if you can to get the best performance out of you car and extend it's life. I've arrived at these recommendations by comparing the 144001 directly to the car it was copied off - the excellent LC Racing EMB-1h plus basic fundamentals of rc car operation of which I've been around for years. ![]() 1. Fill (or empty) the fluid in the shock absorbers to the correct level After a lot of feedback to the community, WL toys has started filling up the shocks with oil but now isn't too little but too much they are putting in. Too much oil in your shocks means that the shock cannot be fully depressed it will ultimately force the oil past the orings and in doing so damage them. The fix is easy and if you follow the method below you won't need any extra oil to top it up. Remove the shock from the car by unscrewing the lower philips screw and upper lock nut.
Now that the shocks can fully compress it allows the spring to do their job properly. I found with the stock setup I needed to loosen the spring tensioners right up on the front and about halfway down on the back for the right right height. This is a good starting point and probably the next place you'd consider with the shocks is increasing the oil weight in the back because the dampening is pretty light - probably around 60wt oil would be ideal (see my second tuning guide here for more details on that) 2. Fill the diffs with grease The stock differentials have just enough grease in them to lube the gears but this runs like an open diff which compromises traction on low grip surfaces and runs the risk of overloading a diff too which drastically shortens it's life. In more premium models, diffs are similar in design but are sealed so as to house a high viscosity diff fluid which provides resistance to the diff actuating. This makes for better traction but is not an option on the 144001 due to the lack of diff seals. The best solution then is to fill the diff (and I mean TO THE BRIM) with grease. This will provide the resistance you need as well as lubrication but should be thick enough not to escape the diff case. To get to front and rear diffs you will need to:
Now you can fill 'em up with grease as below. I used a heavy bearing grease because that what I've had. Practically any grease works well, many also recommend marine grease.
Now pop the diffs back in facing the correct way (look at my pics if you aren't sure, I can confirm mine definitely goes forward when it is meant to!) and pop some more grease on the diff crown gear and diff drive pinion. Then reinstall as the reverse of the above. Once everything is back together you'l find it runs very smooth and quiet. You'll feel more resistance in the diffs but it will be a smooth resistance. As well as improving tractions you will also get more life out of you diffs. Win win! ![]() 3. Get the camber and toe (roughly) corrected With you ride height correctly adjusted as part of fixing the shocks you can now correct the camber and toe front and rear. Toe is the amount your wheels point inwards or outwards looking at your car from above and camber is the amount they slope inwards out outwards looking at you car from the front or rear. Mine have been adjusted by eye only but a square object will be more accurate. Note: This car uses adjustable tie rods. This means the plastic cups that ultimately bolt to the car have opposite threads - one regular one reverse so that if you twist the shaft with both cup straight the both loosen (get longer) or tighten (get shorter at the same time), the idea being you can lengthen or shorten without moving from the car. Good in through but poor in execution here - cups are threaded so tightly they pop off the ball mount on the car when you try to rotate the shaft. Regardless here we go...
Camber is adjustable front and rear using the uppermost tierods front and rear left and right. Adjust these first. I like a tiny bit of negative camber on the rear (wheels leaning in at top) and none on the front because the caster acts as dynamic camber. Once this is set look at the toe in. For the purpose of this article the toe is set correctly in the rear and is fixed for best stability during cornering. For front to get the steering it its most neutral position where servo horn and steering rack is in its centre-most position. This is important to have even steering. Then adjust the tie rods as above to get the toe in/out you want. For me I like this to be neutral i.e. parallel - pointing directly ahead. Correctly adjusted toe and camber will make you more accurate in a straight line and more predictable when cornering and going over obstacles. Like when you get an alignment on your car you'll also get more even and consistent wear on your tyres (especially if running onroad). Results I'll be honest, I didn't even want to run the car before this was done - If I ran as setup from the factory the shocks would leak in no time and handle obstacles poorly, the loose diffs would make for poor traction and wear out quickly and the car would not have tracked well in a straight line or cornering with tyres wearing out quickly. With these free mods (tuning really) done the suspension is much better and more accurate, the driveline is smooth and the diff offers decent traction and the car tracks really well. Recommendations If you do nothing else to your car I STRONGLY recommend this tuning. Assuming you have the tools, the only disposable item you need is grease and that is available at any hardware store for very little money. Your car will run fine without it but it will run so much better with it and give you better durability and more enjoyment over time. What next? I've got lots planned for the two 144001 cars I have. The first will be set up as a track beast with a focus on handling and efficiency as well as speed and this will be modelled after the LC racing EMB-1h I also own. The second setup will be as a more durable high speed road car with a larger brushless motor ESC setup - probably the surpass hobby 3650/60a combo I reviewed here which has proved reliable on a much bigger truck. My son will have a third to keep strictly as a basher and for that one we will see what parts break and how they can be upgraded/improved. Part 2 of free and budgets uprades has now been completed here:
https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/wl-toys-144001-free-or-budget-upgrades-part-2 And Brushless 2838 upgrade article is now completed here: https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/wl-toys-144001-ultimate-brushless-upgrade-guide 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
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. All available spare parts are here otherwise see key parts below:
40 Comments
fab
29/5/2020 07:57:42 pm
Thanks for your article !
Reply
Quadify RC
5/6/2020 11:17:24 pm
My pleasure, I'm writing a second up now ;)
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Nico8D
19/6/2020 10:54:46 pm
Actually I have found metal arms that has holes for adjusting the droop on both front and rear.
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Fabien
20/6/2020 09:31:01 pm
Merci beaucoup pour les super conseils !
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Quadify RC
21/6/2020 09:39:28 pm
De rein
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Daagel S Fossati
23/6/2020 12:51:48 pm
This is probably one of the most impressive in depth RC car articles I've ever read and it does an excellent job at explaining things for someone new at the hobby like me. The 144001 is my first RC car and I have been able to follow your tips on your first two articles to a T. Thanks so much!
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Quadify RC
23/6/2020 12:57:49 pm
Hey Daagel
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Syd
9/7/2020 03:40:34 am
I'm torn on the diff grease/oil debate. The standard setup is something like 5-7-3 (front to back). I've heard the same that you said about this car not being equipped for thinner oil like that.
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karl
5/8/2020 01:15:13 am
Awesome guide, but can't wait for your bash mod as I really just want to run it around on grass. Seen someone fit emb-truggy wheels and explode their diff so interested to see what you'll do.
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Quadify RC
5/8/2020 08:53:48 am
Hey Karl
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Karl
5/8/2020 10:07:16 am
Found some slightly bigger batteries that fit.
Jerome Urbain
18/8/2020 06:37:30 am
Hi! Thanx for this in-depth article and description. I'm looking to put some lights on this 144001...would you have any idea how or where to get them? Thanks a lot. Best regards from Brussels ; ) J.
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Quadify RC
18/8/2020 09:16:01 am
Hi Jerome I hope you are keeping safe over there in Brussels. Adding LEDs is simple, the 144001 ESC has a port for them (the little 2 pin one). I use these ones on another car but they should plug in easily. Not super bright but help you see the car in the fading light https://bit.ly/3bRLPan
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Trihet
24/8/2020 11:36:20 am
This is great, thank you. I have just got the 144001, have sorted the diffs today and going to sort the shocks as soon as I have bought some oil.
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Quadify RC
24/8/2020 04:52:25 pm
Glad to hear you enjoyed the article.
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TRIHET
24/8/2020 10:50:49 pm
Thanks for the response. I have had a look again this morning and I think I was just looking at things too closely yesterday after sorting the diffs. Their is a mm movement up and down maybe slightly less so not a lot really so I think everything is fine.
Hi! Thanks a lot for the great guides! I really appreciate them :)
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QuadifyRC
22/9/2020 09:17:25 am
Hi Matto
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Ahtlon
23/9/2020 10:43:39 pm
Hello, great article , I have the 144001, but also the 12428 ( sale, couldn't resist ) but I struggle with cSt ( Wt) thickness for the shocks.
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QuadifyRC
20/10/2020 09:27:29 am
Sorry I missed your question. If you want to do jumps you want something thick so it minimises the chance of bottoming out. I'd start with 60wt but you may want to buy a few and experiment given you are looking at lots of different surfaces.
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Apator
19/10/2020 10:08:20 pm
Hi, great great article for beginners and very very begginners like me. My car just arrive to me on friday sooo, I'm starting. Question: what silicone oil so you recommend?, and where can i buy it?. thks
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QuadifyRC
20/10/2020 09:29:43 am
Great, glad you found us! Exciting time for you, anticipation is half the fun. I used team associated oil because that's what my local hobby store had. All silicon shock oils are much the same for a given weight so get whatever is cheapest and most easily accessible. Grab some from your local hobby store or whatever is online and has cheap shipping :)
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Apator
23/10/2020 07:31:54 am
Hi, again, waiting for arriving "upgrades" , Do you have any video of this fabulous web?. Something we can see more detailed the upgrades you propose. for example: "2. Fill the diffs with grease" for begginers ;)
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QuadifyRC
23/10/2020 09:36:51 am
SOrry video isn't really my thing but I've tried to be as detailed as possible in my guide with pictures and comment.
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Apator
23/10/2020 06:20:44 pm
Thks so much for your contributions.
Jean-Michel
1/12/2020 12:34:34 am
Hello
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QuadifyRC
1/12/2020 08:51:27 am
Hey Jean-Michel
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Jean-Michel
1/12/2020 09:32:16 am
Thank you for the answer
JP
8/12/2020 10:07:20 am
Great write-up! Thanks! 2 of these showing up under the tree this year, so want to be sure I'm set up before they start flying. Is there any way to get a bigger battery in than the 2600 mah? What dimension is the limiting factor? Think I saw a riser tray that raises the receiver/esc up a little to allow a thicker battery, but wasn't sure about length/width? Would be great to be able to slip a 4000 or 5200 in there?
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QuadifyRC
8/12/2020 12:05:23 pm
Hi JP!
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Mohammed Mahroof
17/12/2020 11:55:49 am
Brilliant for a beginner like me very in depth on doing the fixes.
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QuadifyRC
4/1/2021 10:08:16 pm
Thanks Mohammed, glad you found it useful!
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Josh Banks
4/1/2021 05:45:44 am
I love all of your articles so much on the WLToys 144001. Unfortunately, I'm new to the hobby and I've just purchased the a979 and have ordered a few upgrade parts for it. Is there any chance you could order one yourself and help me out?
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Josh Banks
4/1/2021 10:16:52 am
Is there any chance you could do an a979? I've just ordered one and i'm new to the hobby.
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QuadifyRC
4/1/2021 10:09:08 pm
HI Josh
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Kevin
17/1/2021 05:58:27 pm
I took out my two diffs, one was smooth, one was smooth until it turned past a certain point. Damaged gear? No grease practically in either. I filled with grease and none of the gears were obviously bad.....so I put both back together and not smooth at all. Now the smooth one isn't smooth anymore after I put it back together. Not sure what I'm doing wrong. Both seems to "hickup" when I spin it past a certain point like it's hitting something. Why the smooth one didn't go back together smooth is puzzling me.
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QuadifyRC
18/1/2021 09:18:21 am
This is my best guess as I've seen it happen on mine from time to time.
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