TIPS FOR UPGRADING YOUR SERVO | Traxxas TRX-4

After two months of having the TRX-4 stock servo, it was time for a higher torque upgrade. There are so many options out there, so how do you know which one is best for you? Here, I walk through 7 tips for picking out a new servo to fit your needs. While I use the TRX-4 as an example, these tips can be used for any RC car.

Did I miss any servo selection tips? Drop me a comment below!

Thanks for stopping by.

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[AuBo]

Subscribed almost immediately! Fact of the matter is sure, you can 100% find women who have full passion/mechanical knowledge for full scale vehicles; hardly ever find them who actually like rc cars 😂. Very awesome and even inspiring as a young man. Keep it up! 😎👍

[ChazOutlaw]

Nice work. It's good to see someone acknowledge the budget friendly parts out there. If you only follow the big popular guys, they'll soon have you convinced that only a $250 servo will do.. Many of us know better. But some people only know what they see, and hear. Our hobby needs more of what you're doing here. Keep up the good work.

[netcruzer]

Great job explaining all about the BEC voltages, torque, speeds, etc that people need to know. Something else about servo swaps is to check the splines.. non standard unfortunately. So if you have an aluminum horn you want to reuse, ensure you get a new servo that uses the same spline count. Your TRX4 and course look awesome!

[wadecaton]

The one I got was from gear best at RPP hobby. It's a 20kg. It came as an upgrade kit that included all red anodized aluminum links and skid plate. All for $65.00. works great so far.

[michaelharvey]

Hey, I have the same servo in my crawler! It's brushless which means the motor won't wear itself out and it uses a bit less power. Stalling out a servo can cause a huge current draw on the bec within the esc. This servo is rated at 7.4v, but I contacted hobby king to see if it can be run direct from a fully charged 2s (8.4v) and they said it can. So now my set up is to slice a tiny square of insulation off the pos and neg wires going into the esc, about 2 cm up from the case and hardwire the power leads from the servo directly. (just the white signal wire goes to the receiver now) This preserves all the bec power for accessories and ensures that if you get jammed without noticing, you may burn out the servo from amps but your esc will be fine. PLUS, your specs were just maxed with the higher voltage, and it's a super clean instal with no external bec. However, you MUST unplug the battery every time or the servo continues to draw current and will kill your battery.
Always a treat to see a new upload, and of course I look forward to your dog making an appearance!

[skirmich]

One very specific thing to notice on the stock TRX-4 Electronics is the weak 1A BEC from the XL5-HV which is easily overpowered with all the micro-servos for the locking diffs and 2 speed trans... So its not ideal to install a powerful Steering Servo and run it with the stock BEC... That is why Traxxas recommend to install an E-BEC when installing a new more powerful steering servo.

[camk]

You also want to pay attention to the amp draw of the servo you are going to run. I believe the built in bec on the stock xl5 is 6v, but can only handle 1amp. It's easy to find an upgrade servo that can put too much load on a 1amp bec. Even the new traxxas servos say you need to run an external bec for their brushless servos.

[dennisanstadt]

Was just looking at servos for my gen 7 just before i found this page and this video. Great job beautiful puppy loves his mom

[dumpsterstu]

So going to do this with my Traxxas. Starting to think they make them crappy so we who love to upgrade everything will do just that. Part of the fun I guess. I buy used good condition ones and rebuild them. I'm learning allot from your videos.

[kensalter]

Up graded my servo today, thanks for your help, I even beefed up my servo horn lol

[rcket_penguin]

Great video. Always remember to set your servo end points.

[joeddejohn]

Good tips. Like the HiTec servos. Was pricey though. Yes metal gears are a must.That bridge is very cool! The dog approves of the servo choice by the tail wag.

[rottenapple]

Nice!! Love your style! Rc, doggy and great outdoors! Thanks for the info. ✌🏽😎🌴

[PaulPA]

Great video! Keep in mind torque units are not oz/in but rather oz-in.

[coreykurtz]

Sweet looking rope bridge, definately a great servo choice for the price, if you didn't already you might want to set the end points a little bit on the radio just so you don't burn out that fancy servo by over turning, truck looks great, dog looks happy, keep the rubber side down!

[RTmadnesstoo]

Great video! You hit all the points.
Some serious scalers like a slower servo because it looks more 'scale'. Some radios can control the rate that the serious guys like.

[osanshouo]

25T, which means its Futaba comparible, not Hitec. I actually tone down the speed w some expo for a more realistic look and/or to make it look less toyish.
**one pointer that was missed, waterproof... but its all good. I seal them w clear nail polish on all servo case touching surfaces and a goop of grease in the neck of the servo gear, above the ball bearing area. (does work) have submerged mine and no issues. Recommend to test w a cheap servo first, let dry and put in a cup of water.
Awesome video, ty!

[samcostanza]

Have you tried the Traxxas 2255 Red servo? It's a beast. It's not the fastest, but it's powerful enough to steer an E-Revo with one servo.

[nomusicrc]

I have that same cordless screwdriver and I love your dog

[rcadventure]

Nice work. I'm going to swap out my steering servos on my traxxas summit. I'll definitely go with something with more torque. Totally worth it