Redcat Everest-16 with Simple Mods. & Hop-Ups
 

This post is not about building a competitive mini-class crawler. But rather, this post is about buying a $100 1/16 size crawler and performing simple DIY mods. and adding a few low cost hop-up parts.

Intended use for my two Everest-16s is running them with friends & family on our indoor rock pile and rock climbs that I constructed in our Family Room. During the Spring & Summer these crawlers might find use out on some of the numerous outdoor rock piles in our area.

While my crawlers are Redcat Everest-16s, there are several clones of the same model. If you own an ECX Temper 1/18, Exceed Maxstone 1/16, or an HSP Kulak 1/18, then the information in this post applies.

The largest problem with the Everest-16 design (and clones) is a high center-of-gravity (COG). A few mods. (see pics) will help lower the COG and improve this crawler’s rock pile performance substantially.

Another issue to address is an over abundance of articulation & ‘torque twist‘. Too much articulation is worse than not enough. By adding shock travel limiters, spring preload adjusters, and the right weight shock oil, the total articulation and torque twist can be tuned to your liking.

These mini crawlers come stock with a ‘mini’ size steering servo. That is, except for the ECX Temper 1/18 which wisely comes with a ‘standard’ size servo. Mini size servos just don’t have enough torque to turn the crawler’s large wheels & tires as needed when navigating in a rock pile. Fortunately, for those of us who own one of the other three brands besides the ECX, we can buy the ECX Temper 1/18 standard size servo mount/tray and it will perfectly fit our crawlers with no modification needed.

Other issues I addressed are gearing, tires, stance, weight distribution, ground clearance, and steering travel (see pics).

The following is a list of every change I made to my pair of ‘minis‘. While not extensive, the changes have made these little crawlers perform much better than they did in stock form.


1] Added shock travel limit spacers (both rebound & compression), preload spacers (left rear only), and heavier oil to the shocks (70wt). Shock travel was reduced from .900” to .425” (lower overall COG), ‘torque twist’ is all but gone.

2] Added a 13T pinion (stock is 14T).

3] Added 4.25” O.D. tires (stock is 3.75”).

4] Added working ‘beadlock’ wheels.

5] Added 15mm (.600”) wheel wideners.

6] Added a ‘standard’ size, metal gears steering servo (180 oz/in).

7] Added rear axle lockouts (replaced stock c-hubs & unused steering drag link).

8] Trimmed plastic ‘stops’ off steering arms (more throw).

9] Removed front & rear skids (ground clearance).

10] Trimmed skids mounting post off axles (ground clearance).

11] Moved steering servo to opposite end from stock . Same affect as turning the motor & transmission 180-degrees (weight bias).

12] Moved ESC forward & under battery tray (weight bias & COG).

13] Moved receiver forward & under battery tray (weight bias & COG).

14] Added stick-on lead weights underside of servo trays (1.5oz front, 1oz rear).

15] Trimmed wheel wells on body (tire clearance).

16] Added ‘Deans’ connectors (I like ‘em).


They say, “a picture is worth a thousand words”. Rather than write the details, I’ll let you view the changes I made to my Everest 16s with the following pics.


My pair of lightly modded but vastly improved Redcat Everest-16s.


Even with more than 50% of shock travel removed the crawler still has 3.75” of articulation.


Added a .325” internal aluminum spacer to reduce rebound travel. A .250” external aluminum spacer to reduce compression travel. A .200” external aluminum spacer for additional spring preload on the left rear shock only.


By reducing the shock travel the Everest-16’s stance is lower providing for a much lowered COG.


Added a high-torque ‘standard’ sized steering servo.


Moved electronics forward and under the battery tray to improve forward weight bias and COG. Also turned transmission toward the front for additional forward weight bias.


Added rear axle lockouts, and 15mm wheel wideners. Lateral stability is greatly improved.


Removed the skids and trimmed away the mounting post from the axle for better clearance in the rock pile. Added 1oz. weight rear, and 1.5oz. front. Put the weights under the servo trays to help with COG.


If you are looking to improve your budget mini crawler’s performance, and don’t want to invest a lot of cash, perhaps some of these simple mods. And hop-ups might work for you.

I am looking to build an Everest 16 up a bit as well. What wheel spacers did you use? i can't find anything online that will show me what size to use. I want to widen the wheel base so i can put larger tires on it and build from there. Any advise you can give as to product selection is greatly appreciated.

How did the weights work out? I'm curious about adding weight but not sure what the best practices are.