I've had my RC18MT for a few months now. Great little car, But i want a little more speed and run time. i know brushless and lipo would do both of those for me, But i dont want to put that kind of money into it. So i was woundering what the best brushed motor i can get thats plug and play. I also want to get a few new batteries. was looking at the duratrax 1600 mAh pack for 17$ea. Is there a battery thats just as good as that for less? or one thats better and a little more?

I would also like to upgrade the suspension. I only run it off road, mostly thick gravel. It bounces around to much for my liking. Is there a shock & sping set that well help soak up some of the bouncing? I do jump it, so i dont want it to soft.

This is where I see so many guys going, and its really a tough decision for some. When you buy a nice brushed motor and upgrade your nimh battery, you have already spent enough to buy a good brushless system that will not only perform better right now, but it will last for many years. You don't have to spend $100 to get a brushless system.

This is a popular upgrade to the brushed motor. Faster than stock, but not so fast it will melt your ESC.
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXMUP4&P=0

For that price, you can get this, which will perform better and last nearly forever.
http://www.hobbypartz.com/hobbywing-...ProductReviews

For batteries, you already saw these:
http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin...?&I=LXVTE5&P=0

but how about these, which will give you lots more power, lots more runtime, lots more cycles, lighter weight, and more.
http://www.hobbypartz.com/83p-1800mah-2s1p-74-20c.html

The one disadvantage to these products is that you will need to change connectors for the battery and ESC, where the Duratrax pack comes with the same connector as your ESC already.


For your suspension you can pick up the Associated option spring set. This will give you a few different levels of springs to tune with. Also you may want to pick up a few different shock oils. This will change the rate at which the suspension moves. I think it comes with 30wt oil all around, I would get a small bottle of 25wt, 30wt, and 35wt. These will speed up or slow down how fast the suspension reacts, while the springs will give you more or less firmness.

I know all about brushless. I got a Mini E-revo VXL built to the hilt and a MMM powered duratrax warhead. So i also know that once you go brushless, parts brake faster lol. I would like to avoid that, But i spouse it is the best way to go.

What plugs are on the EZRUN? is it Deans? and im sure it does, but the motor and ESC have plug already on them right?

Also well i need to change the spur and pinon gears?

Well, an upgrade in power is an upgrade in power. If you want to go faster then parts will break faster. There are plenty of brushless motors that are less powerful than the stock RC18 brushed motor, so simply saying that parts break faster with brushless is not exactly fair. But the fact is that most people get brushless for a huge increase in power, so yes, parts do usually break faster.

The EZrun comes with motor connectors, but the battery plug it comes with is a strange one, looks like an old Tamiya plug but smaller. Definitely needs a Deans upgrade right out of the box.

No need to change your spur gear, but its always a good idea to have a few pinions to tune with. In most cases the stock pinion will work for a 5200Kv, but depending on how you drive and where you play you might want something different.