The Redcat Gen is a 1/10 Scale RTR Scale Rock Crawler. The stylish 4 door SUV body resembles the modern full-size crawlers.
The Redcat delivers optimum performance on rough terrains as well as on small rocky lands. But can you upgrade the crawler more to push the performance? What parts to upgrade and how much does it cost?
In this article, you will find the answer to all these questions. Read on below to find out all the information you need to know about upgrading the Redcat Gen 7.
Upgrades and Costs At A Glance
| Part | Reason of Upgrade | Cost |
| Servo & Steering | Smooth performance | $30-100 |
| Motor & ESC | Faster speed | $50-150 |
| Chassis | Protection and durability | $40-80 |
| Tires | Protection, weight, smooth drive, etc. | $25-50 |
| Battery | Power supply, compatibility with mods. | $40-100 |
How Much Does Its Cost to Upgrade?
The entire upgrade will cost you about $185-530.
You can upgrade the Servo & Steering at $30-100, $50-150 on Motor & ESC, up to $40-80 on Chassis, $25-50 on Tires upgrade, and $40-100 on batteries.
you can upgrade other accessories for $20-50 dollars.
5 Redcat Gen 7 Upgrades:
Changing the servo gives the Redcat more power. Additionally, motor-ESC and battery will allow more surge of power. The chassis is a bit unique in this crawler. For getting optimum use out of all your upgrades, tires are a must. To finish up, the battery charger is it!
1. Servo & Steering
The stock servo is the Hexfly high torque metal gear steering servo. A 15kg waterproof servo is enough for the 1.9 RTR. They can turn the tires at a standstill. It lives a longer life than an Axial. Moreover, it is better than Axial as it delivers only 60 oz of torque.
Although some people have had good luck with the factory servo, it is a little slow (although powerful). But people have had problems with durability with the stock servo.
A fine option for an upgrade is the Hobby King – Turnigy™ MG959 V2 ($30-50). The reason I suggest this is because it has a really impressive construction with all metal gears.
Now for the biggest complaint, people have with the crawler – the lack of steering! And the steering angle is pretty poor too. A built-in knuckle to the tires prevents more steering angles by bumping with the C-hub. The other thing is the space between the diff hub and drag link.
Here are the parts you will need to upgrade the steering:
I suggest you watch this video to fix your steering using the above-mentioned parts.
2. Motor & ESC
The stock motor is a 550 brushed motor with a waterproof crawler ESC. It has 3 selectable brake modes with a 2.4GHz radio system.
If you want to go brushless, don’t tamper with the sensorless settings. If you want smooth crawling, sensorless is a waste. My suggestion would be to look at the TenShock 4 pole motor ($30-50). They deliver smooth performance on the low end.
For muddy crawling, brushed is actually preferable. For a brushed Motor ESC combo, I suggest: The HobbyWing WP 1080 + any 35T motor. Brood or Holmes motors are more powerful. you may upgrade to any one of these too.
Another not-so-common option is GoolRC open-end bell motor.
Again, the Gen7’s Flysky Rx is directly compatible with the gt3b/gt3c tx. You might take a look into that!
3. Chassis
The stock chassis is the powder-coated 3mm ladder frame chassis. It has a single triangulated design.
One suggestion is swapping it with the chassis from BPC’s Gen6. This one is a slightly modified version of the Redcat one (or vice versa!)
4. Tires
The stock tires are Licensed Interco Super Swamper tires. Although they aren’t bad, Axial’s RTR tires are kind of boring. I personally appreciate the Beadlock wheels.
Although not a necessity, bigger tires on crawlers provide some advantages. You can run 105mm tires inside the stock Redcat tires, in a tube setup. This allows good traction and support for the rig from the inner tire. This system is better than most foams, which in stock form is pretty useless.
In the case of foams, my suggestion for stock Gen7 tires would be the 4.25″ Crawler Innovation Lil Novas Comp Cuts ($25-35). These allow the tires to be a bit stiffer, which can be an issue.
5. Battery
The stock batteries are the 3000mAh NiMH battery pack. This comes with a NiMH charger. Not to mention the 2.4GHz radio system.
People are usually concerned over 3S LiPO. They tend to affect low-speed crawling. The GEN7 Redcat needs delicate touch at low speeds. And a 3S could only increase that problem.
Putting more restraint on the throttle may relieve this issue. But NiMH is also not preferable to users. So in this case you can go for a 2S battery. Or a 3S battery that is not more powerful than 2200-2800mAh. This will keep the unsprung weight down.
Any battery with the above specifications off eBay or Amazon will be okay!
Redcat Gen 7 Accessories Upgrades:
Here are some manual upgrades for you: trim the body to allow the rear bumper to be tucked in 2 notches. Raise the front body mount one notch and push the front bumper one notch. Trim the corners of the bumper and shave off the steering stops on the knuckles.
You can then add some body clip keepers. You can screw a rod end ball stud into the rear bumper. The rear bumper is the main problematic part for the crawler.
Adding steering metal links will help with durability. The same goes for axials and diff cups. The truck already has aluminum shocks, CVD axles, and many other aluminum parts. However, the diff cups tend to be problematic.
A lot of aftermarket parts are available for this. So, upgrading shouldn’t be an issue.
Conclusion
The Redcat Gen 7 has been one of the all-time favorites for a crawler. Replacement parts are sometimes expensive. But mostly non-expensive.
The thing about Redcat is choosing the parts and what parts will work together. If you don’t upgrade the servo, upgrading the battery or the engine might be a loss. So it is an association of some critical decisions that leads to a high-performing crawler.
Hopefully, this article has cleared this issue for all of you. All the best for lots more awesome crawling experiences to come!
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