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How to Work on RC Car Transmissions

One of the great things about hobby-grade radio-controlled vehicles is that they can be customized. Learning how to work on your vehicle's transmission will open up the doors of variation, allowing you to physically change the way your car behaves. It's important to know the proper techniques behind transmission modification to prevent damage to your car's electronics, and to ensure that you experience premium performance.

Things You'll Need

Spur gear
Pinion gear
Hex wrench
Screwdriver

Instructions

- 1
  Unscrew the fasteners that hold the transmission housing access panel. Remove the cover to reveal the spur and pinion gears; these are the two main components of the transmission that are open for extreme variation.
- 2
  Choose if you prefer great acceleration or very high top speed. Select the gear ratio in accordance with your decision. If you want acceleration, you want a low gear ratio. The gear ratio is defined by the number of teeth on the spur and pinion gears; for example, a 20-tooth pinion meshed with an 86-tooth spur gear has a ratio of 20/86.
- 3
  Install the pinion gear by sliding it onto the motor shaft, then tightening the fastener screw with a hex wrench. Screw on the spur gear using the mounting screws that came with your kit. Sandwich a sheet of paper between the two gears before finalizing their position. Ideally meshed gears do not rub each other, nor do they have very much wiggle room between their teeth.
- 4
  Drive your vehicle with the new gear ratio, checking the temperature of the motor intermittently. Take note of an overheating motor, as this indicates a gear ratio that is too high. Decrease your gearing ratio until you find a suitable balance of acceleration and top speed.

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