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Wltoys 144001 1/14 RC Car + 2x 2600mAh Batteries US$90.96 (~A$121.91) AU Stock Delivered @ Banggood

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The popular Wltoys 144001 1/14 RC Car + 2x 2600mAh upgraded batteries is back in stock at Banggood's AU warehouse. Check past deal for comments/discussion.

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  • +14

    Super fun little cars. Got 2 for my son and I recently. Great quality for the price. Super capable and crazy fast. All parts are replaceable.

    The consensus is that the extra batteries aren't great quality, though. I'd recommend buying the car cheaper on eBay and source some better quality batteries like Turnigy or Ovonic brand.

    The charger that comes with the car is also trash. A decent balance charger is a good investment in order to look after your batteries.

    • +1

      Where’s it cheaper on eBay?

    • +1

      What is the minimum age for these you reckon?

      • +2

        depends where you race 'em. If open area such as carpark then 8years old or so… if near walls of some sort/ collision possibilities then teenager level. Otherwise you will be repairing these quite often……

      • +4

        They do have a handy speed trim knob on the controller. I turn it down to about 1/8 of full speed for my daughter whose 10 and she handles it fine at that speed even though she a pretty terrible driver.

        If you have decent access to a big open concrete or asphalt area, a 7 or 8 year old would be fine.

        For actual track driving, I'd say 10-12 depending on skill.

        My son is 13 and he handles it fine. Probably drives better than me to be honest.

        At full speed they are dead set out of control, even in stock form. I'm talking full power slides, doughnuts, spin outs. It's mental how fast they are. People can get well over 100kmh out of them with upgraded brushless motors etc. But even in stock form they absolutely flog at top speed.

        • +6

          Okay, my son is 2 and daughter is 5, so perhaps a bit too early for these 😂

          • +3

            @John Kimble: Yeah way too young.

            There is work and maintenance to be done to keep them going. Eg if you don't pull the diffs apart and grease them before your first drive, you'll destroy them quickly. They do require ongoing maintenance, so I'd suggest 12+ age kids unless you're going to do the maintenance for them.

            • @wombat81: I'm a complete noob with these, I had a few RC when I was a kid, but nothing that required maintenance (from memory?!) so I should probably not even start in this arena anyways.

              Thanks for the info. 👍

              • @John Kimble: Great way of spending time with your kids when they're a bit older, though.

          • +1

            @John Kimble: For my five year old I set the throttle trim to about half, and thne spin it up to 100% when I have a go (dad mode). For my 2 year old I dial it down so it crawls along and is pretty happy with that. So I'd say it's very versatile for different age brackets, as long as you're supervising. Definitely do not let it be used unsupervised unless they're at least double digits but probably 13 or so.

          • +1

            @John Kimble: My son is 2.5 and absolutely has a ball with this car from Kmart. It’s copped a heap of use with Eneloops and flies. - absolutely incredible for $15 - https://www.kmart.com.au/product/rastar-radio-control-1:24-m…

        • "Its mental how fast they are" - you're making me wonder if I got a dud somehow? I mean, I know it was cheap, but I don't think it's fast at all. My son has a cheap couple hund job his mum got him locally and that's tons faster. Also steering was a pita out of the box and hard to adjust for a total noob. Thought I was gonna bust the rods and it still wouldn't budge. Been on the shelf since first couple of uses. Might have to pull it out again and see if I can work out if I'm there's something obvious I'm doing wrong. Lol.

          • +1

            @Fredorishi: Well I don't have much of a reference point, but mine is easily doing 40kph+ out of the box. That's fast for a car that's 30cm long.

          • +1

            @Fredorishi: I've got a couple other cars, so I was really surprised by how fast it was, and steering was nice and sharp. I have a 6s brushless revo that's obviously a lot faster, it gets about 100kph. The arrma I have cost more than twice as much but is probably 20% slower.

            You should be able to do power slides and doughnuts with this, else there's something wrong.

            And definitely use a proper fast charger, it'll change your life

            • +1

              @kbzj: Yeah, I've got a decent charger. Got a couple batteries. Now I look at the controller, it's possible I had the speed tuned down a bit. Derrr. The steering was the main issue and I spent a while stuffing around with the tie-rods. They weren't as adjustable as I was led to believe by this guy. Could buy some new ones I guess but I'm super lazy. Any which way, I get that $100 is cheap for an RC car.

              https://www.quadifyrc.com/rccarreviews/wl-toys-144001-setup-…

  • The tires look like it will last 10 mins on pavement.

    • +1

      I've found they last well if you get the toe in and camber right.

      • +1

        like this?

        :)

        • +2

          They're like that out of the box, yes…

  • From my experience in RC, (Anything that goes over 40km/h), you have to constantly repair and fix them, dog bones, gearbox, clutch packs. This was 15-20 years ago though when most cars were nitro. Had a few nitro's. Are they better now in lipo electric form, as in durability wise?

    • Depends how you drive. But you do need to buy cars like this expecting crashes and repairs, yes. But if you're just cruising around on cement or asphalt, there's not much that can go wrong. But any impact at decent speed is likely to cause damage.

      It is a hobby, and they are hobby grade cars. There are large communities supporting upgrading, customising and repairing.

      I've never used a nitro car but I'd expect electric motors to be more reliable.

    • Edit: replied to wrong comment.

  • +2

    Also, for anyone who does buy this car the following 3 jobs are ESSENTIAL before you go driving. There are plenty of how tos on YouTube.

    1. Open and grease the diffs.
    2. Adjust the toe in and camber of the wheels.
    3. Go over the entire car. Check and tighten all screws and nuts. Add locktite to the wheel nuts or they will come loose and the wheels will fall off.
    • You sounds pretty knowledgeable - is there a car you'd recommend that's a bit less extreme than this one and correspondingly a bit less fussy (suitable for, say, a smart 6-7 year old)? Particularly something happy on grass would be of great interest…

      • Sorry. I can't help you. I've done a lot of learning recently about the Wltoys cars, but I don't have much knowledge outside of that.

        Have a look at the Wltoys 12428. It's a little bigger than the 144001, a little slower and a little more capable off road. But whether it's the best choice for you, I don't know.

        • Not sure if this is the right forum to ask, but you seem knowledgeable on these things I'm at a loss on how to get my car back up and running.

          I bought a WLToy car (12427 Crawler) a few years ago and it ran really well, but now it runs for literally a 30 cm then stops and will only make little jerks (a few cms) forward when I try to run it until I disconnect the battery and re-plug it, at which point the process starts all over again.

          I checked the battery with a multi-meter and that was fine, and I even bought a new battery and still didn't remediate the issue

          I'm a complete noob to these things so did no initial maintenance to the car. Any ideas what part of the car I'll need to replace/repair?

          • @smurftastic: I'm by no means an expert. I'd assume the ESC is probably fried. But if you ask on one of the Wltoys Facebook groups they'll be able to sort out the issue for you.

      • +1

        Grass is gonna chew the battery a fair bit and create heat (motor) but you want a Traxxas Stampede for that.
        You're talking 4 to500 dollars.
        Give Hobbyking a look if you're ok with the cheaper Chinese stuff.

      • I have a few different wltoys cars and would suggest looking at the 12428, it's 4WD crawler type car, iit's got more clearance and larger wheels than this car and goes pretty well on grass, obviously you want shorter grass though all you'll kill the motor.

        It does have a bit of speed, not as quick as this, but the car can handle it , some of the wltoys cars are too quick for they way they are set up you can't control them at top speed (e.g; A979/vortex)and It also has a throttle knob on the controller so you can set a lower top speed for your kids.

        Just be aware that they do require maintenance and you'll have to get parts from China on the slow boat, so if you break something important you might be waiting weeks to repair it.

        You should also break the motor in before use, just look it up in Google: breaking in brushed RC motor, very simple.

  • I would say parts support would be patchy.
    I could literally only find steering knuckles and dog bones for this buggy on ebay.

    • Everything is available on AliExpress and Banggood. Some parts on eBay and Amazon. They are very popular cars. Parts are readily available.

      Edit. A quick eBay search shows diffs, tyres, shocks, motor mounts, suspension components, drive shafts, escs etc. There are plenty of parts available.

      • Ok are they for this model?

        • +1

          Yep. Just search "144001" on eBay and you'll get lots of parts for this car. But you won't find every part on eBay. Some things would need to be ordered from Banggood or AliExpress.

          • +1

            @wombat81: That returned a lot more results actually.

      • Do you know what kind of parts I should get with it? I'd like to stock up as you know what AliExpress times are.

        • I haven't had to make any repairs yet. I would get the screw kit with extra wheel nuts and hex pins etc. Front swing arms seem to break first when you have a front wheel impact. So I'd get some of them. The front dog bones are also pretty easy to bend. Maybe a front shock tower, front shocks and front diff box.

          It's worth getting upgraded replacements for some parts rather than stock. Eg the LC racing shocks apparently fit and are better quality than the originals. Thicker dog bones are available too.

          Depends how much you want to spend, but those are the things I've seen fail in front end crashes. Check out some of the Facebook groups to see the damage people do. That will give you a decent idea.

          Edit: I'd also resist the temptation to replace plastic parts with "upgraded" metal parts. The theory is that in a crash the shock just gets transferred further into the car when you run more metal parts. A plastic swing arm breaking is a better result and easier fix than a damaged drive shaft or motor, for example.

  • +3

    If you're getting into hobby grade rc cars this is the car to start with.

    • +1

      Agree. There's no doubt the Losi and Traxxis cars are better quality, but these are great bang for buck as a starting point.

    • How do you figure that? My friend completely gave up after owning a HSP that broke severely. He actually fixed it but was too scared to drive it.

      • Because you can try out the hobby for a lot less than buying a full Traxxis or Losi setup.

        Did the HSP just randomly break, or did your friend severely crash it?

        • He moderately crashed it.

          If it was brushless I'd probably get one just to see if it can handle a 3 cell.
          Remember the Hobbyking SC trucks that were hard to kill?

          • +1

            @[Deactivated]: I have had a traxxas slash for 11 years. I have a 4x4 and a 2wd. They are great fun and hard to break. They really do cop a beating.

            If you have the cash, i would definately recommend the slash because its built so tough. It means you're not constantly breaking it every time you go out, and need to order parts which might take 2 weeks to arrive.

            Hot Tip: Buy a few spare parts so you can fix stuff when it goes wrong. This is the most frustrating part.

  • +4

    I don't know why, but I did.

    • it's the Ozbargain way.

    • No regrats mate. This are fun as.

  • Hey guys I got the Wltoys 12428 and I purchased a better battery.
    I purchased the “Zeee 5200mAh 50C 2S 7.4V Lipo Battery from eBay.
    Some YouTube videos say to change the speedo etc but some say you can just pop it in with no problems.

    Anyone had experience with this size battery?

    • +1

      One of the Wltoys Facebook groups would be a better place to ask.

    • +1

      I think you would only need to worry about upgrading ESC if you went to 3S lipos, the 12428 is designed for 2S so you are really just adding extra capacity .

      • +1

        Yes, don't put a 3s in without upgrading the ESC
        https://youtu.be/ukjAFoORQsw

        • You cant run 3s on a brushed motor. 8.4v is about the maximum (Traxxas did this with Nimh packs). I actually think the esc would survive.

          • +1

            @[Deactivated]: You're right, if you do go 3s you'll probably want to upgrade the motor as well.

            But you can run 3s on brushed if they're robust. The challenge for the motor in 3s will be can it handle the rpm. I've had brushed motors run fine on 3s, and good brand brushless pop on 4s when rated for 6s. (Not directly translatable, but battery drills were brushed for a long time, and many still are, and ran at 18v)

            In the video posted above is the ESC catching on fire. The ESC needs to be able to handle the increase in voltage and current that comes with 3s, and often the electrical tolerances are too tight to allow for that.

    • +1

      You will have trouble physically fitting that battery in without serious modification. By default it's battery tray only supports very short batteries.

      The original batteries for the 12428 are a pair of 18650 making the pack about 70x40x20mm.
      The batteries for the 144001 which I had to modify the 12428 to get to fit are 100x35x18mm. Modification was just cutting out some plastic to let a longer battery slide in
      The battery you mentioned is 138x47x25mm

      Taking some measurements on the 12428 and I don't believe there is anyway you can physically mount it in the battery tray due to width of battery.
      I suspect it would also be detrimental to put a heavy battery in the back of the 12428 as the battery placement is at the highest point in the car and it already rolls easily.

      As far as I know, the ESC (speed controller) will tolerate anything 2S (7.4v), but will likely fry on 3S (11.8v)

      Source; I have the 12428 (and 144001) and a battery of same dimensions which doesn't fit in either 144001 and 12428.

      • Any links as to which battery I should get for longer run times. Was thinking more then 30+ minutes runtime. Not that fussed with more speed.
        I can always return the battery I purchased

        • I can't recommend any since I just use the 3 batteries that came with the 144001. In addition to that I have a battery box I can put 2x18650 cells into which I have tonnes of from old laptops.

          Best route (as someone else said) is just get a few smaller batteries. They charge faster, and as you can charge multiple at once you can be back to driving quicker rather than waiting for one big hefty boy to fully charge.

          Due to physical size limits I'd say 2500-3000mah is probably the highest capacity that will easily fit. From what I can see, that excludes hardcase batteries

        • The only way to achieve that is to go for a brushless setup with a relatively low output motor, I believe.

          Having said that, I get decent run time from Turnigy 2200mah lipos in my stock 144001 with the speed turned down a bit. But I don't get 30 minutes.

  • Does anyone know the C rating of the included 2600Mah batteries? The label on mine just lists all C ratings as if they forgot to tick the box indicating which it is.

    • I suspect it wouldn't mean much anyway. I've read a few people say that they don't believe these batteries are actually 2600mah anyway. Hence my original comment about questionable quality.

      • +2

        Just tested one, came out at 2225Mah

  • Can anyone recommend an entry level (under $500) non Chinese designed RC electric car that's available in Australia? The market is flooded with Chinese models here and it's hard to sort through the junk for sale!

  • For that money, I'd be looking at something from traxxas, or otherwise arrma. Spare parts are abundantly available locally as well as online, and all the forums will have posts about them. You need to decide whether you want 2wd or 4wd, car/truggy/buggy, off road or onroad.

    Best bet is to head to you local hobby shop (lhs), have a chat, see what they've got.

    • Can you recommend something for similar money? I haven't been able to find anything comparable.

      Edit: oh sorry, you were replying to the $500 comment?

  • Wow you dudes know a lot about this ripper WLToys RC cars.
    I have a Zeee 6000mAh 100C 7.4V 2S LiPo Battery Deans Plug Hardcase (284015979288) Battery.
    It's a bulk oblong affair. Aside from having to fit it phstically, would the OP RC car be a suitable match for it performance/safety wise?
    Thanks!

    • +1

      I'm pretty sure any 2s lipo will work fine.

    • +1

      Yes, if you somehow managed to mount it, you would have no problems with it working.

      However that battery is ~280 grams compared to stock weight of ~70 or ~120 on the larger battery's. You will significantly raise the center of gravity making it far easier to roll, and performance will be significantly hampered. I always had much more fun carrying several smaller battery's to the park rather then one or two bigger ones.

  • Does any know how well these go over sand? I have a big unconstructed estate near my house that might be good…

    • I'd say they'd go pretty well, but keeping the sand out of the motor would be impossible and youd kill it quickly, I think.

    • dont go in sand. the front tyres will kick sand inside it and sand will be everywhere. sand is bad for most things. the pinion/spur and diff gears are somewhat sealed, but runs in sand will likely get it in there somewhere. dunno about the electronics, motor etc. but i dont think it'd be worth the risk. you have to realise that this car has a lot of power and spins wheels most of the time.

  • is this expired? no longer see any AU stock

    • AU stock appears to be sold out.

  • +2

    there are some ok deals on the 124019. i have had the 144001 for a few months, and am thinking the longer wheelbase of the 124019 might help a little, make it a bit more stable in corners and over jumps. like for like, it looks like the 124019 is about $40 more than an equivalent 144001. i just ordered the 124019 with 3x2200mah batteries. i have been following quadifyrc, done all the cheap tweaks to my 144001. havent yet gone to the next step with brushless upgrades (which requires ALL the electronics to be replaced), as i find the car plenty fast out of the box. i might still do the brushless upgrade though, mainly for the runtime improvements, and weight saving.

    • Yeah, I'll go brushless eventually once my stock motor or ESC dies. I've done the numbers and it's about $170 to go brushless with is a stretch in a $100 car.

  • +1

    Hey OP or anyone - I’m suffering FOMO. Is this the same model with one battery- just wondering if the XKS means different?

    https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/313554383643?var=612381356752

  • Mine arrived today.
    Following this video to get it first ride ready:
    https://youtu.be/MStf09Gfr18

    But 2 of the gears in the front differential were not rounded properly and not spinning smoothly. I’ll try and grind them down, otherwise not sure whether I’ll get a return/replace on that or will need to buy some spare parts.

    https://ibb.co/t3zzvBy
    (Top 2 in photo not a perfect fit and won’t spin)

    How is everyone else getting on? And any advice for me?!

    • That's not an issue I've seen before unfortunately. I'd probably contact the seller and ask if they'll send you a replacement diff.

      • I sanded the teeth down a little where they were not circular and used a shit ton of white lithium grease… got them turning, not buttery though. Had similar issue on back diff, but not quite as bad. You think there is much chance of them sending me those specific parts?

        • +1

          Have had BG send me specific parts before. BG contact the supplier with your photos of the damaged parts, supplier identifies parts and sends them to BG.

    • +1

      I had crappy rear diff. Contacted banggood support and after some messaging i just asked for a partial refund and i'd sort it out myself. Think I got about $16. Ordered a nice machined front and rear with prop shaft for about $25. Meshes beautifully. Also included replacement cog for motor which made the brushles upgrade easier.

      I'll use the remains of the old diff on my 12428 which has some wonky cogs that don't sit 90degrees on the end of the shaft.

  • Just an update.

    Got this a few days ago. Great little toy and it handles amazingly well.
    The batteries are in 2 boxes underneath the car just in case you think they didn't include them.
    The batteries are too big for the battery holder in the car. You will need to remove (unscrew) one of the plastic bits that holds the forward part of the battery and then you can fit the oversized ones they provide. There a 2 screws you can get to from under the car and the plastic bit just comes off. You might also need a longer velcro strap to hold the battery.

  • Still waiting for mine to arrive. Hopefully it arrives soon as it will give me something to play with in lockdown!

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