Slash 4X4 3-Phase Upgrade

Traxxas molds its Heavy Duty (HD) arms in a proprietary plastic formulated for superior strength, even in cold conditions that make other plastics brittle. Along with classic black, you can get the arms in red, green, orange, and white. We’re going with orange to match our 4X4’s wheels and body, and we’ll pair up the arms with orange-anodized aluminum caster blocks, steering blocks, and rear carriers for an even greater durability boost. To give our 4X4 fully adjustable camber and toe-in (and add a bit of contrasting color) we’re also swapping the one-piece camber links for aluminum TUBES turnbuckle links.

Heavy-duty suspension arms

Suspension arm comparison

Full set of orange aluminum parts

TUBES camber and toe links are the finishing touch. In addition to looking great, the links make it easy to fine-tune camber and toe-in without disassembly.

HD arms, aluminum upgrades, and TUBES ready to rock. The rear carriers are labeled R and L to indicate right and left, and will give the Slash 4X4 four degrees of toe-in. Or, you can swap their positions (install “R” on the left side and vice-versa) for one degree of toe-in—which is what we did.

Our Slash 4X4 is looking good. On to Phase 2!

Phase 2: Aluminum GTR Shocks & Blue 330 Servo

The Slash 4X4’s 2056 servo is equipped with plastic gears and steers with 80 ounce-inches of torque. For greater steering authority and durability, Traxxas offers three metal-gear servo options: the 125 oz.-in 2075X, the 330 oz.-in. High Torque 330 with coreless motor, and the 400 oz.-in. High Torque 400 with a brushless motor inside. We’re going with the 330 for this build. The servo can be installed without removing front suspension module, so the job only takes a few minutes.

Metal gears for durability

Installation is quick and easy

300% more steering torque

We’ve gone with Big Bores for our other 3-Phase build-ups, but this time around we’re installing Traxxas’ very best shocks: GTRs. The shocks feature PTFE-treated 13 mm bores that deliver 70% greater oil capacity, and friction-fighting Titanium Nitride-coated shafts that reduce friction on the X-ring seals to the absolute minimum. The springs are sold separately, so you can choose the right rates (stiffness) for your application. We installed “black” springs, as used on the Slash 4X4 Platinum.

GTR shock body is threaded to adjust ride height

GTR vs stock shock comparison

The GTR shocks look amazing and offer super-smooth damping

Phase 3: Velineon Brushless Power System

Our upgrades so far have made our Slash 4X4 an even tougher, better-handling, and more tunable short-course machine. Now it’s about to get a whole lot faster. The Velineon VXL-3s brushless power system puts over 60 mph in reach when you install a 3-cell Power-Cell LiPo battery, and it’s a straight swap for the Slash 4X4’s factory-installed XL-5 and Titan 550 combo (which you can trade in for a Power-Up discount). To get the most from the Velineon system, we’ll install a 13-tooth pinion to give our 4X4 the same gear ratio as the Slash 4X4 VXL.

Brushless Velineon power system

Installed Velineon system

3947X 17-tooth pinion gear