Lowering the Center of Gravity in the Axial SCX24

Author: Chad Trent(Youtube: CCRCAdventures)
 
Out of the box, the Axial SCX24 is a very capable rock crawler. It will surprise you with the kind of obstacles that it can climb up and over. However, there are some modifications you can make that will greatly improve the performance of the vehicle.
One of the most important improvements you can make is to lower the center of gravity. Before we can start to lower the center of gravity it is important that we understand what the center of gravity means. There is a scientific definition of center of gravity, and a formula to find it for a certain shape, but the easiest way to understand it is to do a small demonstration for yourself. Take a block of wood or metal or any other rectangular shaped solid object. In that object, the center of gravity is right in the middle of the piece. If you take that block and stand it up on its narrow side (see the drawing below) then the center of gravity is relatively high, and if it leans too far to one side it will fall over. Push it from one side and see how far you need to push it before it falls. You will see with the block standing on its narrow side you don’t need to push it very far before it falls over.

Now stand the block back up on its wide side (see the drawing below). When it is on its long side the center of gravity is much lower. Now try to lean it over and see how far you have to lean it before it falls over. You will see you need to lean it a lot farther before it falls.

Now if we look at the Axial SCX24 we can see that the center of gravity on the stock vehicle is pretty high. If you push the vehicle from the side you don’t have to push it far before it falls over. Try this and remember how far you had to push it before it fell. We need to lower the center of gravity to make it require more force and a steeper angle before it falls over.

So, how do we lower the center of gravity? The easiest way is to add upgrade parts to the vehicle. If we replace some of the stock plastic parts with heavier brass parts that will add weight to the vehicle and change the center of gravity. We want to focus on adding weight as low as possible. The lower on the vehicle we can put the weight, the lower the center of gravity will be.
A good place to start is with the Injora Black Brass Diff Cover 10g. Diff covers are about as low on the chassis as you can get. And they are in the center of the vehicle so they help it stay balanced. Diff covers come in different weights and colors, so pick the ones you like best.

Another good modification is the Injora Black Brass Extended Wheel Hex. Not only does this add more weight down low to lower the center of gravity, it also makes the vehicle wider. The wider it is the harder it is to make it roll over.

One final option to consider is the Injora Brass Inner Rings for Injora Wheels. The rings go inside the tires and get the weight down as low as possible.

However, because the weight is rotating weight it will put more strain on the stock motor, so you should think about upgrading to the Injora 050 Brushed motor, which has a lot more torque.

It’s also a good idea to upgrade your servo and steering link when you are adding extra weight to the vehicle. The EMax ES08MA II 12g Analog Metal Gear Servo and Aluminum Tie Rod are great replacements for the stock pieces.

With these upgrades, your Axial SCX24 will perform much better on all kinds of terrain. The lower center of gravity and wider width will help it stay upright on steeper rocks and make it capable of going places the stock vehicle never could.