Buying guides
Axial SCX10 upgrade guide.
SCX10 upgrades in the right order — for the II, the III and the Pro.
Search for SCX10 upgrades and you will find a decade of parts — which is exactly the problem. The SCX10 name covers three generations with different axles, and a part that bolts onto one can be useless on another. This guide cuts through it: the mods that matter, in the order experienced builders buy them, with the fitment split that actually decides what fits your truck — AR44 on the SCX10 II, AR45 straight or AR45P portal axles on the SCX10 III, and the Pro's own competition hardware.
The trucks you're upgrading
Current SCX10 III trucks in our catalog span a $160 range, and which one you own decides your axle type — check it before buying anything in Step 2.
Axial SCX10 III Base Camp RTR — $339.99
The value entry to the III platform at $339.99 from Horizon Hobby, with free shipping. The natural canvas for this guide's full build.
Axial SCX10 III Coyote RTR — $349.99
Axial's newer III trail truck at $349.99 from Horizon Hobby. Same upgrade path as the Base Camp, ten dollars more at the register.
Axial SCX10 III Jeep CJ-7 V2 RTR — $499.99
The premium scale trim at $499.99. Owners upgrade these for capability without spoiling the looks — every step below is reversible.
Still choosing between platforms? Our TRX-4 vs SCX10 guide compares them honestly, and the fitment guide lists your truck's stock specs.
Step 1: tires and beadlock wheels
Stock SCX10 tires are a cost compromise: hard compound, shallow tread, glued to plastic wheels. Soft 1.9-inch rubber on real beadlocks — wheels that clamp the bead mechanically, so tires swap in minutes with no glue — is the largest capability jump this platform makes, and it comes first on every generation.
MEUS Racing 1.9in MS6 Super Bouncer Tires (4) — $29.99
The value pick: a full set of four super-soft, sticky-compound 120mm tires with sponge inserts, made for the SCX10. $34.98 landed with MEUS shipping — a complete set for barely more than one pair of premium tires.
JConcepts Ruptures 1.9in Green (2) — $28.50
The comp benchmark: 125mm tall, green compound, relentless on clean rock. Sold as a pair, so budget $57.00 for four — and know that this is the tire the budget pick above is chasing.
Pro-Line BFG Krawler T/A KX 1.9in G8 (2) — $24.99
The licensed scale pick: officially styled BFGoodrich rubber in Pro-Line's G8 compound at $24.99 a pair. The trail-truck choice when looks and grip both matter.
TREAL 1.9in Aluminum Beadlock Wheels (4) — $42.98
CNC aluminum beadlocks confirmed for the SCX10 III. Mounting new tires on beadlocks instead of the stock glued wheels keeps the combo serviceable forever — and adds a little low weight of its own.
Every 1.9 option we track lives on our tires page and the SCX10 parts page.
Step 2: brass weight — matched to your axle
SCX10s are light up high, and light trucks tip on sidehills. Brass at the axles fixes that — but this is the step where the generations split. Straight-axle trucks (SCX10 II AR44, SCX10 III AR45) take C-hubs, knuckles and diff covers. Portal trucks (AR45P) take portal knuckle caps and covers instead, and straight-axle brass does not fit them. Each card below says which it is.
INJORA 38g Brass Diff Covers (2) — $19.99
38g of black brass across both diff covers for the SCX10 Pro and SCX10 III AR45 — the cheapest meaningful brass on the truck. Fitment note: not compatible with AR45P portal axles.
INJORA Brass C-Hubs for SCX10 III (2) — $19.99
57g of brass replacing the stock plastic C-hubs on AR45 straight front axles. Weight exactly where steering and stability both want it, for twenty dollars.
MEUS Racing Brass Steering Knuckles — $32.99
Black brass knuckles for the SCX10 Pro and SCX10 III AR45. Pair these with the C-hubs above and the front axle carries the bias a climber wants — aim for roughly 60/40 front-to-rear overall.
INJORA Brass Portal Knuckle Cap Housings (2) — $18.99
The portal truck's version: 47g per piece at the portal boxes of AR45P trucks (SCX10 III AXI03007/AXI03027). If your III has portals, this — not the C-hubs — is your brass step.
Step 3: steering servo — before the stock one fades
Grippy tires plus brass equals a stock servo working far beyond its design brief. A standard-size metal-gear servo is cheap insurance and a real precision upgrade: stronger centering, no gear slop, and torque that holds a line at full lock on rock. All three picks below are 25T — add a metal servo horn if yours is still plastic.
GXservo DS3235MG 35KG Servo — $15.49
The budget king: 35kg-cm of metal-gear digital torque at $15.49 from Banggood ($19.48 with shipping). The best dollars-per-kilogram in 1/10 crawling.
INJORA INJS030HV 30KG Waterproof Servo — $19.99
The wet-weather pick: 30kg-cm at 7.4V, waterproof, high-voltage ready, at $19.99 direct from INJORA. For trail trucks that cross creeks, this is the servo.
INJORA INJS235 35KG Brushless Servo — $33.99
The smart mid-range buy: brushless, waterproof, 35kg-cm at 8.4V, $37.98 landed from INJORA. Cooler, quieter and longer-lived than brushed equivalents — the servo we would buy for our own trucks.
Torque figures explained in our crawler servo guide; every verified servo sits on the servos page.
Step 4: shocks, links and an LCG chassis option
With grip, weight and steering sorted, the chassis is next. Oil-filled shocks with threaded preload replace guesswork with tuning; high-clearance links stop the truck hanging up on its own link bars; and for SCX10 and SCX10 II owners, a low-center-of-gravity chassis conversion is the platform's famous party trick.
INJORA DRX Dual-Rate Oil Shocks (4) — $25.99
A full set of four dual-rate-spring oil shocks in 80–120mm lengths (80/90/110/120mm were in stock when verified; the 100mm variant was out of stock), $29.98 landed from INJORA. Pick the length that matches your stock eye-to-eye measurement.
Hot Racing 110mm Aluminum Pro Shocks (2) — $26.88
The SCX10 II-specific alternative: CNC 6061 aluminum, double springs, threaded preload, $27.87 landed from LiquidRC. Sold as a pair — budget two pairs for a full truck.
INJORA Stainless High-Clearance Links — from $6.99
Bent stainless links in eleven lengths from 80mm to 155mm eye-to-eye, $10.98 landed each. Measure your stock links, match the length, and the belly clears ledges the straight bars used to catch.
INJORA LCG Carbon Fiber Chassis Kit — $52.99
For SCX10 and SCX10 II owners: carbon LCG rails with a 6-degree angled skid and multiple shock mounting points, $56.98 landed. This is a rebuild, not a bolt-on — and it transforms an older truck.
Step 5: drivetrain — overdrive, gears and shafts
Overdrive is the SCX10's secret weapon: gearing the front axle faster than the rear pulls the truck up climbs and tightens its turning. Steel gears and shafts handle the extra load, and a complete transmission swap is cheaper than most owners expect.
INJORA Overdrive Helical Gears 8T/27T — $13.99
An 11% overdrive set for the SCX10 II, III and Pro, $17.98 landed from INJORA. The single best drivetrain dollar on this page.
MEUS Racing Steel Axle Gears 8T/30T — $12.99
Steel front and rear axle gears for the SCX10 II, III AR44-family axles and Capra. Fit these when you open the axles for the overdrive set and the job is done once.
MEUS Racing Internal-Spline Driveshaft — $11.99
A stainless internal-spline shaft in lengths from 60mm to 183mm, $16.98 landed. It replaces the flex and slop of the stock plastic shafts for the price of lunch.
INJORA Complete Gearbox for SCX10 II — $20.99
A complete metal-gear transmission for the SCX10 II, $24.98 landed — cheaper than rebuilding a worn stock box piece by piece. II owners only; the III transmission is a different unit.
Overdrive theory, ratios and the three ways to get it: our overdrive guide and transmission and gearing guide.
Step 6: brushless power — control, not speed
Last, on purpose. Hobbywing's Fusion 2-in-1 systems put a field-oriented-control ESC inside the motor can: smooth startup from zero, a holding drag brake, and one part instead of two. On stock tires a Fusion just spins more authoritatively — with Steps 1 to 5 done, it is the finishing touch.
Hobbywing Fusion SE 1200KV 2-in-1 — $82.98 landed
The budget Fusion: $79.99 plus $2.99 shipping from AMain Hobbies. The 1200KV wind is the slow, torquey choice for technical rock.
Hobbywing Fusion SE 1800KV 2-in-1 — $89.99
The same system with a livelier 1800KV wind at $89.99 from RC-N-Go — the better match for trail trucks that also cover ground between obstacles.
Hobbywing Fusion Pro 2300KV 2-in-1 — $139.99
The flagship: a stronger BEC, finer low-speed control and 2300KV pace at $139.99 with free shipping from Hobbywing Direct. Buy this one if the truck is a keeper.
The full motor landscape is in our brushless crawler motor guide. Newer to the platform? The first upgrades guide covers the shared SCX10/TRX-4 stage-one build.
What the full build costs
The core build — MEUS MS6 tires ($29.99), INJORA 38g brass diff covers ($19.99), the GXservo DS3235MG ($15.49) and a MEUS steel driveshaft ($11.99) — totals $77.46 in parts, and it is honestly 80% of the transformation. Add the TREAL beadlocks ($42.98), a set of INJORA DRX shocks ($25.99), the INJORA overdrive gears ($13.99) and the Fusion SE 1800KV ($89.99) and the full build reaches $250.41 in parts — still less than the gap between a Base Camp and a CJ-7, spent where it actually drives better.
Lowest Cost Build Sheet
The core build above already picks the cheapest genuine part in each slot, so this sheet re-prices the same four parts landed — part price plus that store's shipping, counted per part:
The core four, landed — $95.42 total
MEUS MS6 tires ($34.98 landed) + INJORA brass diff covers ($23.98 landed) + GXservo DS3235MG ($19.48 landed) + MEUS steel driveshaft ($16.98 landed). Order each brand's parts in a single cart and you pay its shipping once, not per part, so the real total drops below $95.42. There is no cheaper genuine swap for any of the four — this is the floor, not a compromise list.
SCX10 upgrade FAQ
What is the first upgrade I should buy for my SCX10?
Tires. A soft 1.9-inch set is the biggest single change on any SCX10 II, III or Pro: the MEUS Racing MS6 Super Bouncer set of four is $29.99, and the benchmark JConcepts Ruptures 1.9 are $28.50 per pair ($57.00 for four). Grippier tires work the stock steering servo harder, so a metal-gear servo — the GXservo DS3235MG 35KG at $15.49 is the budget pick — belongs second, before brass and before brushless power.
Do SCX10 II, SCX10 III and SCX10 Pro parts interchange?
Some do, many do not — this is the platform's biggest trap. The SCX10 II runs AR44 axles, SCX10 III trucks run AR45 straight axles or AR45P portal axles depending on the model, and the SCX10 Pro is its own competition design. A brass part made for a straight axle will not fit a portal axle: our catalog's INJORA 38g brass diff covers ($19.99), for example, explicitly exclude the AR45P portal axles. Always match the part to your exact axle before you order.
How much does it cost to upgrade an SCX10?
A core build — MEUS MS6 tires ($29.99), INJORA 38g brass diff covers ($19.99), a GXservo DS3235MG servo ($15.49) and a MEUS steel driveshaft ($11.99) — runs $77.46 in parts. Going the distance with beadlock wheels, oil shocks, overdrive gears and a Hobbywing Fusion SE brushless system brings the parts total to $250.41. Neither figure requires buying everything at once; the order in this guide keeps the truck improving at every step.
Should I add brass to a portal-axle or a straight-axle SCX10 III?
Both benefit, but with different parts. Straight-axle trucks take brass C-hubs and steering knuckles at the front axle — the INJORA brass C-hubs are $19.99 for the pair. Portal trucks take brass portal knuckle caps and covers instead — the INJORA portal knuckle cap housings are $18.99 for a 47g-per-piece pair. Either way the goal is the same: weight at the axles and below the chassis rails, front first, for a roughly 60/40 front weight bias.
Is a brushless conversion worth it on an SCX10?
For slow, technical crawling, yes — after tires, brass and servo. A field-oriented-control (FOC) 2-in-1 system such as the Hobbywing Fusion SE ($82.98 landed in 1200KV form, $89.99 in 1800KV) or the Fusion Pro 2300KV ($139.99) starts smoothly from zero, holds a crawl speed a brushed motor cannot, and drag-brakes the truck still on descents. If you mostly trail-run, the stock brushed system is genuinely fine and the money does more work in Steps 1 to 3.
A quick note on links
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