Buying guides
Axial SCX24 upgrade guide.
The right mods, in the right order, at verified prices.
The SCX24 is the gateway drug of RC crawling: tiny, affordable, and shockingly capable out of the box. It's also one of the most upgradeable trucks ever made — the aftermarket is enormous. But that creates a problem: with hundreds of parts available, what do you actually buy first? This guide lays out the upgrade order that experienced builders recommend, with real parts at verified prices.
Stage 1: tires — the single biggest gain
Ask ten SCX24 builders what to upgrade first and ten will say tires. The stock tires are hard, shallow-treaded, and give up the moment things get technical. Swapping them is a five-minute job and the transformation is immediate.
Pro-Line Hyrax 1.0, pre-mounted — $24.99
The most popular micro crawler tire for a reason: predictable on rock, dirt, and indoor courses alike. Pre-mounted means no gluing — bolt them on and go.
Pro-Line Maxxis Trepador 1.0, pre-mounted — $24.99
A more aggressive tread for loose dirt and mulch. If your crawling spot is loamy rather than clean rock, the Trepador digs in where the Hyrax spins.
Both are G8 compound — Pro-Line's soft, grippy rubber — and both come pre-mounted on wheels. Either one is a bigger upgrade than everything else on this list combined.
Stage 2: brass weight down low
The SCX24 is light and a little top-heavy from the factory, which is why it tips over on sidehills that bigger trucks walk. The fix is brass — dense, cheap, and it goes exactly where physics wants it: at the wheels, as low as possible.
Injora brass steering knuckles — $14.99
The best dollars-to-performance upgrade in micro crawling. Brass knuckles add unsprung weight right at the front wheels, dropping the center of gravity where it counts. The truck stops flopping over and starts feeling planted. Install takes basic tools and about fifteen minutes.
From here the brass rabbit hole goes deep — diff covers, portal weights, skid plates — but knuckles first. You'll feel the difference on your very next run.
Stage 3: body — looks that work
A body swap changes more than appearance. Comp-style Lexan bodies improve approach and departure angles versus the stock body, which is free performance on steep transitions. Both of these are designed as direct fits for the SCX24 platform.
Pro-Line Cliffhanger body — $19.99
The comp-crawler look: high-clearance front and rear, minimal overhang. If performance is the goal, this is the body.
Pro-Line Toyota HiLux body — $19.99
Classic scale looks with better clearance than stock. For builders who want the truck to look as good as it crawls.
Beyond stage 3: where to go next
With tires, brass, and a body handled — about $60 total — you've covered the upgrades that matter most. Drive it for a month and let the truck tell you what's next. Common stage-two moves: oil-filled shocks for better damping, a metal-gear steering servo (the stock servo is the next weak link once grip goes up), and eventually a better motor and ESC. Our site tracks 3,545 verified deals across 112 categories, including dedicated SCX24 parts sections, so every stage of the build is price-checked for you.
Not sure what fits your truck? Our fitment guide covers SCX24-compatible parts and upgrades.
Lowest Cost Build Sheet
The three stages above, re-priced at the floor. The catches at this scale: the cheapest tires ship unmounted, and the cheapest brass is covers, not knuckles.
INJORA T1009 all-terrain tires — $11.19
S3 soft compound, 61mm — proven rubber (it is the tire our Ascent-18 guide builds around) at less than half the $24.99 pre-mounted picks in stage 1. They ship unmounted: glue them to your stock wheels for $0, or add real beadlocks below. View the deal at INJORA
INJORA brass diff covers, front + rear — $9.79
10g of brass per cover on the axle housings. A partial substitute for the $14.99 knuckles in stage 2: less mass, and it sits at the diff instead of out at the steering ends — but it is real weight in the right neighborhood for under ten dollars. View the deal at INJORA
Stock body — $0
Kept. The $19.99 bodies in stage 3 are looks, not performance — the cheapest body upgrade is the one already on the truck.
Lowest cost total: $20.98 — against about $60 for the sheet above. Two honest add-ons when the budget allows: the MEUS M3280S 8KG servo ($15.99 at MEUS) for the weak stock steering stage 2 warns about, and INJORA W1049 beadlocks ($21.99 at INJORA) if you would rather not glue tires to the stock wheels.
SCX24 upgrade FAQ
What is the first upgrade I should do to my SCX24?
Tires. The stock SCX24 tires are the single biggest performance limiter on the truck — they're hard, shallow-treaded, and give up on anything technical. A set of Pro-Line Hyrax 1.0 or Maxxis Trepador 1.0 tires ($24.99 pre-mounted) transforms the truck more than any other single change, and it's a five-minute install.
Do I really need brass upgrades on an SCX24?
You don't need them on day one, but brass is the cheapest meaningful performance gain after tires. The SCX24 is light and top-heavy from the factory; adding brass steering knuckles ($14.99) down low drops the center of gravity where it matters most — at the wheels. The truck stops tipping over on sidehills and starts feeling planted. It's the best dollars-to-performance upgrade in micro crawling.
Will aftermarket bodies fit my SCX24?
Most Lexan bodies made for the SCX24 platform fit with the stock body mounts or the mounts included in the package — the Pro-Line Cliffhanger ($19.99) and Toyota HiLux ($19.99) bodies are designed as direct fits. Bodies change more than looks: comp-style bodies like the Cliffhanger improve approach and departure angles, which is free performance.
Pro-Line Hyrax vs Maxxis Trepador — which 1.0 tire is better?
Both are excellent and both cost $24.99 pre-mounted. The Hyrax is the all-rounder — predictable on rock, dirt, and indoor courses, and the most popular micro crawler tire for a reason. The Trepador has a more aggressive tread that digs harder in loose dirt and mulch. If you crawl mostly on clean rock, go Hyrax; if your terrain is loose and loamy, try the Trepador.
How much does it cost to fully upgrade an SCX24?
A sensible stage-one build — tires ($24.99), brass knuckles ($14.99), and a body ($19.99) — runs about $60 and covers the upgrades that matter most. Beyond that, shocks, a metal-gear servo, and a better motor/ESC can take a build past $150 in upgrades alone. Our advice: do tires and brass first, drive it for a month, and let the truck tell you what it needs next.
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