Upgrading SCX24 Stock Tires & Wheels
A great way to boost performance and style is with the SCX24 tires and wheels. Until recently, the only options available were plastic glue-styled wheels from Axial and there were only a few different types.
Axial SCX24 Aluminum Wheels
Some of our favorite aluminum SCX24 wheels are the Raceline Monster Beadlocks, the Breaker 1.0” and the Competition 1.0” from RC4WD. These wheels have a pin drive hub, not standard hex. You will need the RC4WD 4mm nut driver to fit these wheels. All these wheels add a little weight down low, which is good. They also have a slight offset that widens the stance of the truck, and that increases stability.
RC4WD Raceline Monster 1.0" Beadlock Wheels (Black)
RC4WD Breaker 1.0" Beadlock Wheels (Silver)
RC4WD 1.0" Competition Beadlock Wheels
The next set of wheels we want to talk about are some of the nicest, and they are the Samix Aluminum 1.0”. These wheels are available in green or black anodize with chamfered silver edges. They are glue-style wheels and are lightweight.
Samix SCX24 Aluminum 1.0" Wheel Set (Green)
Samix SCX24 Aluminum 1.0" Wheel Set (Black)
SCX24 Steel Beadlock Wheels
RC4WD has some really impressive wheel choices—I am talking the Stamped Steel 1.0” beadlocks. These wheels are available in white, black, or silver, they look realistic, and they use a plastic hex hub that is screwed directly to the wheel. These are proper wheels like you would find on the larger trail trucks, and they bolt right onto the SCX24. These wheels are heavier than the stock plastic wheels. Which is a great way to help lower the center of gravity.
RC4WD 1/18 Gelande II Stamped
Steel 1.0'' Stock Beadlock Wheels (White)
RC4WD 1/18 Gelande II Stamped
Steel 1.0'' Stock Beadlock Wheels (Black)
RC4WD 1/18 Gelande II Stamped
Steel 1.0'' Stock Beadlock Wheels (Silver)
Pro Tip: “We found the hex tolerances on these wheels to be too tight to fit any other brand hex, except the SSD RC SCX24 7mm brass wheel hex. Also, these wheels work best with RC4WD 1.0” tires. If you try to put an Axial tire on the wheel, it probably won’t fit.”
Stamped Steel Beadlock Wheel Offset
The RC4WD steel wheels feature a slight offset so, the wheels are pushed out a little bit wider on the truck, and should help with stability. The stock wheel offset is on the left, and the RC4WD wheel is on the right—you can see the wheel offset of the RC4WD wheel is there, but it is minimal.
SCX24 Weighted Beadlock Wheels
For added weight and style the aluminum and brass 5-slot beadlock wheels from SSD are a perfect choice. These wheels are another great option for your SCX24 and have the stock wheel offset. They are compatible with 1.0” tires, weigh 24grams, and are a great way to add some extra weight down low and help your kit stay right side up on bumpy terrain. As a tuning aid, SSD also offers lightweight aluminum rings if the brass ones become too much.
However, you will want to be mindful when making your selection. Some options work with all trucks models, while other sets are made specifically for the Jeep, Deadbolt, and Chevrolet C10.
What are the Best SCX24 Tire Upgrades?
With both small and big tires available, tires are a great way to change the look and performance of your crawler. The guys at RC4WD have created a bunch of new tires: Super Swamper TSL Thornbirds, Mud Slingers, BFGoodrich T/A KM3, Falken Wildpeak M/T, BFGoodrich T/A KR3, Goodyear Wrangler MT/R’s, and lastly the Milestar Patagonia M/T. Of these tires the Mud Slinger is probably the tallest at 2.4 inches.
RC4WD Interco Super Swamper TSL Thornbird 1.0" Micro Crawler Tires
RC4WD Mud Slinger 1.0" Micro Crawler Tires
Pro Tip: “Make sure it fits! Look for item specifications on the product pages at AMainHobbies.com.”
What Tires & Wheels Did We Choose for our SCX24 Jeep?
For our Jeep, we opted for the white Stamped Steel wheels from RC4WD. For the realistic beadlock look and the extra weight, they will add. Since we need RC4WD tires for these wheels, our options are Super Swampers, Rock Crushers, or the Rock Creepers. We ended up choosing the more aggressive-looking Super Swampers fitted onto the white beadlocks.
It may seem kind of silly to have white wheels on a truck that might be doing some mudding, but we just thought it looked cool.
We also installed the Hot Racing optional reservoir aluminum shocks. The reservoir on these shocks is only for looks but the shocks do operate on a small amount of fluid, and they look great.
SCX24 Stock vs. Aftermarket Tires
The only negative thing I can say about these tires is that they're slightly shorter in diameter than the original Axial tires. The Swampers lower our truck slightly, effectively lowering our center of gravity. But the Swampers will also remove a little bit of our ground clearance underneath our axles that the larger Axial tires offered. So, there's a little bit of give and take there.
SCX24 Tire Comparison
In this picture, the tire on our Deadbolt is the stock tire. Next to our stock tire is the 2.4” Mud Slingers, in the third position is the RC4WD Super Swamper TSL/Boggers, and at the end is the BFGoodrich T/A KR3. From the image, you can tell the BFGoodrich is wide but not tall as the stock tire.
Note: The Jeep Wrangler and the Deadbolt come stock with the same-size tire, but the Chevy C10 has shorter stock tires.
What Tires & Wheels Did We Choose for our SCX24 Deadbolt?
For our Deadbolt, we went with the Mud Slingers, mounted on RC4WD Raceline monster beadlock wheels, and we added Yeah Racing hex hubs to add some weight.
Our upgrade choices turned out to be a perfect combination. This little crawler looks so cool, especially with the red SSD scale locking hubs.* The Raceline wheels combined with the Mud Slingers look aggressive and mean. However, we do recommend trimming the fender areas or the tires will rub when flexing.
Axial SCX24 Shock Upgrade
Speaking of flexing, there are new shock upgrade options available. The Hot Racing aluminum reservoir shocks feature a machined faux reservoir shock cap for realistic scale looks and include a full set of soft and hard springs to allow tuning.
The Yeah Racing shocks also feature shock caps with a faux reservoir to create a shock that looks as good as it works! These Yeah Racing shocks are available in black and red anodize.
Yeah Racing also offers internal spring shocks that use a spring inside the shock cylinder. These shocks come anodized red and feature a hard-spring installed, with softer springs included. We used the internal spring shocks on our Deadbolt but switched them to the soft springs.
Yeah Racing SCX24 Aluminum Shocks Black
Yeah Racing SCX24 Aluminum Shock Red
Yeah Racing SCX24 Internal Spring Shocks Red
The Finishing Touch
*For a little extra wheel detail, SSD offers these locking scale hubs in red and blue. They replace the 4mm axle nut, but you do need an SSD locking hub tool to use them.
SSD RC 1/24 Scale Locking Hubs (Red)
SSD RC 1/24 Scale Locking Hubs (Blue)
Summary
There are so many tire & wheel options to choose from and we are pretty happy with our choices. However, we recommend you make your selection based on the terrain and weather in your area.
Our SCX24 Upgrade Choices
Axial SCX24 2019 Jeep Wrangler JLU CRC 4WD RTR Scale Mini Crawler AXI00002T
RC4WD 1/18 Gelande II Stamped Steel 1.0'' Stock Beadlock Wheels (White) RC4ZW0111
RC4WD Interco Super Swamper TSL Thornbird 1.0" Micro Crawler Tires RC4ZT0203
Hot Racing Axial SCX24 Reservoir Friction Damper Shocks HRASXTF326R01
Axial SCX24 Deadbolt 1/24 RTR Scale Mini Crawler (Red) w/2.4GHz Radio AXI90081T1
RC4WD Raceline Monster 1.0" Beadlock Wheels (Black) RC4ZW0252
RC4WD Mud Slinger 1.0" Micro Crawler Tires RC4ZT0199
Yeah Racing SCX24 Brass Wheel Hex Hub (13.5g) YEA-AXSC-029
Yeah Racing SCX24 Internal Spring Shocks (Red) YEA-AXSC-063RD
SSD RC 1/24 Scale Locking Hubs (Red) SSD00437