What are the best R/C Drag Car upgrades & accessories?

Drag Car Performance Upgrades

Ok, we’ve got our bone stock DR10 chassis ready for some drag car upgrades, and the first set we will talk about are performance upgrades to enhance the chassis. A great way to keep your car driving flat and straight is with the use of a sway bar, and a company called DragRace Concepts has just what we need.

Not only are these sway bars systems made from aluminum material, but they include an updated carbon fiber rear shock tower that reworks the shock geometry to a more vertical, up and down position to improve weight transfer during launches. So even if you have the DR10 kit that includes a sway bar, the DragRace Concepts Anti Roll Bar "ARB" System is a nice upgrade, and it’s available in a few different anodized colors. We added the blue sway bar.

The next performance item is perhaps one of the most iconic items on a drag car, and it’s the wheelie bar. Depending on your vehicle platform, you’ll find the Exotek wheelie bar, the STRC aluminum wheelie bars in multiple colors, the Pro-Line Stinger wheelie bar, and the last option we used, the DragRace Concepts 10” Slider wheelie bar. 

Exotek Wheelie Bar

STRC Wheelie Bar

Pro-Line Stinger Wheelie Bar

DragRace Concepts Wheelie Bar

Installing the DragRace wheelie bar.

This bar is a good choice for Traxxas builds and the DR10. Once you add the optional DR10 aluminum mount, and since it’s made from carbon fiber and aluminum material, it’s going to remain stiff and rigid while you launch. On the DR10, we can increase the stiffness by adding the aluminum motor guard from DragRace Concepts, which creates a solid foundation for securing the wheelie bar. And, once it’s all mounted, there is no flex.

Another great way to drop weight, specifically rotational drivetrain weight, is with the Exotek DR10 Spur Gear Eliminator. This one-piece aluminum mount replaces the entire slipper assembly with a unit that weighs only 3.5 grams. It does require a Kimbrough spur gear, but it uses the stock top shaft and slides right on. Using an eliminator vs. a slipper is a matter of personal taste and driving style. We ended up adding the aluminum slipper eliminator to our DR10.

 

Still, the Revolution Designs VTS Slipper Kits are an excellent option for high consistency for those of you tuning your slipper. But slipper or no slipper, the Robinson Racing Hardened Steel Idler Gear may interest you if you’ve ever stripped out your plastic idler gear. But slipper or no slipper, the Robinson Racing Hardened Steel Idler Gear may interest you if you’ve ever stripped out your plastic idler gear.

Maybe removing weight isn’t your goal. Here is an option to add a little weight back while enhancing your steering, and that’s with the Exotek aluminum steering parts for the DR10. If dropping weight isn’t your goal, you can add a little back while tightening up your steering with the Exotek heavy-duty aluminum Steering Rack. Then, pair that with the Exotek heavy-duty aluminum steering bellcranks for tight steering and durability against crashes.

 

Drag Power Systems

Steering Servo

With the steering servo, there are tons of options available. But we want something tough, relatively quick, with metal gears and able to take a crash, so we added the all aluminum Protek 160T. Plus, it includes aluminum grommets and a horn which we can use.

Motors & ESC

There are a few options for power with the Fantom V2 Drag Racing Motors, the Motiv LAUNCH Motors, the Motiv Launch PRO Motors, the Tekin GEN4 Eliminator Motors, and lastly, the Trinity Drag Master Holeshot Motors. These motors can wind down to 2.5Turns, except Trinity, who offers a 2T Drag Racing motor.

Maclan offers their DRK160 Drag Race Specific ESC for ESC power, with a 3.5T motor limit and their own proprietary 3-stage launch power control software.

Fantom V2 Drag Racing Motor

Motiv Launch Pro Motor

Tekin Gen4 Eliminator Motor

DragRace Concepts Wheelie Bar

The route we picked was choosing the Tekin RS Pro ESC and Gen4 Eliminator Drag Motor Combo in 4.5T. In addition, we picked up the optional DragRace Concepts ESC mount in carbon fiber to centralize our ESC weight over the battery.

 

Battery Choice

Under that ESC is the 115C, 5500mAh ProTek RC LiPo, connected with 5mm bullets. If using a connector is preferred, a high current XT90 or EC5 would be ideal.

Best Drag Race Tires

We need a tire upgrade to get the power to the ground, and we have a few options. From DE Racing, the Street Outlaw tire and the Mini Street Outlaw tire are excellent choices, with three rubber compounds to choose from, but they do require the DE Racing Gambler Rear Wheels.

JConcepts offers their Hotties Street Eliminator tires for drag car use, with two versions available; one belted and one not belted. Both versions mount to your standard SCT size wheel, but that didn’t stop JConcepts from offering these Startec Drag Racing wheels, which fit great on Traxxas drag builds, as well as the DR10.

Another popular tire option is the Pro-Line Hoosier drag tires, offered in a belted and non belted version. These tires are great options, offered in multiple rubber compounds.

We can’t forget about the Raw Speed Slick Short Course Tires. These tires aren’t explicitly targeted at drag racers, but they’re being used for it more and more, and they’re another great option.

For our DR10 Drag Car we chose the DE Racing Street Outlaw rear tires and the DE Racing Accelerator front tires mounted on the Gambler wheels, also from DE Racing.

 

Best Drag Race Wheels

How about wheels? We have already mentioned a few different drag wheel styles, like the DE Racing Gambler. JConcepts offers two wheel types; their Startec Street Eliminator wheels and their Tactic Street Eliminator wheels. For Pro-Line, you’ll find the Pomona Drag Spec wheels options for your front and rear tires. With wheel styles, simply pick what you think looks the best because they all function the same, kind of like our next upgrade item, the bodies.

DE Racing Gambler

JConcepts Startec Street Eliminator

JConcepts Tactic Street Eliminator

Pro-Line Pomona Drag Spec

Super Cool Drag Race Bodies

Now there are a lot of bodies to choose from, and they all have roughly the same size, made specifically for these SC based drag cars, but the body years and styling varies greatly. You could go with the Pro-Line 1978 Chevrolet Malibu, the 1972 Plymouth Barracuda, the 1987 Buick Grand National, or how about something different this JConcepts 1966 Chevy C10 Step-Side, or the 2002 Chevy S10 Drag truck.

Pro-Line 1978 Chevrolet Malibu

Pro-Line 1972 Plymouth Barracuda

JConcepts 1987 Buick Grand National

JConcepts 1966 Chevy C10 Step-Side

We ended up going with the '78 Malibu and painted it with Spaz Stix Candy Orange.

 

If you want to make the body look more realistic, these screw-down body posts from DragRace Concepts allow you to use an M3 screw to hold down the body for a cleaner look. We decided to add these to the front of our car, and they look 100 times better.

DragRace Concepts also offers their full Universal Side Body Mount Kit, which uses rods in the chassis and hanger mounts on the body. When you plop the body on the chassis, the hangers cradle the rods, securing down the body.

If you need even more scale realism, then maybe look at the Pro-Line scoops and blowers variety pack, which can be painted and customized to perfectly match your car.

Watch Brett's Review

The Best R/C Drag Car Upgrades & Accessories

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Featured Items

DragRace Concepts Team Associated DR10 Anti Roll Bar "ARB" System (Blue) DRC-409-0002

Exotek DR10 Adjustable Wheelie Bar Set EXO1962

ST Racing Concepts DR10 Aluminum Wheelie Bar Kit (Orange) SPTSTC71071O

DragRace Concepts 10" Slider Wheelie Bar w/Plastic Wheels (Blue) DRC-390-0002

DragRace Concepts DR10 Slider Wheelie Bar Mount (Blue) DRC-400-0002

DragRace Concepts DR10 Aluminum Motor Guard (Black) DRC-410.5

Exotek DR10 Titanium Lightweight CVA Axles (2) (Drag Racing Only) EXO1944

Lunsford Associated RC10B6/B6D Titanium Front Axles (2) LNS7055

DragRace Concepts DR10 Carbon Fiber Motor Plate DRC-412

Exotek DR10/DB10/SC10 Eliminator Pro Spur Mount (Kimbrough/Exotek Spurs) EXO1942

Robinson Racing B5/B5M/DR10 Hardened Steel Idler Gear RRP2331

Exotek DR10 Aluminum HD Steering Rack (Blue) EXO1943

Exotek DR10 Aluminum HD Steering Crank Set (Blue) EXO1972

Fantom ICON V2 Drag Racing Modified Brushless Motor (2.5T) FAN19232

Motiv LAUNCH PRO Drag Racing Modified Brushless Motor (2.5T) MOV20925P

Motiv LAUNCH PRO Drag Racing Modified Brushless Motor (2.5T) MOV20925P

Tekin Gen4 Eliminator Drag Racing Modified Brushless Motor (2.5T) TEKTT2773

Trinity Drag Master Holeshot Drag Racing Modified Brushless Motor (2.0T) TRIDM20

Maclan DRK160 Drag Race King ESC MCL2009

DragRace Concepts Team Associated DR10 ESC Mount (Blue) DRC-411-0002

DE Racing Street Outlaw Rear Tires (2) (Clay) DER-OSR3-C1

DE Racing Mini Street Outlaw Drag Slick 1.7/2.2 Rear Tires (2) (Clay) DER-RLS-C1

JConcepts Hotties Street Eliminator SCT Drag Racing Rear Tires (2) (Gold) JCO3194-05

JConcepts Hotties Belted Street Eliminator SCT Drag Racing Rear Tires (2) (Blue) JCO3194-01B

Pro-Line Hoosier Drag Slick 2.2/3.0 SCT Rear Tires (2) (S3) PRO10157-203

Pro-Line Reaction HP Belted Drag Slick 2.2/3.0 SCT Rear Tires (2) (S3) PRO10170-203

Raw Speed RC Slick Short Course No Prep Drag Racing Tires (2) (Super Soft) RWS100501SSB

Pro-Line 1978 Chevrolet Malibu No Prep Drag Racing Body (Clear) PRO3549-00

Exclusive RC Non Functional Drag Racing Parachute (Black) EXC-ERC-8-DC-1035

Pro-Line Hood Scoops & Blowers No Prep Drag Racing Variety Pack (Clear) PRO6368-00