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what
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yeah all the threads about the 4x4s kinda just faded away

It's because there aren't many people who own these, compared to Bit Char-G's or ZipZaps. Perhaps the small group of 4x4 owners can get the rest of the board interested in these with some good mods. I think these have a lot of unique advantages compared to Bits; the 4x4 drive works surprisingly well, there is really a lot of room for LED's or extra cells, and there are already bodies and other parts available for much less $ than Bit bodies. The 4x4 is a perfect match for a Bit owner; now I own a finely tuned Bit for when I feel the need for speed, and a soon-to-be-modded 4x4 for offroad conditions (like carpet). I actually find myself using the 4x4 more often.

I'll post some pics of a few mods soon.

what are you going to do to mod it for off road use I mainly drive mine on carpet and it works fine it goes really nice with a duel cell

Like I said, I wanted to do a charger mod first before I ran out of batteries, heh. See the "Versatile Charger" link in my sig.. it gives props to the Micro 4x4 sub-community we've got going here :)

Micro 4x4 Tire Mod Review
 

I'm really falling in love with these little 4x4's. One complaint though is that the tires have low traction, and that the truck flips over easily. This mod improves (but doesn't solve) both problems. I tried out three other tires that are roughly the same size as the stock tires. In the picture below, you can see the stock tire on the left, a Stampeders Type-A tire, a Stampeders Type-B tire, and a Hot Wheels Monster Jam Type-A tire.

I'll review each one individually:

Stock tire

Composition: somewhat "rubbery" soft plastic
Flexibility: soft and flexible
Weight: Very light
Tile Traction: Medium-Low
Carpet Traction: Medium
Installation: Easiest (stock)
Source: stock

Summary: Decent, but leaves you wanting more. Slips when climbing on smooth surfaces. Tread pattern does help some on carpet. Tires are nicely formed and rounded.


Stampeder-A tire

Composition: medium-weight rubber
Flexibility: Somewhat flexible, thickness prevents much flex
Weight: Medium
Tile Traction: Medium
Carpet Traction: Medium-High
Installation: Easy
Source: Stampeder pull-back trucks w/ suspension springs and side exhaust

Summary: Better traction, weighs more. Extra traction may decrease maneuverability on high carpet. Nice fit on stock wheels. Tires are nicely formed and rounded.

Stampeder-B tire

Composition: medium-weight rubber
Flexibility: Flexible, almost as much as stock
Weight: Light
Tile Traction: Medium
Carpet Traction: Medium
Installation: Moderate
Source: Monster Machines pull-back trucks, which are very similar in design to Stampeders trucks and have Stampeder-branded wheels. Come with some kind of collector's card.

Summary: Wider tire improves traction slightly over stock but makes installation more complicated. Will not fit on stock wheel, hangs over on one side -- use round spacer such as expended lithium coin-cell battery. Tires are not symmetrical and wobble due to poor construction. No real reason to use over stock tires.

Hot Wheels Monster Jam-A tire

Composition: Heavy rubberized plastic
Flexibility: Very stiff
Weight: Medium
Tile Traction: Low
Carpet Traction: Medium-Low
Installation: Difficult
Source: Hot Wheels Monster Jam die-cast metal trucks

Summary: The most difficult installation of all. Very difficult to remove from hubs, require bending/breaking hubs and probably pliers. Outside tire width is greater than stock, but inside diameter is narrower and can be made to fit with some effort. Recommend tires be sliced in interior diameter to allow enough flexibility to fit stock wheel -- very stiff. Very plastic-like surface is disadvantage on tile, offset somewhat by larger wheel size on carpet. Somewhat heavier tire reduces flipping. Tires are nicely formed and rounded.

Hot Wheels Monster Jam-B tire
?? Have not tried yet, not pictured

Summary: Saw different-looking tire on Hot Wheels Monster Jam "Build Your Own Monster Truck" set, includes chassis and two die-cast cars to attach to it. Unknown if these are different than type-A, but slugbugg commented in another thread that he used HWMJ tires: "they are slightly smaller than the stampeder tires and I think they weigh less." This may be referring to this HWMJ type-B tire since the HWMJ type-A is significantly larger than the Stampeder tire.

I decided to go with the Stampeders-A tire. It was fairly easy to remove it from the Stampeder plastic wheel hub. I have taken 8 tires off and only broke one hub (not that it matters, since the bodies will soon be scavenged.) The tires have one side that is narrower than the rest of the tire. You must remove this before installing the tire. I used a utility knife to cut around the inside of the tire. It is very easy to see where you need to cut.

Putting the tire on the 4x4 wheel hub was a little snug, so I made 4 small cuts around the inside diameter of the tire to allow it to flex some. I did this for both sides, though the most important side is the one through which you will insert the wheel hub, not the one facing out. The slits are not very noticeable when the tires are installed unless you are specifically looking for them. In the picture, you cannot see the two slits on the left and right sides of the tire; they are being pinched closed while the top and bottom ones are being stretched open.

The tires do weigh more and cut down on flipping some, though I really want to do a rollbar mod soon. Traction is improved some; the tire material itself has more traction, and the extra weight also improves traction. There's still a long way to go before something like the Bit Char-G's super-soft rubber though. Some who tried this mod before said they noticed decreased maneuverability on carpet; as in the truck will not spin in place anymore. I have fairly short, dense carpet and did not notice much of a difference (it will still spin in place), but those with longer carpet have more trouble. I was happy with the results overall.

thanks man
now can you do a tortolio (Sp) on how you fitted them on the rim and how to get the old ones off

which cars came in the pack you got
I want to buy some stampeders (I can only find packs of 3) but i dont know which will work

i used the the same ones you chose. i like them much better than the stock tires. thnx for the great info you saved me a lot of extra time and money trying out those other tires. i'm still looking for the perfect tires.:p

Nick, check back to the review and look for the picture called "more wheels". Notice the silver-colored wheel hubs; they have four raised ridges on them. To remove the stock wheels, just pull on one spot until it starts to go over a ridge, then rotate the tire a little and keep pulling until it clears the ridge. Repeat for each ridge until the tire is off. It takes a little effort, but the tires are pretty sturdy. Keep trying it.

To put the new wheels on (after preparing them according to the guidelines above), do the removal process in reverse. Work the tire over each hub ridge until it is in the proper position. It may take a little more effort to put the new ones on. Try to hold both sides of the wheel hub so you don't put too much pressure on the plastic hole in the body. It may help to remove the wheels from the body completely so you don't have to worry about that.

The Stampeders I got were in a 6-pack. The bodies are a blue Dodge Dakota, a maroon Jeep Grand Cherokee, a silver Chevy Trailblazer, a red Chrysler PT Cruiser, a yellow Ford Equator, and a silver Jeep something. When selecting Stampeders, check the tire pattern and make sure it matches the Stampeder-A tire above.

Those small disk capacitors aren't there for power or start ups. they are filter caps that filter out any interference from the motors while they are running. It keeps the motor noise from affecting the radio signals from the controller. Don't mess with em.

Thanks for the info Azimov.. I didn't know caps could be used for that. Would it be a problem to add other caps inline with the motor for power starts, or would that even help any in your opinion?