Tutorials & Articles

Here is our collection of tutorials and articles organized by category. If there is something we don't have that you would like to see let us know.

AtomicMods Team Tips


This is where we archive the knowledge that has been passed down to us through the ages by the world champion racers of Team AtomicMods via the weekly Team Tips email.

General RC


Article - Micro RC Drifting with AtomicMods
"Drifting - A driving technique and a motor sport involving the use of the technique. A car is said to be drifting when the rear slip angle is greater than the front slip angle, and the front wheels are pointing in the opposite direction in relationship to the turn (e.g. car is turning left, wheels are pointed right), and the driver is controlling these factors." - Wikipedia
Article - Motor Rebuilding
Electrical motors get worn out over time. If you don't service them, the performance drops severely, which eventually leads to motor failure.

This tutorial teaches you how to properly rebuild an electric motor.

Article - Drive Like a Pro
Wonder how the pros drive so well, this article covers everything from basic driving to complex cornering and even drifting.
Article - Get a KO and Rule the World
Most all the serious racers we know use the KO radio system. In this article, rob explains why its so popular and discusses some of the advanced features of this awesome system.
Tutorial - Calculating Run Time
This tutorial covers using the MicroPower V2 USB E-Logger to divine your cars actual on the track current draw and then steps you through the math for accurately calculating run time.
Tutorial - Measuring Voltage
A quick tutorial on checking voltage with your MultiMeter.
Tutorial - Measuring Current
OK, so you just built the car of your dreams with all the latest upgrades, but how do you know if it's operating at peak performance? You do it by load testing. We do this on each and every car we work on, before and after, and you should too.
Tutorial - Mini Meter Pro Conversion
This tutorial shows you how to modify your meter with Micro Plugs and a series harness for checking current.
Tutorial - Sealing a Carbon Fiber Chassis
This is a very important step and will save you some tears down the road.
Tutorial - FlatRack AAA Battery Charging Tray
This tutorial shows you step by how to solder up the FlatRack in a 2S2P configuration. In case you haven't read the Q&A section on this, 2S2P means 2 cells in series and two in parallel.

XMOD Generation 1


This is where you find out how to install upgrades and modifications for the XMOD Generation 1 as well as other tips and tricks.

Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Power Switch Bypass
We have started bypassing power switches on select EPs and now you can too.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Ion Pro 2S Installation
This installation guide will take you though the process of installing the Lithium Pro Kit into your XMOD.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - SwitchBlade Installation
This tutorial will walk you through, step by step, exactly how to properly assemble your new Switchblade Chassis. It will work with both our new blue chassis and the old purple switchblade.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Steering Knuckle Trimming
This quick and easy modification improves the steering and reduces power robbing friction by eliminating the rubbing common between the wheels and the steering knuckles.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Pinion Gear Installation
This tutorial will show you how to install a pinion gear onto any 130 sized motor.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Range Repair Kit
This is an easy to follow step by step with lots of photos to guide you through the process of installing the XMOD Range Repair Kit
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Tight Turns Steering Mod
This modification drives the servo lock to lock greatly improving the turning ratio. The Installation instructions guide you through the process of changing out the two servo driver resistors.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - V2 Board Installation
This installation guide will take you though the process of installing the V2 board. Its is really quite simple.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Stacked FET Installation
This tutorial that walks you through the installation process stacking a 4X4 set of 4562 FETs onto your Electronics Package.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - Antenna Isolation
If you are using a conductive material for your rear upper deck like Aluminum, or Carbon Fiber or a SwitchBlade Chassis you must isolate your antenna. This is how you do it.
Tutorial - XMOD Generation 1 - 6 Cell Upgrade
This tutorial shows you how to take your stock 4 AAA XMOD and turn it into a 6 cell AAA screamer on the cheap.

XMOD Evo


Here we have the tutorials for upgrades and modifications for the XMOD Evolution Cars and Trucks as well as other tips and tricks.

Tutorial - Atomic Evolution Motor Brush Flip
In order for your Atomic Evolution (Stock R or Chili) Motor to run properly in your XMOD, you need to reverse the motor's timing, i.e. flip the brushes. This super-quick procedure is outlined in this tutorial.
Article - The Evolution of the XMOD Crawler
Jarred Meyer, a loyal customer of AtomicMods.com, recently transformed his XMOD Evo Truck to a Rock Crawler. He documented every step of the way for us and even produced a most impressive video. Read on for his write-up and be sure to watch the video.
Tutorial - Project X-Z
What would happen if you could upgrade the electronics and run a high grade remote such as the KO Propo Helios? Would the performance of your XMOD increase? Would it be faster, more controllable? Would it keep up around a track with say, a Mini-Z?
Tutorial - V2 Installation
One of the single biggest inquiries we get at AtomicMods is how to install a V2 board on an XMOD EVO. The V2 is a great upgrade for XMODs, especially if you want to run hotter modified motors like the Atomic Evolution Series Chili.
Tutorial - V2 Installation Pro Ready
The following tutorial will show you how to install a V2 board on the EVO series of XMODs. Follow this tutorial if you are running more voltage than the stock batteries, i.e. LITHIUM.
Tutorial - Super Scoop Blower Installation
Add some serious attitude to your car with this scale blower. This of course will work on any 1:28 to 1:25 scale car, but seemed most at home in this section.
Tutorial - XMOD Evo Car Stiletto Installation
This Tutorial covers the XMOD Evo Car Stiletto Chassis installation in great detail.
Tutorial - XMOD EVO - Lithium Polymer Pro Installation
This is a very simple process with only a small amount basic of soldering to do.

Mini-Z


In this section you will find the tutorials for the Mini-Z line of cars and trucks.

Article - Adjusting Your Mini-Z AD Board
The only problem with the AD setting kit is the fact that the instruction manual and the software interface are in Japanese. Even the English translation manual is not very clear as to what each setting does.

We at AtomicMods.com thought that this needed to change. So after countless hours of research and experimenting, we were finally able to crack the code on the "Engrish" translation that KO Propo provides.

Article - Building A Better AWD
In an effort to give new life to your AWD, we've written a short tuning guide to help you get the most out of your Mini-Z MA010. Go ahead and dust off your AWD, the results you see on the track will definitely surprise you.
Article - Race Tuning Your MR-02
After many years racing against some of the best drivers in the world, I have picked up a few tricks to give me that little extra edge on the track. I wanted to share a few of these tricks with you this month, that way you can squeeze last bit of performance out of your MR02 as well. Even though there are tons of things to do to this particular car, I will focus on suspension tweaks this time around.
Tutorial - Mini-Z F-1 Disk Damper Body Trimming
One of the best upgrades you can do to your Mini-Z Formula 1 car is installing the Atomic Damper Plate System on it. Unfortunately, the damper hits on the inside of the majority of the bodies out there. The damper hitting the inside of the body causes the suspension to bind up, which in turn, leads to erratic behavior. The fix for this is very simple though.
Tutorial - Mini-Z F-1 Antenna Relocation
Occasionally the F-1 will experience glitches when racing indoors. This is most commonly caused by interference from an RFID lap counting system such as the Core. While you cannot always eliminate the problem completely, moving the antenna away from the metallic center bar will help considerably in most cases.
Tutorial - Building the Ultimate Differential
This tutorial will show you how we build our personal Team AtomicMods Team Car MR-02 ball differentials. The differential is probably the single most important element besides tires to get your car tuned to grip and accelerate quickly on the track.
Tutorial - Mini-Z F-1 Giro-Z Stealth Transponder Installation
Tired of looking like a lamer with a transponder duct taped to your F-1's hood. Well you are in luck, because this stealthy tutorial with help you expunge the lameness from your F-1, so you can hold your head up high.
Tutorial - Mini-Z FET Stacking
This clear concise tutorial walks you through the process of doing a 2x3 FET stack on your Mini-Z board.
Tutorial - Adjusting The Mini-Z Radio
The long kept secret location of the magical knobs is finally revealed in this daring tutorial.
Tutorial - Enjoy RC Mini-Z Rim Light Installation
Learn how to install this ultra sweet upgrade and watch the jaws drop as you cruise around the track.
Tutorial - Mini-Z AWD AAA Lithium Mod
The AWD is a perfect candidate for the AAA Lithium Ion batteries and here is the installation tutorial in detail.
Tutorial - Mini-Z Car Ion Pro 2S Pack Installation
This tutorial takes you through the process of converting your Mini-Z into a Lithium powered Mini-Missile. This works on all Mini-Z MR-015 and MR-02 chassis.

Associated RC-18


The RC18 series are solid, capable performers right out of the box, but there is always room for improvement. In this section we cover information relating to this very popular platform.

Article - Setting Up The Team Associated RC18R
Team Associated's RC18 series of vehicles is perhaps one of the most, if not the most, versatile Radio Controlled Car Platform out there. It started life as a Stadium truck, then underwent a couple of minor changes so it could be run as a buggy and later on a Monster Truck. The latest addition to the line up is the RC18R.
Article - Building a Race Worthy RC18T
We decided to dust off rob's old 18T and add some trick new parts to it. Here we step through the process and cover the parts we chose.

Duratrax Vendetta


Article - First Impressions of the Duratrax Vendetta
Recently AtomicMods added the Duratrax Vendetta to our already huge product catalog. After seeing it, Cristian had to have one; and here he tells us about his first experience with it.

Radline


Article - First Impressions of the Radline RC Master Series
The Radline includes 3 different body styles: a Buggy, A Stadium Truck and a Monster Truck. Though they all share the same chassis, variation in the body style and wheels makes them look entirely different from each other.

Team Losi Micro


Article - Going Brushless with the Losi Micro
Losi's Micro-T series of vehicles are the by far the hottest cars on the market right now. To make a great product even greater, Team Losi just released the Xcelorin series of brushless systems.

Team Losi Mini-LST


Now that you have the ultimate Mini Monster truck, what next?

Article - Hopping Up Your Mini-LST
This article will take you through the process of building a pair of Mini-LSTs with all the tricks.

TGR Sinister


Here you will find articles and tutorials about the TGR Sinister.

Article - Suspension Tuning Guide
We developed a short "suspension tuning guide" for the Sinister. This tuning guide offers a brief explanation of each adjustment, how it can be adjusted, as well as a good starting point based on our team cars.