Unique R/C Car Mods

Sometimes, you just need to get creative with your R/C car upgrades to allow for personal style and unique appearance to shine through. With winter weather showing up a few times this year, I'm making a list of upgrades and mods to work on when I can't get outside and bash. With that list came some research into a few unique and "outside the box" ideas.

Wheels - While wheels themselves aren't that unique, there are plenty of ways to mod and customize a stock set to make them match your vehicles look and your personality. From strict performance to ultra-realism, you'll be hard-pressed to not find a set of rims that will fit what you're looking for. Here are a few options that I've found to be interesting:

Spinners - I know, these are overplayed, overdone, and I think their 15 minutes of fame is long gone. That said, if you're in the mood for cheap thrills and low-budget entertainment, these are the wheels for you

LED Wheels - If you're going for a cool mod to grab some attention, these might do the trick. For pure entertainment and "wow factor only, these are cool add-ons if you do any night-time driving.

Steelies - Unfortunately, I found out about Legacy Mods Vintage Style Steelie Wheels (and the kickstarter project to get them produced) a bit too late and they haven't (yet) made it to production. That said, my love for realistic details and exterior styling (along with a lifelong passion for classic muscle cars) makes me yearn for these (and wish I had an on-road R/C car). And, after seeing the new Vaterra lineup, these specific wheels would look amazing on the '69 Camaro. If you're not into the retro look, you'll be able to find a wide array of other realistic wheels for your ride.

Lights - Aside from putting lights in your wheels, you can add lights to just about any area of your R/C vehicle for added visibility or added visual impact. Want to light up the ground underneath your ride? Mount some lights under the chassis and go "Fast & Furious". I've seen some amazing crawlers decked out with front bumper and rollbar lights that are not only realistic but very effective in showing the way when driving in the dark.

Cameras - I love capturing the action of my bashing action and, as I've said before, one of the best ways to do that is to mount a camera to your R/C vehicle. There are many techniques and tricks to do that, but the main thing you want to keep in mind is minimizing camara jitter from the body flexing.

Realistic additions (plows, tire chains) - While you see scale realism in many areas of the R/C hobby, nothing seems to match the amount you see within the Crawler community. Everything you could imagine from plows, to tow ropes, to scale-sized trailers and campers have made their way into somebody's R/C garage.

These ideas are just the tip of the iceberg. What's the craziest mod you've dreamt up or have seen up close?

Photo credit: Andy Bailey - LegacyMods.com