Are Upgraded Redcat Parts Worth It? Myths vs Reality

Quick Answer

Upgraded Redcat parts are worth it only when they address a specific failure or handling problem you can point to. A hop-up that replaces a healthy stock part adds cost without fixing anything. Use the failure, not the label, to decide.

Why 'Upgrade' Is a Marketing Word, Not a Guarantee

Any part sold under Hop Ups and Spare Parts is a candidate for your truck, but the category label does not promise a performance gain. A replacement shock tower restores the suspension geometry the truck was designed around. That is maintenance, not tuning. The same logic applies across the catalog: a part earns the word upgrade only when it changes a behavior you were unhappy with.

Match the Part to the Problem You Actually Have

Before buying anything, name the symptom. If the truck pulls or wanders, the fix is usually in the steering or suspension linkage, not a motor or battery. If a tower is cracked, a stock replacement is the correct call because the geometry is already proven. If you keep breaking the same corner in the same way, a stronger part in that location is a real upgrade because it targets a repeat failure. If nothing is broken and the truck drives fine, save the money.

Material and Fit: Where the Real Difference Lives

The honest comparison is not stock versus upgrade. It is the specific part you have versus the specific part you would install. An aluminum steering knuckle set changes the material at the steering pivot, which matters if you have been replacing plastic knuckles repeatedly. A pair of rear shock towers for the GEN8 platform is a fit-and-function part: it holds the shocks in the right place and is sold as a pair so both sides match. Neither one is automatically faster. Both are more useful when they replace a part that is failing.

How to Test Whether a Change Was Worth It

Change one thing at a time and run the same surface, same tires, same battery. If the symptom you named is gone or clearly reduced, the part earned its place. If nothing changed, you bought insurance, not performance, and that is fine as long as you know which one you bought. Keep the old part. A healthy stock part is a spare, and it tells you whether the upgrade was the fix or coincidence.

Hop-Up Claims, Checked

• Aluminum always beats plastic: Aluminum is a different material, not an automatic gain. RER37071 is an aluminum steering knuckle set for the MT18, and it makes sense when plastic knuckles keep failing. It does not make sense if your stock knuckles are intact. Verdict: true only when the stock part is the thing breaking.
• A shock tower upgrade improves handling: Part 08012 is a direct replacement tower for VOLCANO EPX, EPX PRO, and legacy S30 models. It restores the shock mounting position the truck was built around. It does not change suspension geometry. Verdict: myth. It is a repair part, and a good one.
• Buying in pairs is always better value: RER11321 rear shock towers come as a pair for GEN8 SCOUT II and WENDIGO, with references to Gen8 V2, MARKSMAN, and WENDIGO KIT. A pair keeps both sides matched. Part 08012 is a single piece for one position, which is correct when only one tower is damaged. Verdict: buy the quantity the job needs, not the quantity the listing suggests.

Parts That Show the Difference

• RER37071: Redcat Racing RER37071 is a Steering Knuckle Set made from aluminum and finished in red, listed as a hop-up and spare part for the MT18 and supplied as one pair. If you have been replacing plastic steering knuckles on an MT18, the aluminum pair is a targeted fix for that repeat failure rather than a blind upgrade.
• 08012: Redcat Racing part 08012 is a front or rear shock tower for select Redcat vehicles, compatible with VOLCANO EPX and EPX PRO models and legacy VOLCANO S30 models, sold as a single piece for either position. This is a geometry-restoring replacement. Buy it when a tower is damaged, not as a handling upgrade, because it keeps the stock shock mounting position.