Big Squid Builds A Satin Black Traxxas Unlimited Desert Racer
When we first saw the Satin Black Chrome Upgrades for the Traxxas Unlimited Desert Racer, we were blown away with how cool they looked. Since then we’ve been able to lay our diff-grease stained hands on a full set of satin black parts for our in-house UDR to check out how easy they are to install, plus how it changes the look of the truck afterwards. Read on to learn more about some cool parts that give the mighty UDR a much different look.
From: Traxxas
Direct Link: UDR Satin Black Chassis Parts
Quick Specs-
Side Section – $52
Center Section, Front – $25
Center Section, Rear – $25
Center Support – $22
Upper Arms – $16
Lower Right Arm – $16
Lower Left Arm – $16
Upper Arm Mounts – $22
Front Bumper – $14
Rear Bumper – $28
FR Skid-plate – $16
Rear Shock Mounts – $14
Silver Inner Panels – $50
Red Inner Panels – $50
Blue Inner Panels – $50
Red Aluminum Rear Upper Suspension Link – $40
Front Red Aluminum GTR Shock Bodies – $42
Rear Red Aluminum GTR Shock Bodies – $44
The Install
If you choose to replace all the possible parts with the upgrade satin black units, there is a lot of wrenching involved. We didn’t count all the screws, but we took a couple of hours to remove all the stock parts, then another whole evening bolting on the new goodies. A cordless drill is your friend here to save a bunch of time, and by using one, makes the job really quite easy.
As all the parts are genuine from Traxxas, they fit just like the OEM units. We did not have one issue, even a small one, during the build. Everything went together just like factory, with absolutely zero issues.
While we were adding all the uber satin black parts, we also popped on some red Traxxas GTR shock bodies, along with a red anodized rear upper link set. These upgrades were also mostly cosmetic, but certainly helped add more of a trick look to our truck.
How It Looks
Looks are in the eyes of the beholder, right? While some people aren’t into the whole scale scene, we certainly are, and the satin black UDR looks awesome! After we installed all the satin black parts, we left the body off entirely for pictures, then continued to leave the body off because of all the attention the truck was getting. While most of the people at our local bash spot had seen many UDRs, none of them had seen one raw with the satin black cage, and they were quite impressed. Heck, even non-rc people had to stop and stare!
As you can see by the pictures, driving the UDR naked with just the satin cage has a really unique look. Better still, once you start driving, the scale realistic driving characteristics of the UDR kick in, which gave us a very satisfying overall driving experience.
The Outcome
OK, there is a lot of wrench spinning involved when taking off the stock UDR cage and installing an entirely new one. However, a good cordless drill can make short work of all the wrenching, then afterwards you are left with one absolutely incredible looking scale off-road machine. If you are an Unlimited Desert Racer owner, you should seriously consider popping on the trick satin black chassis parts. All the parts fit with perfection, and when you are done, just wow!
