Since its release, the Traxxas Maxx has been a dominate figure in the 1/10th 4wd monster truck bash wars. Box stock, the Maxx is incredibly durable and drives much like its 1:1 monster truck counterparts. With huge driveline parts and a powerful VXL brushless power system, the Traxxas Maxx is one of the best backyard bashers on the market today.
For you Maxx owners looking for an increase in handling performance, Traxxas has released one of their WideMaxx Suspension Kit for the beast. The WideMaxx increases the width of the Maxx, plus it gives the truck more suspension travel. Does the WideMaxx kit make the Maxx a better truck? Can the kit take a daily beating? Read on for our review of the Traxxas WideMaxx kit for the Maxx monster truck…
From: Traxxas
Direct Link: WideMaxx Suspension Kit for the Maxx Monster Truck
Review By: Cubby
Pictures By: Cubby
Specifications:
Extends the track width by 20 mm per side
Extreme-duty, cold-weather arms
Available in 6 different colors
Includes heavier rear springs
Includes set of wider toe links
Part Number- #8995X
Price- $59
What’s In The Box: Everything that you need to make the change-over. The kit comes with new rear springs, longer plastic toe-arms, and extreme duty arms that are 20mm wider than the stock units. Also, there is a small set of instructions on changes to the shock oil.
Build Quality: I could find no fault with the build quality of the WideMaxx kit. All the parts are absolutely Traxxas OEM quality for fit and finish.
Testers: Ya know, this Covid-19 thing doesn’t make it easy for us, so it was just yours truly working this review.
Set-up Notes: We grabbed the kit, grabbed our review Maxx, and started spinning wrenches. The only real set-up note that I can say here is that we also used the upgrade #8997X aluminum WideMaxx toe-links. These are ridiculously trick and have held up perfectly.
Ease of Use: As the WideMaxx kit is a genuine Traxxas product, the fit and finish when installing the kit could not have been better. Not only did the new upgrade parts fit perfectly, but because of the general design of the Maxx monster truck, it was super easy to change out all the arms. The Maxx is generally super easy to wrench on, and installing the WideMaxx kit required very little de-assembly. We (I mean I, LOL) knocked out the entire change-over process in less than an hour, and that includes making the recommended shock oil change.
Driving Notes: Stock, the Maxx drives a bit like a 1:1 monster truck. When you watch full sized monster trucks race on TV, you can tell they are tippy in corners, and that is much the way the Maxx drives when bone stock. The stock Maxx requires a bit of tip-toeing in higher grip corners to keep it on all four wheels. After the Traxxas WideMaxx kit was installed, I was able to carry more speed in corners, plus I was able to pin the truck WFO at apex much more easily. The extra width seemed about right, meaning that after the kit was installed, the truck rarely rolled. On pavement, it was very hard to get the Maxx to traction roll. On surfaces better suited to the stock tires (like grass), our WideMaxx Maxx would traction roll once in a while, but it seemed like I really had to push the truck ultra-hard to do so.
What about durability? Well, Traxxas isn’t messing around with their extreme duty arms. I (can’t blame Iron Mikeee on those wrecks, LOL) hit numerous hard objects at speed, and the WideMaxx kit still lives. Durability was top notch during our testing period.
Also, those wider arms give the Maxx more overall suspension travel. We (I mean once again, a Covid-19 “me”) could definitely hit rough sections at higher speeds thanks to the additional wheel travel (and revised springs/oil combo).
Overall, the WideMaxx kit takes away a bit of the scale driving experience of a box stock Maxx, but gives the truck higher corners speeds, with much less chance of traction rolling.
Final Verdict: In my opinion, the WideMaxx suspension kit is the #1 upgrade for the Traxxas Maxx monster truck. The WideMaxx kit instantly increases the cornering prowess of the Maxx, while also giving it a tough basher look. The included parts are top notch and installing them takes less than an hour. Cut the check, the WideMaxx kit is the best overall upgrade you can make for your Maxx, regardless of price point, for general bashing.
