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The Grasshopper was my first RC car, so I have a bit of a soft spot for it ... even so, it's only a Grasshopper, it's a cheap car that Tamiya sold a bazillion of, it's been re-released and in various special editions, so I can't see replacement bits ever being a problem for it, so just go ahead and run it Bearings + an ESC would be a good idea, bonus points if you can find space for it and still keep the 2nd servo & MSC look like they're still working, just not handling any current.

I'm in two minds about other upgrades ... it's not that slow (60% of a 540?) with a 380 & does give long run times with the gentle pace it provides. 540 motor obviously improves power, but the Hornet suspension upgrade is not that great, and other solutions are fiddly & take away from the original design. I can't help thinking it's best left alone, if you want to go faster there a re plenty of better starting points. I have wondered if a 35T 540 motor would suit it quite well, similar pace but a lot more torque

If you want to go totally over the top with it and waste a lot of money you could always do a full mod on it like this

That's still a great looking Grasshopper - dare i say it, it's what it would have looked like if Kyosho had developed it as a middling price car, rather than Tamiya as a cheap one

This on the other hand is my only remaining Grasshopper... Working lights, oil shocks all round, modern 2.4 Ghz radio, ESC & Tamiya Sport Tuned motor, plus double wishbone suspension all round, courtesy of it beaing a Tamiya DT-02 chassis. Handles very well, fairly fast especially on 2S Lipo, but lost its soul somewhere & has none of the charm of a 380 powered original. (Not my idea BTW, I just rebuilt it so it wasn't quite such a lash up) .



I've kind of loast track of the point I thought I was trying to make ... IIRC I think it's that you can throw a lot of parts at a Grasshopper and maybe end up with a better looking and /or better handling car - but maybe you shouldn't?

Strictly stock is the best for a grasshopper. Same the gh2 is better sout of box.