Sportswerks

As it is, the Recoil comes out of the box with a lot of adjustability designed into the chassis and is both fun and easy to drive. If you’re looking to take your particular Recoil to the next level, it’s actually fairly easy to do. By using some specifically placed hop-up parts, you can not only tailor the Recoil’s handling to your liking, but also make it easier to make those adjustments as well.

The Recoil Turnbuckle Set is a perfect example of this. The Recoil’s upper camber links and steering links are threaded, allowing for camber and toe changes. Adding a set of adjustable turnbuckles makes it possible to make finer adjustments. Additionally, these adjustments become much easier to make, thanks to the adjustment hex in the middle of the turnbuckle which eliminates the need to pop off one of the ball ends. While you’re at it, you can also swap out the bellcrank’s bushings with the shielded ball bearing set. This change will allow your bellcranks to rotate with much less friction than with the original bushings.

Tuned Suspension

SWK6920 - Aluminum Body Shock Set
SWK6914 - 8- and 10-Degree Front C-Hub Set


The Recoil’s suspension is really plush out of the box, thanks in part to the inclusion of oil-filled shocks. While the plastic body shocks work well, you can smooth out the ride a bit more by upgrading to the aluminum body shocks. The aluminum shocks are anodized to match the aluminum shock caps that the plastic-bodied shocks come with. Inside the shock body, the cylinder walls have been polished to a mirror finish, keeping friction to a bare minimum. Installing the new shock bodies is a breeze, and they bleed very easily. The spring perches and body diameter are exactly the same for the plastic and aluminum shocks, making the swap as easy as could be.

Changing the caster is yet another helpful tuning aid. Generally speaking, if you’d like your car to have more initial turn in or you want to reduce the steering on exit, reduce the amount of caster. To mellow out initial turn-in or gain more on-power steering from the middle of the corner out, then more caster would be desirable. More often than not, you’ll also find that the feel of the car is better with less caster when you’re using rubber tires, and more caster with foams.

Drivetrain Enhancements

SWK6908 - Speed Tuned Gear Set
SWK6906 - XLR 8 Motor
SWK6912 - CV Driveshaft Set



Regardless of how fast a vehicle is out of the box, everyone wants to make their vehicles go faster. This is easily done with the Recoil with some strategically placed hop-ups. The Speed Tuned Gear Set includes a different size pinion and spur gear that will alter the gear ratio of the transmission. Out of the box, the Recoil is outfitted with a 58-tooth spur gear and a 12-tooth pinion. The Speed Tuned Gear Set includes a 56-tooth spur gear and both 14- and 16-tooth pinions. If you are driving on a smaller, tighter layout, a smaller pinion and larger spur would be the way to go to maximize the acceleration of your car. For larger, more open, or more flowing layouts, you can use either a larger pinion or smaller spur gear to get more top speed out of your car.

Perhaps the easiest way to gain additional speed with your Recoil is to install the XLR 8 tuned motor. The XLR 8 motor features improved brushes and ball bearings, both of which add up to better acceleration and top speed. Installing the XLR 8 motor couldn’t be much simpler; the pre-installed connectors plug directly into the stock ESC’s leads. Depending on how large of an area you will be driving in, you could use the XLR 8 motor with the Speed Tuned Gear Set. Be careful, however, as over-gearing a motor can cause it to overheat and damage it.

Anytime you add additional power to a car, you run the risk of prematurely wearing out parts. The dogbone drive shafts can be stressed with increased power, wearing out the pins and drive cups. Installing CV Driveshafts on all four corners will reduce rotating mass, improve durability, and actually provide smoother steering response.

Improving Traction

SWK6900 - Foam Tire Set (4) Pink Compound/35-shore
SWK6902 - Foam Tire Set (4) Magenta Compound/40-shore
SWK6904 - Foam Tire Set (4) Purple Compound/45-shore

The Recoil’s stock rubber tires hook up very well on a variety of surfaces, but those who want the ultimate in grip on carpet will undoubtedly want to upgrade to foam tires. While someone may think a foam tire is a foam tire is a foam tire, there are subtle performance differences between these tires. There are three different firmnesses (called shore ratings) of foam tires available for the Recoil. These tires are ranked by their shore rating and have an associated color code. The softest tires are the 35-shore Pink compound, followed by the 40-shore Magenta, and 45-shore Purple compound which is the firmest. The softer the tire is, the better it will grip the racing surface. This is a double-edged sword though as a softer tire will also wear faster. The 40-shore Magenta is a very good all-around tire, but you can tune your chassis quite a bit by playing with tire compounds. If you’re looking to take away front bite, try the 45-shore Purple compound tires. If you’re looking for more rear grip, the 35-shore Pinks might be the hot ticket on the rear of your car. Don’t be afraid to experiment.

There are two keys to remember when using foam tires. First of all, unlike a rubber tire that remains the same basic diameter over the course of its life, a foam tire will continually get smaller and smaller. Because of this, you will need to increase the size of your pinion to maintain the same overall top speed as the tires wear. You will also need to make ride height adjustments for this same reason. Secondly, unlike a rubber tire that will build heat and increase traction, a foam tire doesn’t really do this. Instead, it is very common for people to use some sort of traction compound to increase the grip of a foam tire. This is also a very good tuning aid, as how and where you apply the traction compound will change how the tires work. A good starting point is to coat both rear tires completely and the inside 1/3 or so of the fronts. If you need more front traction, you can gain bite by coating more of the face of the front tires.

Topping It Off

SWK6000 - Clear Mazda 6 Body
While the stock black or blue body looks sharp, there are those who will always want to paint up their own custom shell. Adding custom graphics to a body is one of the most popular ways to really set a car apart. It’s easy to do thanks to the officially licensed clear Mazda 6 body. The body includes window masks and a full sheet of decals to accurately re-create the look and feel of the full-size car.

For those of you who want to raise the bar and use more than one color on your body, you can utilize Parma’s Liquid Mask and cut your own design into the masking once it has dried. For those who may not have the steadiest of hands, several companies make pre-cut masks or internal decals that you simply paint over. When it comes to painting a cool-looking body, your imagination is the limit.