Staged Motor / Gearboxes Explained

To make your life easier, we breakdown your motor/gearing modifying options into Stages. For Power Wheels brand vehicles we offer complete motor/gearbox assemblies and Do It Yourself (DIY) kits. Motor/gearbox assemblies replace your stock motors and gears and come pre-assembled and ready to drop right into your car. The pre-assembled kits come with our Phoenix Gearboxes which are capable of handling much more power than stock ones. DIY kits include the motors and gears which you then assemble into your stock gearboxes.

What are the different stages of Motor/Gearbox Performance kits?

Stage I Kits are a pair of our Performance 550 motors which boost speed up to 15% over new stock motors. The motors also have torque sleeves added to them to help keep your ride from getting stuck in grass or hills. Built-in cooling fans help with heat build-up issues known for killing stock motors. Steel ball bearings at either end set these motors apart from others and gives them more speed, less heat build-up, and an 18 volt capability. A steel alloy pinion gear is used which is lighter than the stock one. The gearboxes are built using a lower friction Race Grease than the stock gearboxes come with. Optional heat sinks help keep the motors cool and increase longevity. Finally, we give you re-usable connectors so you can install and remove them easily.

Stage I systems are best for 12 to 18 volts. If using lithium batteries you will need to use our Soft Start Lithium Module. Stage I Kits are the least expensive speed upgrade you can do and still provide a very noticeable speed increase. Plug n' Play!

Stage II Kits come with everything the Stage I kits have plus our Hardened Steel First Gears and ball bearings replacing the stock nylon gear. The First Gear in a gearbox is the weakest link in the gearbox. Our hardened steel gears are so strong they have a lifetime warranty. The pinion gears are also upgraded to Hardened Steel. Highly recommended for 18 volt use. Still Plug n' Play!

Stage III Kits are a pair of our Performance 775 motors which have 4x the torque of stock motors and are designed specifically to run at higher voltages. The motors also have torque sleeves added to them to help keep your ride from getting stuck in grass or hills. A hardened steel pinion gear is used too. Aluminum Motor Mounts to keep the motors from twisting in the gearcases because they are that powerful! The gearboxes are built using a lower friction Race Grease than the stock gearboxes come with. Optional heat sinks help keep the motors cool and increase longevity. Plus we give you re-usable connectors so you can install and remove easily - Plug n' play! Stage III systems are good for 18 or 24 volt SLA battery use.

Stage IV Kits are the most popular and durable way to get 18 or 24 volts of SLA battery. We start with our Stage III kit and then add Race Grease and Hardened Steel First Gears. This combination makes the Stage IV the most durable offroad gearbox for the highest voltages possible. It's also one of our most popular speed products. The First Gear in a gearbox is the weakest link in the gearbox. Stage IV Gearboxes replace the nylon first gears with our Hardened Steel ones. The Hardened Steel First Gears also have steel ball bearings to reduce friction and increase efficiency. The gearboxes are built using a lower friction Race Grease than the stock gearboxes come with. Plus we give you re-usable connectors so you can install and remove easily - Plug n' play!

Stage V Kits are the fastest kits made today. Designed for 18 or 24 volts of SLA battery (But really, 24 volts is where the speed is)! We start with Stage IV kits but then switch out the first gears to our smaller and lighter Hardened Steel First gear, down to 66 teeth from 72 teeth. Then we combined that with our larger 22 tooth pinion to obtain the HIGHEST TOP SPEED GEAR RATIO and LEAST WHEEL SPIN possible! And they're matched to our Performance 775 motors with Internal Cooling Fans and Torque Sleeves, Aluminum Motor Mounts, and Race Grease. Plus we give you re-usable connectors so you can install and remove them easily! All this and they're still plug n' play! Because of the high speed gear ratio these kits are only for on-road or gravel use.

What is the Phoenix Gearbox?

Instead of trying to improve the performance of the original gearboxes, we designed a completely new one. The Phoenix Gearboxes use a more rigid outer gearbox housing. The final drive gear shafts have been extended to better combat bent axles and provide more lubrication to the final drive gears. The gears are made of a denser nylon weave making them more durable. And the grease channels in the gearbox have been improved to keep the hot spots cooler.

Do I have to get steel gears if I modify my motors or voltage?

Not necessarily. As you increase motors and voltage you increase strain on the gears. Gear survival depends on driver skill and the terrain, just like a real transmission. If your driver stripped a nylon first gear then that's a sign it's time to upgrade. We don't recommend running 24 volts or 775 motors without switching to steel first gears.

Race Grease? Really?

Yes, absolutely. If you've ever opened a stock gearbox you'll find it's coated, indeed packed, with a substance with the consistency of molasses. That's no way to spin gears fast. Our race grease was designed specifically for high-speed nylon gearboxes. It leaves a smooth Teflon coating on the gears but makes them slick like a Teflon pan. This allows the gears to spin more freely which means faster acceleration, lower motor temps, and more run time. It's a no-brainer when you see a stock vs. race greased gearbox side-by-side.

Can I keep my stock battery with Performance motors and Staged systems?

In some cases the built in 30 amp circuit breaker on Power Wheels batteries will start tripping on modified vehicles. This is normally seen in worn batteries or in 24 volt applications. A healthy battery will have no problem with Performance 550's, Stage I, or Stage II systems.

We do offer 12 volt batteries that have 40 amp fuses which will handle all modification levels and also give 30% more run time. Do not use Lithium batteries. They have a discharge rating 5x higher than SLA batteries. With no clutch to absorb all of that extra punch the motors and gears will fail.