A lower chassis costs the FCX18 II some ground clearance

FCX18 II ground clearance is 31mm, against 40mm on the portal-axle FCX18 K10, because FMS paired straight axles with a lower chassis. On an unbox and trail run, the magnetic body, metal gearbox and covered power switch all worked. Still, the skid plate beached on roots and rocks all session, so the older truck clears obstacles better.

What changed on the FMS FCX18 II chassis?

The FMS FCX18 II Ford F-100 puts a licensed Ford hard body on an all-new chassis. First-generation owners should treat it as a different truck.

Both trucks share a 199mm wheelbase, so the whole 9mm loss comes from the straight axles, the smaller tires and the dropped chassis rails.

• The F-100 body is one piece. Unlike on the K10, the bonnet and tailgate stay shut, though door handles, real mirrors and a driverless interior come standard.
• The chassis rails dip in the middle and the gearbox sits low. FMS calls this a low centre of gravity (LCG) chassis. The forward-facing motor also moves weight onto the nose, which helps on climbs.
• Metal upper links now sit on the front axle. The skid plate moves forward, and the rear diff sits slightly off centre.
• A plastic channel along the chassis hides the wiring. A push-down battery strap replaces the fiddly old one.
• FMS plans two lengths: this 199mm long wheelbase for pickups, and a short one for Bronco, LC80 and Defender bodies. The short chassis and a brushless version were both unreleased at launch. On the original FCX18, FMS already sells a brushless LC80 RTR with a 3200KV outrunner. An empty mount point on the chassis looks sized for the brushless receiver.
• The locking diff hardware does nothing at launch.

Does the magnetic body mount hold?

On the bench, shaking the truck hard by the body didn’t separate it. Removing it took a firm pull, and when dropped back on, the body found its own position with no fiddling.

On the trail, the body stayed on through a deliberate rollover on the rock course. It came off once, after a full-throttle second-gear launch into a tree root.

The magnets also carry power to the LED lights, so there’s no light plug to unhook and a body swap takes seconds. That’s the point of FMS’s mystery box bodies. Each one ships with its own magnet set and spare mirrors, so the swap needs no tools. The first three came in silver and red, silver and black, and pale green and white. The mystery boxes sell only through FMS directly.

How much FCX18 II ground clearance the low chassis costs

Every other change on the FCX18 II improves the truck, but the clearance takes a step back. The loss showed up within minutes of the first trail run. Side by side with the K10, the F-100 sits visibly lower. The 9mm gap is close to a quarter of the old truck’s clearance.

In both gears the truck beached on tree roots and rock ridges. After one session the skid plate, both diff housings and the drive shafts all carried wear marks. One ridge left the truck resting on the chassis rail itself, and the gatekeeper rock hung it up by the front bumper.

Straddling an obstacle failed: any rock or root under the centre skid plate lifted the tires off the ground. Lines that worked put one tire up the slate’s side and let the chassis roll past the high point at an angle. Where no such line existed, the only way out was a second-gear hop, which swaps slow crawling for momentum.

The long wheelbase takes some of the blame, and the short chassis should clear obstacles more easily. However, the portal-axle K10 has the same 199mm wheelbase. That puts most of the problem on the lower belly.

Why the design over-corrects

Dropping portal axles already lowers the centre of gravity, because the whole truck sits lower on straight axles. Adding a dropped chassis on top of that goes too far for a scale hard body. FMS could have kept the portals with this chassis, or kept the straight axles and raised the rails. Either choice would have held on to the grip gains without giving up the 9mm.

Out of the box, the FCX18 II climbs better than the original on grip and power delivery. Overall, though, the original FCX18’s ground clearance still makes it the better crawler. That’s the same portal-axle truck that out-crawls the Traxxas TRX-4M straight from the box .

Ways to win the clearance back

• Portal axles are the obvious fix. The FMS parts range for the FCX18 II already lists portal axle assemblies .
• Taller tires help too. The stock tires stand 58mm tall. BATRAZZI’s 64 × 24mm Outrider ZR tires add 6mm of diameter, which lifts the axles and skid plate by about 3mm.
• FMS has partnered with BATRAZZI for wheels, tires, bumpers and brass steering links. On the first-generation truck, $50 of wheels and tires beat a $106 upgrade build , so tires are the cheap first step here too.

How the FCX18 II drives on trail and rock

On trails and forest floor, the FCX18 II is an easy truck to like.

• Slow-speed control from the 180-size brushed motor is smooth and predictable. There’s a little ESC noise and a slight hesitation at the very start. That’s better than expected without portal gear reduction.
• Second gear has far more wheel speed than expected, enough to spin donuts. It felt close to a brushless setup . FairRC’s listing gives a top speed of 11km/h.
• The two-speed still shifts on channel 3 through a small servo, with neutral in the middle position. FMS uses the same channel 3 shift on its Power Wagon micro crawler .
• Articulation and rear tire tuck are standouts. The truck stayed upright on off-camber lines that looked certain to tip it.
• The BFGoodrich all-terrain tires on vented plastic beadlock wheels gripped well, including on slate.
• The metal gearbox is quieter at full throttle than the plastic-geared original.
• Steering angle is good with dual rate maxed, and the turning circle is tight. The on-axle servo still strained visibly under load. FairRC sells the FCX18 II replacement as a 13g metal-gear servo, so plan a stronger one as the first upgrade.
• The drag brake held the truck still on a descent, and slow descents stayed controlled.
• Lights run on channel 4. One press turns on the headlights and tail lights, and a second press adds the roof lights. To turn off the indicators, hold full right steering and hold channel 4 for about three seconds. The same move turns them back on.
• The truck ran through deep water with the switch cover in place and kept running. It’s not clear whether the cover is waterproof or only keeps dust out.
• The transmitter is the same FlySky MG44 four-channel unit as before. It takes four AAA cells, which aren’t included.
• Both diffs showed slight oil weeping straight out of the box. Wipe them and check the diff oil after the first few runs.

Who should buy the FCX18 II, and who should wait

• Buy it if you drive trails, forest floor, grass and light obstacles, and want the best-looking scale hard body in 1/18.
• Wait if you drive a dedicated rock course. The short-wheelbase chassis or the portal axles are the versions to watch.
• Existing FCX18 owners gain the magnets, metal gears, thicker shafts and covered switch. For rock work, though, the lost clearance makes it a sidegrade at best. Your old batteries and connectors still fit.

The box holds the 900mAh 2S LiPo, a 2A USB charger, a wheel wrench, an Allen key and spare wheel hex pins. You also get number plates, decals, a scale surfboard with its own sticker, a quick-start guide and a branded fridge magnet.

FairRC lists the truck at $179.95, about the same as the original FCX18. At that price the original was excellent value, and the clearance loss drops this one to decent value. FairRC sells the silver and red and silver and black bodies as named special editions at $79.99.