King Headz Traxxas 2.5 Head

Introduction

Replacing the motor head is a frequently performed modification for a nitro-powered RC vehicle. It's also one of the easier modifications to make as well, because it's basically nothing more than a simple swap with rarely anything in the way. However before you jump right in and replace the head you need to make sure you aren't doing it for the wrong reasons, as many people often do.

You should never swap a motor head as a way to correct improper tuning. I often see many people who have problems with their motors overheating due to improper tuning or an air leak, and they think they can just swap to a bigger head and cure their problems. This will only mask the symptoms and problems they are experiencing, and in the end the motor may still suffer from a premature failure.

On the other hand, in the case of someone who runs in certain high heat or humidity conditions, a different head may help the motor to run cooler. This also applies in the cases of someone who may drive their truck with a heavier trigger finger than others, or someone who has upgraded their truck to where it's running something other than stock components. Keep in mind, however, that sustained periods of running wide open can still cause the motor to over-rev. An aftermarket motor head will do nothing to prevent that from occurring.

The Traxxas 2.5 head from King Headz is a very nice option for the Traxxas 2.5 motor. It provides lots of surface area to promote cooling, and the machine work used to create the head is exceptional. I really like how they have decided to polish the aluminum head. Very few manufacturers offer a head with such a shiny finish.

This head is slightly taller than the stock head's height of 1.5 inches (with the head protector installed). However it is only about .25 of an inch higher, so it still provides a good low profile when mounted on the motor. This means, that in the event of a rollover or crash, it's well protected by the lexan body on your RC truck and would be no more likely to suffer damage than your stock head would. Some other aftermarket heads are very vulnerable in that sort of scenario, but the this one, offered by King Headz, isn't.

For the weight conscious among you the King Headz 2.5 Head weighs in at 2.1 oz. That's .5 oz more than the stock head, and makes this head one of the lightest aftermarket heads currently available for the Traxxas 2.5. This helps avoid adding extra weight towards the top of the truck, which helps maintain a low center of gravity. Considering this fact, it's an excellent choice for a replacement head for racing purposes.

The only area that I see could be improved upon would be to open the area around the glow plug hole up some. I like to see a real open area, which makes it easy to clean up around the glow plug before you remove it. However doing this would probably mean the the head would have to have a slightly larger circumference, to retain it's strength. This would also translate into more weight. If you're happy with the amount of room around the glow plug hole of the stock head though, you'll find that this head offers you a similar amount of room.

Part One:	Introduction
Part Two:	Installation
Part Three:	Testing and Final Thoughts