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Pick the right car | Batteries | Motors | Gears | Tires | Which setup is right for you?
Pick the right Power Wheels & ride-on car to upgrade
Just like with real cars, it's important to start with a vehicle that can take modifications well. The term "Power Wheels" is used a generically as Kleenex". But Power Wheels is a brand and there are lots of other ride-on cars not made by Power Wheels. Parts are not interchangeable between brands and often not even within a brand. Starting with a solid foundation is key to having a great modfiying experience. We find the best cars for modifying are the Powerwheels 12 volt vehicles (except Smartdrive), Kid Trax 12 volt vehicles, Peg Perego vehicles, and most other brands that come as 12 volt or 24 volt. Checkout the Upgrades by Vehicle section to see all of the cars we've created go-fast parts for!
Once you have a car to modify, inspect it to make sure it's in good enough condition to handle more power. What was a minor or unnoticed problem in a stock vehicle can become a major problem when you add more power. Things to check include:
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Is the rear axle bent? You have to roll it on a flat surface to see the bend. If it's bent you will melt gearbox housings at higher rpm's.
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Is the frame damaged or showing white stress marks around the rear axle mounts or gearbox seating area? This is critical damage that is not fixable.
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Do the tires have life left? Tires with holes will break gears.
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Is the wiring strong? Wires that are dried out will likely have corrosion on the inside. They may not handle the increased amp draw that comes with speed and you'll blow fuses.
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Are the switches strong? There's no way to visually inspect this. We recommend replacing them if the vehicle is 3+ years old. They're cheap.
RELATED VIDEO: How to modify your Off-Brand ride-on car:
Batteries - Modify and Upgrade For Power Wheels
Upgrading batteries give more speed gain than motors but you also have to match the right voltage to the right motor to have the car last. Voltage gives speed. Amperage determines run time.
Our upgraded 12, 18, and 24v batteries give you the most run time safely possible. Running more then 12 amps has proven to overheat motors and is not recommended. Stock batteries usually have 30amp breaker or fuse which often fails when using upgraded motors or increasing the voltage. Our batteries use 40amp replaceable fuses.
If you switch to an 18v or 24v battery you will also need an 18v or 24v charger. Our battery conversion kits include the appropriate charger. When combining 2 SLA batteries together they must be the same brand, age, and amperage.
A popular trend is to use lithium batteries from power tools. Lithium batteries are problematic because they deliver too much punch (discharge rating). A typical powertool lithium battery has a discharge rate 5x higher then an SLA battery because your power tool needs torque not speed. With no clutch in a ride-on to buffer that punch, motors get cooked and gears get stripped very quickly. The more powerful the motor the quicker it will overheat with lithium. And your electronics can fail to do to the sudden surge going through them that they weren't designed for. Almost all ride-on cars use SLA style batteries which use a gel form of acid for slower discharge and for safety. If you still wish to use a lithium power tool battery then you'll need our Lithium Low Voltage Soft Start Module to combat these issues. Other forms of Lithium batteries such as LifePo and LiPo have the same issues but there is no soft start solution for them.
Using a lawnmower/motorcycle/automotive battery is dangerous as the liquid acid can boil and explode. They also overheat motors because of the different chemistry in the battery. Stick with SLAs is our recommendation.
RELATED VIDEO: How to select the right battery for modifying your power wheels
Motors - Modify and Upgrade For Power Wheels
12v vehicles normally come with 550 size motors. Some people do run them at 18 volts but eventually they will fail. 24v vehicles often come with 550 motors that have had their power output cut in half which is why a 24v car goes about the same speed as a 12v car. At 24v even a performance 550 motor won't last a day. Our motors are the only motors specifically designed to give more speed and answer the demands of the weight and torque of ride-on cars. Using a motor from a radio controlled car that weighs 5lbs, a power tool motor, or selecting something on Amazon just by the rpm output is a recipe for failure. There's a lot more that goes into designing a motor!
Our Performance 550 motors provide 10-15% more speed than stock 12v ones and are a quick, inexpensive upgrade. They come on all Stage I and II kits and can run on up to 18 volt SLA batteries or 18-20v lithium tool batteries with the proper soft start module. (see battery section above).
Our Performance 775 Motors will run at 12v, 18v, or 24v. At 12v they are slower than the 550's but deliver 4x more torque. At 18v they deliver just a little less speed than the stock 550s (which will blow up) but with a ton more low-end power and durability. 24v is where the 775s are at their best and are unstoppable beasts.
Gears - Modify and Upgrade For Power Wheels
Upgrading gears is the least glorious but most important part of making a modified ride-on reliable. Different car brands use different gearboxes and they are not interchangeable.
12v Power Wheels brand ride-ons produced from 2005 to 2025 used a "7R" gearcase. Older models had "#7" gearcase. We have developed the Phoenix Gearbox that is a direct fit in cars using #7 or 7R gearbox which is capable of handling a lot more torque and horsepower than stock ones. Phoenix Gearboxes are included with all Staged Motor/Gearbox systems. These gearboxes have the gear ratios modified to change the torque and speed to match the increased power. The nylon gears are a more durable. denser material. The housings are more rigid and have better grease channels to prevent meltdowns and reduce friction. And there are steel gear upgrades for them as well.
Peg Perego uses their own very strong gearbox in most of their cars (easily identified by their white color). For those we make a "Stage V" kit which replaces the first gear with a hardened steel one. This is all you need to make these gearboxes handle 24v and our 775 motors. We also modified the gear ratio with this kit to give more top speed.
Many cars today have a "teardrop" shaped gearbox. There's at least 4 different versions of these and every one we've tested has been so subpar for modifying that the slightest bit of added power led to failures. So for those vehicles we offer the Paragon Motor/Gearboxes. These give significantly more speed and durability with stronger nylon, added steel, stiffer cases, and multiple ball bearings through the gearbox.
RELATED VIDEO: How to select the right motor and gearbox for your power wheels
Tires - Modify and Upgrade For Power Wheels
The tires that come on the car are the tires it was designed to run. Changing tire diameter changes the gear ratio and can burn out motors.
Ride-ons don't have a clutch in their gearboxes. They use the spinning tire as a clutch. Adding more traction with rubber or spikes removes the clutch and almost always overheats motors and breaks gears.
Picking the right vehicle for your kid includes matching the tires it comes with to the terrain it will be used in. Monster Traction tires on a Power Wheels F150 are really bumpy on pavement. Mustang tires will not get traction easily in dirt.
Tires are not interchangeable between vehicles so before you spend your time and money modifying make sure you've got the right foundation. You can't get no action if you ain't got no traction!
RELATED VIDEO: How to select the right tires for modifying your power wheels
So which setup is right for you?
That depends on your car, budget and need for speed. On most of the Upgrades by Vehicle pages we have recommendations from our techs to help you pick out modifications specifically for that car. Be sure to checkout the page for your car for more advice!
RELATED VIDEO: How a Power Wheels Works