The GEPRC Vapor BNF is a solid choice right out of the box—well-tuned, well-built, and ready to fly. But like many Bind-and-Fly (BNF) quads, there’s always room for improvement. Whether you’re aiming for better performance, longer flight time, easier maintenance, or just want to fine-tune the drone to your preferences, this guide will walk you through the most effective upgrades and modifications you can make to the Vapor D5.
Check out my review of the Vapor here: https://oscarliang.com/geprc-vapor-d5-o4/
You can purchase the GEPRC Vapor D5 from these vendors:
- AliExpress: https://s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_oEmdNbF
- NewBeeDrone: https://oscarliang.com/product-0auo
- FPV24: https://oscarliang.com/product-fucl
- GEPRC: https://oscarliang.com/product-1ntp
Table of Contents
Try Different Propellers
Trying different propellers is perhaps one of the cheapest and easiest ways to upgrade your quad.
The Vapor ships with Gemfan Vanny Style 5136 props. This is a 5.1-inch propeller with a 3.6-inch pitch (that’s what the “5136” stands for). These are great for power and speed. However, you may want to try lighter props—either smaller in diameter or lower pitch.
Lighter props might generate less thrust, but they allow for faster RPM changes. That means quicker throttle response, better cornering grip, and improved instability handling.
Personally, I find that HQ props tend to be smoother than Gemfan. One of my favorites is the HQ 5×4.3×3 V2S. While there are even lighter options, they often sacrifice too much power. The Vapor isn’t the lightest quad, so the 5×4.3×3 strikes a good balance between efficiency and control.
If you fly freestyle, this upgrade can noticeably improve flight feel. But if you primarily do cinematic cruising or fly long-range, you may not notice as much benefit—stock props are perfectly fine for that.
Remove Unnecessary Parts
If you use the Vapor as a basher, you probably want to keep all the protective parts for durability. But if you’re chasing peak performance, reducing weight can go a long way.
Here’s what I removed from my build:
- Side plates (~15g): Safe to remove for most people, minimal impact on durability.
- Arm guards (~15g): Keep these if you crash often.
- Plastic motor wire tubes (~4g): Replace with cloth or electrical tape. Again, if you crash regularly, consider keeping them.
- One battery strap (~5g): Use just one strap if you’re confident in your battery mounting.
- Replace metal stack locking nuts with nylon/plastic ones (~1.5g saved).
For advanced pilots, consider removing two screws from each motor to save a few more grams. But you MUST apply threadlocker to the remaining screws to avoid motor detachment mid-flight. If you want to play safe, you can also just remove one screw per motor.
By removing unnecessary parts and optimizing the build, I managed to shave off 44 grams – it’s even lighter than my own custom build using the Vapor frame. That’s a 10% reduction in weight—pretty impressive!
Vertical Receiver Antenna Mount
As mentioned in my Vapor D5 review, I wasn’t a fan of the stock receiver antenna mount. To fix that, I designed a custom vertical mount that attaches to the rear standoff. This orientation provides a better antenna alignment for long-range flying. Note: The antenna wire is relatively short, so you may need to reposition the receiver slightly to prevent tension in the antenna connector.
Download my 3D print file here: https://www.thingiverse.com/thing:7035383
If you only fly within 1 km, this upgrade may not be necessary.
Move GPS to the Front
Relocating the GPS module to the front of the frame offers two benefits:
- Improved GPS signal – It’s further from the VTX and RX antennas, there’s less interference. I’m getting up to 30 satellites even on overcast days.
- Addresses tail heavy issue – Redistributing the weight balances the quad better.
A custom made GPS mount would be ideal, but I reused the stock mount and simply taped it to the front using double-sided foam tape and reinforced with a zip tie, worked like a charm. I also cut a slot in the base of the mount, so I could rotate the GPS 180°, since the cable wasn’t long enough to reach in its original orientation.
Tune the PID & Filters
If you’ve reduced the weight of your quad, and want to maximize performance, it’s a good idea to tune the PID and filter settings. Not to mention the stock GEPRC tune is somewhat conservative and there’s room for improvements.
An optimized tune can:
- Make your quad more responsive
- Reduce latency
- Improve tracking in fast, acrobatic moves
- Reduce prop wash
If you mostly just cruise for cinematic shots, the stock tune is fine. But for freestyle and acro flying, tuning is worth the effort.
I share my custom PID and filter settings on my Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/posts/128765386
Advanced Mods for Long-Range Efficiency
If you’re pushing your Vapor for long-range performance, here are a few extra tweaks to improve efficiency and flight time:
Set Motor Output Limit to 75–80%
The stock motors are quite high in KV and beyond 80% throttle, it’s really power hungry. Reducing the limit cuts current draw and boosts efficiency. However, it’s not ideal for freestyle, only recommended for cruising flights.
Trim and resolder motor wires
The Vapor came with motor wires soldered like the 2nd image below. You could shorten the motor wires and solder them like the 3rd image and shave a few grams.
Upgrade to a diversity receiver
A single antenna receiver will inevitably get blocked by the battery or frame. A true diversity receiver with antennas mounted on both sides of the frame will provide better signal coverage and eliminates blind spots.
Add Conformal Coating
If you plan to fly in humid environments or light rain, applying conformal coating to your flight controller and ESC is a wise move.
Why it’s useful:
- Adds moisture resistance
- Protects sensitive components
- Helps prevent shorts and corrosion
Check out my conformal coating tutorial if you’re new to the process: https://oscarliang.com/waterproofing-drone-electronics/
Final Thoughts
Out of the box, the GEPRC Vapor D5 is already a fantastic FPV drone, but with these simple modifications, it can become even better for flight time and freestyle performance. Whether you’re after improved responsiveness, longer flight times, or simply a lighter build—these tweaks will help you level up your flying experience.
Got your own favorite mod? Share it in the comments or tag me with your custom build pics—I’d love to see what you come up with!
32 comments
Anyone got (or could create for me) a 3d print file for a mount which will support a diversity receiver (2 x 45mm antennas, 1 mounted vertical, 1 horizontal) which replaces the stock piece that slides onto the bottom half of the rear standoffs please? The original piece which goes on the top half of the standoffs for the 04 aerials will still need to be used to hold them, but my GPS is mounted on the front, so that part isn’t required at the back. Thanks :)
makerworld.com/en/models/2289154-dual-elrs-gps-o3-antenna-mount-speedybee-m5-v2?from=search#profileId-2497512
Download the stl for the 2 antenna’s and print those 2 loose parts. You can then mount them in the back with some piece inbetween thats from the old mount. Cheers
Yo can you maybe make a Tunerc build? The tunerc 3inch caddx vista should be my backup drone. But I´m not sure with the Lipos. Would make sense to use there xt30 cnhl ministar 650mAh lipos? And I recently discharged my battery too much during a flight, and unfortunately that was my only LiPo battery at the time.
Good day.
I didn’t find a 100% answer to my question, so maybe there will be specialists in this chat.
Drone 6″ on DJI O3 Air Unit with native antenna for 2 outputs (2 ranges -2.4, 5.8)
DJI Remote controller 2 control
DJI GOOGLES V2 glasses (FCC Hack installed)
Problem: when flying at 700-800 meters and when flying behind small trees, the video starts to fall (artifacts, blurring).
Since the native antenna for two ranges is 5 cm long, it is covered by the battery during the return flight and as a result the connection deteriorates.
I bought DJI O3 Air Unit with two antennas for 5.8 which have long legs and due to this they will be spread apart and the battery will not cover them.
Question: will the control work if I install long antennas for 5.8 and switch the glasses to manual control of the range for 10-20 or 40 Mhz?
Hey Oscar, I have switched props based on this article and I do feel much more in control and hooked up. I noticed the Gemfan props made more noise in the Blackbox logs. I sent you the files on intoFPV if you want to take a look. That was just for the test, I didnt alter PIDs or Filters yet until just now with your patreon site tune, but I cant fly it till tomorrow. If I make a black box log for you would you be able to take glance over it and make sure its all good? I tried looking at the black box logs and I didnt see any vibrations with the HQ props, it seemed to have smoothed everything out but I dont know.
Hi Oscar, good post. I’m thinking of using your Patreon PIDs. Is that PID configuration valid for any propeller size? Another question: how do I mount the O4 antennas on your vertical ELRS antenna mount? It’s not clear from the photo. Thanks.
I had to replace my fc to SpeedyBee f405 v4, does this mean ur pid tune would be ok still or?? I’m flying it with it but I feel there’s oscillation here or there an not sure if it’s wind or not..
For what its worth I also changed to props out. It’s flying well..
I’ve made a front GPS mount if anyone is interested, free do download
makerworld.com/en/models/1650452-geprc-vapor-front-gps-mount#profileId-1744902
Hi, Oscar! Your upgrades are impressive. Tell me please, how would you install the XR4 Gemini Dual-Band Receiver antennas? They are longer than 2.4 and it is risky to install them vertically, as they may be damaged during landing :(
G’Day Mate! I did all the mods as you did and I want to know which PID tuning parameters from your Patreon are specific to those mods and which would be more related to your rates coz my rates are lower than yours?
My PID tuning is based on the quad after all these mods. Rates is mostly irrelevant to PID tuning, it’s a just personal preference.
Thanks for the speedy reply! I’m also curious if you adjusted the camera angle and if so to what?
I usually have it at around 25-30 degree. But that again is personal preference.
And if it would be a bad thing to not tweak the PID settings after having done those mods?? Appreciate your time :)
How about removing battery leads and make a battery port like mark5 ? Would it shave some weight?
I don’t think so, and battery leads are easier to use than a port fixed to the top plate TBH.
HI oscar! i just want to ask, currently havent tune my vapor just the rates, since i saw suplafly presets for 5inch i wanted to try it the one with smoot- medium rates it will sure tweak the PID right? and if im not satisfies with that tune how can i have my stock tune? thank you!
Before applying any preset, always make a backup – it saves a text file that contains the configuration in the form of command lines (CLI diff).
You can find the original CLI diff in my review, under “how to setup” section: https://oscarliang.com/geprc-vapor-d5-o4/
Then you just find the lines “# profile 0”, copy everything from there until the line “# profile 1” in your CLI, enter “save”, and that should bring your quad back to the default PID and filter settings.
Got my Vapor D5 today and first thing i noticed was the props in configuration. Did you change it to props out? Next thing i noticed was the weight and the Rx vtx gps arrangement. I think I will change it to props out, mount the GPS in front as you did, get rid of the side plates and change the Rx antenna to a normal size immortal t ( got the version with TBS nano Rx). Where would you mount a single immortal t antenna on the frame?
Nice article as always! Thanks for your work!
I didn’t change props rotation, it’s props in. Just keep the antenna where it is, it’s too big to be mounted vertically unless you are willing to design an extended mount for it.
Thanks for answering Oscar! Is there any reason you didn’t reverse the prop rotation? Yes, mounting the full size immortal t antenna could be a problem.A 3d printed mount would be the best solution, but what’s with the old school way fixing the antenna on one of the arms? For the maiden flight i will only change to props out and try out the range with the provided mini t antenna, maybe it isn’t so bad…
For me personally there’s no need to reverse it TBH. If you just fly casually wihtin 1km, fixing the antenna on the arm is fine. If you want to go further it’s beneficial to mount it vertically.
Hi Oscar! Did you try flying with Li-Ion batttery? I’m wondering how much flight time can you get when cruising/ mid range flights. I’m thinking about D5 or D6, D6 may give longer flight times. What do you think? I’d like to get 5 or 6 inch drone for flying in mountains. 7 inch is just too big. Another option for mountains/long range is 5in Rekon 5. I saw some people built it with O4 pro and it flies for 15-20min.
I haven’t tried Li-ion on this quad, but it should work fine. Make sure you put a Motor Limit though so it doesn’t sag your li-ion battery too much during flight. 6inch will certainly give you slightly longer flight time, but as you say, it’s larger than 5inch. Also 5inch performs better for freestyle and is just more versatile IMO. Also there are far more propeller options when it comes to 5inch. 15mins cruising time should be achievable using a 6S 4000mah pack.
Oscar, it’s finally here and I’m super happy to read your feedback about the Vapor. The part that i was most curious about was whether you were going to change the antenna placement and you did!
I’ve had terrible range from this drone both from the video and radio side of things. I mostly fly cinematic long range and the most i can go with this drone in a non congested location with somewhat LOS is 1km at best. I will give this antenna change a try and see how it performs. Do you advise having the antenna itself changed to a bigger one? (I’m using the goggles N3 btw)
You mean changing the DJI O4 Pro antenna to longer ones?
Are you using FCC mode and maximum 1200mW output power? If you are, you should at least get a few miles using the stock antennas. Or maybe the antennas are kind of blocked if you are using a big battery? In this case, using longer antennas would make sense.
If you are using ELRS note that there is interfernce between ELRS module and Goggles3/N3 (DJI Issue)
Along with motor efficiency, the weight of the quad is directly related to flight time and unless it is intended for long distance flight, I think an X-frame with minimal length is best.
Hello Oscar, thank you very much for your excellent work, both on these upgrades and your work in general.
Regarding relocating the GPS module: is it necessary to make any configuration changes in Betaflight after rotating the GPS module? (I’m wondering if it might affect things due to the gyroscope.)
No change needed – you only need to change configuration when you rotate it, if the GPS has compass in it. This GPS doesn’t have compass.
Article génial, comme d’habitude, merci beaucoup pour tout les conseils 😁👍