Ziggy46802

Well I've read that when putting in aluminum parts, it just makes the next weakest part break. What if everything was aluminum though? Wouldn't you have to hit something pretty hard to break/bend anything? I have also heard that putting tons of aluminum on weighs it down so if a stock T-maxx 3.3 goes 45mph how much would an all aluminum one probably go?
I read about a 3-speed transmission too, would this increase speed and if so how much (how much faster than a stock T-maxx 3.3).
After making an all aluminum truck would a big block be able to get some lost speed back because of the weight of the aluminum? If so, how big of a big block? Wouldn't a bigger big block just give more torque and not necessarily more speed? Also, would a big block damage any other parts of the truck like the transmission or drive shafts? What if those parts had been upgraded (steel drive shafts)? Would a big block not break anything as long as the parts are tougher?

Elite_Tux487

Keep in mind..Aluminum bends..The big block will allow you to use a higher gearing to get a higher top end speed. There are better alternatives to aluminum as well. Such as RPM parts. If you go with the average .21 sized engine I don't see it doing any "more" damage over the 3.3. Bigger engines could possibly strip gears and such due to all the torque. Parts breakage in the drive train also has to do with how and where you are driving.

Soothsayerman

Aluminum sucks for the most part. If youre thinking of spending that much on a t-maxx to make it tougher, I wouldn't, I would just get a Revo which has a much better design and needs very few tweaks.

just my .02 cnts

Ziggy46802

Well I already have a T-maxx 3.3 (bought it new) and have put aluminum front bulkheads and an aluminum front skid plate on it so far. I do bash but not like up ramps or anything, just jumping off curbs (probably half a foot high) and running through grass and stuff. If I do hit stuff its usually not very hard, but I do flip my car (on its side) a lot and I have had it do some backflips occasionally. I wanted to go aluminum because I had a bulkhead crack on me (and the front skidplate cracked right in half too) so I put some new bulkheads and skidplate in (plastic, from an old 2.5 T-maxx) while waiting for my aluminum parts to come in. Just running it like 30 minutes a day for a few days one of the front bulkheads had already started to crack. I haven't ran it since I put the aluminum parts on but I doubt they'll bend the way I drive it.
I wanted to slowly get aluminum parts (replace parts that break with aluminum, not just buy new aluminum stuff). If my A-arms never break, then they'll probably stay plastic.
Once my engine dies though I wanted to get an upgrade and, after reading around, thought the best engine would probably be the .26 picco maxx since I don't have to get a bigger chassis to fit it in. I know I'll probably have to get some steel gears and steel driveshafts before putting it in but I'm ok with that. Once the time comes to get a new engine I'll ask about everything I'll need to prevent any breakage.

Spudnik

alum= death for bashers

if you are somewhat new to the hobby, then your 'bashing' will be alot less then what more experienced people will do. Remember the law of conservation of energy, it has to go somewhere, so would you rather break a 50 buck alum arm or a 7 buck plastic one?

2DMaxLST!!

I've had a big block 80% alum basher, guess which one I sold, that's right the turbo charged jet ski, but then I got rid of the blinged out LST.

Soothsayerman

Sure Aluminum bulkheads and skidplates are almost mandatory on the tmaxx. The best plastic in the biz is RPM arms and other bits. They're nylon and do not break. If they do, they replace them free.

Ziggy46802

So basically I should just get aluminum bulkheads and skidplates, RPM A-arms and thats pretty much it for bashing? Of course later on I'll want to get some better gears and driveshafts and the such but thats different.

binaryterror

Stay away from Integy and Hot Racing...their aluminum is somehow weaker than most plastics.

I agree, RPM is the answer when it somes to Arms and Hubs.