RE: shock guards
I think they are a good idea, the reson im going with the shock guards on my slash is because its cheaper for me. I need the spring retainers and ball ends. The RPM guards come with both and are cheaper than the traxxas ones.
The idea of the shock guards is only to stop small rocks from hitting the spring or shock shaft and pitting them or sandblasting them.
Ive had great suscess with the shock boots, they work really well but are bad for soaking up nitro fuel
and lastly the rubber boots, ive never had to much luck with them, I think its to hot where I live, my losi ones crack really easy, and all the boots on my revo didnt last long, same with some drive shaft boots on a SCX10
I dont reccomend the rubber boots, but i might need to try them out some more