ORIGINAL: Eman77
ORIGINAL: JustForKicks
What are the pros and cons to Aluminum parts such as bulkheads, a-arms, skid plates and bumpers? I broke a bulkhead on my 3905 e-maxx and was thinking of replacing other parts while I was at it.
I think aluminum parts can offer strength, and added bling, but you have to be careful. For example, replacing a part that is supposed to have give to it (like plastic does) with alum might end up putting stress on other parts of the vehicle since the new (alum) part is now rigid.
To me, it depends what you're after and how you use the vehicle. Example, if you have a Stampede that you beat the heck out of every run, replacing it with a ton of alum parts will cost a lot of $$, add weight, and you still might end up breaking something else anyway.
That said, carefully chosen alum parts can help. Example: motor mount.
That's my $.02 anyway.
I'm using an E-Maxx and I run it on Asphalt and dirt/grass. I'm after durability, not so much the bling. I wanted to replace the bulkheads and skid plates with aluminum parts. I also wanted to add the RPM skids to the aluminum skid plates since they were made to go over the original skid plates.