New innovations may not always be seen at first glance. There may be some new things on this car that you really cant see from just a few pics! Until any of us actually drive it we wont know.
personally I think it looks really nice, and it definatly looks to be a great first effort for Associated.

The losi 8eight has tons of new innovations on it but the majority of serious racers in my area are selling there losi buggies. They say that cant stand the way the car feels and racers are experiencing major chassis flex. Thats something I would have never thought when I looked at that Losi chassis plate.
So I guess we'll all find out this summer wether Associated did there homework!!

i agree sneff at first glance not very impressive but when u look at the a-arms and shock angles and the basic layout it looks good..would by a rc8 before i would buy a losi eight..

funny no one mentioned everything they "Can't See" like the
"Geomerty" of the car...wha if it's basic design lended more to the "Geomerty" being "Greatly Improved upon".......?????????
someone mentioned like how does it get around the track...???
now going by "Associated's Reputation" very few can argue you know they did there Homework....and with the 1/8 scales in reality just exploding within the last 6 years they were always there.....but within the last 5 years have become more "Afordable".....
ya know for at least 4 and a half of those years was on the drawning boards and in "Autocad" programs.......
in 1997 when i attended the Electric Worlds almost no one ever heard of 1/8 scale buggies??
and the few that did figured you had to be "Rich" to even own one......
now 10 years later.....there "EVERY WHERE".....LOL.......
think about it....
anyone remember the release of the Losi XX4....???
everyone was like "Whoa, a 4WD Car !!!" and was only a electric.....???
in Europe 4WD is HUGE !!!!!!!....in the U.S.A. not many drive eletric 4wd but GAS !!!
started going nutz in 1999...........wnt even talk about 4wd gas in Europe it is way big!!
almost a life style...

now with Associated's release may change a few things....
the Losi and M1-B are killer.......many do not like the Losi...????
i drove one there good....and it worked well...??? but unless you can drive real smooth it will "Bite you"....
the M1-B was good too....??? but it is so "Exotic" like the Xray when it was first released
if you "Happen" to break a part....even that 1.00 part you were packing up and going home and waiting a week to 3 weeks for your parts...????
cause in "Reality" many shops did not have the parts???
unlike the losi where we all know no matter where you go someone is going to Carry Losi and "Associated" parts.....
like it or hate it...ya know it's going to be a good car.....

This buggy won't change anything and 1/8 scale nitro will be pretty dead here in a few years.

Yuck... but, associated cant afford to lose. 1/10 st is dying, so they had to step in sometime.

The front end setup system looks similar to the Hyper 8 and the shock towers too narrow (the diver will never see though there). The transponder mount buit into the radio tray, that's gonna be expensive and the rear end looks over-complicated. Pretty standard theme to it's design so it'll come down to looks I think, which do you like to look at more? This ride doesn't stir my loins and just receives and middle of the road rating from me (based on the pics).

well about the shock towers, they look thin, BUT, they aren't as wide as most of us are used to.

So, if there is a problem, they can always step up the thickness for production.

4mm thick

Hello There,
Lot of people are talking about the CF shock towers, but it seems to me many other manufacturers use them without problems. Why would these be an issue?
Also, what I've always liked about Associated's products is that parts are reasonably priced and easily located. For bashers, this is key. For racers, I think it would be good to stick with a brand that others use for part borrow-ability? In this case, Associated is a bit weak in the 1/8 area but with their past success and fundage, I think we'll see them hit the scene pretty quickly.
Lastly, experience has taught me that it's more about the driver than the car.

Rock on.

SML

It is mainly about the driver, but everyone makes mistakes and mid race you dont want to go just over the top and land on a CF tower, IT WILL SNAP, CF is not very good at taking sudden blows. Plus you never know what anyone else is up to on the day, why risk it? There's no weight difference in a 4mm CF tower compared to a 5mm CNC alloy tower which can continue and be bent back at the pit stop.

i had carbon shock towers on my ttr and it took alot of tumbles and they never broke on me i did run a bead of ca glue around them when i 1st got them and as for the rc8 it looks like may will be the 1st release date and then they will back it off from there and make us wait 2 more months.[:@]

I agree this buggy won't change a thing, but rallyx dead, I don't think so, it's the biggest growing section and possibly the only one that can be done almost anywhere. That's it's biggest advantage, you don't need baby bum smooth tarmac to get the speed up. Yes I know this may also count for MT's and truggies, but they are just spin offs.

are you all retarded the shock towers are 4 mm thick. the CEN matrix has shock towers that thick and they last forever. you need to realize that top fuel dragsters use carbon fiber driveshafts with no problems. an 8 pound buggy isnt going to have much problems unless you throw it off a cliff or something

Because I am absolutely bad-ass [8D]

So many weak spots.

Rubbish. It will only break if the loads exceed the ultimate strength of the material. 4mm thick carbon fiber is very strong, stonger than 4mm aluminium. As for the statement about carbon being not good at taking blows. This is a very much overstated anomoly with carbon fiber. It can be somewhat brittle however that is taken into account in the design and manufacture of products using carbon fiber. Just because its carbon does not mean its going to crumble if it takes a hit.

From the expereince i have had. it depends on what type of carbonfibre it is.

It looks like the stuff that Serpent use on there onroad cars. It's not as strong as the alloy. That stuff has give and isn't that brittle.

Carbon fibre can me molded to be as strong as steel. But that looks the same stuff used on the Serpent cars.

A lot lighter than alloy the car will be faster but you may get some weird handleing from time to time as the stuff bends slightly.
It's just sacrificing strengh for lightness.
And there is nothing wrong with that IMO

I was going to change my opinion after examining the design of the CF front tower, yes it wont be as weak in the wy it's been shaped, but from working with CF over the last 16 years I know the properties of it as well as it's pros and cons. It this application there are too many cons. A well milled CNC alloy piece would easily weigh the same and stand up to the rigours of 1/8th rallyx much better. Then there's the steering plate.....

I like the brake set up

Surley a peice of carbon fibre wouldn't weigh the same as an alloy peice of the same size and shape. Maybe only a few grams lighter but lighter none the less?

That would totally defeat the whole purpose of using carbon fibre on anything wouldn't it?

All about looks

You think?

I was thinking more to do with weight.

Your probably right.
Some people just can not resist the sight of some facny carbon fibre print.

WOW WHAT A BIG LET DOWN AE CAN ANYONE SAY COOKIE CUTTER AND DONT BASH ME IAM THE BIGGEST AE FAN BOY EVER BIG LET DOWN JUST LIKE THE MGT AE NEEDS TO GET ITS ACT TOGETHER OR GO HOME

Meh, good point. Looks just like all the other 1/8th buggies out there excluding the 8ight and M1..

does anyone see a resemblence to the bj4 worlds geometry?