Tempestwolf

New to the nitro world! I have a fully modded rustler now i wanted to go gas powered for a new project!. What Kind of upgrades are available for this truck? I know of the ones on the redcat site. Does anyone make aluminum A arms for this? I know obviously i had no issues with my rustler. shes fully modded and a aluminum bullet. anyways im just looking to stiffen up some of the parts like the plastic a arms seem to flex a little too much for my tastes. are there any compatible parts upgrades? any sites etc i can look at to get some upgrades and maybe upgrade the rear hubs to aluminum as well. Plastic parts are blah! Thanks guys!

Mechanicaloverlord

First a word of caution regarding aluminum arms. Aluminum arms obviously dont flex or break like plastic and this may sound like a good thing. But if you hit something the plastic arm will break or bend absorbing some impact while the aluminum arm will transfer that impact to the chassis and break something there. This is why rpm arms are so popular, they bend, rarely break and don't transfer the impact to the chassis like aluminum. Check the hinge pins on your rustler, they might be bent as this usually happens with aluminum arms, something has to give somewhere.

As for upgrades and aluminum parts Redcat is basically the only source. Since other manufacturers also make the same vehicle they may offer more upgrade parts than Redcat but generally they all offer the same selection.

Tempestwolf

I know of the dangers of aluminum parts. i just found the plastic arms flex way too much period on this truck.. my rustlers arms were not too bad but these really flex and seem weak. I don't plan on ramming it into huge rocks or trees.
my rustler is always gone through after i flip it and it has no bends at all. nothing bent and its straight as an arrow. If i ram it into tree going 75 im sure ill be replacing alot of parts haha

i was curious If any other company's offered upgrades. If not ill just deal with it I was looking up A arms and the caldera arms keep pooping up for the search. so i get curious. I have a mail out to redcat support out of curiosity.. I have some nice big bore shocks i bought for my rustler but were way too large for it and happen to be the same exact size as the ones on this truck! I tested one and they fit just have to trim down the lower ball mount on the shock just a little too wide. they seem way better and smoother than the Stock shocks so thumbs up on that!!! I was going to originally buy a stampede or slash since their heavy vs the rustler so whatever win win for me!. . I may rig up something on the rear arms so they don't flex as much like they did with the front end of the truck. other than that seems like a nice truck. i haven't fired it up yet i was waiting for the fuel and the glowplug

RustyUs

I couldn't have said it better. There's a reason why most manufactures don't include "metal" arms on their RCs. The only place to use aluminum (stemming off from the chassis) on an off-road "basher" would be steering blocks, caster blocks, and hub carriers IMO. Replacing a suspension arm is a lot cheaper than replacing chassis, top plates, gearboxes, bulkheads, and whatnot. In the end, it all depends on a person's running conditions; how much bling they want.

RustyUs

Check GPM, Hot Racing, STRC, and Integy for possible parts.

Mechanicaloverlord

Well if you still really want to stiffen up the arms maybe plate the bottom of them with some 2-3mm thick aluminum plate. If you bend it up so it surrounds the arm on the front and back it would be easier to attach through those vertical portions of the plate. Tip: You only need tabs big enough for screws. The complex shape of the arm would make it nearly impossible to bend a section to hug the entire front and rear contours of the arm. A couple of tabs on the front and back however shouldn't be too hard.