tommythecat

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Not to intentionally start an argument or anything but...

I've read post after post in there forums with people recommending upgraded aluminum parts for durability. This seems contrary to my experiences with aluminum. For the most part I've found aluminum is generally harder to break than most ABS plastics, but it has a tendency to bend. Has anyone else had this experience. The only aluminum parts I've used in RC so far were replacement bumpers, and I found that they would bend if I had even a light crash. Also after bending them back into place, they looked like garbage and were weakened so they had a tendency to bend even easier in the same place on the second and third crash. I had them on for a week and ended up pulling them off and going back to stock plastics. After reading everyone else's posts on how much more durable aluminum is than plastic, I just started to assume that the ebay bumpers I bought were made from the weakest aluminum available.

I am not here to state that I think plastic is stronger than aluminum. I realize that aluminum comes in an infinite number of forms, some being much more durable and much more expensive than others. I am just wondering what experiences you guys may have had with aluminum upgrades.

What is the best aluminum to look for when buying parts?

cmate

I have found at least for skid plates that what you say is exactly true -- If you run in to something, the skid plate bends!

I recently got a Losi LST, and I really like their design in bumpers its collapsable... So its cool, you do endos off a jump, you dont do permanent damage by bending metal skid plates, or stripping screws out.

Of course I am a newbie to all this stuff, so I only have like 3 cars (2 tmaxxes) as a comparison, and I havent been doing this long...

I found that certain parts are definately good in metal - like the bulkheads and a-arms. My friend went through like 6 bulkheads with his new tmaxx, and I have gone through like 3... Since we put in metal ones, no damage at all. Same with the a-arms - they seem to break easy. Since metal, no breaks.

Even on the LST I broke an a-arm, so I put all metal in the front.

Of course a large part of the problem is my bad driving skills...

69 GTO

Well i've had alot of aluminum parts in the past, my last T maxx was almost all aluminum, and i've had alot of trucks that were just stock plastic or upgraded to RPM arms and such so heres my opinion.

I think certian aluminum parts do help to add strength, such as shock towers or the aluminum skids that screw over the stock plastic skids like the one i just put on my Revo. Aluminum bumpers look great and in a minor hit they will protect the truck when a plastic one would snap in half....but for a higher speed hit they will bend for sure no matter how good the quality of them.

I'd say shock towers&skids that go over the stock skids are fine to replace with aluminum but arms (which i had on my maxx) "look" great but will bend and be very costly to replace.

An all aluminum truck looks great but adds some heft to the truck also.

tommythecat

My Feedback: (2)

Thaks guys, that is basically the info I was looking for. (what parts work well in aluminum)

Thnx

R/C Madman

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You just had to ask didn't you! lol

All of these parts work well very well!!!!!! I know most don't want to spend this kind of money but, I had show what top of the line aluminum parts look like!

dr_killer_uk

I'd say get aluminum on some parts but not all, e.g. i like aluminum bulkheads and bulkhead braces but stick with the plastic bumper mounts with a aluminum bumper so in a crash the cheap plastic bumper mounts take the force away from the more expensive bits like the bulkheads and such. I havn't gone with aluminum A-arms yet stuck with RPM ones and RPM does rock athey give you a life time warrenty agains them breaking, SWEET!

tommythecat

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That is what I need then. I've already broken 6 lower a-arms. (I wreck a lot, it's a combination of bad driving and poor judgement)

dr_killer_uk

ya about a week ago i sent 3 broken lower RPM a-arms to them for replacment and to my amasment i had the replacments at my door step in under a week :O
Just read their policy on replacment before you say how they got broken and send them off, its all on their website.

Dil

hi

well i would'nt use any more aluminium, on my t-max cos say when you land hard on aluminium skid plate it normally bends since it is hard it does not absorb the shock instead the shock is transfersd on to your bulkheads which would normally damage the bulkhead as well after my experiences i am going back to plastic since it absorbs more shock than the aluminium, and is much cheaper! than changing your aluminium skid plates all the time.

tommythecat

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That is why I'm not big on aluminum for the frequent impact parts like bumpers. When I slam into something with my plastic bumpers it generally absorbs the impact, flexes and then goes back to normal, the only time I break them is when I slam into something really hard. With the aluminum bumpers even a relatively light impact would bend them all outa whack.

ratpower396

just remember if you put aluminum anything on look at what might bend or break instead of what you just changed.Example put aluminum arms on= broken bulkheads. Put aluminum bulkheads =break arms.arms take 2 minutes to change & no disassembly.bulkheads take half the truck apart .

cavegod

still it looks well shiny in alloy on a shelf in front room!!

dr_killer_uk

Very true but i for one like to bash the living S**T out of mine even though its my pride and joy lol. Why buy one if you just want to look at it, if you want to do that get a lovely picture and frame it for the wall

R/C Madman

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I hate to bash you guys but, you don't have a clue! If you knew anything about good aluminum parts (not the junk you buy on Ebay) you would know that they are 10 times stronger then plastic parts and don't weigh a ton either. I know most people don't want to spend that kind of money on what some would call a "toy" but, if you want the best basher or racer some of these parts are the only way to get there! UE, Dace and GA make some of the best aluminum parts money can buy and they look just as good on a shelf as they do on the track. Some of you will need to hold some of these parts in your hand before you will believe me so, some day you will.

tommythecat

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I know there are some aircraft grade aluminum alloys that come close to the strength of steel at a fraction of the weight, but you definately gotta shell out the green for that stuff.

I was just looking for opinions on which parts are ideal for aluminum upgrades and which brand of alluminum parts are the best. You manufacturer reccomendations are exactly what I was looking for. Thank you.

dr_killer_uk

Yup you can get very strong aluminum parts but for me anyways RPM a-rams i like over aluminum just cause if they brake i get new ones free lol, and if i crashed bad enough to break an RPM a-arm then its probably going to bend most alumiunm A-arms to where they can't realy be used properly (i did say most aluminum lol). But lets face it all alumiunm bends at some point and it dosn't take out any shock like a plastic part would, this is why its good to have a bit of both. Just think if nothing absorbed the shock what would happen in a crash into a wall say at 30MPH you would probably rip the engine off its mounts if theres nothing there to take that initial shock out of the crash. Anyways i'm not dissing aluminum i love the stuff but i prefer bit of both like i said before, but each man to him self so lets DRIVE! and then crash lol

dr_killer_uk

duno if i said this before cause i can't be botherd reading the posts lol but i like "integy" never had one of their bulkheads brake on me and they look darn nice too lol and not too expensive

ils

Is your driving anything like my driving: hitting anything that sticks up into the air (i.e. mail boxes, curbs, light poles, etc....), diving of a ramp head first (or rear first)?
I would use aluminum bulkheads, lower braces, center skid plate, and titanium front and rear skid plates. Use RPM parts for the a-arms.

dr_killer_uk

yup that setup sounds good for the bashing, with out breaking the bank!

tommythecat

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I run into things on occasion, but I do most of my damage jumping. My friends and I get carried away making ramps out of plywood. The one we made today was at roughly 5 foot off the ground at the apex and sat at slightly less that a 45 degree angle. I was landing them pretty good, but when you botch a jump of that size just as you hit 2nd gear, you're garaunteed damage. I had so much fun today, but now I'm replacing bumpers and mounts, turnbuckles, lower arms and skids all the way around and one front upper arm. The last crash took out all the lower arms, but somehow my bulkheads always seem to survive.

dr_killer_uk

Sweet, i realy need to make a ramp for mine, i kinda just use the ramps that nauture creates for me at the moment lol

69 GTO

RC madman not to start anything here but i wouldnt lump everyone into a group as to not having a clue. I have been working with steel/aluminum in the field of fabrication for the past 12-15 years and i have a pretty good knowledge of whats good and whats low grade. My point was simply that the way alot of R/Cers drive hitting a solid object at 30+ MPH with a front wheel will bend even the best Aluminum A-arm and its costly to replace.

Dont take what i said the wrong way, i do love the look of aluminum a-arms,towers,bulkheads etc,etc...but for the average "basher" they are a bit costly to buy and then replace.

R/C Madman

My Feedback: (1)

Your right I should not put everyone in a group and I am sorry for doing so. I hear the same thing all the time from members that have been in the hobby for 1-2 months you know the "know it alls"! lol I know a lot of you can't drive these trucks very well yet and hitting things is what some of you would call part of the fun but, I look at it this way if you pay $500 or so minimum for a bone stock truck please try to not hit things that don't move!

entity

My Feedback: (14)

i always giggle at these type of remarks to posts... first off.. PRACTICE YOUR DRIVING SKILLS! then once you master and know what you stock truck can do.. upgrade accordingly. yes they all have there weaknesses.. but as told a million times before... if you hit anything that will not move and your truck is cruising.. your going to break.... So practice your skills on driving.. the handling of the truck.. minor jumps.. which can be controlled with the throttle or brake for proper landing.. and then mod it... even the best parts in the world will break if you have a "loose nut behind the wheel"

CRAZY BOUT RC

my opinion is yes... in some areas. Not all