question about aoluminum hop-ups

[mad sceintist]

i just recently got back into this hobby.

and while i was gone aluminum has become very popular for obvious reasons.
what I'm wondering is if you upgrade a part that often breaks like arms, does that then transfer the impact and stress to other parts on the truck that may not be aluminum?

basically like crumble zones in a car......the arms desined to break to prevent damage to another part.

is this common or even an issue? if so then are you required to upgrade the next part in line to break with impact?

 

[mjime714]

I say away from replacing parts that break often with aluminum. I would rather change parts that dont break but contribute to the overall stiffness of the car.

The reason I dont change parts that break is because aluminum will bend and if it bends, it could throw your tuning off. If I have an aluminum a-arm and it bends, my handling will be totally off. If I look at the car, at first glance, the bend may not be obvious. If you do see it, you have to bend it back and that may cause the part to be weaker. I would rather see a broken plastic part so I know right away what the problem is.

Things I would change are the shock towers and, if you have an on road, the radio posts. Parts that will stiffen up the chassis are places I would change to aluminum.

 

[x_789]

I stay away from aluminum upgrades generally there is no need in my opinion except in rare instances. Normally when you install a Aluminum piece it does exactly what you asked about it transferes the stress uneqauly to other places. Not to mention the weight factor. Thats my two cents unless you are going to make an all metal machine like a super maxx...X

 

[Supernitro17]

i like graphite, it is a stiff but unbendable part, graphite a arms will take a beating and stay tough , i have them on my losi xxxt ... I'm going to be putting some woven graphite on my rs4 soon , starting at the shock towers. aluminum shocks might be a good investment, being that they dont really get "SLAMMED" into by things head on. and if you have aluminum shocks with graphite suspension arms and towers, you should be pretty well set up to get going. and look good

 

[Akina'sMtx-2]

Aluminums are only great for some purpose. Aluminum parts for suspension parts, such as A arms or steering kuckle isn't the best thing to get. Getting aluminum bearing block or bulklehead etc. is something good, the stiffer the better.. That is a part that won't bend or tweak during a crash. Other chassis stiffener like engine brace are also good if its made from aluminum. Other aluminum parts like Shocks is a different story.. It really matters what you are getting, as far as weight is concerned, aluminum does weight a lot compare to woven graphite.

 

[mad sceintist]

so non-impact parts like bulkhead or shock tower are good aluminum upgrades?

and the parts like arms should only be aluminum if your going to upgrade the rest ?

 

[ImBroken]

In my opinion, these should be replaced with Aluminum or Titanium... I kinda prefer Titanium...lol

Bulkheads & braces
Chassis braces & skids
Shocks

RPM is the way to go for :
Arms
Towers
maybe bumpers

 

[SkyMaxx]

To answer your imbedded question with regards to crumple zones, yes. If you replace a part with metal, the resulting stress/strain will be passed on to the surrounding materials. If the attached material is plastic, you may find that (much like a car's crumple zone) you need to replace that plastic part in the not so distant future.

For most RCs the key to nice smooth running is to limit chassis flex and provide a solid (rigid) chassis. To that end, I would recommend the following for upgrades to metal (aluminum or titanium if you can afford it):

Chassis braces
Bulkheads
Bulkhead braces
Bumpers (keep the bumper brackets plastic to absorb impacts...kinda like a shock absorber)
Shock towers

Things that are good upgrades:
Drag links
Shock cylinders (bodies)
Turnbuckles from stock to Titanium (for offroad vehicles)

As you are aware, I run a T-Maxx. I have upgraded to aluminum/titanium in a hybrid mix of metals to put the strength where I need it and stay cost effective. If you want a list of things I have done and the logic behind them, let me know.

One thing I will tell you...skid plates. Either stick with plastic or go straight to Titanium. DO NOT use aluminum skid plates. You will spend more time unbending them than they are worth. I used aluminum skids for about a week and went straight back to plastic. Pirata can give you a good tip on mixing metal and plastic.

 

[Rob D]

Tell us all your mods Sky i just picked up a package a arms ,bulks,shcktowers, and then bought alum diff cases and ti turnbuckles all for the maxx

 

[Akina'sMtx-2]

Originally posted by mad sceintist
so non-impact parts like bulkhead or shock tower are good aluminum upgrades?

and the parts like arms should only be aluminum if your going to upgrade the rest ?

Yea, bulklehead brace, engine brace etc. are good aluminum hopups. In some point, Aluminum shock tower isn't that good, if your running a off road car, then it's something you should go with.

I agree with Imbroke and skymaxx... Titanium will flex a little and it will bend back to normal position, it hardly will stay bend or deform. Aluminum and steel will bend, and stay bend, they hardly break into 2.

 

[SkyMaxx]

Since you asked:

To strengthen the spine of my T-Maxx and protect the undercarriage, I have aluminum bulkheads (Hardcore Racing), titanium bulkhead braces, aluminum chassis braces, aluminum center skid (TRAXXAS) and aluminum steering servo skid (Dynamite). I have aluminum bumpers but kept the stock plastic bumper supports. This gives my T-Maxx a rigid spine. When you take the braces, skid and chassis plate together...get a pretty solid box beam right in the middle of the chassis plate. This greatly reduces chassis flex.

I have aluminum upper A-arms(Dynamite-on sale), kept plastic for the lowers, and titanium hinge pins (Hardcore Racing). This gives the four corners some strength and allows for the fact the lower A-arms take most of the abuse during off-road running (lower to the ground and thus more apt to get direct impacts from high terrain and the like). I further strengthen the four corners with aluminum knuckle joints (Power Line-inexpensive), titanium pillow balls(Hardcore Racing), aluminum pillow ball caps (TRAXXAS), aluminum wheel hexes (TRAXXAS), titanium turnbuckles (Lunsford), and a set of CVDS (MiP).

Working the suspension I have a set of AE aluminum shocks with Trinity Blue springs for the four front and two of the rear and a set of Trinity Black for the other two rear shocks. Add some aluminum shock towers (Hardcore Racing) and I have a rock solid suspension. Since you will ask, I use 60 wt silicone to fill the shocks.

For the drive train, I have a vented flywheel (RRP) and clutch bell (Racer’s Edge) on my Fantom .15FR. I run the RRP steel slipper disk set up on my steel spur gear. The tranny and diffs are stock. I have kept the center drive shafts plastic (my weak link). So far I have not toasted a tranny or diff gear. I have blown at least one center drive shaft (over-torqued in all cases) and sometime both during my bash sessions. These are cheap and easy to replace. Why not metal diffs and cases? Why not for the tranny? Haven't toasted either yet; so I'll keep my weight down by running stock.

Power plant: I run Fantom with pull start (the only thing I've broken on the Fantom and they replaced it no questions and free of charge). I run the Traxxas tuned pipe with port matched stock header (TRAXXAS). I have the 17T clutch bell and 72T spur. What do I get? A heavy duty T-Maxx that jumps off the line and climbs great. Yes, I lose some top speed, but I consider 35 mph pretty damn quick for a near eleven pound T-Maxx.

Some miscellaneous upgrades. I have a titanium drag link. I run the HiTec 5645 digital hi-torque servo for my steering servo with a Kimbrough servo saver (upgrading to the Pro-line steering kit this summer). I have the stock steering servo pulling throttle and break duty. I have aluminum servo mounts (they were on sale and looked nice). I run a HiTec Lynx 3D radio with spectra module and Novak receiver (I'm crystal free with up to ten models programmable in the FM spectrum...color me happy).

The rest are standard, upgraded air filter (Motor Saver), fuel filter (Dynamite), little things like that. Mix of black oxide and titanium screws (hex drive and socket heads for almost all screws)

Fuel tank mod-use fuel tubing on the legs to act as dampeners (I know not a metal upgrade, but you wanted all mods). This saves you from cracked tanks. While you're at it remove any primer you have and seal the hole. This will save you from air leaks down the road.

Yes, my T-Maxx is a mixed bag of goodies, but they all work great together to make my T-Maxx a veritable tank. I have broken very few parts and have tried pretty hard to keep it that way. Long answer to your question, but you asked.

 

[Rob D]

Very though and yes its what i asked gives me soem more ideas where to blow my cash

like i siad i got alum a arms ,diffs,braces,shock towers a foc , alum bulkhead braces ordering shocks still have stock shafts only twisted one so far doing donuts

the os 15 cvx 16 tooth clucth bell havent run it with that bell yet ..

right now its mostly stock all parts came in today so ill put together soon

 

[nitro dave]

Great post Sky. Lots of good info there for people to learn from and use.

 

[Supernitro17]

i just thought of a question on this myself... would aluminum shocks tear up my woven graphite shock tower ?

mmmmmmmm .... 60 wt ... yummy

 

[x_789]

Originally posted by Supernitro17
i just thought of a question on this myself... would aluminum shocks tear up my woven graphite shock tower ?

Not likely. The reason to go to Aluminum shocks its to prevent the caps coming off. You should not have any issues as long as it is a qaulity carbon fiber piece and you have your suspension setup correctly. X

 

[SkyMaxx]

:stupid:

X is absolutely correct. While the material might be lighter than you would expect, that does not mean that the graphite part is weaker. An improperly set up suspension with even the best of parts will tear itself to pieces over a short period of time.