Plastic or aluminium

[tearemupanfixem]

Hi guys, my kids and I have a couple different trucks, one of which I just bought a couple months ago. I barley have it broke in (bad weather sucks) Anyway, the new one I bought is almost all aluminum, the others we have are mainly plastic. What are the ups and downs, what do you guys prefer and why? I'll post a couple pictures of the trucks. I've still got alot to learn about this stuff, even though I have always found this hobby very interesting to say the least, I'm just now really getting into it. Thanks for your opinions!

[DavidB]

You may get a lot of varying opinions here. But this is my take on aluminum vs. plastic....

Plastic is lighter but may break easier... although it is much cheaper to replace.

Aluminum is heavier but takes a better beating and is just cool to look at. If it does break it is more expensive to replace.

I think either way is decent. Since it seems you have one of each you have the means to determine the benefits or downfalls of each.

I myself happen to like aluminum...but most racers prefer plastic for the weight savings.

[Gt-bone]

Your question could turn out to have a very long ansewer. Ill try and make it simple. When you look at your truck try and visualize the parts you think should not flex (shock towers,bulkheads,chassis,hubs,ect). then think about the ones that should flex to help absorb impacts and not bend (arms, camber and steering links, any moving part connected to a metal object,ect). Aluminum has its place but plastic does as well. Plastic generally fexes and springs back to its origenal form. Aluminum may be stronger but any impact hard enough to break a plastic arm is most likly hard enough to fatigue or bend an aluminum arm. So when its said and done I like plastic where plastic belongs and aluminum where it belongs. If your just bashen I say just run it. Replace the parts as they break or bend.

[brushlessdirtyal]

X2^ I always make the main beef of the truck (chassis, bulkheads, etc..) aluminum. Arms and stuff I use RPM parts. They still have flex and are very strong. For alumuinum I always try to get fastlane machine. Excellent parts and lifetime warranty.

[OldSchoolRC]

oh, i may as well get into this one too. This is probably not a popular decision, but i tend to stay with plastic as much as possible since it's cheaper to replace and it's usually much lighter. I will buy an aluminum part if i have a piece that is breaking repeatedly or if i am building some sort of show vehicle. My usual formula is to bulk up the chassis and bulkheads/arm mounts witth aluminum and leave plastic suspension arms. That way if i hit something hard enough, there is still one spot that will "give" and not bend/tear anything else apart.

When i raced my maxx, it was all stock plastic on purpose as it helped keep the weight down and i could afford to keep a ton of of spare parts in my pit box no problem. (Though to give credit to the maxx plattform, i rarely needed them)

Now that i no longer race it, i have picked up a few alumium pieces just for show. They sure do look good, that's for sure.

my .02

[TroyS]

Like everyone else said, a lot of it is personal preference.

Aluminum is going to make the truck heavier, and while aluminum parts are generally more durable than their plastic counterparts - they can also tweak and bend in a wreck that would normally break plastic. This could go unnoticed and change the handling of the vehicle. Also if you add aluminum in the wrong place, it may transfer the impact to another part of the vehicle that is more time consuming, or expensive to repair. ( such as aluminum A-arms transfering a hit to the bulkhead and cracking it ).

There isn't one single answer to this question, otherwise the manufacturers would have already switched to only using one type or another. :)

[tearemupanfixem]

Like everyone else said, a lot of it is personal preference.

Aluminum is going to make the truck heavier, and while aluminum parts are generally more durable than their plastic counterparts - they can also tweak and bend in a wreck that would normally break plastic. This could go unnoticed and change the handling of the vehicle. Also if you add aluminum in the wrong place, it may transfer the impact to another part of the vehicle that is more time consuming, or expensive to repair. ( such as aluminum A-arms transfering a hit to the bulkhead and cracking it ).

There isn't one single answer to this question, otherwise the manufacturers would have already switched to only using one type or another. :)

Good call! Thanks guys!

[Mattdg67]

Personaly I like my RC's being all aluminum, but there is a down side like some people have already said. Like the weight, and price. Plastic on the other hand is cheaper, lighter, but not as strong.

I prefer to buy all the Carbon Fiber parts made for the car first, then go for the aluminum, that way it's stronger, and lighter than just all aluminum.


Matt

[TNT66613]

from my personal experiences with the cold Canadian winters plastic really likes to break when under stress so thats why im starting to convert all of my suspension components to Aluminum, Also I'am goin with composite for the main chassis

[tearemupanfixem]

from my personal experiences with the cold Canadian winters plastic really likes to break when under stress so thats why im starting to convert all of my suspension components to Aluminum, Also I'am goin with composite for the main chassisAAHH! Extreme cold weather! That was one I had'nt thought of, good call! Thanks, Mike