Personally, I thought a 3mm 7075-T6 chassis would be a huge upgrade from the stamped aluminum Arrma 6061 chassis. I see M2C makes a Mugen chassis which is 3.25mm:
https://www.absolutehobbyz.com/M2C-Racing-Mugen-MBX7-Truggy-Chassis-w-Skid-Plates_p_507178.html
Tekno does use a 4mm chassis, but Tekno has always built stronger than others. I see even though the Tekno chassis is 4mm, many areas have been milled and lightened to much less thickness than 4mm.
https://www.ebay.ca/itm/Tekno-RC-1-8-EB48-4-Buggy-LIGHTENED-MAIN-CHASSIS-4mm-Frame-7075-Aluminum/372031080280?_trkparms=aid=222007&algo=SIM.MBE&ao=2&asc=40971&meid=b9563f6b8e474ef8874fadf38828c8bb&pid=100005&rk=1&rkt=3&sd=372336932197&itm=372031080280&_trksid=p2047675.c100005.m1851
A 4mm 7075-T6 Arrma chassis if milled and lightened like the Tekno chassis above or same as other high end truggy kits would be unbelievable for both strength and lightness, if proper R&D testing is done. However, if no milling is done and to help keep costs down, just a 3mm thick 7075-T6 chassis plate should be strong enough, especially compared to the stock chassis. However, if any milling is done to lighten chassis, I do agree a 4mm chassis should be used. I see even TLR 8IGHT-E uses a 4mm chassis, which are known to also be very durable.
I noticed in Xtreme's Racing site that some of the towers in their pics looked like the holes were not smooth/finished and maxpseedparts had all the other carbon fiber parts also available, plus he was able to give me a really good package deal, etc, so I went with them. Let us know how the Xtreme Racing tower goes.
I agree, the sealing of the c/f top edges are more for the buggy, as the front shock tower is exposed, but yes, I agree, it still wouldn't hurt to do this, and could add extra durability in the long run for our Arrma c/f parts. Just a small amount of ca glue will seal the edges.
Very cool. Good find. If racing, that looks like a great option having a carbon fiber chassis (super light and strong). Most 1/8 scale chassis have a front kick up plate, usually about 8 degrees. More kick-up on the front makes the car go better through bumps, and makes it jump better, specially on jumps with rough uneven faces. More kick-up also reduces steering, specially steering response, as it calms the car down, and makes it smoother. The car will transfer more weight, as the front will rise when accelerating and lower under braking. This can have the effect of making it easier to brake around hairpins as the weight is transferred to the front, and the rear slides round. Less kick-up makes the car more responsive, and better for smooth and for high traction tracks. The car will be more stable on high traction tracks due to less weight transfer. So yes, if Racing, having no front kick up plate can definitely affect the handling. The other benefit I would see with a front kick up plate is less wear and tear under the front part of the chassis, as front chassis would probably bottom out more. Having no front kick up plate would also affect the truggy getting up and over things, as it would not slide over obstacles as easily, and if bashing, this would have a negative impact. If speed runs only, actually having no front kick up plate might be better, as the front end might be a bit lower and air could not underneath as easily. Just a thought...
A complete carbon fiber setup might probably be real nice for the track, lots of weight saving and mild flex. There's is a huge difference though between racing on a track and bashing doing huge jumps, where should we compromise ?
My plan is to use 7075-T6 chassi braces and 7075-T6 shock towers (or carbon fiber) together with a top brace. I'm really trying to get rid of the tower to tower brace. Using only strong chassi braces does not seem to help chassi flex altogether, olds97_lss writes
"My buddy has the HR front/rear alloy chassis braces. Even with those on his talion, if you block up the front/rear of the chassis under the nose, you can easily see flex in the center. With as much flex that remains, it still bends center dog bones on a fairly frequent basis. The only way to get away from that is to either run the tower to tower brace or fashion up an X brace type system that has braces going from the center diff top down to the front/rear of the chassis. Would definitely want to have alloy center diff towers and cap though. Or, just go with the tower to tower brace."
Now, how much flex is allowed ? I don't really mind the chassi flexing as long as it doesn't bend. I know it's not nice to compare Arrma to Traxxas but the E-Revo plastic chassi sure flexes a lot but it goes back to shape. Perhaps we need a Talion plastic/delrin/acetal chassi
Enough with the ramblings......
Agreed, the 7075-T6 is the toughest alloy. Even though 7075 is more dense, we also know that anodizing should'nt be a problem.
We also know that choosing 7075-T6 and choosing a hard anodize is more expensive.
So a 3mm non lightened chassi or a 4mm lightened chassi 7075-T6 is about settled, also the design of the DEX8T chassi plate ?
Recieved my Outcast/Kraton Voltage Hobbies rear shock tower yesterday, wow that is just great craftsmanship. Now Voltage Hobbies also seem to be a small business but as we know they make plenty of Arrma parts. They seem to be real busy with developing and making new parts and the Talion V3 page does expand. They have experience with both 7075-T6 and anodizing, would be nice to get them aboard on making a chassi. As mentioned earlier though the Talion V3 might not be the most common Arrma chassi.
Thanks guys for the well informed information.
Yes it sounds like it would be well suited for me having a carbon fiber chassis for racing. Having all the pros of having that extra handling and steering out weighs the cons of having it flat I will just steer clear of holes and make sure i land flat. I would probably get kraton and talion cf chassis as both offer different handling. For my outcast i would definitely get the aluminum when i just want to do big air.
I have found a company that makes carbon fiber chassis for all the arrma cars, he also makes custom chassis and i think recently his doing aluminum chassis as well.
Here is his website.
http://www.fastlanercs.com/arrma.html