(Review) Basherqueen Carbon Fiber Upgrade Kit for Typhon 6S

[SixStar]

Hello all, this thread will be a long-term review of the performance, durability, and longevity of the BasherQueen Carbon Fiber parts kit available from Kimberly via Ebay. First impressions are that these parts are super high quality, incredibly lightweight (which to be fair, is supposed to be the case with CF), and quite strong. Yesterday I took the Typhon out for its first real bash with the BasherQueen towers on, I still need to install the BQ Ackerman bar and top plate. I do have a BQ Ackerman bar on my Kraton 6S and it is holding up much, much better than the stock one and a cheap aftermarket one I got a while back. I snapped off the wing mount on my 3rd or 4th jump, totally my fault, I had some pretty large tires on as an experiment and it made the car very difficult to control accurately midair. I ended up landing straight on the wing from about 12 feet or so and snapped it clean off. Since I had just got out and set everything up I decided to keep running anyway. The rear tower took a few good knocks that would have for sure severely bent the stock tower. Upon inspection there is no damage or any evidence of impact whatsoever. So far I am very impressed with the BasherQueen parts, especially the shock towers and the Ackerman bar. I plan on updating this thread over time as I get more bash time on these parts. So far I would not hesitate to recommend these parts for the Typhon.

 

[Jeckler]

I just threw the full set on my Kraton. I completely agree about the quality. I didn't want the stock 3mm standoffs wobbling around in a 4mm hole, so I picked up M2C's 4mm stand off kit at the same time.
My kit also came with the CF steering plates. If I remember, correctly, there's about a 60 gram weight saving overall with all the pieces of the kit replacing the stock parts; front/rear towers, top plate, ackerman bar and steering plates. All but the steering plates were bent in some way when I removed the stock parts, with the ackerman bar looking distinctly S-shaped.
The true test for me will be racing it this weekend.

 

[SixStar]

My stock ackerman bar always finds a way to make itself taco-shaped pretty much immediately. And I'm not even bashing *that* hard. That aluminum is just, frankly, trash quality. I'd happily pay another $50-$75 to have quality 7075 or even just thicker 6061 towers and ackerman bar on the RTR 6S line. Other than those issues I love my Arrma 6S's. I evidently forgot to mention that I have the CF steering plates on as well since I was already swapping to Kraton hubs anyway.

 

[JvG]

My stock ackerman bar always finds a way to make itself taco-shaped pretty much immediately. And I'm not even bashing *that* hard. That aluminum is just, frankly, trash quality. I'd happily pay another $50-$75 to have quality 7075 or even just thicker 6061 towers and ackerman bar on the RTR 6S line. Other than those issues I love my Arrma 6S's. I evidently forgot to mention that I have the CF steering plates on as well since I was already swapping to Kraton hubs anyway.

I know M2C makes one, but i don't know how strong it is.
Based on the reviews of their other products it should be stronger than stock.

 

[hobo]

I know M2C makes one, but i don't know how strong it is.
Based on the reviews of their other products it should be stronger than stock.

View attachment 150115

not bent mine been on for long time

 

[SixStar]

Just wanted to add an update after another 10 bash sessions or so on my Truggified Typhon. All carbon parts are holding and look as good as new. I cannot express enough how impressed I am with these shock towers. I just put through a PayPal transfer for a new-to-me M2C chassis and chassis braces for the Trug. Typhon build as I've had to straighten out my chassis at least once the last 7 or 8 times I've been out. Its not difficult to do or anything but it is a little annoying. The additional weight will provide an even better test of the long-term durability of Kimberly's amazing Basherqueen carbon fiber parts.

 

[SixStar]

Hey all, just wanted to add an update to the thread. I did have one small issue with the shock mount screws on the front of the Typhon, where the stock 3mm piece had weeble-wobbled over time and started to dig into the carbon fiber a bit. A couple stainless washers have solved that issue. I could put 4mm M2C standoffs on, since I have a set. However I got them for my Kraton since it is heavier and seems to be more prone to parts failure. I just haven't taken the time to drill out the towers to accept the larger standoffs. Other than that issue, the Basherqueen towers are holding up very well. I haven't even seen any fraying or damage from abrasion when the Typhon inevitably finds itself upside-down skidding along the street haha. I'm genuinely impressed with these parts. It's not often I gush about a product like this. I would say that these might be the best towers available for the Typhon, especially if you're concerned about weight as I was/am on this build. Really the strength-to-weight ratio on these is unbelievable.