wcoyote

I agree that bad parts do need screamed about. I've been the hobby for 10 years myself. My first car was a Super Shot. My second car was a YZ10 super dogfighter. The Tamiya would take abuse the Yok couldn't until I upgraded with RPM parts. The only reason I quit racing the Yok was simply parts availibility, and lack of 4wd support all together. Not because it was a bad car. Why do you think I had to find Hobbico Airplane 3mm screws to replace the ones I had originally? I'm willing to believe Yokomo has improved a lot on parts support around the world. That is why I still look at the SD.
I know things have changed a lot in strength and durability for the good. But the fact remains. Fast cars are fast because of lightweight/stiffer parts that in a wreck usually break more often because of the stiffness. Try and break a graphite chassis and a nylon tub chassis. I guarantee it will take less effort to break the graphite. But it is lighter and the lighter the car the faster you can go. (power/weight ratio) If it weren't for the fact that nylon gives more under stress, (good thing in durability, bad thing for suspension consistency) everyone would most likely use nylon, and most likely have a more durable setup. Wrecking will happen, and you will break parts. Stiffer parts give less and break under less stress. Just ask Barry Baker, he learned that when he hit a pipe recently. Staying clean with any car is your best bet.

Cobra81li200

Lighter also comes front better materials, that needs less amount of material for a same strenghtened part.

DOTMAN

iTrader: (5)

Associated has an article on their website that's called something like "The myths about Graphite". The article says the graphite parts are more rigid and lighter. Because of the rigidity, they are more prone to break in a collision because they don't give. Newer racers think the graphite parts are better and stronger because the top racers use them and are disappointed when they break easier. The article says new racers should stick with the composite parts until they learn to drive, then move up to the high performance parts.

wcoyote

True Cobra. That comes with a lot of R&D and technology. The faster we go, the stronger we need to make the parts. But there has to be a point where it all tops out and durability will take a back seat to performance. Isn't that the definition of fragility? Maybe Fragile is not the right term rather than less durable. Fragile has a bad connotation to it. Race cars are more durable than they used to be, but again, so are the "beginner cars".

Cobra81li200

what I mean when I say better materials, I compare "old" plastics with new ones, old alloys with new ones... I'm not comparing new plastics with new graphite materials...

sosidge

Blah, Blah, Blah.

Horatio - you seem like a consumer with very high standards. Clearly the SD is a substandard car.

I suggest you go get the superior TC3 and stop boring us with your conspiracy theories about parts and deliberately keeping stuff out of the UK.

I will continue to use my SD, which, in my experience is a brilliantly engineered car, with excellent parts fit. I've broken it twice in about 8 months (also a car from the first UK batch). Of course, I BUILD my cars, rather than just ASSEMBLE them, which may be why I checked that my driveshafts moved freely.

Oh, and CML have had parts lists for the BC for a long time. I happen to have a copy of one acquired from them on my website. I don't think you'll find one in a kit even now though...

OSherman

iTrader: (3)

bottom line is... when enough force is applied, everything in existence will fail...

I've had my YOK since SpeedTech first got them in his shop... broke my first parts recently (actually a couple races ago).. original kit parts..

I personally like the 'mostly plastic' parts because they flex more-so than the 'fibre re-inforced' plastics, especially for the suspension components..

The only 'fibre re-inforced' parts that I plan on putting on my YOK are the gearboxes.. good place to save weight that rarely sees extreme shock under race conditions/crashes.. IMO

OSherman

iTrader: (3)

does Yokomo offer the battery strap in the 'light brittle' stuff??

utieh

iTrader: (3)

yes there is a Graphite batt strap and batt posts.
I don't know if you saw inside the part you broke but the stock plastic parts seem to be very brittle (the material is not homogeneous) this problem had been solved on the graphite parts (that's why it took a while until Yokomo released them)...

wcoyote

I'm still waiting for the CGM. I'm hoping I'll find all the stiffenss I want for a carpet car with the better performance I've come to expect from Yokomo. For me it's a tough decision between the two (XXX-S and CGM). I have always shyed away from the SSG because I know that type of chassis is softer. I honestly think that the reason behind the SSG was so you could have a little more flex. Flexing kind of like a tortion bar to actually give more load on angled surfaces and front/rear loading. Just a different design philosophy based on 1/12 pan car technology where the suspension doesn't have the adjustability that most 1/10 scales cars do.

Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

Go with strapping tape... much more secure, and much lighter.

Cobra81li200

wcoyote : the SSG with graphite gearboxes is much stiffer than the black chassis with stock gearboxes.

Most of the flex comes indeed from them and not the material of the chassis.

wcoyote

Interesting. I wouldn't have thought the gearboxes would have that much to do with it. I would have thought the chassis would have the bigger influence. But I guess if the gearboxes have a little give in them, that would effect how the upper brace works at least on side to side forces. Thanks for the info.

Randy Caster

iTrader: (47)

If a stiff chassis is what you're looking for, double up on the upper deck, it works great.

Matt Howard

iTrader: (6)

Wow, enough with all the drama about weak parts. I'm a yokomo team driver and I'll be the first to tell you that the car did have some durability problems when it was first released. The important thing is that Yokomo realized people were breaking parts and redid the molds so they would be more durable. Companies aren't really going to know what the "regular" driver breaks until the kits are released to the public, then they'll hopefully beef up anything that is weak which in this case is exactly what Yokomo did.