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Crappy finish on shock towers???

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2015GTRBE

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I am like 95% finished with this kit build and am just bolting the shocks in and holy crap is the finish on the towers awful. I scraped the finish off by LIGHTLY fastening the nuts onto it. Is this normal? So far I’m honestly not super impressed by this kit, I hate and I mean HATE to say that Losi seems to be better quality so far.

Is there a hard anodized option out there? I have serious issues with the crappy finish on these parts, and this is not living up to the hype.
 
I am like 95% finished with this kit build and am just bolting the shocks in and holy crap is the finish on the towers awful. I scraped the finish off by LIGHTLY fastening the nuts onto it. Is this normal? So far I’m honestly not super impressed by this kit, I hate and I mean HATE to say that Losi seems to be better quality so far.

Is there a hard anodized option out there? I have serious issues with the crappy finish on these parts, and this is not living up to the hype.
Can you take pictures of what you are talking about exactly? I haven't had issues with any of my shock towers and am curious to see what is happening.
 
I am like 95% finished with this kit build and am just bolting the shocks in and holy crap is the finish on the towers awful. I scraped the finish off by LIGHTLY fastening the nuts onto it. Is this normal? So far I’m honestly not super impressed by this kit, I hate and I mean HATE to say that Losi seems to be better quality so far.

Is there a hard anodized option out there? I have serious issues with the crappy finish on these parts, and this is not living up to the hype.

Below was taken from https://www.anodizing.org/page/what_is_anodizing
What is Anodizing?

Anodizing is an electrochemical process that converts the metal surface into a decorative, durable, corrosion-resistant, anodic oxide finish. Aluminum is ideally suited to anodizing, although other nonferrous metals, such as magnesium and titanium, also can be anodized.

The anodic oxide structure originates from the aluminum substrate and is composed entirely of aluminum oxide. This aluminum oxide is not applied to the surface like paint or plating, but is fully integrated with the underlying aluminum substrate, so it cannot chip or peel. It has a highly ordered, porous structure that allows for secondary processes such as coloring and sealing.

Anodizing is accomplished by immersing the aluminum into an acid electrolyte bath and passing an electric current through the medium. A cathode is mounted to the inside of the anodizing tank; the aluminum acts as an anode, so that oxygen ions are released from the electrolyte to combine with the aluminum atoms at the surface of the part being anodized. Anodizing is, therefore, a matter of highly controlled oxidation—the enhancement of a naturally occurring phenomenon.


Unless you are exposing your parts to acidic conditions or mercury the anodizing has no affect on durability, its just for looks, IMO. I burned off all of the anodizing on my tower, I think it looks cool in a dull grey anyways.
 
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Well, anodizing is aesthetic however, it should not flake off unless the material was not cleaned properly prior to anodizing which I suspect is the issue.



I won’t even get into the fact Tekno didn’t supply nicer hardware. Maybe I expect too much, I’m used to nitro Mugens and Losi.
 
So just to clarify, you're not happy with the anodized finish getting scratched off?

This is fairly common regardless of brand, especially on the bottom of the chassis, there are many aftermarket companies that don't provide any anodizing finish either, here's an example:
Dutch Oven Designs NT48/EB48.4 rear tower

Many folks have upgraded to Carbon Fiber parts and will purchase chassis protectors to have a nice looking finish on their rides :)

As a racer, I'm more interested in durability and performance as opposed to putting lipstick on a pig, not saying that Losi is lacking, but here's the current trend of top level drivers to give you an idea of which brands are rising to the top currently:
https://www.top25rc.com/nitro-buggy
 
I got this one: it's much more visible because the anodising is dark. Losis greyish/ golden color is closer to aluminium so you don't see the scratches as much.
 
Bill I hear you, I don’t fan boy Losi, I guess my point is that even Losi provides much more in terms of fit and finish. I believe firmly that Kyosho/ Mugen is tops, but also keep in mind that I bought this kit based on the hype and I’m just being honest so far. I’ll be just as honest when my opinions are flipped the other way once I’m impressed by something.
 
Don't get me wrong, they cut corners for some details (shock collars and Ackerman plate for example), but not the towers.
You have to also remember that this kit is quite a bit cheaper than losi mugen etc.
And honestly they break less than losi.
 
Mugen is probably one of the more popular brand of truggies that I race with at the track in my area, and they tend to break arms like candy... I've yet to break an arm on my ET48.3 over the past couple of years I've raced it.... the shock shafts are 4.0mm thick as compared to Mugen which I believe are 3.5mm thick, not saying you won't bend TEKNO shock shafts (something I have done on rare occasion) but TEKNO's don't break nearly as often as most other top name brands. Only other brand of truggy that I honestly feel is on par with TEKNO is what XRay has to offer, at least this is what I'm seeing locally in terms of drivers with comparable skill in my area.

For a sportsman level driver, these are the only 2 brands that I would encourage for a proper balance between durability and performance. Mugen and Associated tend to be a little more stable and many drivers say they are easier to drive, but at the expense of being less durable. Losi has pretty much dropped off the map in my area, there used to be a bunch of local team drivers for Losi but they all went to TEKNO and XRay for the most part, and for good reason ;)
 

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