Well folks, I finally found a "hop-up" that's actually a
hop-down. I'm glad I was able to experience how poor quality could really
be. Hopefully it will help you avoid wasting valuable time and money.
It's also more proof that cheap is rarely less expensive.
I purchased a front and rear set of Racers Edge purple aluminum
bulkheads. They look very good so I figured I would take a chance with
them. I'm sorry I did.
During the installation (which, by the way requires practically
a disassembly of the E-Maxx), I found that the screw holes didn't quite line up
with stock positioning. It was close but not there. Because of this,
I also had the chance to experience how terrible the aluminum material is too.
Watching threads come out of the screw hole as you re-assemble the truck is not
fun. After getting the rear assembled finally, I began work on the front.
Shortly after, one of the screws seemed to be dragging in the threads, so I
backed it out and turned it back in several times to "condition" the threads.
One of the turns was so tight that the stainless steel screw head broke off
leaving the shaft in the hole. It was impossible to remove and I almost
cut the bulkhead in half with a Dremel attempting to get the shaft out.
That was round 1.
So, I ordered another front bulkhead -- identical to the
original, hoping it was just a manufacturing flaw. Sure enough, that too
had problems. Again the aluminum was so weak it was coming out of the
holes when putting the screws in. One of the screw holes was so poorly
tapped that it was like cross-threading the whole way down. Eventually,
all the threads came out of the hole with nothing for the screw to hold on to.
Another dead bulkhead.
Even if the aluminum was a good quality and the holes lined up
and the threads were tapped well, the holes are not deep enough for a good
screw, which makes it a generally bad design.
Additionally, the A-arm slots do not accept many after-market
A-arms without the use of a Dremel to shave some material from the arm or the
bulkhead for a good fit.
These Racers Edge bulkheads are inexpensive, but you really just
save about $10-$15 each compared to good bulkheads. Since they are junk, I
ended up buying the front bulkhead twice which still didn't work, so I threw
away more money on bulkheads I couldn't use than I ended up spending
(additionally) on a set of high quality bulkheads.
I wanted the purple for the color scheme, but was disappointed
at the quality of these.
Let this be a lesson to us. If you buy cheap the first
time, you'll probably end up spending a lot more in the long run.