Carbon Fiber: Is is strong enough?

Yes, I did mean shock towers, not mounts, my bad.
Doesn't the RC8 come stock with carbon fiber shock towers?

[MetalMan]

Originally Posted by cmcclive

Yes, I did mean shock towers, not mounts, my bad.
Doesn't the RC8 come stock with carbon fiber shock towers?

The factory team RC8 comes with 4mm carbon fiber shock towers, the RTR RC8 comes with (I think) 3mm thick aluminum towers. These shock towers are lower profile than what most other buggies use because of the longer front shocks, which allows them to be laid down more.

[tom255]

Real Carbon Fiber (silky surface- not shiny) can be up to 40% lighter than aluminium for same thickness so take avarega about 30%
You dont save much on shock towers not worth.
Simplify things think about solutions there not used lot of aluminium.

[Thirdgen89GTA]

Most of the 1/8th scale buggies mass lies with its differentials, drivetrain and chassis. Those are the highest weight items. At the same time, its what also gives a 1/8th scale buggy its incredible handling, the differentials while open really help to put the power down to the ground and make the buggy change directions.

One of my friends built a stripper drag buggy with a locked spool in the center, and no front differential. RTR he got it down to 5lbs, however from a handling standpoint the buggy was useless unless you were going in a straight line.

Its possible a carbon fiber chassis would could help reduce the weight, but at the same time the aluminum chassis acts as a heat sink for the nitros, drawing heat through the mounts, and away from the engine. If an Electric motor was mounted in a similar fashion to the nitro counterpart the chassis would provide the same advantages.

If you are lucky you may see a slightly sub 7lb buggy, but that is very difficult to do without sacrificing durability.