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When the Nightmare chassis development project was first previewed on the Ultimate Traxxas forums, I immediately saw that it had great potential, and contacted the designer about the possibility of a review. Though sales had not begun, production was already underway and I was sent a complete, shrink-wrapped kit to install on a test rig. My rigorous static and running trials surfaced several "red flag" design issues, and an iterative revision process began. Two months later, the upated kit was ready to go to market, and I was sent one of the first kits off the factory floor.
First Impressions
When you first take the Nightmare Chassis parts out of their ultrasonic-sealed plastic compartments, you will likely have two very different emotions in rapid succession, and both will be of surprise. The color of the anodizing is amazingly rich and smooth; the photos here truly don't do justice to the quality. However, the parts are also astonishingly thin. The aluminum stock used is 1.3mm, thinner than the ridge of an American dime (!) and fairly flimsy. Don't get discouraged yet; just keep reading.
Assembly
The kit comes with very basic, straightforward instructions accompanied by photographs, so you can't go wrong here. I was tempted to skip the manual altogether, but I'm glad I didn't, as the assembly brings back memories of some old Erector Set projects. If you don't put the pieces together in roughly the designated order, the process could get a bit awkward with respect to screwdriver angles and simply holding the parts together by hand.
The first main step involves removing the business ends of the truck from the stock chassis in two big chunks. You then install the side rails of the Nightmare kit, which may still leave you wondering how an assembly of parts so thin could actually be called a chassis. However, once the bottom plate is secured, everything changes. Sudenly, everything locks together tightly into an assembly that feels like a true monocoque design.
The structural pieces fit together very well, but there were a couple of hardware-related issues. Due to the thinness of the new lower plate, the steering bellcrank bolt heads protrude about 1/16" through the bottom. Also, the main assembly screws were a bit long and threaded excessively far through the locknuts, but this is merely a cosmetic issue. Incidentally, I've been assured that when the initial batch of standard-unit screws run out, shorter, better-fitting metric replacements will be introduced. On the plus side, all-new stainless steel screws are provided for the lower bulkhead and transmission mounting points to replace the relatively weak and rust-prone plated steel stockers.
The Design
The side rails are carefully press-bent along the entire lower edge to form a 90 degree angled lip to provide surprising tortional and longitudinal stiffness. The upper edges are straight down the middle, but bent at the ends to form the rear shock tower mount and front upper deck and battery bar mount. Extra material is left bent over at the rear, and a lateral brace is included to fight bowing and act as a rear battery hold-down with the help of piece of adhesive foam (not pictured).
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Up front, the foam-backed battery hold-down can be mounted in four different locations. With the help of a pair of non-adhesive foam blocks included in the kit, you can tune your battery mounting position to add steering to a truck that pushes in turns, or add traction to one that spins out too easily under power. Remove all of the foam blocks and you can even run a 7-cell flat pack. For people running side-by-side packs, self-adhesive Lexan strips are included in the kit to insolate the sides of the battery tray.
Things were pretty solid and good-looking once the entire kit was assembled onto my test rig, but it was time for look & feel to make way for track & field.
Test 1: The Track
I ran the truck first with a Stinger motor on the local track for a performance test under familiar J-SPEC racing conditions where driving lines must be very precise and consistent. I may have been completely hallucinating, but I could have sworn that I could tell that the chassis was stiffer than stock! Handling was very precise and I was ready to switch to lighter springs and thicker oil, a very good sign.
Test 2: The Field
I then popped in a 17x2 Speed Gems Amethyst with 10 degrees of advance timing and moved into thrash-test mode. I drove full-speed into mounds of sun-baked, rock-ridden dirt that were way too steep to be called jumps. Sometimes the truck flew straight up, sometimes it barrel-rolled and skid along on its lid, and sometimes it stopped in its tracks, wedged into a rock. I went WOT (wide open throttle) for a pack over a very rough field. Finally, I did some more controlled tests, driving straight into concrete-filled steel posts, and dropping the truck from 7' in the air onto gravel.
How did the Nightmare chassis fare? The previously beautiful underside got scratched up a bit. That's it. I lost a couple of screws from the truck along the way, but this was no fault of the chassis -- Traxxas plastic is notoriously poor at holding onto threaded harware.
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Summary: Performance
The complete Nightmare kit is 0.4oz. to 1.15oz. lighter than the stock Rustler chassis (depending upon which batch your stock tub came from -- newer ones seem to use a less dense, and thus lighter material). As I'm always harping on with my own Ultimate Rustler project, reducing weight is a very good thing.
Whether a very stiff chassis helps or hinders cornering performance of the Rustler is up for debate. It is possible that a more flexible chassis, with partly decoupled front & rear roll centers, can improve traction by hiding some of the geometric defects of the Rustler's suspension. It is undeniable, however, that a stiff chassis like the Nightmare kit tested here will make the truck more predictable and responsive to suspension tuning.
Summary: Durability
As for durability, I won't hide the fact that I was downright scared by the thickness (or lack thereof) of the Nightmare chassis' parts. The first design had actually failed my thrash test, the side panels bulging with the brutal steel post collisions. The new version, however, showed no evidence of structural deformation, even though I actually bashed it harder this time around. Granted, it's always possible to break or bend anything, but for a product described as a "racing chassis," the Nightmare setup seems more than plenty tough.
Final Analysis
I've seen a number of aftermarket chassis made for Traxxas electric vehicles over the past several years, and the Nightmare kit is undoubtably the most professional and refined to date. As you can see in the opening photo of this review, the kit is extremely complete. Everything you need is included, plus some things you want, but can technically do without. There's no customization required, no need to break out the Dremel, and no hunting for more nuts & bolts to put it all together. Plus, I can't stress enough how beautiful the anodized finish is on the aluminum parts. "Satin" is the word that keeps coming to mind.
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I'm delighted with what became of this project. Anyone on the market for a trick-looking, stiff, lightweight major upgrade for their Rustler or Bandit should checkout the Nightmare Chassis website at http://www.nightmarechassis.com/ (UPDATE: NO LONGER IN BUSINESS) for more info and photos, including a toll-free number for ordering. The Nightmare Racing Rustler aluminum chassis is presently available anodized in red, blue or purple, with other colors planned for availability later on. Look for a Nightmare chassis on one of my own project vehicles a little bit down the line.
