HexHeads Armor Plated Screws

[ssspconcepts]

Has anyone had problems with HexHeads Armor Plated Screws? I used them to build my G3R Revo and I have already stripped three out and I haven't even driven the darn thing yet! What a rip off...the screws cost in the upwards of $50 a bag (the G3R by Gorilla comes with enough for the main chassis build but I bought enough to finish the complete truck)

Just my opinion and my experience...but the whole HexHeads AP advertising scheme "toughest fastener on the planet" is a big scam and rip off.

imo, i think they are junk....even worse then the rc screws brand, which i dont like either

[ssspconcepts]

Originally Posted by entjoles

imo, i think they are junk....even worse then the rc screws brand, which i dont like either

Yeah I have spent $50 for their trashy screws and several hours of my life drilling out their junk...as you may have noticed I am not happy.

[lincpimp]

I have had the best luck with the stock traxxas black screws and losi race drivers. They fit the fasteners very tight and do not strip. I agree that the rc screws suck, traxxas need to bring out some screw kits or at least an assortment pack.

[jhautz]

I like the plain old black finished stock type screws that I get from McMaster Carr. They last the longest and strip the least. The thing I hate most is the stainless steel screws. Frigin things strip when you sneeze on them and I dont use junk wrenches. hardened ground tip only.

I saw a guy at the track a couple weeks ago talking about how he rebuilt his entire buggy with an aluminum screw set he got somewhere, they were all annodized blue and how he saved so much weight and how great the thing felt on the track. YAP YAP YAP. You know th type. Anywhay he cased a jump pretty bad and the whole front end of his buggy went flying off. He actually snapped the screws that hold the diff case to the chassis. You should have heard they guys givving him crap after he was talking so much about how "light" it was. After the crash all he heard was how much lighter it was without a front end.

[wallot]

i been using AP screws for about a year and never had a problem with a single screw.

[ssspconcepts]

I suppose they would work just as well as any screw provided you are running a plastic rig or you don't use blue locktite.

All I know, is I have pretty much always used the black oxide coated scews (the kind you get when you buy a FLM, AE, Losi) with blue tamiya locktite and I can only remember stripping out a couple of screw heads over the last seven or so years---and I can't really remember any instances prior to that but then again I was using various types of fasteners back then anyway.

However, now I decide to build a gorilla G3R revo and really put some extra effort into it and attend to small "details." So I decide to install the "toughest fastener on the planet." Long story short...I end up stripping three screws while trying to remove the front end...sad thing is...I stripped two more while in the process to fixing/drilling out the three stripped screws (I had to remove other parts to make room for tooling ops). I just use a very small dap of blue tamiya locktite...I've been using it for years and prefer it because it has a nice thick consistency and is easy to work with-no previous problems with it. I did figure out how to remove the HexHeads AP screws without stripping them...break out the soldering iron and heatgun FOR EACH SCREW REMOVED. Yeah that's really practical...those screws are crap. Right now I am thinking the CEO of HexHeads AP would look pretty funny walking around with either my size 11.5 or a bag of his fasteners sticking out of you know where. I advise all to stay clear HexHeads AP and save themselves the headache. IMO.

[wallot]

i use original Blue , red (high stress places) and green Loctite (drivetrain). blue and red loctite can be loosened easily with a good hexdriver (I use Wera ones for this)

Before AP screws I bent and stripped just too many screws (12.9 grade black oxide), not a single Ap screw stripped.

Sometimes it's a bad thread in the hole that leads to stripped screw (had this issue with FLM chassis braces and on friends GA bulkheads but not on G3)

First thing I do with a new rc is to replace all the screws. I use the black oxide, high strength alloy steel, grade 12.9 or 10.9 (smaller) hex screws and I use a set of Thorp drivers. Early on I found the SS ones are pretty, but strip when used more than several times and are not very strong.

I have bought screws from hexcrews, but just the kits for 18th scale and always black oxide. I've never had a problem with breakage or stripping heads on any of their screws.

All my bigger stuff comes from Tony's Screws - I haven't had any problems.

[JThiessen]

Rule number 1: If you need strength, stay well away from stainless. Stainless is made by adding nickle content to the steel, thus making is softer. The ONLY reason you should ever have stainless is for corrosion prevention, or for bling. Generally speaking, if its shiny, its onthe soft side. Anodizing is the only real way to get a high strength fastener with any amount of bling.

Rule Number 2: NEVER - EVER - buy aluminum fasteners, even if they say "aircraft grade" (which by the way means absolutely nothing - but most people dont know that, so they use it to make it sound high tech).

Rule of thumb - if the price is really good, the fasteners likely are not.

Second rule of thumb - MOST higher grade fasteners do not come in phillips or slotted screw driver configuration. Most are sold as either a hex head or socket head configuration.

Make sure you use the correct loc-tite. Steel-plastic is a different compound than steel to aluminum. No, using what you have wont provide even a little bit of help if its the wrong compound.

I personally do not use loc-tite. I prefer to check my fasteners, rather than have to deal with extra tight screws.

In SAE specs, the higher the grade number, the higher the strength. They are normally graded 1, 3, 5, 8.... you shouldnt need anything over 3 or maybe a 5 on a RC. If you get into 8 and above, they tend to be brittle, and dont handle shear loads very well.

[ssspconcepts]

This is what they claim:

[Serum]

over 30% harder than stainless steel; that still is as soft as butter.

Their 177.000 psi might be false advertisement; grade 12.9 screws have a 172.000 psi tensile strength.

Soft screws and gmaxx chassis are a match from hell. the strength/durability of the chassis greatly depends on the quality of the screws.

[Ninmaxx]

I used the HH AP screw kit for the E-maxx and I have not stripped any screws so far, the only problem with the kit is that it comes with alot of weird screws that don't go on the E-maxx...

[MetalMan]

Just like jhautz, I buy screws in bulk from McMaster-Carr. I order the 12.9 black oxide screws, and they hold up very well. However, in my experience any of these screws which use a 2mm hex driver do not like the Associated 5/64" (what Associated calls 2mm, actually 1.984mm), and I strip out those screws quite frequently, along with 3mm set screws that use a 1.5mm driver. It's very possible that the tips on my 1.5mm and 2mm drivers just need to be replaced, but they're only maybe a year old.

[Serum]

the tips are very important. I bought a set of PB drivers, they have a perfect fit, and you can cut them off so you have got a fresh driver again.