Best filament for RC car parts: impact and heat

The short answerABS or ASA for impact and heat. Nylon for wear.

An RC car part takes crashes, heat, and wear. ABS and ASA handle impact and warmth. Nylon handles wear on moving parts. PETG is the easy pick for non-driven parts. PLA is too brittle.

What an RC car part asks of a filament

An RC car part crashes, gets hot near the motor, and wears at the moving joints. It needs impact resistance, heat tolerance, and wear resistance. PLA is too brittle for any of it, so the real choices are ABS, ASA, nylon, and PETG.

How the materials compare

When to pick ABS or ASA

Pick ABS for arms and mounts that take crashes and motor heat. The Polymaker ABS sheet lists a nozzle of 245 to 265 °C. Pick ASA for parts that also see sun, since it resists UV.

When to pick nylon or PETG

Pick nylon for gears and shafts that wear. The Polymaker CoPA datasheet rates its heat resistance to 180 °C. Pick PETG for non-driven parts when you want easy printing without an enclosure.

For strength, read which filament is strongest. For the materials, see the ABS guide or ASA guide.