Like I said above, I've had more than one (including the T/A - SVO) and now a Strange, and to my naked eye I can't tell any real difference in material, and they seem to weigh abotu the same as best I can recall, in fact -- I like the Strange setup better with actual botls rather than allen heads.
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All aluminum feels the same, looks the same and is really close in density. The alloy used can be hugely different and you can't tell if it has been heat treated unless you use a surface hardness tester.
Some alloys have great strength if they are heat treated, but they stink without it.
The difference in tensile strength between a cheap casting alloy and the best is at least a factor of four. That's right, same weight, same appearance, 4x stronger.
I'll take any cover with a good alloy, like a TA over any cover that will not document the alloy and heat treat of their product.
If mac will document it, it should be fine if it fits, which is another issue with mac.
Also, the 8.8 was desighed to work without a girdle, so if the mac does nothing for the strength of the rear end, who could tell? If your rear end still breaks, I'll bet they say you are making way too much power for an 8.8.
I'll consider it when I see one on a drag car that runs low 10's without breaking for at least 50 runs.
