Ways to stiffen the stock suspension?

[Greg2K6]

Hey all,

I'm experimenting with dual batteries and I am getting a lot of suspension preload. Without upgrades, can I do anything to stiffen the stock suspension? I know there are stiffer springs from axial bit none of my LHS stock them. (Are there springs from other manufacturers that are worth looking into?). I've also heard about different shock oil....not too clear on what I would need. (What type would be be best?)

Thanks all!

Greg

[raceeng18]

Either taller shocks or stiffer springs. Heavier shock oil won't help your pre-load I'm afraid.

[6sharky9]

Have you tried tightening you pre load adjustment on the shocks?..they may have to be cranked down a bit but it should be enough to overcome the drop your getting..Not sure how they will perform on the trail/rocks afterwards as they may be too stiff but that's all you can do without changing springs as you mentioned and also longer shocks as mentioned.

Changing oil only effects how quickly a shock compresses or rebounds...Zero effect like raceeng18 mentioned.

[TacoCrawler]

Coil spring rate/length is what designates ride height.
Oil in the CO/shock simply slows that movement down.
Too thick of oil... and it will ride harsh(stiff)
Too thin and it will bounce (pogo) too easily.

Ride height should not be preloaded to give the highest lift possible.
Instead... some static squat for a smoother more realistic ride.

~ yes I hate watching those bouncing toy youtube videos ~

My scx weighs near 7 lbs.
I run dual 3s 2100mah LiPo's mounted to the sliders...
similar to saddle paks... but not wired to each other.
I utilize Traxxas 100mm BB CO's with Losi soft springs (white)

I have about 1/2" of static droop ~sag/squat etc.~
I think it handles better this way.

Proper ride height should be 60/40 max...
meaning: you have 60% compression travel (down) and 40% rebound travel (up).
I'm probably closer to 50/50 on my honcho...
My 1:1 isn't too far off from that neither.

Many folks want bigger tires...
when doing that... the body should be cut for fitment...
Raising the COG/Susp. to it's highest pre-load to fit larger tires...
fubar from the start. (JMO)

Trucks that ride around with very little up travel remaining...
give their driver's/passenger's a harsh ride...

The pre-load of the CO's should not raise the truck to the sky...
Articulation is what you want... not lift.

With my 1/2" static squat the propeller shaft angles stay reasonable
during normal operation...
Only when at full articulation does the propeller shaft angles push the limits with extreme drive line angles.
But even at max up or down... the angles remain acceptable.

^ I also increased the caster angles of the axle housings...
to keep the propeller shafts in better alignment during max articulation.
^ that adjustment is done simply by adding more length (mm) to the upper link rods.


if everyone already knows stuff... then disregard

~ think it was just the noise in muh head that made me type all this ~