Adjustable Shock Towers

[uvalax236]

Evening all,

I'm a bit of a lurker here, and hardly post (still new to all this, so mainly just absorbing info from the lot). With that said, I have been slowly building up my SCX10 ii, and have started coming across the notion of shock towers with multiple mounting locations.

Something kinda like this:

None of the local guys seem too familiar with
A) what is available for SCX10 ii's and
B) any input on Samix as a company or what kind of products they put out.

Does anyone run adjustable shock towers? What do you have? Gripes/complaints? I would love to test out some different angles on my shocks to see how it affects articulation in the suspension. Running 100mm shocks on the rig leaves some room to play around with mounting ideas.

[AngelowDoom]

Best is to use 90mm shocks and leave them in stock position. So no need for different shock towers. Unless you want some more rigid ones. But different mounting positions is not needed on a regular scx10 2.
Will recommend you to put back on some 90mm shocks. Stock one is good enough in most cases.

[uvalax236]

Originally Posted by AngelowDoom

Best is to use 90mm shocks and leave them in stock position. So no need for different shock towers. Unless you want some more rigid ones. But different mounting positions is not needed on a regular scx10 2.
Will recommend you to put back on some 90mm shocks. Stock one is good enough in most cases.

Ok, I see your point there. Yes I would love to stiffen up the shock towers, and eventually the whole frame. Far too much flex under acceleration and braking/reverse.

I'm quite happy with the current shocks that I have tuned up. I understand that they are a longer shock, and that could create issues in some situations, it's all good. I was just curious if anyone uses adjustable shock towers, and what they though of them.

[Natedog]

Originally Posted by AngelowDoom

Best is to use 90mm shocks and leave them in stock position. So no need for different shock towers. Unless you want some more rigid ones. But different mounting positions is not needed on a regular scx10 2.

Yes, flex/travel is over-rated and crawls best with 90mm or so shocks and keep your weight low.

Originally Posted by uvalax236

Yes I would love to stiffen up the shock towers, and eventually the whole frame. Far too much flex under acceleration and braking/reverse.

Agreed.

[AngelowDoom]

It also depends if you are building a scaler or a comp truck. If it is a scaler i would recommend the Vanquish ones or other scale looking shock towers. And again 90mm shocks or a bit less. Depending on body and wheels off course. The thing with longer shocks is you usually increase cog, suspension travel and mess with the intended link geometri, especially for the CMS setup. And neater of that is good. Raised cog and travel makes the truck more unstable. And the increased travel can also make the wheels fall easier into holes in the terrain, that can make the truck tipp over more.
The change in link geometri can also effect the climb ability, and can result in bump steer. If however you had Axle mounted servo it would be easier to mess with the shock length.

If you are building a comp truck and know what you are doing. Then I would recommend the custom crawl design shock towers. They are a bit longer and alow longer shocks without raising cog and still be able to build a low slung truck with good driveline angles and ok suspension travel.
Attaching a pic if one of my projects with chassis and shock towers from custom crawl design.

[uvalax236]

Originally Posted by AngelowDoom

It also depends if you are building a scaler or a comp truck. If it is a scaler i would recommend the Vanquish ones or other scale looking shock towers. And again 90mm shocks or a bit less. Depending on body and wheels off course. The thing with longer shocks is you usually increase cog, suspension travel and mess with the intended link geometri, especially for the CMS setup. And neater of that is good. Raised cog and travel makes the truck more unstable. And the increased travel can also make the wheels fall easier into holes in the terrain, that can make the truck tipp over more.
The change in link geometri can also effect the climb ability, and can result in bump steer. If however you had Axle mounted servo it would be easier to mess with the shock length.

If you are building a comp truck and know what you are doing. Then I would recommend the custom crawl design shock towers. They are a bit longer and alow longer shocks without raising cog and still be able to build a low slung truck with good driveline angles and ok suspension travel.
Attaching a pic if one of my projects with chassis and shock towers from custom crawl design.

That is exactly the info I am looking for. Thank you!

[uvalax236]

Just wanted to give everyone an update to all this. I ended up ordering a Hot Racing Aluminum shock tower kit: http://www.rpphobby.com/product_p/hotscxt28301.htm

It's a great fit and I loved how it stiffened the frame up incredibly. It's not perfect, but impressive by itself.
http://imgur.com/xKhV7oq

I pondered an idea, and as the picture above shows, added a prototype extension plate to the mix. I started with a 14mm long plate, and after getting the bends just right, achieved 9mm in height. So by that math, the rig is sitting with 91mm shock height.

http://imgur.com/XCVYTGi

http://imgur.com/Cs7XCTF

http://imgur.com/4DZj6Uz

With that all said, this is the result of having longer shocks, and a sturdy mount to host them from:
http://imgur.com/jJuGvl5

http://imgur.com/mjei337

I'm extremely happy with how this is working out. I plan on getting a much sturdier v2 built before I get it out on the rocks. This is simply a proof of concept to a theory I had from my 1:1 Jeep TJ. We "outboard" the rear shocks, relocating them from inside the frame to the outside. In the process, there is room to raise the mount and increase shock length. It allows for more control, smoother ride, and more articulation in the axle.

I'm still new to RC (only had my truck since March), so pardon my ignorance. Does the community use scale RTI ramps for scoring total articulation?
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ramp_travel_index

[AngelowDoom]

Pictures not showing.

But there is no need for more articulation on a SCX10 II on normal trails. Many times it is best to limit the travel a bit. Especially if you are climbing steep rocks. If your trail is flatter with many boulder like rocks, some more travel can be beneficial.
Don't know any scoring of articulation. Perhaps it is cus experienced competitive rc crawlers don't care so much about it. It is usually the teenagers on Facebook that do flex Friday, and have never seen a hill that is hung up about this acticulation part of building. They usually just crawl over piles of rock in their backyard.
If you have lots of travel and crawl on steep hills, you have a problem on the steep parts and on sidehilling. You will spend a lot of time up side down. It is also easier to tip over if one tire falls in to a dump on the trail. With shorter travel the tire hovers over the hole and finds grip on the other side.

[mikemcE]

I'm still of the opinion of looong soooft shocks. I want articulation and let the wheel drop as needed.


Hang up and Drive

[uvalax236]

Apparently imgur didn't like the resized pictures. Switch them over to links so y'all can at least see it.

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