SCX10.3 Shock oil weight, Preferences.

[Redharris]

SCX10.3 New to me. All Stock, with that heavy stock JL body.
Rebuilding my shocks tomorrow for the first time. Thinking of trying 35 in front and 45 in rear. What weight has worked for you guys? I'm doing more crawling that trail running at a park called Mini Moab. Lots of sandstone rock formations. Good traction and some steep ascents. Not sure what the stock weights are recommended since I dont have the manual.

[Goro Majima]

Originally Posted by Redharris

SCX10.3 New to me. All Stock, with that heavy stock JL body.

Rebuilding my shocks tomorrow for the first time. Thinking of trying 35 in front and 45 in rear. What weight has worked for you guys? I'm doing more crawling that trail running at a park called Mini Moab. Lots of sandstone rock formations. Good traction and some steep ascents. Not sure what the stock weights are recommended since I dont have the manual.

It's a good start. Run it and make the necessary adjustments needed.

[Fallen]

I think the stock oil is 35wt, which I still use in all 4 of my shocks. I haven't felt the need to try anything different.

I use mine for low speed crawling and medium speed cruising off road.

[Redharris]

Originally Posted by Redharris

SCX10.3 New to me. All Stock, with that heavy stock JL body.
Inspecting/rebuilding my shocks tomorrow for the first time.

Sigh,,,,,Shocks were all half empty. I guess thats what you get when you buy second hand.

[Redharris]

At this point I dont have a lot of faith in the previous owner....I've got green springs on the front shocks and Red on the rears. I did a bit of research and found THIS in the forum build thread

AXI233015 Red 1.30 lbs/in. .23 N/mm Included with SCX10.3 Kit
AXI233017 Green 2.13 lns/in. .37 N/mm Included with SCX10.3 Kit

At first thought, this SEEMS right to me. The truck is heavier towards the front.
But I'm trying to stiffen up the back a bit, thinking this will help a bit on the Steep ascents where the front unloads and I topple over backwards.....Hmmm,,,,,Might swap em around,,,,,just to see what happens.

Ammended: Just found in the build thread that the Front SHOULD be Green,,,,so the last owner had it correct.

[Damion10]

You can find the Build manual on Axial site, it's tell you what springs go where. I can't remember exactly what's what but I do remember putting them in the wrong end of the truck and had to swap them.

I think 50wt oil will work well in a 10.3. When its time for me to service my shocks, that's what im planning on going with.

[tigris99]

Oil is a preference and rig build. Nothing more, nothing less. Applies to every Rig. One person's choice in oil weight can be horrible for the next guy.

Simple and most correct way to explain how to set up:

Springs support and control the weight above the axles.

The damper, which is the piston and oil, controls the springs.


So you set your spring rate to support the rig how you want. Then you change pistons and oil weight to tune it how you want it to perform. Lighter weight or more/bigger piston holes means they compress and rebound faster. Heavier weight/thicker oil or less/smaller piston holes make the shocks move slower.

The heavier the rig, the stiffer the springs so the more you have to slow the shocks down. Light weight rigs mean softer springs and lower oil weight etc required to keep the shocks moving slower.

In a crawler you don't want shocks moving fast because they will cause the rig to tip and flip way easier.

Most kits come with a balanced spot out of the box so it's not horrible because going fast you want faster moving shocks, slow crawling you want slower.

In the end you have to tune to how you drive and your build, no one else can tell you what you run because their set up and driving style/terrain isn't going to ever be the same. Even different tires and foam set ups play a part. A soft tire/foam combo will have an effect on how COG shifts over obstacles and how those COG shift effect the shock performance.

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[Redharris]

Originally Posted by tigris99

Oil is a preference and rig build. Nothing more, nothing less. Applies to every Rig. One person's choice in oil weight can be horrible for the next guy.

Simple and most correct way to explain how to set up:

Springs support and control the weight above the axles.

The damper, which is the piston and oil, controls the springs.


So you set your spring rate to support the rig how you want. Then you change pistons and oil weight to tune it how you want it to perform. Lighter weight or more/bigger piston holes means they compress and rebound faster. Heavier weight/thicker oil or less/smaller piston holes make the shocks move slower.

The heavier the rig, the stiffer the springs so the more you have to slow the shocks down. Light weight rigs mean softer springs and lower oil weight etc required to keep the shocks moving slower.

In a crawler you don't want shocks moving fast because they will cause the rig to tip and flip way easier.

Most kits come with a balanced spot out of the box so it's not horrible because going fast you want faster moving shocks, slow crawling you want slower.

In the end you have to tune to how you drive and your build, no one else can tell you what you run because their set up and driving style/terrain isn't going to ever be the same. Even different tires and foam set ups play a part. A soft tire/foam combo will have an effect on how COG shifts over obstacles and how those COG shift effect the shock performance.

Sent from my SM-S906U using Tapatalk

Thats an excellent explanation....Thanks

[jimmyjames]

90mm Desert Lizards. Took a bit to set up with springs and had to eliminate the front and rear axel dual purchase points to get the desired articulation.


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