rear articulating before front?

[Kratos]

ok i have a t1e moonbuggy. i am running 4in losi shocks with no limiter and no shock cap mod. grey springs in front and whites in the rear. both front and rear have the preload adjuster set so when i pick the rig up the spring doesnt move. the shock oil is 20wt all around and im running the shocks in the 4th hole in on the chassis. my front links are 4 holes in in the second row and my rear is holes in on the top row. im not sure how long this has been going on cause i just noticed it yesterday while out back crawling. my front will compress but with more effort than the rear and most of the time the rear is compressed all the way for the front to start. i took of the shocks thinking maybe i needed to rebuild them and rebuilt both and still same problem. so i took my shocks off thinking maybe my links were binding somewhere and they are all moving fine in all motions of articulation. after that i switched my front shocks for the rear shocks only switching springs and it did the same thing so i thought maybe its the links and i just missed it. i then replaced all my ball ends to no avail. im running axial bent links in the front for my lowers and uppers so i thought for some reason maybe thats the problem so i switched out to some straight links and still same problem. ive been rearrangin stuff in the chassis thinking maybe something is causing the rear to articulate first. could it be the 4in shock? maybe switching to a 3.5in shock would help? been messing with it for 2 days now and i still cant figure out what is causing this so i guess what im asking is is anyone else notcing this about their moonbuggy or am i an oddball out. thanks for the help

[jcboof]

First off, what axles are you running, What are your wheel weights??

Are your axles clocked, and if so, How much??


Sounds like you have a sticking shock problem. Try taking the springs off completely and cycling the suspension.

If you still have the same problem without the springs, its likely something binding in the shocks.

Does it do it when you lift the left side or right side, or does it matter??

When you lift the left front tire, do the left front and right rear shocks compress equally??

Does the rear axle cycle smoother than the front??

You have to have something binding. that is all it can be.

Sometimes upper links can cause binding especially if they are bent upper links.


What type of shock mounts are you using for the end that doesn't have a ball?? Fuel tubing??

Make sure that the shocks can move smoothly in all directions on the mount. Leaving them loose may look bad and seem like its a sloppy mount, but they work like that. If they are overtightened, they will bind.

Hope this helps.

[Kratos]

i am running hr axles with the mount at the axle in the position closest to the wheel. my wheels weigh in at or around 11-12oz. axles are not clocked. it does it more on the driver side than on the passenger. when i lift the left front the right rear will compress about twice as fast the front left. im using a ball from a revo end with a washer on both sides to stop the shock from sliding off and it moves freely in all directions. i switched the shocks from front to back and still no difference. yes it feels like the rear cycles smoother than the front.

[Nabil]

check to make sure the shocks arent binding on the gearcase and motor. you would be surprised how easy that is to over look

[jcboof]

Ok, you definitely have something binding. It almost sounds like you front upper links are not the same length. Remove and double check the length of the front uppers. If they are not exactly the same, they will fight each other and cause binding.

[lowridinjuggalo]

i think the 3.5 with gold springs work better on the moonbuggy chassy.. at least for me ive tried 4 in shocks with ever combo i could come up with.. i think u should try the 3.5 not saying that will fix ur prob.. i agree with everyone else on that sounds like something is binding up or like the other guy sayed one of ur uper link is longer than the other

[Kratos]

checked my front uppers and they are identical. just to make sure i checked to see if i had the same rod ends and they are the same also. so i changed out my upper links with some straight ones still no different. i took off my springs to see if the front felt tighter than th rear and without the springs the felt the same with smooth shock action all through the range of articulation although the front was a little heavier lol. i then switched out my rear springs for some new whites and that actually helped quite a bit. the rear still articulates a little faster than the rear but not by a whole lot. maybe worn out springs???

[2500hdon37s]

arient the grey springs harder than the whites?? swap springs from front to back

[jcboof]

Originally Posted by 2500hdon37s

arient the grey springs harder than the whites?? swap springs from front to back

No, the greys are one step up from the golds.


Soft to Hard
Gold-Grey-White-Yellow-Orange-Red-Green-Black
There may be a couple more in there too but I'm just going off memory.

4" shocks work just fine on the moonbuggy. 3.5" shocks do seem to work a little better but I wouldn't be worried about the shocks at this point unless yours are worn out.

And Yes, springs will fatigue over time.

[Bad Attitude]

If you use the Duratrax DTXC9003 shocks, do you still run the Losi gold springs?

[Kratos]

ok well im just gonna buy some 3.5in shocks for it. what is the best 3.5in shock to use for it? i know i have seen the duratrax one and one from integy i think and some run traxxas big bores but what is the best shock with a good piston setup? any setup info please? tried doing a shock search in the berg forum and had tons of things to look through but didnt see what i was looking for. sorry if i missed it in the search. thanks. oh yea im not much for doing the shock cap mod so yea lol

[Erin]

Have you tried spacing the shocks out a little from the chassis? Not sure on HR's w this chassis, but when i had bullys, they did what you are describing w a 3.5" shock. I don't remember how wide the hrs are compared to the bullyd thkugh. Something go try before getting new shocks. Maybe stand them up one hole w a little limit and see if that does it also. I'd bet the shock top is binding even w the revo ball inside.

Hope that helps

[lowridinjuggalo]

Originally Posted by 99RAM

If you use the Duratrax DTXC9003 shocks, do you still run the Losi gold springs?

i do they are soft anuff and still give preload on the 3.5

Originally Posted by Kratos

ok well im just gonna buy some 3.5in shocks for it. what is the best 3.5in shock to use for it? i know i have seen the duratrax one and one from integy i think and some run traxxas big bores but what is the best shock with a good piston setup? any setup info please? tried doing a shock search in the berg forum and had tons of things to look through but didnt see what i was looking for. sorry if i missed it in the search. thanks. oh yea im not much for doing the shock cap mod so yea lol

Duratrax DTXC9003 shocks those are the one i run aswell.. with gold springs the price is good to lol..

[jcboof]

Erin brought up an interesting thought. Make sure your losi shocks are speced out away from the chassis a little. I know for a fact that the shocks will rub on the chassis a little if they are not spaced a little.

Make sure that they do not touch the chassis during any part of the full suspension cycle.

3.5" shocks will not solve this problem. Post up a few pics of your shock positioning and link positioning so I can see exactly how you have it set up.

[Bad Attitude]

Chris, I am trying to get the bugs out of a T1e stage chassis with Bully's... I did end up adding a 1/4" spacer between the shocks and chassis as well. I don't mean to hijack your thread... just think we have the same questions! have you looked at Ty's Moonbuggy setup? maybe that would help.

[Kratos]

yea im not sure but ty is running traxxas big bores with shock cap mod and i dont remember seeing any spacing at the chassis mount. i went outside and did some more testing cause i took off the shocks to quadruple check them and no binding in the shock. i have them inverted so the shock is not rubbing on the chassis at all and i have shaved my mounts on the axle so the shock moves freely in all directions of articulation. so i was stumped out there and had a crazy idea of running my course with the machine going in reverse to see if it switched where my front would now articulate instead of the rear since thats the way it was before. now my rear (or my front actually but since im running backwards its my rear now) would still articulate just before my front (or rear) would. am i the only one noticing this or is it just a wierd case? maybe the forces being put on the truck cause the rear to react before the front?? thoughts anyone???

[jcboof]

How much preload are you running?? You should normally only run enough so the spring are barely resting on the collars under full extension.

Too much front preload will cause the fronts to react later

[Erin]

Did you check to see your not exceeding the angle of the ball end w the washers on the shock top? Mine are much smoother now that i did the ball end mod. Some pics would def help to see link/ shock angles, etc

[Kratos]

i have my fronts preloaded a little more to make room for my steering bracket since i 86 jeep my steering cause when its about halfway up in stroke the adjuster hits my bracket so i put just enough preload so that it doesnt hit the bracket through the travel. i switched out to golds up front and greys in back and this helped out but like i said it went in reverse and it acted tha same so im just wondering if thats the way it is. i have nothing that is binding and my shock moves freely on the chassis side and axle side. the ball end is not binding with the shock or exceeding the intended angle of the ball.

[Erin]

Any luck working this out?