Scale vs comp suspension

[jholer]

This post has perfectly derailed! But its all good. I love scale looks, but some people definitely have gone overboard when they stick all of their kids scalish toys on their roofracks and get props for it. That is actually quite far from scale, crawlers and trailtrucks carry only the necessities for the expedition, and nothing more. There isn't crap hanging off of them all over. They drivers know about center of gravity and don't intend to roll over. I think people who have crawled 1:1 in real terrain abide by the less is more philosophy. Tools, tires, winches and plenty of beer, and nothing more. As far as suspension goes, the angle of the shocks affects the compression rate(?) and is not the same as the spring rate. So basically upright to look and function like scale, and laid down for more articulation and more linear compression rate, ie smushy.

[Highmark]

Originally Posted by jholer

So basically upright to look and function like scale, and laid down for more articulation and more linear compression rate, ie smushy.

Sort of.

More articulation yes. Regressive rate in most instances (the shock becomes easier to compress as the angle is increased in relation to the arc the axle is travailing in). In some cases laying down a shock a little will give you a linear or even progressive rate.

It all depends on the arc that the axle moves in as it compresses in relation to the position of the shock.

I suspect that the shock angles on comp rigs has more to do with packaging and weight than actual good or bad geometry decisions. Springing a 3lb sporty is different than a 6lb scaler.