droop set-up?

[01XJ]

Originally Posted by toy4crawlin

That s great , but what crawler is it

FatDog with Axial axles and traxxas big bore shocks

[mike267]

Originally Posted by 5150bronco

what setup and chassis are you running?

stock ax-10

[5150bronco]

Originally Posted by mike267

stock ax-10

Okay. Well, i have never ran droop, I have put springs underneath shocks, in rear in particular which is similar to droop.

I guess if you run it see how it works for you, but I think most people I know run sprung shock setup. just my observation though. depends on terrain and link setup up too.

Just do a search and see what most people on here do.

[mike267]

thanks for the reply imstill trying to figure the droop set up out going to try softer springs first ....thanks

[WRXronald]

did a search on droop... this thread was one of the few that talks about it specifically as its own topic.

I'm working on modding my PTI tranny mated with TLT axles into a 1.9 style rig with droop suspsension.

So far i'm half-way there - will try to post a few pics, but like to finish up the project and then get action pics the most.


I didn't really think about it too much in terms of research, but just stared at and concentrated on the project as a threw some things together about how/what would work best.

ride height an obvious concern - so the parts i put together I made sure I could achieve full droop AT the normal driving height that I desired. (side issue having trouble with too much angle in my drive axles/elbows - will work on that as a side issue)....

But i never thought about loading up the suspension with internal springs, thought it would be too much a hassle to source a small and soft enough spring for the project - which leads me to why i'm here - - - -

Why not just full 100% droop, no springs, internal or external? Will it torque twist terribly and that is why?

Looking at the front half of the rig full droop appears as though it would work great, long as you get ride height where you like it.

I came to this option because I wanted 90 degree angle on the shocks, i did not want to have to lay them WAY back to decrease the 'tension' and create a rig too stiff to flex. But I like how they look straight up & down like on a normal full size truck

So anyways - - I think i'll continue with no springs and see what comes about - - worst case I can always add some pen springs on the interior and see if that helps - - but with 1.9 plastic wheels, the axles aren't very heavy and could not even be pulled down under fairly leightweight shock oil, i think 30 or 40 weight.

Removed the shock oil and it now articulates beautifully, but i haven't had it in action yet except with the stock setup normal (traxxas springs at STEEP angle to allow flex), and full 100% droop on front no springs at all. Worked pretty good, just afraid going to get ton of twist if i go 100% droop no spring on the rear.

Any input is always appreciated... promise pics when she's all done.

[bimmerben]

Originally Posted by Littlex

i know it has been posted and a search has been done,so i am searching for some fresh feed back.
1 is it worth the time to set it up?
2 is torqe twist cut down?
3 what kind of springs are you runnig?(if any)
4 oil weight?

I just started running full droop on my AX10. 5 cell battery mounted on the axle, weights in the front wheels, Integy shocks inverted with light springs inside and 30wt oil all around. Had it out on the rocks today and was happy with the performance but less than satisfied with lack of chassis clearance. I plan to change to a 70/30 droop in rear (soft springs under piston/hard on top) and full droop in front. That will give a little more ground clearance but still maintain performance...

[jeepster73]

My 2cents...I think that you should take your time and really get the feel for your RIG before changing suspension set-up's all the time.

Speaking from expierience and ignorance!!!...i went through almost every suspension set up known..spent tons of $$$ on shocks,springs and oils all within a 2 week period....after messing around with it for so much and in such a short amount of time,I had no clue on what was working for me

went back to a sprung set-up and have been watching on how my RIG handles and reacts.this has kept me from going BONKERS.

[WRXronald]

i finished my droop setup 1.9 PTI chassis/tranny on TLT axles ---> 10.5 inch wheelbase so i can put a scale body on it that I have. Weighs something like 3.4lbs soaking wet

First impressions are great --- crawls quite well over all the standard "living room rock crawling test items".

I'm really impressed with its stability and elimination of ALL torque twist. mine is 100% droop and completely unsprung.

I set the shock mounts so that I can adjust ride-height by moving the shock up/down on the mounting plate, and the shocks are completely vertical, there Integy piggybacks and have a long stroke so they do allow about 45 degrees total drooping articulation

I see no difference in how it crawls compared to same shocks used sprung with traxxas red springs and laid WAY down at angle to elminate tension in the springs and allow articulation, other than elimination of torque twist and easier adjustability of ride-height. This is no comp crawler (although i think it would meet the scale 1.9 requirements to compete).

Ride height should not be a complaint for a 'droop' setup. It should be a complaint that your rig was initially setup for proper ride height with a sprung setup --- that you converted to droop w/out adjusted how you mount the shock to achieve certain desired ride heights, that's all.

If you do the droop right, you should have no issue with ride heights or ground clearance. When I increase the ride-height on my setup (how far the bottom of the chassis sits off the ground) -- my shocks are still fully compressed at the highest setting - which still allows for max droop articulation.

the axles/tires/wheels are pretty light - no shock oil up front still works fine (just a wee tiny bit inside to keep it lubed) and 30 weight out back. I may be adding oil to the fronts to slow it down a bit on articulation rate - but i think it could do fine w/out - so far it has.

I'll get some pics up tonight or tomorrow. So far I'm very happy with the results and should have done this long ago.

[goodoldlevi]

I'm running full drooped Losi 4" shocks on a hand made chassis. The chassis is 2" from skid plate to upper shock mounts and 7 1/2" from end to end. The upper and lower links are in stock ax10 locations. With the chassis lower and longer I was able to run the shocks fully drooped with 100 weight in front and 60 in rear with just under 2 1/2" of belly clearance so I added a 1/4 inch piece if feul tubing and a small washer so the tubing would not slip over my rod end and now as it sits I have 2 5/8" of belly clearance. here is a few picks of my rig and I mocked up a stock ax10 shock with a close example of how my losi's are set up. There are a million ways to do this and test and tune is the best part of this hobby

my rig






Here is the mock up shock. Remember add any amount or size of springs, oil, or spacers to fit your needs. I don't even know if this is the correct way to do it but it works well for me! The madness never ends



the black spring is about 1/2" seems to be firm, the gold one in the middle seems a little softer and the one far right is about 5/8 long and beefy. I purchased this assortment from ACE.


I left the spacer and used the black and gold with a small washer in between the so the two springs don't over lap when compressed. In my Losi's I used full 1" spring from the assortment instead of the two small ones and a internal spacer to give me around 5/8 of total shock travel. Like I said this works well for me here in Florida. Moving on.



Now put it all back together adding your choice of oil.


I hope this helps there is no wrong way it either works good or it don't