RC4WD Rock Krawler RRD Emulsion Scale Dual Spring Shocks

[romanjcg]

Anyone else having problems with this shock sticking at top and bottom?

[mikebecher]

Yeah, I have four pairs of them and they all stick after sitting for a while. Give 'em a few pumps when you first start out and they should be fine. If they're still sticky after that fill them with new oil. These are emulsion shocks so the intention is for the air and oil to mix. I think the sticking is a result of the two separating over time.

[romanjcg]

Ahhhh, this makes sense. I always noticed they stick after setting on the shelf a while. Hmmmm. So there supposed to do this??? Emulsion huh. I was pretty upset that I paid so much for them and they would stick. I thought it was a mechanical. So, I just got to live with it. I have to admit, I haven't ran them yet. I noticed the stickage during the build and I have been trying to figure out why before I finish. So this is just one of the quark of the shocks. Well I guess i'll run em for awhile and if I can't get used to them. I'll go with something else. Thanks for the reply Mike.

Roman.

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by romanjcg

Ahhhh, this makes sense. I always noticed they stick after setting on the shelf a while. Hmmmm. So there supposed to do this??? Emulsion huh. I was pretty upset that I paid so much for them and they would stick. I thought it was a mechanical. So, I just got to live with it. I have to admit, I haven't ran them yet. I noticed the stickage during the build and I have been trying to figure out why before I finish. So this is just one of the quark of the shocks. Well I guess i'll run em for awhile and if I can't get used to them. I'll go with something else. Thanks for the reply Mike.

Roman.

I felt the same way too, thought I had picked another turd. But I've been pleasantly surprised and I like all the tuning options with the spring assortment and running different amounts of oil. Plus they don't leak, or at least mine don't

[romanjcg]

Okay so here is the rest of the story. I contacted RC4WD and asked for a refund before starting this thread. They instead sent me 4 new replacements. I have just received them today and guess what, without oil they stick at the top. And the piston travel is not smooth and inconsistent. These are by far the worst shocks I have ever seen. The worst ever. Terrible quality, terrible design and they are charging waaaaaaay too much.

DO NOT BUY THESE SHOCKS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[cabron]

send me one of those sets please

I need a set

[romanjcg]

So it was really tough to get this shot of the inside of the shock body but you can see a very rough section of the cylinder up near the threads. It is spiraled grooves that looks to be from tooling. This is the smoking gun. These shock bodies are not properly machined which was my suspicion when it was occurring on all for of the first set of shocks I received. I would assume that all 8 shocks that I have look like this on the inside. The picture you are looking at is from a brand new, just received right out of the package. This is a quality control issue that I'm not sure RC4WD can address seeing as they are manufactured in China. I can only assume this since this is where my first set was shipped from. So this is the reason these shocks stick at top and bottom and do not have smooth travel throughout the shock movement. Again, I would recommend that no one buy these shocks.

[romanjcg]

Originally Posted by cabron

send me one of those sets please

I need a set

After buying some soft springs, I paid over a 100 for one set. I again would not recommend these shocks however if you are still interested, make me an offer PM.

[JatoTheRipper]

RC4WD does not do shocks well. Even the much maligned (for no reason) Boom makes better shocks.

[romanjcg]

Originally Posted by JatoTheRipper

RC4WD does not do shocks well. Even the much maligned (for no reason) Boom makes better shocks.

I guess I just found that out. I was interested in them because of the narrow body, more room on my build but I guess this didn't work out so well. The other thing is, before I bought them, I looked all over for reviews and found nothing which was very surprising. I just don't want my fellow RC crawlers to pay over a $100 for something that is substandard. I think I'm just gonna go with some Prolines. I have always found Proline to be the best aftermarket equipment. I always hesitate because they definitely charge top dollar but I am never disappointed in quality or performance.

[mikebecher]

Originally Posted by romanjcg

So it was really tough to get this shot of the inside of the shock body but you can see a very rough section of the cylinder up near the threads. It is spiraled grooves that looks to be from tooling. This is the smoking gun. These shock bodies are not properly machined which was my suspicion when it was occurring on all for of the first set of shocks I received. I would assume that all 8 shocks that I have look like this on the inside. The picture you are looking at is from a brand new, just received right out of the package. This is a quality control issue that I'm not sure RC4WD can address seeing as they are manufactured in China. I can only assume this since this is where my first set was shipped from. So this is the reason these shocks stick at top and bottom and do not have smooth travel throughout the shock movement. Again, I would recommend that no one buy these shocks.

I'll have to open mine up this weekend and have another look. I did check them out at first to see why they were sticking, expecting to find something like you did, but there was nothing.

[romanjcg]

Originally Posted by mikebecher

I'll have to open mine up this weekend and have another look. I did check them out at first to see why they were sticking, expecting to find something like you did, but there was nothing.

That might not be a bad idea Mike. When I first disassembled them, they did have a little bit of shock oil in them I'm guess so they weren't completely dry. As such, there was nothing obvious to me either. Also it is a very narrow chamber and it is hard to look down through it. I hit it with some brake clean to get a look at a clean surface and that is when the rough surface became very obvious.

Yeah, I don't like to bash a companies because I'm sure its hard work producing products and getting them out to customers and all the while trying to keep your business a float but at the end of the day, the product needs to fulfill it's need. I have to say that this one does not. And it does at a very high price. And there are a ton of cheaper shocks that do an excellent job. blah blah blah. Hope this helps my buddys.

[new2rocks]

I run the RRD Emulsions on a few rigs and have been very happy with them. They do tend to stick at full extension if they've been sitting a while, but as soon as I compress them to get them going, they run very smoothly. Are there better performing shocks out there? Sure. But the best performance shocks have much wider shock bodies and look out of place on a scale rig. Among the narrow-bodied scale shocks that I've tried (including Axial Icons and Pro-Line Powerstroke Scaler), the RRDs have more than held their own.

Here are a couple of videos of my rigs running the Emulsions up front, the first with Dinky cantilevers in the rear and the second with King Scale Shocks in the rear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3WvfliFMqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtHS9wSmPGw

[romanjcg]

Originally Posted by new2rocks

I run the RRD Emulsions on a few rigs and have been very happy with them. They do tend to stick at full extension if they've been sitting a while, but as soon as I compress them to get them going, they run very smoothly. Are there better performing shocks out there? Sure. But the best performance shocks have much wider shock bodies and look out of place on a scale rig. Among the narrow-bodied scale shocks that I've tried (including Axial Icons and Pro-Line Powerstroke Scaler), the RRDs have more than held their own.

Here are a couple of videos of my rigs running the Emulsions up front, the first with Dinky cantilevers in the rear and the second with King Scale Shocks in the rear:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j3WvfliFMqs
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZtHS9wSmPGw

I totally agree with the size. And that is why I bought them. They were the narrowest that I have ever found. However I'm not real pleased with the shock travel. Do you want to buy mine? hahaha. let me know.