How to limit suspension travel???

[md7989]

Hey guys, I was wondering if anyone has any tips on how to limit the suspension travel on the RS10? Mine is stock suspension wise, so I was wondering about what I might be able to do to make the suspension less "droopy" as to not twist so much and get into binds. Thanks guys.

-Mike

[Illeagle]

Usually what guys will do is put a piece of FUEL tubing around the shock rod underneath the piston inside the shock body. That will LIMIT your ride height. You can also put a piece on the outside shock rod between the bottom of the shock body and the rod end so that it will act as a bump stop to limit the travel. Those two ways are what most guys do.

[AZINDY]

If you look at the tips and tricks thread at the top of this section you will also see a batwing elimination mod. That will limit the suspension and be a great upgrade all in one.

[talon0713]

Originally Posted by Illeagle

Usually what guys will do is put a piece of FUEL tubing around the shock rod underneath the piston inside the shock body. That will LIMIT your ride height. You can also put a piece on the outside shock rod between the bottom of the shock body and the rod end so that it will act as a bump stop to limit the travel. Those two ways are what most guys do.

yup... i have a piece of aluminium tube around the rod (externally) between the rod end and shock body. if you wqant pix let me know and i can take some for you.

[jsowens]

You limit your ride height from inside the shock...unless you have a full droop setup. Putting a spacer on the outside just doesn't make the shock compress all the way...it doesn't do anything for ride height that I'm aware of. Lowes has nice little nylon spacers in the hardware section that come in various thicknesses and you can get a few different sizes for a couple of bucks. That's the easiest/cheapest way I know of and you can get the height consistant all around without cutting up and trying a bunch of fuel tubing. 4-linking the upper links is also a way of limiting down the articulation so you don't articulate and bind up as much.

[John82601]

I don't like taking my shocks apart over and over figuring out how much tubing to put in our shocks so I test it out with zip ties. It lets me try different extended lengths until I find the one that works for me. Then I'll tear the shock apart and put the internal limiting into it. That way I only have to do it once.
Here's a pic of when I was tuning our X-Crawler, 5th pic down:
Our X-Crawler

[dudegetabike]

Or you could just slide the lower shock mount farther down the link. the farther the link is from the chassis the more the shock will stroke per unit of tire rise. Slide those things down and move the upper mounts to get the ride height you want. This way your suspension is more predictable. You'll want to get some heavy oil for the shocks, at least 80w, I've got 100w and love how slow and gentle the tire comes down over a hole.

[John82601]

Or you could just slide the lower shock mount farther down the link.

Even mounted to the axle my stock shocks had WAY more travel than I wanted. I ended up limiting about 3/8" internally and externally. You just don't need a whole lot of travel. One tire height is all that's needed and sometimes it seems like it still falls into holes.

[md7989]

Originally Posted by talon0713

yup... i have a piece of aluminium tube around the rod (externally) between the rod end and shock body. if you wqant pix let me know and i can take some for you.

Yes, that'd be awesome to see some pics. Thanks guys for the help so far...I greatly appreciate it.

[dudegetabike]

Originally Posted by John82601

Even mounted to the axle my stock shocks had WAY more travel than I wanted. I ended up limiting about 3/8" internally and externally. You just don't need a whole lot of travel. One tire height is all that's needed and sometimes it seems like it still falls into holes.

Now that I think about it, I made mine internally sprung droop shocks so they too would have a spacer ( the compressed spring )

[talon0713]

ok so from what i get out of all of this from experience, if you put an internal spacer this will create a droop affect but also will pre-load your springs. if you want to adjust ride height you can slide the shocks back and forward. if you just want to limit only the travel i would suggest putting an external spacer the same way i have mine. an easy way to do so is to use small zip ties to test with first then measure it and find some pre-made spacers that are close to the size you need or cut your own. i would also suggest limiting the front more then the rear. but that is really up to you and how you like it to respond. i do alot of up hill crawling so most of my flexing is transfered to the rear anyways so thats where i have most of my travel set. if you want it internally i can take one of my extra shocks a part and give you a good step by step on how to. anyways heres some pix on how i have mine set.

[jsowens]

Originally Posted by talon0713

if you want it internally i can take one of my extra shocks a part and give you a good step by step on how to..

On the last page of the tips and tricks thread, second to last post...dudegetabike posted a how-to on doing a droop setup for the stock rs10 shocks. If folks wanna limit the shocks internally, all they have to do is follow that tutorial, but instead of putting a spring inside the shock for droop, they could put a small spacer instead to limit it a tad. So it's up to you whether or not you wanna do a how-to on limiting shocks with spacers...however, if you do type up a tutorial, post it in the tips and tricks page.

Suspension is one of those things that requires a bit of experimentation to get the setup that works for you. What works for one of us, might not work as well for someone else on their rocks. For example...I've tried several setups and prefer 4'' shocks, white losi springs, 50wt shock oil, and no limiting spacers at all, but someone else might not like that setup at all. Bottom line is...don't be afraid to experiment...buy a couple of different weights of shock oil (it's under 5 bucks a bottle), buy some little spacers, and change things up here and there. Try a few different setups and see what actually works for you and what doesn't.

[talon0713]

Originally Posted by jsowens

On the last page of the tips and tricks thread, second to last post...dudegetabike posted a how-to on doing a droop setup for the stock rs10 shocks. If folks wanna limit the shocks internally, all they have to do is follow that tutorial, but instead of putting a spring inside the shock for droop, they could put a small spacer instead to limit it a tad. So it's up to you whether or not you wanna do a how-to on limiting shocks with spacers...however, if you do type up a tutorial, post it in the tips and tricks page.

Suspension is one of those things that requires a bit of experimentation to get the setup that works for you. What works for one of us, might not work as well for someone else on their rocks. For example...I've tried several setups and prefer 4'' shocks, white losi springs, 50wt shock oil, and no limiting spacers at all, but someone else might not like that setup at all. Bottom line is...don't be afraid to experiment...buy a couple of different weights of shock oil (it's under 5 bucks a bottle), buy some little spacers, and change things up here and there. Try a few different setups and see what actually works for you and what doesn't.

you are absolutely right... i have quite the Frankenstein suspension on my truck. i got 4.5" shocks in rear and 4" shock in front and have it almost full drooped in the front and half droop rear no internal springs and matching external limit spacers with losi red springs on rear and losi green springs in the front with 50 wt oil all around lol.... so it all depends on how you like it and every setup is different but theres tons of ideas here to toss around and see what works for you. good luck. if you need anything dont be afraid to ask

[md7989]

Thanks for the pics, that helps a lot. I'll play around with zip ties and see what I like best.

[dudegetabike]

I've even been messing with cam swing shock mounts on the rear. It will ease over big steps but gets weird if you need to back up. Guess I should just not back up.

[talon0713]

Originally Posted by dudegetabike

I've even been messing with cam swing shock mounts on the rear. It will ease over big steps but gets weird if you need to back up. Guess I should just not back up.

well in comps backing up is a penalty anyway so it will make you better at comping rofl... me personally i like being able to back up to fine tune my line and doing a lot harder stuff you got to back up and get it just right lol.