what Shock Oil Weight to use?

[v4impactor]

I'm putting together a Clod basher, and being the noob I am, I have no clue what shock oil weight to use. The truck will be a 4-link using 4 inch shocks. Went down to the LHS and asked the guys what they recommend. The ever so kind whiz kid behind the counter told me its personal prefrence. I said OK and asked what he recommended. Once again he replied "personal prefrence and everyone buys different stuff." So again I said "OK, what weights do you have?" When asked what weights he had he said 1-100, I said give me something around the middle and boy wonder handed me a bottle of AE 30 wt oil.......Someone who has some sort of knowledge about this PLEASE give me a better idea.

[4ONDFLR]

same thing happened to me at my LHS. but i got handed 35wt. ran that for a while but now i run 70wt and it works well for me. you can see my rig in the thread "here it is...tell me what you think"

[v4impactor]

hmmm must be some sort of hobby shop trainee video they watch that says only issue shock weights in the 30 range LMAO

[v4impactor]

Hey 4ONDFLR you think the 70 wt is good? I also will be running GPM shocks, just the standard type not the piggyback.

[4ONDFLR]

I havent had any probs with mine... i will like them better once im not lazy and take the blue anodize off

[Grizzly4x4]

For 4" shocks with red Tmaxx springs on a super I always liked running 60 wt oil to slow the rebound of the spring.

On my current super I have 3.5" shocks with Losi #5152 red springs in the rear and Losi #5156 silver springs up front. I have 50wt oil in these and this setup has been working really well for me.

I used to run 30wt in my 2.2 Clods because the tires were lighter and I used softer spring setups. For bashing, oil isn't super critical since so much of your weight is in the axles. If you have a tuber or dual sub C battery packs then the chassis weight becomes more of a factor and so does the shock oil.
For a basher you don't want to slow down the suspension as much as a dedicated crawler so I bet the 30wt will be fine.

[Espeefan]

I run a little on the heavier side as well. I'd suggest 45-65 weight. It does depend on what you like, but start with 50 and see how you like it. If you do more crawling then bashing, then I'd stay a little on the lighter side of that range. For most truck applications 30 something weight oil is just way to light. Also, keep in mind that if you run heavier springs, you will likewise want to run heavier oil. Otherwise you'll get to much bounce.

[v4impactor]

Thanks for the advice and input guys! I think i'm going to try either a 45 or 50 wt and see how that works out.

[1rcmonster]

I have 4" duratrax adjustable shocks...running 60wt with white springs on a New Era monster truck chassis.....suspension works as smooth as butter....

[jevyguy]

Run on the heavy side and you wont be dissapointed. Run above 50wt