Need help building suspension

[Phylodog]

I'm trying my first scale build and I've got my chassis mocked up and I'm ready to start making the links and finding a position for the shocks. Here is what I've got so far:




I bought a set of the 90mm RC4WD shocks and they seem like they're still a bit too long (but I don't know what I'm doing either, lol). I have a few questions I'm hoping you guys who have done this a few times can help me with.

What is my next step? Do I make the links, get them installed then install the shocks? Is there a way to have the shocks sitting so that they're not at full extension when the Jeep isn't moving? Do the links determine ride height, the shocks or is a combination of the two?

Hopefully I'm asking the right questions. I thought I had a decent game plan worked out but once I got to this point I started second guessing myself. It seems like I can't find the hardware I need locally and end up ordering online so I don't want to mess up what I have and have to order and wait again.

Any help would be greatly appreciated.

[rockhugger]

this might get moved. I like what you have so far, I would figure out where your trans. is going to be then base your suspension off of what room is left over. The shock will sag a little once the weight of everything is sitting on the chassis, but you may need to build some shock mounts that sit above the frame.

good luck

[Phylodog]

I thought this was the place to put the question since it involves the procedure for building a suspension.

Is anyone willing to share how they built theirs?

[xirtic]

I do not have an easy or direct answer.....but seeing where you are from, have you made it to the Rox Box? That is where the local guys down there crawl. They are a great group of people with a ton of experience in comp and scale work. They have an event on 12/6.....If you have not gone there yet, or met the guys, I would highly recommend it. They are a great resource, and they are local. I am certain that they would help you out. I try and make it down there quarterly, and always look forward to crawling and chatting with them.

[squatch71]

wow...looks like a good start...I like the frame and how it fits on the jeep...

next step?? lots of answers for that I would do the following.

install your shocks..then put your drivelines on your trans and the axles..find the best place for them, Center of the drive shafts is best I think....then put a motor skid plate in that area, this will get you a lower link placement...from there you can put your uppers on...

btw, I did the same with my axle spacer as you...works great.


hope I started you off right..that's what I do, but only have built two of them.

[rmdesignworks]

looking at your pics it looks like your link mounts at the axle are slightly outside the frame rails? if they are then i would use upper stays on the axles and move the shocks to be clamped in the stay and the link to the inner side of the stays. since you are running a rear axle truss and a front servo plate both with upper stays on them you dont have to worry about the triangulation. mount your skidplate a little forward of centered in the rails,,,or where your elected body will allow,,, then run your lower links as straight forward to the skid as you can,,,,and run the upper links for the axle to the inside of the frame rails about an inch or inch and a half back from where the lower links mount to the skid.

if you can take a pic from directly over the chassis with the axles and frame rails square to each other at the wheel base you want it would help.

what kind of tranny are you using?

what are planning on using for the skidplate material?

what size tires/wheels are you using?

[Phylodog]

Thanks for the help guys! I've talked with Aaron but haven't made it to the Rox Box yet. I'm hoping to make it there soon though.

I'm using an R2 tranny, Killer transfer case and 1.55 wheels with Mud Thrashers for the build. There is a fair amount of room up front under the hood so I was going to try to stuff everything under there except for the transfer case. I was hoping to build an aluminum skid plate to mount the transfer case. I'm thinking about narrowing the chassis so I can mount the frame rails directly to the R2 tranny on both sides which will require the shocks and lower links to be attached to the outside of the rails but I don't know if there are reasons this wouldn't be a good idea.

The battery will lay nicely against the back of the firewall on the body (backside of the dashboard).

I will try to get a pic from overhead this evening and get it posted.

[Phylodog]

Here is a pic from directly overhead:


Here is a shot of the rear axle sitting pretty close to where I would like it to sit once complete. As you can see it is a pretty short trip from the axle to the frame and I'm thinking about running a chassis cross member just behind the axle and running the shocks from the lower rear screw toward the center of the cross member. I won't have any room above the frame for the shock, the body will be resting on the chassis at this point.

[rmdesignworks]

paint work up

[Phylodog]

Thank you for taking the time to do that, I really appreciate it.

I was considering cutting down the servo plate on the axle to move the lover link mounting point forward and closer to the axle. I plan to mount the steering servo to the chassis anyway, would moving the link point onto the axle be better than having it behind the axle as it is now?

[rmdesignworks]

yes,,the closer you are to the kpi(king pin inclination) parallel the easier it is to control the axle wrap

[Ghostkid]

Great job so far, I live in indy too. I might have to have you help me build a scale rig, yours looks good so far. You might check Montana Scale Designs. They have some Shock mount links that might help you and they give it a more scale look.

[Phylodog]

Narrowed it up a bit to fit the width of the R2 tranny and made a few crossmembers. Here's a pic of it roughly mocked up with the tranny & xfer case. Looks like I'm going to have to cut the rear shaft down a little bit.



Thanks for the help so far and hope you guys have a Happy Thanksgiving day!

[squatch71]

looks cool, how are you mounting your servo? Frame or on the axle

[Phylodog]

I'm hoping to get it on the frame just forward of the tranny. I think it'll help the scale look and I should have plenty of room up there for the servo and maybe even the esc & receiver as well. There isn't much of any room rear of the hood.

[rmdesignworks]

don't forget to think outside the box,,or the frame rails in this case,,the Rx can always be boxed and placed in the bed of body anywhere,,,woofer box or tool box/cooler lookalike

[Phylodog]

I hadn't considered that, thanks for the tip. I think that would definitely be an option should space get tight under the body.

[rmdesignworks]

you can also hide the esc as the fuel tank in the back between the rails

[Phylodog]

I just finished making a cross member that I will use as the mounting point for the rear shocks and it looks like the ESC may tuck between it and the rear of the chassis nicely. Thanks!

[rmdesignworks]

if you are planning on or think that you might get it wet,,make sure you make it water tight