Inverted Shocks???

[snwchris]

I've seen a few rigs now with the shocks inverted and was wondering what the advantage of it is???

It looks like some more ground clearance, but the driveshaft anlges looks a little harsh though.

Chris

[cavecrawler]

it offers a lower center of gravity for your rig if you are running oil in them and yes it does give a slight more bit of ground clearance

[picklewagon]

I don't like it so much as the shock piston seems to float in the air gap of the shock oil instead of deep in the oil.

[Rockfrog]

Not really sure what you are meaning there ...

The piston will be in the same relative position in the shock upside down or not. The only air gap should be between the bladder and the cap. There should be no air in the shock oil itself ... unless you are running without oil.

[clockworks]

I don't see how it can affect the ride height, ground clearance or driveshaft angles. The effective length of the shock will be the same, whichever way around you mount it.

It will lower the centre of gravity slightly.
It will also alter the the damping characteristics, as the air (between the bladder and cap) is now on the rebound side of the piston, rather than the bump side. Whether this makes any difference in practice, who knows?

[snwchris]

Here's a pic of them inverted and look at the harsh driveline angle.

It looks like more ground clearance unless it's an illusion cause of the angle, but following the driveline angle, harsh degree angles at the CV's

Pic example


Chris

[clockworks]

OK - I see where you are coming from. Is that your crawler? Try adjusting the collars on the shocks downwards if you want to lower it. It would be the same if the shocks were the other way up.
If it's just a pic you've pulled from somewhere, it's possible that it's a mockup. If it doesn't have all the electrics fitted, it'll ride a lot higher.

[snwchris]

Not my rig... a pic I found & was curious since I've seen a couple Venoms set-up like this. I believe it's a full running rig since there's action pics and video of it as well.

Chris

[clockworks]

OK - they've either set it up for maximum ground clearance, or they just wanted to avoid scratching the links and skids during the photo shoot.

I've got my shocks inverted. With the spring collars wound down, it sits with the lower links parallel to the ground, and the driveshafts at a very shallow angle.

[Rockfrog]

they have the battery out.
My creeper has the shocks set up almost identicaly and with a 4200mAh battery in the stock tray the driveshafts are flat. with it out it raises ... a lot.