Shock setup

[vti-chris]

I've been into crawlers for about a year now but never understood how the shocks should work or what are there for.
I mean i run 10wt oil in my berg tracer just for it to be there.
If i didn't use any what would it do?

Laytdown or standing up??? What does it do?
What do i look for??

 

[JeremyH]

If i didn't use any what would it do?

The piston wouldnt move and the shock would be really stiff and unpredictable.

Laytdown or standing up??? What does it do?

The more you lay a shock down, the softer it will feel. Actually, it is just basic physics...less vertical force being applied and more horizontal force.

 

[vti-chris]

Soooooo what do we do...and what do we look for on setting up the suspension?

 

[JeremyH]

What truck do you have? What shocks? What springs? How much does it weigh? How much wheel weights? What is the truck not doing? What would you like it to do?

 

[vti-chris]

As stated in the 1st post...it's a berg tracer bone stock.
I have 0 weight in the rear...4oz to each front and it's around 3Kg with 65/35 weight bias f/r.

 

[JeremyH]

And what are you not liking about the current setup?

 

[vti-chris]

Now honestly...have you read my first post???:roll:

 

[WIDELOAD]

I've been into crawlers for about a year now but never understood how the shocks should work or what are there for.
I mean i run 10wt oil in my berg tracer just for it to be there.
If i didn't use any what would it do?

Laytdown or standing up??? What does it do?
What do i look for??

Not really overly sure what type of info you were aiming for.
Buuuut to answer your questions.

Running no oil with make the rig bouncy as the oil is used to dampen the oscillation of the spring. Same as a 1:1 shock absorber.
See wiki: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shock_absorber

As for stand up vs. laydown as JeremyH said. The more laid down (closer to horizontal) a shock is the less effective rate it has (gets softer). The closer to vertical the stifer it becomes (this is vs laid down)

With standing up vs. laying down you also get a change in ride height.

As for 'what do we look for'..Personal preference.
Simple as that. You play around with oil, springs & shock angle until you are happy with the way you rig drives.

If you are happy with the way you rig reacts leave it alone.

If you want it to be stiffer and slower reacting to terrain, go stiffer/thicker oil (eg. 45wt -> 55wt)
If you want it to be softer and react quicker go lighter (eg. 55wt -> 45wt)

 

[mrG]

Good answer here http://www.rccrawler.com/forum/showthread.php?p=2740410#post2740410 it's a page or two but worth the read for sure

 

[vti-chris]

Sorry if i overreacted but don't get me wrong on this...these trucks don't move that fast in order to consider dampenig a factor of setup.
Now if it affects in a way, which i don't know, how it reacts on different obstacles, then this i want to know.

Basicaly i want to know what we are looking for in a rig regarding shocks.
Do we want soft/hard...soft dampening/hard...what will my truck do if i say run thicker oil...will it flip over more easily???

I've been racing buggies for 6 years now and the word "setup" is printed differently in my mind!!!!

 

[JeremyH]

Now honestly...have you read my first post???:roll:

Yes, I read your post and you were about as vague as you could have possibly been. You provided MINIMAL information about your truck and didnt explain what you were asking for.....

:roll:

 

[ripper7777777]

I've been into crawlers for about a year now but never understood how the shocks should work or what are there for.
I mean i run 10wt oil in my berg tracer just for it to be there.
If i didn't use any what would it do?

Laytdown or standing up??? What does it do?
What do i look for??

Well drain the oil and find out, than go buy 35, 45, 55 etc and test them, run them for a while and see. Than move the shocks around see how it effects your rig.


If you have raced buggies for anytime at all you understand what the oil is doing and what spring rates are.

 

[vti-chris]

Yes that i know.
What i don't understand is what this turtle speed moving objects need the shock setup for?

 

[JeremyH]

What i don't understand is what this turtle speed moving objects need the shock setup for?

Take them off and find out.

 

[fortunespoons]

I just got started in this crawler game too and it's a lot to learn.
I love the fact I can experiment with 1 end of the truck and always go back to original by copying the other end, if I need to.
I got a badly-tinkered-with Cliff Climber but I just looked online and copied what I saw. The angles surely aren't the same, but they're close enough.
I experimented a few days and now it's coming along nicely..

Shocks? They tend to lean in a bit seen from the front. More vertical will mean more side to side sway. More lean, stiffer side to side.
Also this will mean slight ride height changes.
From what I've seen looking around online is that most stock setups are around 45 degrees when viewed from the side.
Moving them more vertical will raise your ride height by pushing down harder. This also stiffens the over all ride.
Moving the shocks to more horizontal will lower the rig because of less down force from the shocks(more sag). Any given corner will raise or fall easier over obstacles.
A crawler NEEDS to crawl over stuff. It has to have good suspension flex without twisting the castor angle. If I was you I'd start with the links. Good, smooth suspension travel, will far outweigh shocks in overall performance IMO.
As for what you rig needs that's gunna depend on what your driving over.
Start in the middle and make a slight change to some thing on 1 end only. Play with it and work the suspension and see the difference if any. If it's better, move the thing a little farther, or change the other end too.
If it's worse, try something else...
What's good for mud may be bad for rocks, maybe a whole new setup to figure out damnit, but I'm gunna have fun finding out...

Yes that i know.
What i don't understand is what this turtle speed moving objects need the shock setup for?

 

[ripper7777777]

Yes that i know.
What i don't understand is what this turtle speed moving objects need the shock setup for?

What does speed got to do with anything, they are doing the same job, shocks are shocks, they don't do anything special on buggies they don't do on Crawlers.

 

[RksPlz]

You show great restraint JeremyH"thumbsup"

 

[JeremyH]

You show great restraint JeremyH"thumbsup"

I was actually trying to be nice...always do in the Newbie section. "thumbsup"

The more laid down (closer to horizontal) a shock is the less effective rate it has (gets softer). The closer to vertical the stifer it becomes (this is vs laid down)

Also, a note, when you lay the shock down, as the axle moves up the shock lays down even further and the suspension becomes "softer"...

 

[WIDELOAD]

Now if it affects in a way, which i don't know, how it reacts on different obstacles, then this i want to know.
Basicaly i want to know what we are looking for in a rig regarding shocks.
Do we want soft/hard...soft dampening/hard...what will my truck do if i say run thicker oil...will it flip over more easily???

I've been racing buggies for 6 years now and the word "setup" is printed differently in my mind!!!!

Now you didnt read MY post did you?:roll::lmao:

It doesnt matter if you have been racing 'roaches. Shocks are shocks.
They do the same basic thing regardless of what its in. The principle of a shock is the same across the board.

 

[mrG]

As for 'what do we look for'..Personal preference.
Simple as that. You play around with oil, springs & shock angle until you are happy with the way you rig drives.

If you are happy with the way you rig reacts leave it alone.

The man speaks the truth.

Make a change and go crawl. That's the only way you'll know what works best for you. I will add this, don't change oil and shock angle at the same time. Baby steps.