Suspension tuning.....not impressed

[Fordfreak95]

Moving the shocks to the back position helps a ton with torque twist..but..you loose a lot of suspension droop travel or down travel or what ever you call it now days. I have a set of cement steps I crawl over to get to my bash spot and with the rear shocks in the rear position I can't do it. Putting just the top to the back hole and the bottom to the front hole I gain a good amount of the travel back and it still handles pretty good. And I can take the steps again.
Just posting this for an information purpose..... something to consider when moving the shocks to the rear position.

 

[BobTeagle]

That's the thing about a twin hammer type vehicle. Even the real trucks have to be tuned with a balance between crawling and desert running. Can't really super tune for either if u plan on doing both.
I still really like this rc! So in its own class.. I was needing somthing new and fresh and this is it!

 

[BobTeagle]

Thought I would share that I tried HPI Baja 5b soft springs today. The mediums were a little stiff for me after more tuning. These come in yellow but I boiled them in sunshine orange RIT dye. The long springs are good for the front as well if used alone.

 

[cmbscx10]

Awesome to hear. What did you not like about the mediums? To fast or just too stiff.

Did not know you could boil springs to change color. You know i like Orange so i am going to do this for sure.

 

[BobTeagle]

Awesome to hear. What did you not like about the mediums? To fast or just too stiff.

Did not know you could boil springs to change color. You know i like Orange so i am going to do this for sure.

Just a little stiff for my driving style. I don't jump more than 1-2' high. I like plush suspension but with plenty of ride height. The soft hpi helper with stock XL long feels much better over the bumps and retains decent ride height.

Boiling in Rit dye only works on powder coated metal "springs" and plastic parts. The original color must be lighter than the dye color. For instance the medium springs are black and are not dyeable. The hot racing springs will not dye either because they are not powder coated.

 

[cmbscx10]

Thanks for the info. I am not a jumper either so i'll try the soft springs.

I have dyed just about everything plastic i could on my RC's. I know Powder coat is plastic but just never thought to dye it. Thanks for the eye opener.

When i restored my Wraith and 8T i did all the black items in a mix of black and navy blue. It gave it a flat black/dark charcoal look i was after. Nothing worse than shiny black plastic. Make it look "toyish".

 

[BobTeagle]

Thanks for the info. I am not a jumper either so i'll try the soft springs.

I have dyed just about everything plastic i could on my RC's. I know Powder coat is plastic but just never thought to dye it. Thanks for the eye opener.

When i restored my Wraith and 8T i did all the black items in a mix of black and navy blue. It gave it a flat black/dark charcoal look i was after. Nothing worse than shiny black plastic. Make it look "toyish".

I tried dyeing springs back when I had a traxxas slash. I did not like the white powder coat and threw them into some dye I was using to dye plastic parts. Worked like a charm! Been doing it ever since.

 

[BobTeagle]

Awesome to hear. What did you not like about the mediums? To fast or just too stiff.

Did not know you could boil springs to change color. You know i like Orange so i am going to do this for sure.

Orange springs will look great with your ride!

 

[BEELZEBOB]

I got the stiff springs (yellow 6+lbs) RTR spring in the rear, and them I am running both of the kit's long spring up front."thumbsup"

 

[tonyfalkon]

Did anyone try swapping front and rear upper springs 14.2 lbs with 1.4 6 hole piston, top position in the middle hole and bottom position outer start with 90 wt for the front shocks and 11.1 lbs lbs with 1.4 4 hole piston top position to the front and bottom position to the back start with 70 wt for the rear shocks. Install shocks on your rig for the droop test if the front is upright your good if it droops below the median either go up in oil wt, reduce piston hole size or number or add preload clip. Next the bounce test front and back too bouncy means shock oil is a little light either go higher or reduce piston hole size or number, too stiff then do the opposite. Don't forget the shock mount and angle, you can also use pistons from other manufacturers that have more and bigger holes, do one adjustment at a time that way you can pinpoint where it needs more tweaking. The problem sometimes lies in multiple adjustments at the same time, patience is key. In the end it should have a smooth action BUT NOT AT THE EXPENSE OF YOUR DRIVING SKILLS so feel free to toss this suggestions so it will conform to your skill set. To me a properly tuned suspension should support the weight of the rig and resist leans on cornering, do remember there is no universal formula different surfaces require different combinations but thats where the fun is, if your not working on your rig then your really not having fun.

Stay patient, stay safe and have fun.

 

[Burn999]

Figured I would reactivate this old thread seeing as I used it for information.

The stock front suspension I have found is too soft, there is not enough ground clearance which has resulted in the front end getting whacked a lot.

So I decided to try to find some springs which will work. After reading this thread i bought some HPI Baja springs:

"HPI Baja 5B 86762 Shock Spring 23x155x2.4mm 17.5 Coils"

from Ebay.

These were a dual rate setup where I was intending to replace the top softer spring with the new hard one. Well when I looked at the springs they were harder than the original springs on my Yeti so there was no point in replacing the top one with a mega hard spring.

So I have replaced the dual spring setup with the single lower HPI spring (7.5lb/in I think). I have had to put the preload all the way to the top of the shock but the front arms are now perfectly horizontal, so next step is to test it, and probably increase the oil weight as well.

I would post a pic but I cant seem to attach a photo to this thing.

 

[macdeez]

Figured I would reactivate this old thread seeing as I used it for information.

The stock front suspension I have found is too soft, there is not enough ground clearance which has resulted in the front end getting whacked a lot.

So I decided to try to find some springs which will work. After reading this thread i bought some HPI Baja springs:

"HPI Baja 5B 86762 Shock Spring 23x155x2.4mm 17.5 Coils"

from Ebay.

These were a dual rate setup where I was intending to replace the top softer spring with the new hard one. Well when I looked at the springs they were harder than the original springs on my Yeti so there was no point in replacing the top one with a mega hard spring.

So I have replaced the dual spring setup with the single lower HPI spring (7.5lb/in I think). I have had to put the preload all the way to the top of the shock but the front arms are now perfectly horizontal, so next step is to test it, and probably increase the oil weight as well.

I would post a pic but I cant seem to attach a photo to this thing.

Looking forward to hearing the results, thanks for keeping us posted.

 

[sugarbear]

Is anyone using lst shocks in the rear?

 

[BarHarborBasher]

Is anyone using lst shocks in the rear?

I prefer mine set up that way.... In the past I've also added a inner jounce spring to assist the soft rear springs before I owed two sets of front springs....it's all in driver preference...the important part is knowing the fundamentals (oil viscosities/valving) how the changes effect your demands.. Looking back .. it would've been a good idea to log my preferences/ dislikes..at the time it seems impossible to forget...
I actually run with a modified 4 hole valve/diaphragm because the standard 4 hole was too stiff and the 6 hole was too soft with the viscosity that I preferred... given..I'm limited on my oil viscositys... that's what makes other bashers experience a valuable resource to determine a starting point..

"thumbsup"

 

[VNEMSS]

I use the hpi savage flux big bore shocks in the front and found them to be really good.
Iam yet to try them in the rear as I don't mind ride since I changed oil and springs.

 

[Burn999]

Thinking the HPI black springs may be too hard for crawling as they dont give the front arms enough movement, but for speed runs may well be just what it needs.

Think I will get a set of blue which I think should be around 6.5lb/in so may be nearer stock springs but will allow more preload.

Who knows until you try!

Will report back when I have more findings!

 

[pro mod steve]

Just a basher here and spent ALOT of time getting my set up right. I have 2 YXL both set up the same way and it works great for a basher set up.
F Spring- AX31242 from RTR
F oil- 45WT
R Spring AX 31276 AX31279 from kit
R oil- 15WT

Very happy with this set up from rough terrain to jumps and all bashing aspects it works great for me. Worst thing I have more HPI springs and shock oils that did not work than I know what to do with.

 

[Shiesty2000]

Just a basher here and spent ALOT of time getting my set up right. I have 2 YXL both set up the same way and it works great for a basher set up.
F Spring- AX31242 from RTR
F oil- 45WT
R Spring AX 31276 AX31279 from kit
R oil- 15WT

Very happy with this set up from rough terrain to jumps and all bashing aspects it works great for me. Worst thing I have more HPI springs and shock oils that did not work than I know what to do with.

Are you runnin the spare tire with that setup and are u using the 4 hole pistons in front and 6 hole in the rear?

 

[pro mod steve]

No spare tire, 1.4 6-hole piston front and rear.