1:10 2WD OR shocks

[spiro]

I've stated the following in another thread as well - I am not a happy camper these days. This is due to the shocks on the RB5. The plastic tops brake in the cold, and the oil finds its exit. So, to make me happy again, can someone please tell me;

What kind of shocks are the best for 1:10 2WD Offroad?

-S-

[peetbee]

Associated or Losi shocks. There's not much to choose between them.

[bald eagle]

Yep, Losi or associated shocks, Losi "threaded" shocks are difficult to get hold of as they dont come a s a complete kit of 4. but most say they are a little better then the associated equivelants. You can go down the route of buying all the parts you need to build 4 complete losi threaded shocks, but the price may well put you off.

[Fabs]

Kyosho shocks are the best. You may only have your driving to blame, I've only broken the shock top once and that was on a very big crash.

[Mike Hudson]

Originally Posted by Fabs

Kyosho shocks are the best. You may only have your driving to blame, I've only broken the shock top once and that was on a very big crash.

Very bold statement about kyosho shocks... why/how are they the best? You tried every brand of shocks?
This guys from norway so if he's racing in a colder than usual environment then the plastic parts will be more brittle and could break alot easier...

[Fabs]

Maybe a bold statement but the Kyosho Shocks are Excellent and I've seen my fair share of shocks. AE are arguably in my book at the bottom of the scale in the design department, as whilst they work well, they're arguably the most difficult to get right and air-free, whereas the Kyosho are right on TOP for that, and super smooth.

Who knows maybe there are aluminium shock tops on the market that would resolve the issue without changing shocks.

[RogerM]

I am with Fab on this, the Kyosho (tripple cap) shocks such as fitted to the RB5 ZX5-SP/FS are teh nicest shocks I have ever worked with and I've been racing since the mid 80s and have driven most manufactures products over those years in 1/10th & 1/8th.

The reason I say the Kyosho shocks are the best are;

1) I've never had them leak .... not even slightly
2) the oil stays very clean for a very long time compared to something like AE coated shocks
3) without exception they are the easiest to bleed. You have to be a total fool to get them wrong!
4) the threading for ride height is exceptionally fine so you have to make large adjustments to change preload .... makes it much easier to get them the same

As for breaking the shock caps I've done 2 in over 18 months of racing Kyosho 1/10th off road cars. Both times it was head on collisions with somebody going the wrong way down the straight at full chat into me going the correct way down the straight also at full chat. In both cases the shock shafts, shock bodies, tower and wishbones all survived .... a shock cap can be changed in a couple of minutes and just 2 screws.

Now what may help you here is boiling the plastic parts (not just shock but all shiny black parts). This de-stresses the plastic and helps prevent breakages.
Boil up some water in a saucepan, drop the plastic parts in, simmer for 10 mins then let the parts cool in the water until the water is room temp (I leave it over night). Result, super durable plastic parts!

I hope that this helps.

[DCM]

Tamiya TRF shocks....

[Southwell]

Whilst i can build AE shocks without any air bubbles and smooth Losi ones are the most consistent i have used. Ive not had experience with Tamiya or Kyosho though.

[mw02veg]

lol theres a new kyosho boy in town lol like ashley with losi but x2

[bald eagle]

I havent "run" the car yet, but build wise and feel in the hand, the Tamiya trf501x shocks are rather pleasant to say the least...

[spiro]

Thanks for the feedback everyone.

I think that some of you didn't fully understand my situation. The plastic parts break a little too fast for racing in the cold. Typical temperature at our indoors track during winter is -5 degrees celsius. This means that we accept the fact that plastic parts will break more often than during summer. About two weeks ago, I switched from the B4 to the RB5. They are both good cars, and they both have vulnerable parts for cold racing. The B4 broke shock caps (plastic ones), arms and towers. The RB5 breaks turnbuckles, bulk head and shock caps. On the B4, i changed to aluminium shock caps and all was fine. I've already changed the turnbuckles to Associated titanium ones on the RB5.

The problem with the plastic breaking on the Kyosho shocks is that when they do brake, the oil comes out. This was never a problem on the B4, where the top loop simply came off. Easy switch and resume racing. With the Kyosho, I spill oil on the carpet and i have to refill and bleed the shocks before getting back out there.

Now, can you all say it with me - A N N O Y I N G !

Since converting to the RB5 I've gone through this 4 times in 3 visits to the track.

I have no objections to how smooth the Kyosho shocks are. The bleeding system is excellent and there are probably 15 more great things about them that I haven't even noticed being such a rookie in 1:10. Sadly though, they are a royal pain in my -5 degrees celsius ass.

I've contacted a friend of mine that have a set of Losi shocks for sale. perhaps they are the solution. A few questions regarding them;

-Will they slide on the Kyosho screws, top and bottom?
-Can I use Associated springs on the Losi shocks?

What strikes me as strange is that there doesn't seem to be an all alu option part for the Kyosho shocks. I'd go for a set of them in a heartbeat if they were out there.

/Rant off

-S-

[DanW]

I think the diamemter of Losi shocks is too big to take associated springs, but your Kyosho springs might fit the losi shocks.

Basically you want either losi or associated shocks so you can have an alloy top mounting. In my opinion Losi shocks have look a feel a better quality than AE. The ball mounts for the losi/associated shocks have a smaller bore for 3/32 imperial screw, so you need to drill them out a little bit to take the kyosho 3mm screw.

[RogerM]

Sipro ..... we've seen temps off -5deg C in the UK over this winter and trust me, the boiled plastics are plenty strong compared to every other manufactures.

I think there maybe some alloy caps on the Kyosho touring cars that might well fit (all other shock parts cross over).

May I ask what sort of accidents are you having to break shock caps? If I understand the full story I might be able to offer some advice into how to combat it. Just trying to help mate, I'd hate to see you making the car handle worse by fitting shocks of the wrong lengths etc. because of a reliability issue that we can almost certainly solve!

[spiro]

Well Roger, it may well come down to a combination of cold plastic and track layout. We have a couple of places on our indoor track that really converts the cars to rebuild kits on unfortunate impacts. We've tried boiling the plastic, but it didn't help much. Like I've stated earlier, I know something's gotta give in on these crashes, but the thing that bugs me is that on the Kyosho it's the part that holds in the oil. I'd much rather brake the shock tower. If there is indeed a possibillity to swap the cap for some option part, then that's my prefered solution, no doubt.

The place that seems to eat the most parts, is the outer wall of the sweeper. Brake too late on the end of the long strech, and you'll have plenty of fun trying to find the entire car.

[RogerM]

Ok, Look on the KyoshoAmerica or PetitRc sites for a manual for the TF5 touring car series, sure they have some alloy caps either in one of the kits or as an option

[millzy]

Originally Posted by spiro

Well Roger, it may well come down to a combination of cold plastic and track layout. We have a couple of places on our indoor track that really converts the cars to rebuild kits on unfortunate impacts. We've tried boiling the plastic, but it didn't help much. Like I've stated earlier, I know something's gotta give in on these crashes, but the thing that bugs me is that on the Kyosho it's the part that holds in the oil. I'd much rather brake the shock tower. If there is indeed a possibillity to swap the cap for some option part, then that's my prefered solution, no doubt.

The place that seems to eat the most parts, is the outer wall of the sweeper. Brake too late on the end of the long strech, and you'll have plenty of fun trying to find the entire car.

dont crash- less broken parts
faster lap times

[Fabs]

sorry wrong part number...

EDIT

There is no aluminium part that I could find.

However I found these

http://www.3racing.hk/products.php?products_key=2917

Which even though they are for the TF5, will fit the RB5 shocks as the top part of them is exactly the same. Since they're not Kyosho parts the plastic will be different and may (or may not) stop breaking.

[niggs98]

after boiling try soaking the parts in a penetrating oil like wd40/gt85. this normally makes the plastic a little more forgiving and tends to stand upto cold weather a lot better. have raced my rb5 in -10 with the shocks and all plastice done this way and not had breakage issues due to the cold so might be worth a try before you go to the expense of new shocks. to be honest the others are much of a muchness. the uk loves losi shocks but im seeing increasing numbers trying the tamiya shock as it seems to offer very simlar performance to the kyosho shock

[spiro]

That's a good tip. I guess you'd get the best result by throwing the parts directly into oil/lube when they're still hot. Perhaps even make sure that the oil is slightly warmed as well.

Just like tomato sauce on hot pasta. Absorbes a lot while hot.

Too bad temperatures are rising fast here now. I won't be able to conclude on this before next winter. Maybe that's a good thing though.