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Upside Down Shocks?

Upside Down Shocks?

Old 05-19-2007, 11:48 PM
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Ok so I was playing with my TA05 shocks today and I got to thinking that the end with the oil should be heavier than the other end of the shock. So I set up a mini experiment and put a fulcrum at the midpoint of the shock. Sure enough it fell to the oil resevoir end of the shock every time. So does anyone run their shocks upside down? I see no performance hindrance and only that a slight lowering of the CoG as the benefit. Any opinions on this matter? I haven't noticed anyone with upside down shocks since I've been looking at this site.
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Old 05-20-2007, 12:15 AM
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Adding to the unsprung weight is generally not a good idea.
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Old 05-20-2007, 12:22 AM
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I thought you want keep minimum un-sprung weight to make steering better.
So putting shock upside down can't be that good. If it is better, don't you think all top drivers and real racecars will have them upside down?
Having said that I don't think I'll ever notice difference.
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Old 05-20-2007, 12:25 AM
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I have seen it done, but remember, impact may cause the shocks to leak. If at the top, the pressure is placed on the shocks differently. This way, they wont leak....as BAD. If the shocks are upside down, the will leak FAST and directly onto the path of your wheels. Bad Idea? I dare say so.
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Old 05-20-2007, 12:34 AM
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id rather bend a shock shaft in a hard crash, then bend/crack a shock body lol
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Old 05-20-2007, 01:05 AM
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If it is better, don't you think all top drivers and real racecars will have them upside down?
I've seen a few real cars with upside down shocks. I know of a Grand Am Cup Supra that had upside down rear shocks engineered by True Choice. So it seemed plausible to me. As for the leaking, I have experienced no leaking yet with my shocks. And this is for a bashing car too. It gets ramped lol.
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Old 05-20-2007, 02:17 AM
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Running the shocks upside down will not only increase the unsprung weight as has been mentioned, but it will also place the piston up at the top of the oil, if any air bubble forms in the shock, the piston will be in the air. Not good for consistent damping.
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Old 05-20-2007, 03:29 AM
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Originally Posted by bshown
I've seen a few real cars with upside down shocks. I know of a Grand Am Cup Supra that had upside down rear shocks engineered by True Choice. So it seemed plausible to me. As for the leaking, I have experienced no leaking yet with my shocks. And this is for a bashing car too. It gets ramped lol.
Yes you are correct. But those shocks are ENGINEERED to be upside down, not just standard shock put on wrong way.
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Old 05-20-2007, 06:39 AM
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I used to run my Xray T1R all the time like that
They leaked less.And the car was more planted on carpet the weight was lower or some thing cause the chassis roll went away some. Worked for the T1R.
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Old 05-20-2007, 06:33 PM
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If they are shocks that use the silicone diaphrams at the cap, then air in the shock won't be a problem due to the fact that there is no air in diaphram shocks. It they were mounted upside down they should actually leak less due to gravity, the oil will be pulled to the end of the shock without the openening unlike a normal setup where the oil is pulled to the opening where the shaft protrudes. I guess it is whether or not unsprung weight outweighs lower center of gravity or vice versa! Either way try it out, if you feel it works better go for it, it really can't hurt anything just to try it out! This type of shock configuration has been mentioned and used in the past, some people prefer the upside down shock setup after trying it.
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Old 05-20-2007, 08:16 PM
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Originally Posted by WailinOnYa
If they are shocks that use the silicone diaphrams at the cap, then air in the shock won't be a problem due to the fact that there is no air in diaphram shocks.
Maybe not when first built, but after a while there's some air in there. Count on it.
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