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How to adjust threaded shocks?

How to adjust threaded shocks?

Old 06-17-2009, 07:44 PM
  #16  
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Originally Posted by sosidge
We're getting trapped in language a little here...

Personally I prefer to refer to "droop" and "downtravel".

Droop is what you can measure with the gauge on the car (by the way, I always measure with the shocks on, just in case the shocks are too short to let the arms reach the droop screws).

Downtravel is the difference between the ride height and the point at which the tyres lift from the ground.

(I'm not saying my language is universally correct - it's just how I choose to distinguish between the two different measurements, one of which is put on setup sheets, the other of which is a more accurate real-world value).
Actually I agree with the captain here. However the limit of how far the suspension will deflect when the car is raised is set by the droop screw, which is why I said that is set first.

You are right as well in the sense that droop (I think you call it downtravel) is the suspension deflection when the wheel is unloaded, but what you measure with the car on blocks is usually called downstop not droop. Sure, it makes no difference what you call it in the end.
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Old 06-17-2009, 08:33 PM
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so what you do, is set the amount of "down travel" you want, take the wheels off, and measure this with a "droop guage" then, after every run, take your wheels off and reset your "DROOP" to make sure it didn't change with you smacked those pipes.

in the days before DROOP SCREWS we used shock length to do this.
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Old 06-17-2009, 08:38 PM
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Originally Posted by Airflow

How do the experts do this?
I missed this part of the question, forget i said anything
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Old 06-17-2009, 10:59 PM
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Thank y'all for sharing.

Anyone here setting their pre-loads left to right differently?
Not to cure tweak but to compensate on uneven side weights.
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Old 06-17-2009, 11:56 PM
  #20  
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Balance the car properly and you won't have to. With lipo batteries shouldn't be a problem anymore, you can balance the car and still be underweight.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:21 AM
  #21  
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Originally Posted by Airflow
Ok thanks for your inputs.

Here's the case, I have 2 NimH batts both GP3000. One is industrial grade,
light green in color and the other one is the commercial version (with labels).

The commercial version is heavier by 150+ grams. Im finding ways to
accommodate both in one set up. If I use the industrial GP3000, my
left and right balance is near perfect, but when I use the commercial
version which is heavier, I get slightly lower ride height to the batt side.
I use both of these on 3 cars. TC4, TA05R, and TC5R. To fix the weight
difference, I turn threaded collar once to reclaim ride height that I lost
when using the heavier batt. Now, my settings will be off again if I use
LiPo. I hate to make adjustments to different batts.

Regarding marking the threaded shock bodies or counting the turns,
dont you guys think it will be more accurate if you just use static collars
for getting the same distances on all shocks? Just slip the static collar
to the shock body, turn the threaded collar till it stops, then remove
and use the static collar to the rest of the shocks.
You should have all your packs the same. 150g difference is a huge amount and even if you comepensate the ride height the weight distribution will be different, the car will not handle consistently from race to race.
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:22 AM
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You mean balance the car by putting weights on the lighter side right?

Thanks
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Old 06-18-2009, 12:53 AM
  #23  
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I think somewhere along the line, someone might have asked this but here I go again...

On my chassis, Ive noticed that I adjusted the shock collar differently from left to right... Meaning to obtained a lets say 5mm ride height, the left to right shock collar is adjusted to a different level as one side is heavier than the other... Is this wrong ?

Should I just adjust the shock collar level to match each other on the left and right and ignore the side effects that comes with the uneven weight?

OR

Should I adjust the shock collar differently on the left and right to compensate the side effects of uneven weight distribution on the chassis?
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Old 06-18-2009, 01:18 AM
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Thats what Ive been doing. But people here suggested to level the shocks
left and right and just reposition the electronics or add weight to lighter side.

But I sense that some racers have different collar adjustments on their
4 shocks for different tracks, but just incremental difference.
Lets say a track has more left hand turns, I think they add some pre-loads
to the right side shocks... to fight chassis roll, Im not sure. In oval races
or NASCAR, you can see the cars are lifted to one side.
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Old 06-18-2009, 03:59 AM
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Originally Posted by Tpg racer
I think somewhere along the line, someone might have asked this but here I go again...

On my chassis, Ive noticed that I adjusted the shock collar differently from left to right... Meaning to obtained a lets say 5mm ride height, the left to right shock collar is adjusted to a different level as one side is heavier than the other... Is this wrong ?

Should I just adjust the shock collar level to match each other on the left and right and ignore the side effects that comes with the uneven weight?

OR

Should I adjust the shock collar differently on the left and right to compensate the side effects of uneven weight distribution on the chassis?
Balance the car left to right with weights or moving electronics. Try to get rid of tweak by unscrewing the top deck, put it on a flat surface and re-attach in an X-pattern. At this point the shocks left to right should be the same (front and rear will be different though). I use these to check left/ right balance and a level:

http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...lancing-Tool-2

They only work if your chassis has two small holes on the centerline to put them. Most high-end chassis's do.
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Old 06-18-2009, 08:33 AM
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Originally Posted by or8ital
http://www.amainhobbies.com/product_...lancing-Tool-2

They only work if your chassis has two small holes on the centerline to put them. Most high-end chassis's do.
For the TRF cars, there is a small divit on the bottom side center of both shock towers. I was told this was to hang the car from a string for balancing, but I found it's WAY easier to just lift the car up with two hex drivers. Simply slide the driver shaft into the divit and lift the car up. It always tilts the same no matter how you hold it and only takes a couple seconds to check. Very clever Tamiya...

BTW: With my orion 2400mah lipo I had to add considerable weight to the battery side of my MSX-MRE to balance it out (brushed motor setup too). I found that strapping the weight to the outside of the battery pack allowed me to use 2.5 ounces LESS weight than if I was placing it inboard directly on the chassis pan. With this technique, I only had to add 3oz. Also it allowed me to easily reposition the weight fore or aft to adjust front/rear weight bias.

I got a few laughs cause I used a 3/8" short ratchet extension with a 10mm socket as my 3oz weight. It lasted the whole race night (2 heats & 1 main) with no adjustments and perfromed flawlessly.
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Old 06-18-2009, 08:50 AM
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Originally Posted by Airflow
You mean balance the car by putting weights on the lighter side right?

Thanks

Yes.. first perfectly balance your car left to right with electronic placement and/or adding weight to the lighter side. Once the car is perfectly balanced left and right, THEN set your ride height. You will find then that you can thread your shock collars down the shock body equally left and right... that is where the "Marking the collar" with a pen trick comes in real handy.

With today's electronics and lipo. you can add weights whever is needed to get your car balanced and still be under weight, so its no big deal. You wont have to worry about being TOO heavy to get a car balanced left to right.
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Old 06-18-2009, 05:50 PM
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Neat lecturing. Thanks Capt ü
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