Of course you have to drive it to get it dialed it! It sounds like you need a different spring rate than what you currently are running. Stiffer sounds like the way to go since you stiffened things and they improved. Just keep it balanced. As I said, balance is key but there is no one frequency that will work. I am telling you an order to do things in and what to look for but I am not telling you the actual setup. It's up to you to determine that. Get some stiffer spring rates and try it again. You'll get there but now you are learning some things to look for.

You've found out that it drives well but bumps are a problem. You are narrowing problems down. That's what you do with tuning. The problem with the approach that many have to tuning is that they will fix a problem in one area but at the expense of something else, even if that isn't apparent right away. I don't see failure here. I see a lesson. You've learned that you need stiffer springs.

Don't give up yet. A good tune is slow and methodical. Stick to the method and address the issues as you see them. You've found one!

Actually now that I think about it, you had mentioned that your rear shocks are pretty far inward. Move them back out and then try some different front springs to get a match. As I said earlier, it is smart to have a full set of available springs to try. If you can get a new front spring that will balance with the new rear location and it's gets better you are on the right track. If it is better but still not good enough, go with a higher spring rate in the rear. You are just adding an order of operations to trial and error testing. I think you're doing pretty good at this point.

LOL I wouldnt call myself a "pro" by any means... but with being "that guy" who has to maintain a house full of trucks you get to know the sweet spot.. especially on our own track pretty quickly... and for the record I only did about a 2-thread increase (7 +/- quarter turns) in the front and 1/2-thread increase in the rear...

I am curious as to what springs exactly there ARE to purchase above "Bronze" for the AE RC8 shocks...

If he's running stiff springs all the way in then the effective spring rate would actually be quite low which seems to be verified with is driving experience so far. He could theoretically run a silver or black spring farther out on the arms and actually get a higher effective spring rate. Running a bronze all the way out would give the maximum rate possible and a black all the way in the minimum possible. Associated probably knows their product pretty well and probably chose those spring rates because they knew there was a combination(s) that would work well with their car and it's mounting options.

Has anyone figured out if any other springs from any other companies fit? The more options, the merrier.

Ok ball buster...

I said, "Like" a pro so don't go all hugging your self and kissing your own arm.

And I mistakened turns with threads in my terminology I think. 7 turns versus 7 threads.

Mr. Technical

I have the front shocks on the outer hole on the A-arms. The top is 3rd hole up on the tower. I'm going to move it up 1 more hole and see how that helps. But doesn't making these changes completely throw off the balance of the car and I'm back to ground zero? Sure, I'm doing things proportionately in the front, and in the back, but not necessarily the front to the back.

I decided I would give the "balanced" suspension tuning a try on my slash. I have the rebound balanced without oil. I went to test it with out the oil and do not know what you mean by "bouncing on the springs." The truck look planted especially in the front end. does this mean i will probably be using lighter oil?
Edit: I just dropped the truck on the bench and noticed the front would compress, rebound all the way and then settle in the middle. Is this what you mean.

I was the guy looking like Picasso holding my thumb up looking through it at the car... also making those little photo boxes with my fingers like you see all the "pro-photographers" doing....

I need to look at an RC8 a bit closer since I don't have one and am not very familiar with it. If you have a balanced setup then making a shock location change is going to throw it off. You need to change springs over to account for any changes. At least on one end. From what you describe, your car want a higher effective spring rate. What color springs are you running right now?

When I say bouncing on the springs, I am referring to an undamped system vibrating at it's natural frequency. One easy way to see this is to watch the back of the car/truck when it has no oil at all. Push down all the way in the rear and then let go. If it just goes up then you've got no bounce. If it goes up and then back down and then back up then you do. When you drive, if you see the same thing happening, this is what I am referring to. The front end is much harder to notice since more weight is rearward. Watching the actual chassis movement is another way to observe it but this isn't always easy.

The car should ultimately settle at whatever ride height you have chose. That's the goal. You need to not pay attention to what bottoms out on the bench or which end does it faster. What's important is that the front and rear move up and down at the same rate. That's it.

As far as needing a light oil, you might. Then again you might not. I generally like to run on the heavier side of the tuning range so I'd try to go with heavier oils until they prove to be too heavy. You'll know when this happens since you are no longer absorbing the bumps but are instead being kicked around by them.

You can't get too wrapped up in trying to make a car that is about 1" off the ground to not bottom out a little on big jumps. Raising the ride height to prevent this brings up a host of other cornering problems that are far worse than bottoming out a little.

I know this is just common sense to most, but before you even try to set the balance on your car, make sure you have fresh o-rings in your shocks and all of the hinge pins and turnbuckles have no binding. You will just be chasing your tail if there is any excess drag or binding in the shocks or suspension. When someone asks me to help them with their car at the track because its's handling crappy, at least 1/2 the time its a bent hinge pin or shock shaft or they haven't rebuilt their shocks in months. Silicone o-rings swell and create more drag on the shock shaft, but it happens slowly so most guys don't notice it.

Great thread BTW.

One tip I use is IF you have found the right balance of front to rear springs to suit your current configuration, use the ratio of the springs for the oils also. You need to know the actual rating of the springs you are using (that's why I measure my own!) for this to work of course. So if your rear springs are say 10 percent lighter, you use 10 percent lighter oil. Works for me every time, especially usefull when you get the rear of the vehicle right and can't identify what the front is doing/requiring. I find for my 2wd Buggy I need approx a 2.5wt difference as where my SCT needs 5wt. Hope that helps!

Yes indeed. Very helpful information.