futureal

How, pray tell, did you get the rod ends onto the shock shafts? I had more trouble with those than with any other shock on the market, and I've built them all, many times over.

Filling and bleeding the shocks wasn't too bad at all.

Jon Williams

iTrader: (5)

Hey, Shane. What a pleasant post dude...just kinda checking in to chat about building cars...no quelling an angry mob or breaking up a fight about ROAR...just a nice, simple post. Right on.



Anyway, yeah, I hate the rod ends too. My secret will be the tap idea. I just ordered myself one.

The only way to do it effectively without the tap is to take a pair of small wire cutters, like the manual suggests, put them at the very top of the threads, ones you won't be using, and then use an allen driver in the rod end and just crank till you have a millimeter to spare.

Weird...everything else on the kit is so mint, but those ball ends are nasty. Actually, to be honest, the dorky antenna mount that takes up crucial room by the receiver is not such a hot idea. I use a nice thin aluminum one that looks trick and takes up very little room.

Besercoe

iTrader: (9)

Use one of the kits 2mm button head screws to pre thread the shock end, then ensure you leave avout 2mm of thread showing above the shock end, they fit so tight there is no need to screw them all the way, and if you do you risk cracking the shock end.

futureal

Yea, to both of you. And no angry mob here, thankfully. haha

I did pre-thread them but man, it was a pain. I got one far in on the rod but then had to go back and back it off to make the shocks equal lengths because I couldn't get the others to go on that far. What a pain!

Other than that, everything else on the kits is flawless.

NismoSkyline17

Try www.teamtamale.com

They have a tool that clamps on to the shock shaft. Actually all it is a pair of vice grips with pads that don't scar up the shaft. Haven't tried one yet but looks promising.

Midnight

iTrader: (87)

Can anyone tell me what does the downstop do. I noticed some setup says to run 1 in front and 1 in the rear, then another says 2 in front and 5 in the rear. Whats the difference as far as how it effects the car?

kewdawg

iTrader: (3)

Exactly what I did. Although, the manuals tells you to leave a millimeter of space. I don't think you can thread the shock end all the way, without cracking / ripping it.

kewdawg

iTrader: (3)

futureal,
If, you use the nose of standard pliers to hold the shock end by the hole, you'll be able to thread them on, easily. Save your fingers, dude.

HarshGuy

iTrader: (6)

Well got my kit today at 10:00am and it is now built and ready to roll :-), thanks Scotty Barnes for all your help!

Jon Williams

iTrader: (5)

Dude, I love the Tamale aluminum c-hubs. I used 'em on my car at the Nats and they were dialed. I had the same pair of 6* hubs on since the January Jam at Madness and not a scratch on 'em.

Having said that, I'm a little skeptical about the shock shaft thing-a-ma-jig. I try to stay far away from putting anything on the non-threaded portion while building my shocks. Better bet is to again use the top 1mm of threads and hold it tight with wire cutters. You should be leaving a millimeter of thread when putting the ends on anyway.

BTW, anyone tried that tool yet?

Got another little tip that may help some of yas out while building the XRAY shocks. Regarding compression and rebound: I took a Losi shock rebound comparison jig (the one with the little compass at the bottom). I took out the stock screws (4/40s I believe) and replaced them with 3mm bolts and nuts. I used a dremel cutting wheel and cut off the bolts until there was just enough thread showing so you could screw the shocks onto them for comparison.

It's really a great tool to make sure the compression and rebound of all your shocks are identical.

DOTMAN

iTrader: (5)

I use a hair dryer to heat the shock ends a little and pre thread too. That really helps

futureal

Even doing that, and holding the shaft by the threads with side cutters, the shaft would begin to slip after the rod end got about 75% on. And that is *with* pre-threading. I tried a few different things and I just don't see how anybody could not have problems with them, unless they left about 40% of the threads exposed.

But, maybe it's just me? I dunno.

DENNIS STORTI

iTrader: (42)

that little grove above the threads is to hold with a pair of side cutters an old serpant shock trick u guys dont have dykes that are sharp enough to cut into the shafts thats what that grove is for to hold the shaft

buboy28

ASIDE FROM THE CARBON BATTERY STRAP IS THERE ANYMORE HOP-UP OPTION I SHOULD BUY FOR THIS BEAUTY THANKS..........

chambalero

iTrader: (1)

I've mentioned this before when people where still building their FK04s..... BEFORE assembling your shocks, use a vice grip to grab the end of the shock rods opposite the threads. There is that flat area there. The vice grip will help you much better than pliers. Next, thread the eyelet to the opposite of the rod. When you feel the resistance when you've started threading in the eyelet, use a small metal rod, like that of your allen wrench tools, to insert through the hole in the eyelet. Use this to twist the eyelet and not your bare fingers. Thread the eyelet and unthread. Do this 5-10 times. Do not thread it so much that you do not see threads on the rods anymore, or at least until you are sure you are not stripping the threads you've just created. You'll loosen the threads on the plastic so that it'll be easier to thread it later. Next, build the shocks the usual way, grabbing the rod on the end of its thread with a pair of pliers (the sharp part). When you install the eyelet, it'll be much easier. I've done this before and I've crashed countless times. The eyelet has never popped off the shock rod even after loosening it up.

Buboy: sway bars are needed and maybe the aluminum shock bodies also