dr_hfuhuhurr

iTrader: (93)

Build is great. I had some fitting to do on the front arms to get them to move smoothly. They were a bit tight. A little sanding and then polishing and everything is moving nicely.

I LOVE:
1. The front kingpins! SO glad to be done with e-clips!
2. The shock (though it took a while to get it without a ton of rebound - I would like to hear from the team guys on their shock build process)
3. The diff is SUPER smooth (even better with the slapmaster thrust bearing).

Not so crazy about:
1. No rollover antenna (sorry to keep harping on this, I'm a purist)

Couple of observations/questions
- WOW that rear brace is thick? 5mm is it?
- What are the two empty countersunk holes for just ahead of the rear end?
- I trimmed the outside battery stops and will post pics as soon as the build is complete.

I've owned a LOT of 12th scales over the years. This is my favorite to build.

LloydLoar

iTrader: (20)

Glad to hear you enjoyed the build process!

Those two countersunk holes are used for battery stops if you run the battery transverse. Basically, use two short M3 screws with a normal 5.5 mm nut and they will help hold the battery in place and prevent it from sliding backwards.

EDIT: And for whatever little it is worth, I haven't figured out the ideal way to build the center shock yet, either. My first attempt was pretty good, but I would like to refine the technique a little before I post anything.

JayBee

iTrader: (31)

I have a couple of shocks to experiment with myself.

dr_hfuhuhurr

iTrader: (93)

For building the shock...here's what I finally came up with.

- Soak the two internal o-rings in oil for a bit to allow them to swell properly
- Build the shock shaft/piston assembly and install it into the body.
- Add the bottom o-ring, plastic bushing then cap
- Thread on the ball end to the shock shaft
- Fill the shock body with oil removing all bubbles (haven't figured out how high to fill the body yet)
- Add the shock bushing piece to the shock body and push down with an allen driver gently
- Insert the o-ring into the plastic shock cap/seal
- push the shock shaft all the way in and install the plastic cap (oil went everywhere for me so I used too much oil)
- start screwing on the cap allowing oil to seep from the top
- At this point you'll have quite a bit of rebound so to get that out, unscrew the bottom seal and SLOWLY work the piston back into the shock body to bleed the shock
- tighten and repeat the above 2 steps till you get the rebound you're looking for (almost nothing for me, just smooth shock movement)
- add the spring and retainer and install on the car


Not the easiest shock I've ever worked with but at least I didn't strip the cap like I did on my Associated car (that was not a good shock cap)

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

I'm having trouble imagining how a through-shaft damper with no rebound spring can have rebound. Is the air cavity that the top of the shaft goes into in the cap vented?

-Mike

JayBee

iTrader: (31)

You have one of these now Mike?!

Tron

iTrader: (17)

Assemble the shock with the shock shaft compressed at the point at which you would like the rebound to be. In a perfect build the air above the piston will compress and expand back to that point at which the shock shaft was held during assembly.

I had no issues, but did use a Tamiya shock pump to vac all the air out of the shock.

Great rear shock, way nicer that the Tamiya RM01x shock. In comparison the RM is a huge disappointment overall.

flameoutgarrett

iTrader: (10)

Woops

grippgoat

iTrader: (8)

No, but I was intrigued by the conversation.

But there are two major purposes for a through-shaft damper:
- Better handling of side-loads by supporting the shaft at both ends.
- Removing the "rebound" effect that comes from the changing volume occupied by the shock shaft as it moves in and out. With the through-shaft damper, the volume taken by the shaft is constant.

My AME T-Shox don't have rebound without a rebound spring. So I'm curious where the rebound comes from. But I could very well be missing something, because I've only looked at the manual.

-Mike

Sixgears

iTrader: (32)

The cap is sealed. Maybe a vent hole is in order?

Korey Harbke

iTrader: (13)

There is a small dimple on the side of the cap. I drilled mine out. Makes life really easy when building these . I also HEAVILY shock slime up my cap and orings in this shock. It seems to turn out really well then.

JayBee

iTrader: (31)

Shocks feels much better after those little tidbits. Thanks buddy

flameoutgarrett

iTrader: (10)

Don't you have a job Jaybee? Lmao

You do more wrenching in a day than I do all year!

JayBee

iTrader: (31)

Umm yes....yes I do

OVA

iTrader: (86)

ygpm