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TT-02 Ride Height confusion

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Hello.

I've recently returned to the hobby with the purchase of a TT-02 Audi Quattro. I've enjoyed building the kit, but I'm a bit confused and need some help.

I've built the car to low ride height specification, however, the rear of the car sits considerably lower than the front which seems odd. Also, there is considerably less suspension travel at the rear.

I've checked and re-checked the instructions several times and I seem to have done everything correctly. 

Is this a feature of the car?

What am I missing and how do I correct this? Should I just switch the rear to high ride height configuration?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you and Happy New Year to all!

 

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16 minutes ago, Rally! said:

Hello.

I've recently returned to the hobby with the purchase of a TT-02 Audi Quattro. I've enjoyed building the kit, but I'm a bit confused and need some help.

I've built the car to low ride height specification, however, the rear of the car sits considerably lower than the front which seems odd. Also, there is considerably less suspension travel at the rear.

I've checked and re-checked the instructions several times and I seem to have done everything correctly. 

Is this a feature of the car?

What am I missing and how do I correct this? Should I just switch the rear to high ride height configuration?

Any help would be greatly appreciated. 

Thank you and Happy New Year to all!

 

It is very easy to get the low and high ride height settings switched around. Any chance of a few photos? That should help us spot the issue and advise you further. 

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1 hour ago, Rally! said:

Also, there is considerably less suspension travel at the rear.

Suspension travel (without considering bottoming out) should be the same no matter the height setting as it is the hubs that are mounted higher or lower that determines the ride height. 

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2 hours ago, TurnipJF said:

It is very easy to get the low and high ride height settings switched around. Any chance of a few photos? That should help us spot the issue and advise you further. 

Thanks @TurnipJF.

Here are some pics:

Front.

 

 

front1.jpg

front2.jpg

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That's a tough one. I see the front and rear suspension arms are not at the same angle, but I can't see anything obviously amiss that is causing it. Can anyone else see anything that might explain the issue?

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1 minute ago, TurnipJF said:

That's a tough one. I see the front and rear suspension arms are not at the same angle, but I can't see anything obviously amiss that is causing it. Can anyone else see anything that might explain the issue?

Thanks, @TurnipJF

Yeah. I did a quick online search and so far I've found 2 other people having the same issue. 

 

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Hi there I've literally just built this kit, go to page 18 in the booklet I think part a11 you have upside down, that should then fix the height being incorrect

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1 minute ago, dynamodux said:

Hi there I've literally just built this kit, go to page 18 in the booklet I think part a11 you have upside down, that should then fix the height being incorrect

Hi, @dynamodux. Thanks for the reply. 

I thought that was the issue, too, but I am in fact building the 'low ride height configuration' and so I have the orientation correct. 

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Ok sorry, I'll double check my other cars tomorrow I have a few tt02 kits at different heights, can't say I've ever noticed an issue to be fair, with this rally kit I just went with high as that's what was recommended in the body booklet 😁

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2 minutes ago, dynamodux said:

Ok sorry, I'll double check my other cars tomorrow I have a few tt02 kits at different heights, can't say I've ever noticed an issue to be fair, with this rally kit I just went with high as that's what was recommended in the body booklet 😁

Thanks. I really appreciate the help from everyone, especially since I've just joined the forum recently. It seems like a really cool place.

Also, the difference isn't huge, but it's noticeable. Seems like it sits about 2mm lower at the rear. 

Another strange thing is that it doesn't seem as bad as it did yesterday which is really odd. 

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9 minutes ago, Rally! said:

Another strange thing is that it doesn't seem as bad as it did yesterday which is really odd. 

Could it simply be that the suspension was binding a little when first assembled, and now that it is bedding in, it is returning to its proper ride height more easily? If this is the case, it might sort itself out after a few runs?

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2 minutes ago, TurnipJF said:

Could it simply be that the suspension was binding a little when first assembled, and now that it is bedding in, it is returning to its proper ride height more easily? If this is the case, it might sort itself out after a few runs?

I have no idea. Maybe? Hopefully. I just assumed I've probably messed something up! :D

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I've just built 3 TT-02, and all mine seem to be same 

I've used CVA shocks.

The rear sits a couple mm lower and has less travel.

I assumed that was normal. As far as I can see the rear position and travel are restricted by stops on the arms and uprights.

Are your shocks in the correct hole on the top mount?

 

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4 minutes ago, rich_morris said:

I've just built 3 TT-02, and all mine seem to be same 

I've used CVA shocks.

The rear sits a couple mm lower and has less travel.

I assumed that was normal. As far as I can see the rear position and travel are restricted by stops on the arms and uprights.

Are your shocks in the correct hole on the top mount?

 

I'm not saying that it is correct, but there is no obvious way to do anything different. And I did have two sons building them with me, who didn't think anything was wrong.

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3 minutes ago, rich_morris said:

I've just built 3 TT-02, and all mine seem to be same 

I've used CVA shocks.

The rear sits a couple mm lower and has less travel.

I assumed that was normal. As far as I can see the rear position and travel are restricted by stops on the arms and uprights.

Are your shocks in the correct hole on the top mount?

 

Hi Rich. Thanks for the reply. Yes, I've double, triple checked and the shocks are in the correct mounting position. (I can't wait for my CVA's to come in!)

Same issue with mine, about 2 mm lower at the rear. I've seen it suggested to remove those stops on the uprights.

Have you built yours in low ride height configuration as well?

 

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3 minutes ago, rich_morris said:

I'm not saying that it is correct, but there is no obvious way to do anything different. And I did have two sons building them with me, who didn't think anything was wrong.

Yeah. I'm starting to think it's just the way it is. I can't see anything I did wrong. 

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Check this build out. It’s my TT02. Around Jan 18th I post pics how I make it the “high” setting. Maybe this will help you spot it. 

 

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25 minutes ago, Exit13 said:

Check this build out. It’s my TT02. Around Jan 18th I post pics how I make it the “high” setting. Maybe this will help you spot it. 

 

Hi, @Exit13

Thanks for the response. I remember going through that thread just before I bought mine. I might just try running the rear in 'High ride height' configuration just to see what happens.

I love the pics of your car in the snow. Looks ace. Not nearly enough Quattro bodied TT-02's being built out there!

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Well I hope you can get it sorted. They are really nice cars 

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I have built so far 2 TT02's and on both have seen the issue you mention, where indeed the rear end is about 2mm lower than the front. Both cars were built using standard (low) ground clearance. I ran the cars for a few months before noticing and suspect other folks perhaps also haven't noticed since it is a bit subtle. I have concluded that this issue (feature?) is by design (not necessarily good design).

Check your TT02 suspension by removing the dampers and see what is limiting the down-travel:

  • In the front it will be the damper length (at least when using super mini CVA). You will see that once you remove the shock, the front suspension will droop a bit further.
  • In the rear, what is limiting the down-travel is a little tab on part A11 that bumps against part B1. When you remove the damper you can see that actually the damper was a bit compressed when installed.

Check out this video from Mark Bryan. Although he is talking about increasing ride height in general, on 9:43 he covers the part causing the problem:

Once you trim part B1 as he points out, the rear suspension down-travel is now limited by the damper length, just as it is on the front.

The good thing is that you can always revert back to the original rear "squat" position (can't see why) by adjusting damper length.

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Forgot to mention: I have done this mod on both of my TT02 and they both now have equal down-travel and ride height front and rear. Both cars are built using the low (standard) clearance option. What made me realize there was something wrong was the fact that on both cars the rear section of the chassis was severely scratched underneath, while the front was nearly pristine. This is running in a flat parking lot.

I have not built a TT02 on the high-clearance option, not sure if this un-equal ride height also happens on the high-clearance option. I suspect since it is fairly difficult to notice when built on the low-clearance, it might be even more hard to notice when built on high-clearance.

I hope this helps, good luck and welcome to the forum! :)

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2 hours ago, OoALEJOoO said:

I have built so far 2 TT02's and on both have seen the issue you mention, where indeed the rear end is about 2mm lower than the front. Both cars were built using standard (low) ground clearance. I ran the cars for a few months before noticing and suspect other folks perhaps also haven't noticed since it is a bit subtle. I have concluded that this issue (feature?) is by design (not necessarily good design).

Check your TT02 suspension by removing the dampers and see what is limiting the down-travel:

  • In the front it will be the damper length (at least when using super mini CVA). You will see that once you remove the shock, the front suspension will droop a bit further.
  • In the rear, what is limiting the down-travel is a little tab on part A11 that bumps against part B1. When you remove the damper you can see that actually the damper was a bit compressed when installed.

Check out this video from Mark Bryan. Although he is talking about increasing ride height in general, on 9:43 he covers the part causing the problem:

Once you trim part B1 as he points out, the rear suspension down-travel is now limited by the damper length, just as it is on the front.

The good thing is that you can always revert back to the original rear "squat" position (can't see why) by adjusting damper length.

 

2 hours ago, OoALEJOoO said:

Forgot to mention: I have done this mod on both of my TT02 and they both now have equal down-travel and ride height front and rear. Both cars are built using the low (standard) clearance option. What made me realize there was something wrong was the fact that on both cars the rear section of the chassis was severely scratched underneath, while the front was nearly pristine. This is running in a flat parking lot.

I have not built a TT02 on the high-clearance option, not sure if this un-equal ride height also happens on the high-clearance option. I suspect since it is fairly difficult to notice when built on the low-clearance, it might be even more hard to notice when built on high-clearance.

I hope this helps, good luck and welcome to the forum! :)

Hi, @OoALEJOoO

Thanks for the response. I'm glad to know that I'm not going crazy and that other people have noticed the ride height issue.

I love the Mark Bryan videos. He has great tips and I've seen the video you posted several times. 

I'll give the mods you suggested a try. I didn't consider removing the tab from A11 because I assumed that would only be necessary when running the high ground clearance version. I'm glad there is a solution to the issue without having to run the car higher. I want to keep it low (standard).

Your post is a great help to me. 

Thank you very much.

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Hi.

Just a quick update. I've finally removed the little tab on both rear lower suspension arms (B1). Problem solved. Ride height front to back is now equal.

Thanks for all the help, guys.

Just as a side note, when trimming these tabs, try to be accurate as possible as I suspect you could end up with one side of the car sitting at a different height to the other side if they aren't trimmed the exact same amount.

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