Hi cap shocks on a terra scorcher

[davidwj95 115]

I'm going to build my terra scorcher soon and have a set of vqs hi cap shock absorbers that I was planning on using on it.  I've seen mixed comments on them though and wondering if I'd be better sticking to the standard CVAs. 

I'd be interested to hear from anyone that has done this modification and if it improved the car or made it worse.

[Twinfan 394]

I'm also interested in this as I have a set of VQS shocks that I'm planning to fit to my Fire Dragon.  I've read that they fit perfectly, and also that they're too long at the front and the chassis can't bottom out.

It would be good to know what the truth is, as several sellers mention that they can be used on the Fire Dragon, Saint Dragon and Terra Scorcher.

[EvilSpike 257]

Aye, watching too! Just got the standard CVA's on mine but wouldn't be averse so something a little more Gucci on it...

[Grotty Otty 853]

I tried fitting the VQS Hi-Caps to a Terra Scorcher. Have to say it didn't work for me. The front springs end up way to compressed and hard due to conical lower spring holder. You can fit a CVA lower spring retainer but it isn't quite the right diameter. The rears also had the same issue once I'd adjusted the length internally to fit which I'd also done to the front. I pinched a set of black CVA's off my DT-03 and put the Hi-Caps on the DT-03 which fit perfectly! 

[Andreas W 641]

wtcc5's fred of the Thunder Shot family will give you a lot of answers.  The whole thing is enjoyable from the very beginning,  actually. 

 

Fill a cup of your favorite coffee, lean back and take your time :

https://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?/topic/98384-wtcc5s-thunder-shot-buggy-family/&do=findComment&comment=861718

 

[davidwj95 115]

Thanks for the replies and th link to wtcc5's thread which was very informative. I think I might keep it simple and stick with the CVA's. Interesting about them fitting on the dt03.  I have a dt02 I could use them on.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Twinfan 394]

In case anyone's interested, I've just roughtly built up a front and rear VQS Hi Cap shock as per the instructions (no oil, but including spacers) to compare against the CVAs currently in use on my Fire Dragon and Neo Fighter:

• Fire Dragon Mini CVA (front) 65mm eye to eye static, 49mm eye to fully compressed
• Neo Fighter Mini CVA (front) 69mm eye to eye static, 53mm eye to fully compressed
• Hi Cap (front) 67mm eye to eye static, 53mm eye to fully compressed

---

• Short CVA (rear) 84mm eye to eye static, 65mm eye to fully compressed
• Neo Fighter Short CVA (rear) 94mm eye to eye static, 72mm eye to fully compressed
• Hi Cap (rear) 79mm eye to eye static, 62mm eye to fully compressed

So the issue with the VQS shocks in the front is that they don't compress enough.  In the rear, they're a bit too short and taking the spacer out makes them too long.  I think the fronts would be OK on the DT-03, but the rears aren't that close a match IMHO.

I think I'll just throw my set in the spares box in case I can use them on something else in the future.

[davidwj95 115]

3 hours ago, Twinfan said:

In case anyone's interested, I've just roughtly built up a front and rear VQS Hi Cap shock as per the instructions (no oil, but including spacers) to compare against the CVAs currently in use on my Fire Dragon and Neo Fighter:

• Fire Dragon Mini CVA (front) 65mm eye to eye static, 49mm eye to fully compressed
• Neo Fighter Mini CVA (front) 69mm eye to eye static, 53mm eye to fully compressed
• Hi Cap (front) 67mm eye to eye static, 53mm eye to fully compressed

---

• Short CVA (rear) 84mm eye to eye static, 65mm eye to fully compressed
• Neo Fighter Short CVA (rear) 94mm eye to eye static, 72mm eye to fully compressed
• Hi Cap (rear) 79mm eye to eye static, 62mm eye to fully compressed

So the issue with the VQS shocks in the front is that they don't compress enough.  In the rear, they're a bit too short and taking the spacer out makes them too long.  I think the fronts would be OK on the DT-03, but the rears aren't that close a match IMHO.

I think I'll just throw my set in the spares box in case I can use them on something else in the future.

Thanks, that's really helpful. I'm going to stick with the kit CVAs, not really sure what to do with the Hi caps now.  I might just sell them on and put the money towards my next rc purchase.

[Twinfan 394]

No worries.  I've also just re-discovered this old thread that I had bookmarked:

The instructions list the specs and how to build Hi-Caps to fit the Thunder Shot and Thunder Dragon, so as a conversion from the front mono damper.  The shock towers are different (taller and wider) for the Terra Scorcher/Fire Dragon (G parts tree) compared to the Thunder Shot/Thunder Dragon (B parts tree) so this may have an impact on compatibility?

I guess you could build the shocks as per the Thunder Shot specs and use them with the G-parts shock towers and see how it goes.  I'm thinking I might give that a go now rather than chuck the dampers in a box...

[kontemax 1620]

Terra Scorcher, as top end of the Thunder Shot line, absolutely deserves the Hi Cap Dampers.

Max

[Twinfan 394]

Yep, that was my thinking too 

I've just built my set with the large spacers in as per the above link and the final rear shock was a right pain! I clearly kept trapping air somehow and it had a huge amount of rebound. The other three had none at all. I think it most have taken 20+ attempts to get the last one right.

To anyone building a set, it seems the way to do it is to build as per the instructions but SLOWLY screw the cap on and very regularly clear the drain channel through the threads in the stock body of excess oil and air bubbles.

I'll be fitting them to my Fire Dragon in the near future and will see how they fare...

[ThunderDragonCy 6917]

Just to throw in my thoughts, rear hi cap with no spacers and the long eyelet is around 95mm I believe? This is the perfect length to build onto the tallest holes of the original narrow rear shock tower. I have run the rear of this chassis in all sorts of different permutations, and 95ish-mm shock on tall narrow tower is my favourite. 

For the front, the original narrow tower twin shock upgrade asked for the 65mm cva shocks to bolt to the third of the four holes in the arms. I bet if you built the hicap with no spacers it would fit OK on the outermost hole. Would need fairly stiff spring to make it work, but I think it would fit 

[Twinfan 394]

A quick update now that I've fitted the VQS Hi Caps to my Fire Dragon.

They fit absolutely fine and the rear of the chassis grounds out before the shocks do.  At the front, the chassis just about grounds out before the shocks but it's almost identical.  I don't think the force of a jump would break the shock tower unless maybe the landing was not square.

Overall, the ride height appears to have been reduced and the car sits lower however it's completely flat.  I think it may have had more positive rake as standard?  I'll need to see how it performs when I get chance to take it out for a run but I think it''ll be OK.  I only bash in the park and don't do huge jumps so I think it'll be just fine, but if you're an old skool basher with proper jumps you might find some limitations.

[pattinsonchris 16]

I'm waiting for my new shock towers before fitting my HiCaps to my Terra Scorcher, but thanks for the info above.  I'm going with the HiCaps, but using Schumacher springs for tuning. I' don't mind cutting springs if I cant get the ride height low enough, we'll see, and I'll update here.

[Twinfan 394]

No worries, hope it helps/helped!  I've taken the HiCaps off my Fire Dragon before I've even run it as they're going to go on my newly purchased Terra Scorcher instead when I get round to building it...