Help! Which shock for the Baja King?

[FC5687]

I downloaded the part list of Baja King from Tamiya webpage and they list three different shocks as below:

1) 50519 CVA mini shock unit set II

2) 53155 Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set

3) 53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set

Which shock is the one I need for the Baja King?

Thanks!

[njmlondon]

HI there,

Basically all 3 shocks you mention are the same size, and have very similar performance. The CVA's are the plastic shocks and are standard on a lot of Tamiya's chassis. The Low Friction set was one of the earlier Tamiya Aluminium shocks and are almost identical in performance and weight to the CVA's. The only real difference is colour (they are pink) and price (they are normally $25 on ebay for 2). Finally the TA03 shocks... personally I could never tell the difference, but theoretically they are much smoother than the others because they are coated on teflon. They are aluminium too and light gold in colour and come with blue on-road springs. I believe you can get them in a range of colours (I have seen siver cylinders with blue caps).

It depends on what you want - the CVAs are easily good enough for the Baja and will be an improvement over the friction dampers. The more expensive aluminium ones will probably not provide and noticeable improvement, but will cost $40 more... so the only reason to get them is for show.

[SJoerD]

Actually, you can use all of these items...

The CVA shocks are the cheapest, these are oil filled shocks (not friction!) but with a black plastic housing. I believe this is a set of 2 but I'm not sure.

The Low Friction dampers are alluminium oil filled shocks anodized in pink, they look nice on my Mini as I have them there. I believe this set is a set of 2 but again I'm not sure.

The TA03 Super Low friction dampers are also alluminium oil filled shocks, but anodized in yellow/gold. These look very cool on a TA-03, and I believe this was actually sold as a set of 4 shocks, but I am really unsure about this... Anyway you should look out for how many dampers you are actually buying... []

I would go for the CVA dampers, as I think the others are a bit overkill on the Baja King and the difference is hardly noticeable anyway. The only reason to add them is cosmetics. Also, the alluminium dampers are a lot more expensive than the plastic ones! I added alluminium ones on my Mini as I actually had them laying around...[8D] I hope this helps.

[FC5687]

Hello!

How you guys comment between Top Force Evo and Baja King? It looks like the gear box and transmission design of Baja King is more advance comparing to Top Force Evo; such as the shaft will save more power from Baja King; since the chassis and gear box is in a piece, the chassis will not drift as easy as most double deck design chassis including Top Force.

How you guys think? BTW., thanks for the comment on the dampers! Cheers!

[Bullah]

The baja king won't come close to the Top Force I'm afraid, I own the Baja King with almost every hop up available and it will still not beat a carbon Top Force for either durability or performance. Just my opinion though. Still love my King though.

[aaronmihe(2)]

I use the CVAs set for their longest design which gives 16mm of travel and about a 70ishmm length? I have the dampers set with softer valving as well.

Run the Original Baja Springs, I found they made the car much much more driveable on rougher surfaces and less bouncy overall.

Worthwhile mod

[FC5687]

Hey guys!

I got all parts ready for the Top Force with hop up parts and carbon parts from Tamiya. The reason I ask the questions regarding the Baja King because I think it might be a pretty nice design after looking their instruction manual.

These are the questions for the Top Force (might be I call it Evo)

Do you suggest I use the Tamiya 53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set for this car?

Also, what will be going to happen if I use the TA03 ball differential (with 53219 aluminum parts), 53071 torque splitter and 53200 4WD Front One-Way Differential Unit in the Top Force? Or you suggest I use the Ball Diff for the front gear box when using the torque splitter? [8)]

Finally, I have a difficulty to locate the undercowl for this car[]

Thanks!

[ideal2k]

quote:Originally posted by FC5687

Hey guys!

These are the questions for the Top Force (might be I call it Evo)

Do you suggest I use the Tamiya 53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set for this car?

Also, what will be going to happen if I use the TA03 ball differential (with 53219 aluminum parts), 53071 torque splitter and 53200 4WD Front One-Way Differential Unit in the Top Force? Or you suggest I use the Ball Diff for the front gear box when using the torque splitter? [8)]

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TA03 Low friction damper set is much too short for the top force.

Will not work.

The torque splitter lets the front end roll freely under braking.

The inclusion of the front one-way diff unit would therefor be a total waste. You should use one or the other.

Using the torque splitter along with a ball diff, will give different handling characteristics compared to using only the one-way diff unit.

The advantage of the one-way diff unit is that it will not let one wheel "unload" during cornering, while a diff might let one wheel "unload" if it loses grip around a corner.

However one should be aware of the advantage of actually having a diff unit in front, as the outer wheel will travel a longer distance around a corner than the inner wheel, a differential will compensate for this distance.

All in all, I would think the most useful setup would be just the ball-diff up front, without the torque splitter.

I used to race these cars, and I would then bring a solid gear so I could replace the torque splitter if I felt I had to.

Most often, I ended up not using the torque splitter, as only having rear-end braking can be a disadvantage. However, only having rear-end braking can sometimes be good, because it will let you "slingshot" by braking ahead of corners and turning, thereby letting you get a pendulum effect and turning the car more quickly, but with less control.

For normal use, I would just have the ball diff without torque splitter in the front.

[ideal2k]

quote:Originally posted by Bullah

The baja king won't come close to the Top Force I'm afraid, I own the Baja King with almost every hop up available and it will still not beat a carbon Top Force for either durability or performance. Just my opinion though. Still love my King though.

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There's no chance a Baja King could ever compete with a top force.

Shorter dampers means less effective suspension.

No adjustable tie-rods/turnbuckles.

Plastic chassis may twist.

It's good to have the weight of a car as low as possible. Baja King is not designed for this.

Top Force has ball bearing steering, which compared to most Tamiya's is very precise. Baja King has sloppy steering setup.

Top Force has universals. Baja King has dog bones.

Top Force lets you mount shocks at different angles to adjust the handling characteristics. Baja King as an entry level buggy offers no such option.

All in all you have to realize the Baja King is entry level, while the Top Force was at some time meant as a racer.

[FC5687]

So which one is the best dampers for the Top Force Evo among the following?

1) 50519 CVA mini shock unit set II

2) 53155 Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set

3) 53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set

Thanks! []

quote:Originally posted by ideal2k

quote:Originally posted by FC5687

Hey guys!

These are the questions for the Top Force (might be I call it Evo)

Do you suggest I use the Tamiya 53280 TA03 Super Low Friction Aluminum Damper Set for this car?

Also, what will be going to happen if I use the TA03 ball differential (with 53219 aluminum parts), 53071 torque splitter and 53200 4WD Front One-Way Differential Unit in the Top Force? Or you suggest I use the Ball Diff for the front gear box when using the torque splitter? [8)]

---

id="quote">id="quote">

TA03 Low friction damper set is much too short for the top force.

Will not work.

The torque splitter lets the front end roll freely under braking.

The inclusion of the front one-way diff unit would therefor be a total waste. You should use one or the other.

Using the torque splitter along with a ball diff, will give different handling characteristics compared to using only the one-way diff unit.

The advantage of the one-way diff unit is that it will not let one wheel "unload" during cornering, while a diff might let one wheel "unload" if it loses grip around a corner.

However one should be aware of the advantage of actually having a diff unit in front, as the outer wheel will travel a longer distance around a corner than the inner wheel, a differential will compensate for this distance.

All in all, I would think the most useful setup would be just the ball-diff up front, without the torque splitter.

I used to race these cars, and I would then bring a solid gear so I could replace the torque splitter if I felt I had to.

Most often, I ended up not using the torque splitter, as only having rear-end braking can be a disadvantage. However, only having rear-end braking can sometimes be good, because it will let you "slingshot" by braking ahead of corners and turning, thereby letting you get a pendulum effect and turning the car more quickly, but with less control.

For normal use, I would just have the ball diff without torque splitter in the front.

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[spiff84(2)]

hi

either you're very confused or i am. I take it that you are asking a question above. If you are asking which of those dampers fits the Evo, the answer, as far as i know, is none of them. Like Ideal said for the Top Force: they are way too short. And if it doesn't fit the Top Force it won't fit the Evo. The Top Force and Top Force Evo share the same length dampers, so what fits one fits the other, same with all the other parts, because the Evo is just a hopped-up Top Force. However the Baja King is a totally different car, do not get this confused with a Top Force, they share little more than the wheels. They are different cars, from different eras, for different markets. Hope i answered what you were asking.

Thanks

[FC5687]

Hey guys!

I made a mistake about the listed dampers. Sorry for the confusion! I have visited Tamiya website with the link of below.

http://www.tamiya.com/english/rc/rcitem/parts/rc65.htm

It shown that Tamiya offer 3 different dampers for the Top Force Evolution.

1) 50520 C.V.A. Short Shock II

2) 53037 Hi-Cap Damper Short II

3) 53125 Sleeved Damper (Short)

Regardless of the price, which one is the best choice for Top Force Evoluiton?

Again, sorry for the confusion from my previous post [?]

Thanks all!

quote:Originally posted by spiff84

hi

either you're very confused or i am. I take it that you are asking a question above. If you are asking which of those dampers fits the Evo, the answer, as far as i know, is none of them. Like Ideal said for the Top Force: they are way too short. And if it doesn't fit the Top Force it won't fit the Evo. The Top Force and Top Force Evo share the same length dampers, so what fits one fits the other, same with all the other parts, because the Evo is just a hopped-up Top Force. However the Baja King is a totally different car, do not get this confused with a Top Force, they share little more than the wheels. They are different cars, from different eras, for different markets. Hope i answered what you were asking.

Thanks

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[mjohnston39]

The sleeved dampers are nice, but I don't believe they are still available, with the re-release of the Dyna Storm I maybe wrong though. The Hi-caps are the ones you probably want, IIRC the Top-Force Evo came with them as orginal equipment, BTW they are also found on the Egress.

Mike.

[FC5687]

Are you meaning that the sleeved dampers is the first choice if I could find it and the Hi-caps is the seoncd choice? Am I correct?

If I can find the sleeved dampers, do you suggest to use 2 sets for front and rear?

Thanks again!

quote:Originally posted by mjohnston39

The sleeved dampers are nice, but I don't believe they are still available, with the re-release of the Dyna Storm I maybe wrong though. The Hi-caps are the ones you probably want, IIRC the Top-Force Evo came with them as orginal equipment, BTW they are also found on the Egress.

Mike.

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[mjohnston39]

If you want a true Top-Force Evo, you are going to have to go with the Hi-Caps. I have both and really can't tell the difference in their action, I guess if you want to race the sleeved dampers are the way to go, if you want a runner/basher etc, then the Hi-Caps. However, this maybe all academic as I think it will be very difficult to find the sleeved dampers. What ever you choose you will need 2 sets, I wouldn't mix the shocks.