Help With The Tamiya Df-03 Upgrade Shocks

[Nick83]

I bought these shocks for my DF-03, and first off, I use the little plastic piece with one hole instead of the recommended 2 or 3 hole ones. I did that because I imagined the one hole one would be more stiff.

Well, I installed the shocks and of course they sink down a bit with just the weight of the frame. Also, the handling seems to be terrible now.

How do you set these things up, and do you think they are a good product? They were very expensive and I am dissapointed.

I kind of regret getting this buggy. I have a Tamiya RZ motor in it, and it is decently fast, but handles terribly. Just does circles half the time.

Also, the dogbones are terrible, plus where they connect too. The piece they connect to, whatever it is called, chipped away in the first run, and I lost a dog bone. I bought CVD's made by Square from RCmart. I haven't installed them yet, but they were $32! I am losing motivation to invest money into this buggy after all this.

[WillyChang]

what were your expectations??

The TRF shocks... imho they work better with 2-hole pistons and a light oil 25-30wt.

Offroad shockers need to move more than onroad, pack them solid and car won't soak up bumps.

Red (soft) tuned springs seem to suit it best too.

Stock silvers are pretty same as yellow (medium).

DF03 handles best when the rideheight has the arms & driveshafts level.

It may look "low" if you're used to a Hornet, but that low stance gives it a lot of droop

and generates heaps of grip ... if you watch it skimming over rough ground,

the suspension really does the job!

Only on very rough tracks do you want the rideheight higher as bottoming the

chassis too often will slow the car down AND takes weight off the tyres (=less grip).

[secretsg]

Like Willy said. I would not use the one hole piston. You are gonna bottom out on a big jump most of the time anyway. Should setup the car for running and small jumps rather than to protect that one big leap. There are many factors such as damper spring rate, preload, oil, toe in toe out, camber etc that affects your handling. I would read through this site to gain a better understanding. http://www.rc-truckncar-tuning.com/rc-suspension-tuning.html

As far as the dog bone goes, the CVDs at least in the front is a good idea. You can use a small o-ring inside of the drive cup to improve dog bone performance and reliability.

[matisse]

Hi,

i have the DF03 alu shocks on my sand viper and they've been great.

just to check though that you are using the white delron piston disks and not the black ones form the sprues? this will make a big differencve in the level of pack you experience.

I'm running the two holes up front with tamiya soft oil, and three holes with lrp 45wt oil in the back, in both cases i've compensated for the oil by upgrading the springs to a firmer set as it suits my driving style. I've also used some AE green slime to help seal the o-rings and keep the motion smooth.

get yourself on the oOple forum @ oople.com as there are some great discussions about shock oil, springs and setup here.

i've got some set-up links on my home pc, i'll have a look after work.

mat

[Nick83]

I'm using the black ones instead of the white. One hole for both front and back.

Where can i get stiffer springs?

But thanks everybody. I will check that place out also.

The stock suspension was pretty good when I used it. Also, it is very responsive. Very sharp and springy. I want to be able to soak up huge jumps.

[matisse]

I'm using the black ones instead of the white. One hole for both front and back.

Where can i get stiffer springs?

But thanks everybody. I will check that place out also.

The stock suspension was pretty good when I used it. Also, it is very responsive. Very sharp and springy. I want to be able to soak up huge jumps.

the black disks are really for the cva's, and beacuse they're attached to the sprues its very hard to get them perfectly round which affects the pack and damping.

switch them out to the white ones included in the set, they're much much better, smoother too. i've always gone for more holes with higher wt on the back and reverse on the front.

Springs are a hop-up option, the DT02 MS comes with the white option springs, and these are port of the hop-up.

finally, get some green slime as ite really helps seal the bottom of the shocks, costa bout 3 quid form apex models.

mat

[acevtwin]

Nick, everyone has given you good advice. Just let me confirm what they have said. First, take out the 1 hole black pistons and throw them as far as you can. Next, replace them with the 2 hole white pistons. Use 30wt oil all the way around. also, set your ride height so that your cvd's are level. Rember, you need down travel as well as up travel.

After you do this it should be fine, but if your still frustrated with your car, get with me. I'll buy it!!! Steve