3rd Shock On My Hornet

[Leethal Driver]

Among other things bought a re-re Hornet (bashed about by a 12 yr old but generally tidy - wheels looked like they'd been chewed by a dog but nothing a sharp knife and some glass paper didn't sort). Having cleaned everything out, ballraced it, new rear tyresand put it back together again (minus new shell and driver) I gave it a run on sunday. Never realised the gearbox would roll up under acceleration but more than happy with performance. Got to talking about a 3rd shock mod...

Easy enough to attach the bottom much as with the VLB mod by cutting out the back of the box and attaching the bottom end of the shock to the metal cross bar. Think I could drill a long screw across the two shock mount arms (and secure it with a bolt the other side) to attach the top of the shock, with some spacers fashioned somehow to keep it in place (or two bolts I guess).

Thoughts:

1. Would need a short thin shock as not a very big gap between back of chassis and motor.

2. Would it add any real benefit? If too stiff I think it would it give wheelie potential tho.

3. Anyone ever tried it?

[TA-Mark]

Seems to be enough room to fit one in there. The hopup alloy shocks for the Hornet/Grasshopper from CRP are 65mm long, so too long to fit. Maybe something from a 1:18 scale might fit in there. The shock mod shouldn't mess with the roll centre of the diff, only assist the springs either side (don't over tighten the screws that hold those springs or the spring snaps).

If it does wheelies I want to see a video When I finish painting my Grasshopper I'm fitting the MambaMax to it (Same gearbox) but using the motor mount and brass 11T pinion from a Lunchbox. I'm not expecting wheelies, just lots and lots of wheel spin and big roosts.

[retroman]

I have to admit, the third damper on the rear of the Hornet sounds like an excellent idea. I too have a re-re Hornet, and it's kit standard, apart from being fully ball raced. I flushed all the grease out the bearings first, then lightly oiled them with Trinity royal oil. It has managed to pull wheelies on a couple of occassions! I don't use it much though, as off road it bounces around like a space hopper!

[terry.sc]

Space is tight for the normal third shock mod, the best I've seen is TAZ-NZs one

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/showroom_model.a...882&id=7665

[Leethal Driver]

That is a tidy mod on TAZ' GH2 (is it a bit tight with the electrics?). Going to try out my method on my spare chassis (when I have time and find a shock of a suitable size) and see how it looks.

Need to get a new body post on my runner anyway, just noticed I bent one on Sunday.

Will get some pics up as and when...

[TAZ-NZ]

That is a tidy mod on TAZ' GH2 (is it a bit tight with the electrics?). Going to try out my method on my spare chassis (when I have time and find a shock of a suitable size) and see how it looks.

There is more room in there than you might think, there is no longer room for the stock MSC setup, but my eliminating the MSC and throttle servo and replacing them with a ESC you gain a lot of free space.

Here's a picture of my Grass Hopper 2 with full electronics.

[Leethal Driver]

Nice one cheers Taz, will give it a go over next few weeks and will let you know what goes on.

[stu22]

I thought about adding shocks/dampers to the rear end of my upgraded Grasshopper to prevent it from rolling over years ago but never got around to it (and I didn't have any money back then.) The little springs that came with the kit never worked when the car was running. To solve the problem back then I just wrapped rubber bands around the ends of the thing and looped them around the side nerf bar and over to the upper supports.

Looking at it now I don't think I would add a third shock. The reasoning behind this is by the time you get something stiff enough to keep the assembly from torquing over it will never compress. I'm thinking about building something to hold down the center of the axle but still allow the ends to move. I think it will be as simple as bolting an L-bracket on the back of the tub. What will be interesting to see is how this effects the steering if one side gets more grip than the other, rolls up the axle on that side, and causes the rear geometry to change.