DT02 Shock upgrades. What have you used?

[JWeston 493]

Calling all DT02 owners who've upgraded the shocks. What did you use?

I've been all over the place looking for some bling shocks, all to no avail.

You used to be able to get a 3Racing set (which I had on a Desert Gator) but these haven't been available for a long time now.

I'm not interested in the Tamiya black cva shock set hop up.

Front Shocks are 64mm

Rear Shocks are 94mm

The closest I've found are are set of 62mm and 93mm.

Each time I find a pair of nice 64mm, there isn't a matching pair of 94mm and vice versa.

Thanks all. J

[MAD RACER 566]

I have used Yeah racing shocks which are cheap. I use 70mm Front which allow the front to bottom out.

Rear I use 90mm. I also use the standard front springs from the DT02 up the front & Losi yellow or grey springs for the rear.

The Platinum shocks from YR are even better but slightly small bore shocks but do include 3 sets of springs. For more spring choice AE springs fit. (Not big bores)

Others use Tamiya TRF shocks & Losi or AE shocks. I have never had any problems with Yeah Racing shocks but others have.

[mtbkym01 4008]

On MAD RACER's recommendations prior I have bought some of the Yeah Racing shocks, I'm really happy with them especially for the price, The platinums looks blingy on all cars, check these out:

 

[MAD RACER 566]

Now they do look good on your Super Shot.

Love that paint/Decals scheme you have done. What lengths did you use with the platinums shocks??

[JWeston 493]

Thanks MAD RACER and mtbkym01 :-)

I've had a good hunt around for Yeah Racing shocks and, as ever, I can't find a matching 4.

The info that 70mm and 90mm will fit and function is fantastic though. Even with the new lengths, I still had a spot of bother finding a matching 4 that I really like but I've found some very inexpensive ones in the UK that look the part and will hopefully take some light abuse.

Any more suggestions gratefully received though before I part with my cash.

Thanks, J

[TA-Mark 195]

DF03, DB01, TRF buggy dampers will all fit onto a DT02.

The DT02MS has identical dampers to the DF03MS. The difference is the assembly procedure and the spring weights. Assembled length is controlled by o-rings and spacer under the piston.

So, the easiest way to fit alloy dampers to a DT02 is to buy a set for the DF03/DB01, then use the kit springs that came with the DT02 on them.

TamiyaUSA DT02MS. Note the list of standard hopup items.

[mtbkym01 4008]

Now they do look good on your Super Shot.

Love that paint/Decals scheme you have done. What lengths did you use with the platinums shocks??

80mm fronts and 100mm rearsJust got 2 sets of 90mm for my Top Force aswell

[super gripper 419]

As TA-Mark says the DF-03 Tamiya alloy shocks are probably the best you can get for this car. A little pricey I know but they are the Bee' Knee's. Yes the aeration ones are better, but on a DT02 - really !!

I know the 2nd generation 3Racing shocks are good too. (not in stock at stella) again!!

[XV Pilot 1936]

I went for the Tamiya DF03 alloys on one of my DT02s, but on the other I went for a set of cheap Ansmann alloy shocks, 95mm at the rear, 75mm at the front, rebuilt with internal spacers to set the travel correctly. Once I replaced the shaft seals with Tamiya red O-rings and cleaned up the moulding flash on the pistons, they performed brilliantly. They aren't as convenient as the Tamiyas as they use spacers rather than threaded spring collars, but they are smooth, strong and stylish - all you need on a DT02.

[mr crispy 2293]

Why don't you want the Tamiya CVA's? Just wondering as I happened to have the right ones spare when I built my HB2010 and found them to perform well.

[GregM 1109]

I use Tamiya's black plastic C.V.A. II shocks for some of my cars. They aren't the cheapest shocks (around 20 € for a pair) and aren't pre-assembled, but they make up their value with the supplied 2 sets of different springs and all the necessary hardware for mounting and altering the shock length, and a bottle of medium to soft weight oil.

Some other cars have been treated with a bit more bling factor and gave them REELY pre-built alloy shocks from Conrad Electronic, around 15 € for a pair. They look nice (available in various colours), but the supplied black springs were just brutally stiff. I had to replace them with proper tuned springs as well as lighter shock oil. Their metal top caps are giving those a hard time who want to use ball ends on their shock towers - I still have no idea how to deal with this, does anybody know better? However, once the oil and springs are replaced and the shock length is adjusted to the relative chassis (all thanks to leftover parts from Tamiya C.V.A. oil damper kits), they are doing a good job.

[JWeston 493]

Chaps. I've had a good read and really appreciate all of the advice and recommendations.

My situation is that I have a DT02 Street Rover to build and a DT02 Desert Gator to build.

The only reason I don't want black cva's is purely for looks.

The Street Rover will be a bit of fun with a brushed motor and you can hardly see the shocks so this one I wasn't so fussed about and I've settled on these:

http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1423.l2649

http://www.ebay.co.u...984.m1423.l2649

The Desert Gator will be brushless and, as I loved the 3Racing Shocks on my former Gator, I'm going to go that route with this one and buy 3Rcacing shocks for the DB01.

All of the recommendations have been spot on and I really appreciate the feedback. Hopefully this thread will help other DT02 fans as well.

Thanks, J

[Thommo 1218]

The Desert Gator will be brushless and, as I loved the 3Racing Shocks on my former Gator, I'm going to go that route with this one and buy 3Rcacing shocks for the DB01.

J, the 3Racing dampers for the DB01 have a cup socket at the bottom instead of an eyelet, (at least mine do). The DT02 front dampers use a screw pin as the lower mount so you will need to drill through the cup socket at the bottom of the front ones. Once drilled through you can pop a DB01 suspension ball into the cup and then the screw pin will fit neatly through the suspension ball.

I also replaced the 3Racing damper top cap seal with TRF ones which are a perfect fit and actually seal.

After reading this thread I tried the springs from the DT02 friction dampers on black CVA's and I'm afraid they are not a close enough match for me. The springs from the friction dampers are definately a bigger diameter and hence tip over the edge of the spring base. I use TA02T (F-150 re-re) springs on the front and DF03 medium setting spring on the rear. The DF03 setting springs are very handy for black CVA's.

The DT02 friction damper springs do however fit Hi-Cap dampers perfectly for those interested in a firmer Hi-Cap spring.

[TA-Mark 195]

Highly recommend you ditch all of the stepped screw pins from the dampers and replace them with ball screws. DT02MS has all ball screws, and so does my Sand Viper now, as I left the step screws out when I built it. Sand Viper and Desert Gator should have CVA oil dampers standard with the correct weight front springs for a 2WD buggy.

Step screws pins get a bit of grit or a grain of sand in them and jam up causing them to undo and fall out.

Can't comment on the DT02 friction shock springs fitting the oil dampers though. I don't have any DT02 friction pogo sticks to test with. It worked on the black pogo-sticks on the DT01 when I put DF03 dampers on it. I assumed the DT01 and DT02 friction pogo sticks would be the same diameter.

[JWeston 493]

Thommo and TA-Mark - thanks for the info. I'm going to sort the Street Rover with the UK shocks (already purchased) and then look into the Gator. I need to look at photos and see what I did before with the DT02 specific 3Racing shocks that no longer seem to be available.

Here are front shocks on my old Gator. I don't have a decent photo of the rear's mounting. I really regret selling it, hence getting another!

[GregM 1109]

Highly recommend you ditch all of the stepped screw pins from the dampers and replace them with ball screws.

This is what I'm doing with all of my cars, replacing stepped screws with ball joints (ball screws or ball collars).

But what if the whole top cap of the shock, including the screw hole, is made of metal and (and the hole is just plain, not suited for ball joints)?

Can't comment on the DT02 friction shock springs fitting the oil dampers though. I don't have any DT02 friction pogo sticks to test with. It worked on the black pogo-sticks on the DT01 when I put DF03 dampers on it. I assumed the DT01 and DT02 friction pogo sticks would be the same diameter.

The DT-02 "mini" (front) and "short" (rear) friction shocks share indeed the same spring diameter as the #50520 C.V.A. II "short" oil dampers. While the #50519 C.V.A. II "mini" oil dampers have a slightly smaller spring diameter and bottom spring retainer. With a regular sized spring retainer from friction shocks or #50520, it is possible to use friction shock springs along with 50519 oil shocks.

[TA-Mark 195]

This is what I'm doing with all of my cars, replacing stepped screws with ball joints (ball screws or ball collars).

But what if the whole top cap of the shock, including the screw hole, is made of metal and (and the hole is just plain, not suited for ball joints)?

Not really a good damper design in my eyes. I do have ones like this myself, like the Tamiya FAV/Wild One hopup dampers. I find they bind sometimes because of this fixed pivot mount type and no give in the metal caps like there is in a plastic damper and step screw situation.

I have another set, from I don't know what model, that had the top hole torn out. So I cut the messed up bit off, then threaded what was left and screwed a metal rose joint to the top. This worked great to be able to use the broken damper.

[mr crispy 2293]

Great info so far. Has anyone found a set of white dampers in the 70mm & 90mm range suitable for a DT02? I have a Violet Racer and want to updrade the friction shocks but their white colour suits the colour scheme I have planned for the bodyshell.

[GregM 1109]

Not really a good damper design in my eyes. I do have ones like this myself, like the Tamiya FAV/Wild One hopup dampers. I find they bind sometimes because of this fixed pivot mount type and no give in the metal caps like there is in a plastic damper and step screw situation.

The Tamiya HiCaps do have similar full metal top caps, don't they?

However, what I do with metal top caps is to use a step screw (or regular screw with a cut down section of brass tube) and add heat shrink tube to get the correct outer diameter, minimise slop and avoid metal-to-metal contact. However, this does only work where dampers are angled in one direction. Two-directional angled situations (like the unusually/awkwardly angled rear dampers on the DT-01 chassis) are a no-go for this setup. They'll only work well with ball-joints.

[djmcnz 754]

Does anyone know, or can measure for me, the distance between the two screw holes on that plate stamped Tamiya?

Grazie.

[djmcnz 754]

But what if the whole top cap of the shock, including the screw hole, is made of metal and (and the hole is just plain, not suited for ball joints)?

Perhaps difficult to see here but these caps have Delrin bushings (which are a tight fit but that's by design). You may be able to get an generic equivalent if there's a gap to fit them in?

Edit: Perhaps some of these?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Serpent-Delrin-Shock-Bushings-4-SER600282-/230883098466

http://www.ebay.com/itm/GHEA-Racing-Products-Delrin-Shock-Bushings-4-/290787145659

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Trinity-BLUE-ANODIZED-ALUMINUM-SHOCK-BUSHINGS-KYOSHO-MP7-5-DELRIN-6096-4pcs-/271100502605

Edited April 11, 2013 by djmcnz

[GregM 1109]

Thanks, I'll take a look around for those bushings.

I still wonder how Tamiya solved this problem with the HiCap dampers. From what I see by looking at the DT-01 Mad Bull manual (where they are mentioned as hop-up options), they come with a vast assortment of bushings and spacers, too. Do the HiCaps have plain top holes (like the REELY alloy shocks mentioned before), or are they rounded on the inside of the top hole, just like the plastic top caps of the C.V.A. dampers, to accommodate a ball stud?

[djmcnz 754]

Hi Caps and the Sleeved dampers for buggies are both metal on metal (aluminium caps/steel pivot balls).

They don't really "wear out" per se but I suppose they could flatten out over a long period. Modern designs tend to avoid metal/metal friction surfaces not so much for the long-term durability but rather because there are smoother alternatives.

Edit: if you can't find Delrin bushings to fit then just use a suitable length flanged tube - not ideal but it will be fine.

Get a cheap pack to test (measure first): http://www.ebay.com/...s-/200825280321

[jeekelemental 528]

I don't own a DT02 but I've used Yeah Racing dampers for my "never ending" Brat project and, IMHO, their only strength is price: rods are rough also after the polishing, threaded on damper body is sensible to dirt and difficult to clean, the inner of damper body is rough and damper cap is coarse. CVA are better.

[JWeston 493]

The shocks for my Street Rover have arrived. As mentioned further up the thread, I bought these from a UK ebay seller. The listing didn't say they are YR so it was a nice surprise when I opened up the package. The listing also said they need oil. I'll check that.

Looks like I've ended up, then, with the first shocks that were recommended on this post.

I'll treat the Desert Gator differently (possibly) but these will, hopefully, be spot on for the Street Rover.