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whale22

Hornet rear spoiler: broke off in 1988 and again in 2013

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Blech. Bought a re re hornet and love it. But...the buggy spends as much time flipping over as it does upright. That's fine but the spoiler broke off. I really like the look of it so are there any ideas other than learning to drive a buggy that hops or getting a new body?

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Try to get the handling of the Hornet sorted out to stop it bouncing around so much, maybe some aftermarket front dampers and for the rear try some different springs/oil or the 3rd shock mod. Other than that stock up on rear spoilers or make a roll cage Whale! :D

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I have the aluminum front shock tower with oil filled shocks. I also put on the junfac rear axle mount:

http://www.junfac.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3&products_id=418&zenid=80cd02a35499e8be451efbd3ad8a2a9e

Instead of running the stock shocks which seemed way too soft I put on the duratrax evader shocks with soft springs.

http://www3.towerhobbies.com/cgi-bin/WTI0001P?I=LXAMK1&P=8

The rear end just bounces and bounces. Should I try heavier oil in the stock shocks? I'm also considering the grasshopper axle mounts to cut down on the bounce. I might try the third shock thing but haven't seen a simple way.

I'm running a sport tuned and wonder if that's too much power? It will wheelie if I accelerate too quickly.

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Nice hop ups!

If youre running LiPo batteries, the car may be too light. Adding some weight to the chassis would help the shocks work. I dont think the Grasshopper mounts would be a good choice as it would just limit the rear suspension to pitch and no roll action. Try the heavier shock oil and see what happens. Try dampening the front by adding more grease to the spring shaft.

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To stop the rear from bouncing, the only cure would be to modify gearbox - chassis mounts. Have a look at the DT-01 chassis, it uses a similar chassis design but no tiny axle springs and has a central pivot enabling pitch and roll.

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Another approach is to modify the wing mount so it can detach in a rollover without breaking. This is the approach I used on my cousin's runner Hornet and my rally car, and it works well.

What you do is you enlarge the screw holes in the wing until they are just a little bit bigger than the heads of the wing mounting screws. Then you get some rubber sheet (we used a bicycle inner tube) and cut out two circles that are slightly bigger than the enlarged screw holes in the wing. Make 3mm holes in the middle of the circles.

Then put the wing mounting screws through the holes in the rubber circles, and mount your wing to the body. The rubber circles will keep it in place during normal running, but in an accident they will pull through the enlarged screw holes in the wing, allowing it to separate without damage.

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I'd hold the rear wing on with small neo magnets, they'll hold it fine but allow it to come off in a tumble. Or you could ditch the Hornet body and fit a Kamtec Rough Rider shell instead :)

4C6F832D-87DC-424F-81F3-29DEB79C7B62-185

Follow the link below for a simple and cheap 3rd shock mod:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=62351&view=&hl=&fromsearch=1

With that fitted I found the best thing to keep the rear end in check was the old standard Hornet dampers. I am running Brat tyres tho, that may make a difference? I've done this mod to my Grasshopper and Hornet and they both work well.

D06001BC-4A3C-4A92-8087-142936EF5C80-105

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I like the break away idea, I really like alternative bodies that are more durable (any others?), I see a third shock in crispy's gearbox (how did you mount this to the gear box itself?), I have never considered using Dt01 mounts to attach the gearbox to the hornet chassis. That's very interesting. GregM-does that work well? Do you guys think the duratrax shocks are a mistake? Are they too strong? The hornet dampers were so soft the top chassis was hitting my sport tuned motor. Thanks and interesting thread. At the end of this I'd like my hornet to drive better.

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I think the Hornet rear dampers are all right with their soft springs. The issue doesn't lie in the dampers, but in the way the gearbox attaches to the chassis. On acceleration, the long chassis attachment axle travels through the spring-loaded slots and hits the chassis. Similar things happen repeatedly when going over rough terrain, causing bounce. The rear suspension design doesn't allow the car to be balanced.

GregM-are you suggesting moving the gearbox and everything to a dt01 chassis?

I haven't tried this yet. To give you an idea how the DT-01 gearbox is attached on the DT-01 main chassis tub, please see this post:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=70593&p=501307

- Just putting the Hornet body on a complete DT-01 chassis may not look very pleasant (no idea how it will look though, maybe better than I have in mind?), and you would have to create your own custom bodymounts.

- If you want to create a similar joint on your Hornet gearbox and Hornet chassis, this would mean subtle modifying of the Hornet gearbox, but a major modding job on the rear of the chassis tub, including some thinking. Still not impossible if you are an experienced modeller.

- In the end, you might be getting away most easily by applying the 3rd shock mod, as there already exists some tutorials for this. The tab/lip can be found on the Grasshopper (vintage and re-release) gearbox case parts, the Hornet gearbox lacks these tabs.

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If you don't have the tab, you can cut out a 5mm section of the front of the gearbox and expose the rod that runs between the pivot slots. You can then used a rod end to attach it there. It's how most people fit the 5th shock on a Lunchbox.

I tried CVA dampers on my Grasshopper but even with the softest springs there just isn't enough weight in the chassis to make them work. With the Hornet dampers you tried, are you using the black plastic spacers seen in the photo in my post above? They would be too soft without these. You could always make longer spacers to stiffen up the spring rate if it's still too soft for you.

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If you don't have the tab, you can cut out a 5mm section of the front of the gearbox and expose the rod that runs between the pivot slots. You can then used a rod end to attach it there. It's how most people fit the 5th shock on a Lunchbox.

I tried CVA dampers on my Grasshopper but even with the softest springs there just isn't enough weight in the chassis to make them work. With the Hornet dampers you tried, are you using the black plastic spacers seen in the photo in my post above? They would be too soft without these. You could always make longer spacers to stiffen up the spring rate if it's still too soft for you.

Thanks. I bought another gearbox and can try this with my multi-tool. Then I could simply mount the shock to the exposed axle, correct? I'm confident I can do this but what I haven't looked at in detail is whether or not that would provide an entry way for dirt to get into the gearbox? I guess I can always fill it with silicone caulk. I have become increasingly annoyed with how this car handles, and as such, am building a rising storm. It's got a wide base, double wishbone, and is low to the ground. I had a dirt thrasher, which I loved, but sold it like a dope when I was in a smaller apartment with nowhere to store/drive it. I do have the black collars on the hornet dampers but I swear I can compress the shocks in my hand and they don't even expand. When they're on the buggy I can press down on the chassis and they just sag. Hence the duratrax shocks but they seem too stiff.

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The Hornet dampers are using a spring loaded top cap seal. I guess there might have been some parts missing during damper assembly?

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Actually I've remembered you can just screw the U shaped bracket onto the top on the flat area of the gearbox, I did that on my Lunchbox. This is the best picture I have of it

31961745.jpg

Not the clearest photo :(. That whole front section is sealed off from the working area of the gearbox so whatever method you choose there's no worry of debris getting into the gears.

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The Hornet dampers are using a spring loaded top cap seal. I guess there might have been some parts missing during damper assembly?

I have the little tiny springs in there. Not sure what the issue is. Should I try heavier oil than the one that came with the buggy? I'll try the third shock mod this weekend.

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The hornet dampers were so soft the top chassis was hitting my sport tuned motor.

This is strange. On my Hornet, the motor will never hit any chassis components during suspension movement. I also can't recall the Hornet rear shocks being too soft as long as the spacers had been added.

Does the Junfac rear shock mount alter the articulation in an undesired way?

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Not sure about the Junfac being an issue since when the shocks are off the buggy I feel like I can compress them and they expand in slow motion. I'll take 'em apart and do a rebuild this weekend.

The duratrax shocks are def too strong for that buggy though. I love that car and bought it to recapture by teens but I sure am looking forward to my rising storm.

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Something I've noticed with my Hornet dampers is the aluminium body tarnishes quickly and that stops the springs moving smoothly. If you clean them with a metal polish or even toothpaste they will have a much smoother movement. Sounds like yours could do with a full strip down and clean up.

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Often rebuilding the shocks and lightly sanding the edge of the piston makes a world of difference.

I recently put together a Hornet chassis and tried to make it less of a twirler...

Double shock mod on the rear axle (got upgraded brackets later) that seems to work very nicely :

Grotefoto-IXDFIEMP.jpg

Basically an upgrade for the silly Hornet springs...

Super Hornet front suspension :

Grotefoto-NWTSBKZZ.jpg

And a couple of shock tower reinforcements (this one mostly for the looks) :

Grotefoto-UTCFZ7ZS.jpg

There were originally aftermarkets brands that made rear stabiliser kits, although I'm not sure they were that effective :

Grotefoto-A38TLEY4.jpg

Gotta love the chassis in any case, despite it's flaws. :)

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OK...fiddled a bit and have a third shock in there! Gotta learn how to post pics or create a showroom but it was a bit less bouncy. I had to do through the gearbox behind the shaft and through the plastic bridge where the crystal used to mount.

Came out pretty good...

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This thread will help with how to post pics, easiest way is to create a Photobucket account and just post the IMG tags that the Photobucket site provides. If you have a Smart phone there's even a Photobucket app which makes it easier again.

Some links:

http://www.tamiyaclub.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=69842

http://photobucket.com

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I made a similar shock bracket with threaded M3 rod straight through the mounting holes. Helps to spread the load and stiffen up the back end.

A166C190-670A-41E7-BFA6-51C71F8F5A9E-105

Dutch-RC, your chassis looks very nice. That Carson 2wd wheel n tyres set suit it well.

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I used to fill the rear wing mounts with hot glue and drill them when they cooled down

then just use longer screws with locking nuts :)

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