DT 03 Rear Shock oil 🤔

[Bennett Ironman]

Morning everyone 

Done a quick search but couldn't find the answer 😬 got a DT 03 Neo fighter build planned (waiting for stock) currently ain't we all 😭 so currently planning build Hop Ups ....watched a few videos on the Tube regarding using a heavier grade oil in the rear shocks to improve the ride,what's the grade you guys recommend and any links too products 👍 other possible upgrades are full ball race and would like the 'turnbuckle' set up on the rear 💪 plus carbon towers front and rear but sourcing these at moment aaaaargh 🤯 also whilst I am on would like a rear tarmac tyre option and a better front ribbed tyre option so what you got for me 😆 

Thanks everyone 

 

[Fruitfly01]

I found that the DT02/3 CVA dampers to be under sprung/over damped out of the kit.  It comes with #400 oil and once fitted to the car, it seemed sluggish.  When I pushed down on the car, it seemed almost reluctant to return to it's original height.

The first port of call was to fit the hard springs from the DT02 tuning spring set.  I added a couple of spring spacers to take up the slack, and that solved the bulk of the problem.

The other thing to do is to lighten the rear of the car a bit.  I replaced the gear shafts with the lightweight items and installed the ball differential set.  The ball diff upgrade is a lot lighter than the stock gear diff, however you will also need to use metal dogbone drive shafts, or better still, universal joints, instead of the stock plastic items.

[bikerclubby]

Replaced springs all round on my Racing Fighter with the soft option from the DF01 kit. These are still stiffer than dt03 build springs. Tried the medium in the rear which improved bottom out on jumps but lost traction, so went back to the soft. Also tried slightly thicker oil (500cst] but didn’t like it and went back to original. 

New tyres should definitely be on your list. Kit front tyres are crap.  I went with Schumacher Cut Stagger in yellow and these have been great. Rears are good on grass but not anywhere else. I’m just away to order some Proline Blockade, as I do a lot on dirt tracks. Also tempted by some of the Proline Dirt Oval tyres, but none in uk so postage is looking pricey. 

Have been running some Schumacher truck tyres on rear as I ordered wrong size, but they rolled a lot on buggy rims. Need to get some truck rims and fronts to match. Already got Mad Bull steering arms ready to go on. 

Definitely go with ball bearings from the start. Big improvement for very little money and saves the hassle of pulling gearbox later on which dismantles half the car. Make sure you get rubber shielded ones though, cheaper sets come metal shielded and won’t last as long. 

I also found the diff quite loose so part filled it with 500000cst diff oil. Helps both wheels spin together in soft conditions (great on beach). Again a cheap fix at £5 a bottle that’ll last forever. 

Avoid carbon and bling upgrades until you’ve run it a bit. Very few around at the moment and prices are silly. 

This is my first build and I knew it wouldn’t be the best car around, but it’s cheap which left money for eventual upgrades. It’s still way better than I am. I’d spend your upgrade money on  few sets of wheels and tyres for different conditions. 

 

[Juictetin]

Hi I'm actually using Schumacher 80wt silicone oil in the back of mine and its pretty good, if anything a tad hard but certainly preferable to being too soft and I can adjust the damper collar if need be. 

Before I was using 50wt oil and I found it too soft, it was bottoming out everywhere.

[Bennett Ironman]

On 6/15/2020 at 6:10 PM, Fruitfly01 said:

I found that the DT02/3 CVA dampers to be under sprung/over damped out of the kit.  It comes with #400 oil and once fitted to the car, it seemed sluggish.  When I pushed down on the car, it seemed almost reluctant to return to it's original height.

The first port of call was to fit the hard springs from the DT02 tuning spring set.  I added a couple of spring spacers to take up the slack, and that solved the bulk of the problem.

The other thing to do is to lighten the rear of the car a bit.  I replaced the gear shafts with the lightweight items and installed the ball differential set.  The ball diff upgrade is a lot lighter than the stock gear diff, however you will also need to use metal dogbone drive shafts, or better still, universal joints, instead of the stock plastic items.

The ball diff set is it the DT 02 chassis ?

[Fruitfly01]

1 hour ago, Bennett Ironman said:

The ball diff set is it the DT 02 chassis ?

Yes.  DT02 and DT03 have the same gearbox.

[Bennett Ironman]

25 minutes ago, Fruitfly01 said:

Yes.  DT02 and DT03 have the same gearbox.

Cool found the ball diff set at Fusion Models cannot find the drive shafts 🤔

[Fruitfly01]

If you want to use genuine Tamiya parts, look for 53791.  These seem to have become a bit hard to find lately- at least at a good price.  Expect to pay about £40 a pair at the moment.

Alternatively, companies such as GPM and 3Racing make components for this chassis, and they're half the price of Tamiya items.

[Bennett Ironman]

Thanks everyone loads of interesting info and advise 😃

Will hopefully post up some updates when I start the building 👍