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Autovino

WT01 Mud Blaster II shock help for GPM mounts

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Hi all

New member here, would really appreciate your help.

I'm a long time Tamiya fan, having had a Frog, Hornet and Hotshot back in the day.  About to order a Neo Scorcher for my daughter and a Mud Blaster II for myself (like the idea of the chassis, will probably change the body).

Been browsing the forum, found lots of hop up suggestions for the Neo Scorcher (thanks), plus there seems to be consensus to add the GPM shock towers to the WT01, though I'm struggling to find which dampers/shocks to get for that combination.

I saw in an old thread someone tried the Tamiya 50520 Short Shock set but thought even the stiffer spring was too soft for the WT01.  Would love to use Tamiya dampers but can't see any alternatives (unless the 54567 have stronger springs) or there are even stronger springs available, so looking into what else is out there.

Has anyone used Gmade Zero (94mm) or Gmade XD diaphragm (93mm) or have any other suggestions in the 90-95mm range?

Appreciate any help you can offer, also any other suggestions for hop ups with the WT01 would be appreciated.

Kind regards

David

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I used Traxxas T Maxx shocks on mine.  I'm not sure how common they are now but a few years ago there were loads on ebay and really cheap.  I can't fault them at all.  They haven't leaked and are very smooth.  Far better than the stock WT01 set up.

20210510_221339.jpg

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Yeah Racing Big Bore Go shocks are also a good shout, available in 90mm or 100mm. Just replace the shaft seals with Tamiya o-rings and they'll last for ages. 

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I'll 2nd the Traxxas shock suggestion. I had a set on my Double Blackfoot (4wd Blackfoot Xtreme) and they were great. I drove that truck HARD (14.4V with an E-Maxx setup) and they never leaked.

And you can get them DIRT cheap.

Enjoy the truck - keep an eye on the transmission cases if you run it hard, they tend to crack where the lower arms mount.

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Thanks so much for the suggestions.

Been looking into the T-Maxx shocks and there seem to be quite a few different types, Long, XL, Big Bore, Ultra etc.  

I've found a few types but wanted to check if they're correct, length wise the ones I have found seem to be 103/105mm, are they the right ones?

Examples I have found....

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/181/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353456908626?hash=item524bac6952:g:1LcAAOSwvhtgd0ib

Here's a couple of the shorter front ones (can't seem to find the length for these to know if they're too short as they don't reference T-Maxx)

https://wheelspinmodels.co.uk/i/8636/

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/353461830446?hash=item524bf7832e:g:F8YAAOSwxltgfHxP

No experience of this at all myself, just that in some of the posts people had said they 100mm plus could lead to it toppling over.

Good to hear what you used as you've obviously been there done it etc.

Appreciate all your help.

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https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114589695895?hash=item1aae13ff97:g:4gUAAOSwB6pf4lxv

 

These are what I used but I didn't pay anywhere near that.  I got 8 shocks second hand but barely used for about £15 -20. There were loads on ebay at the time (5-10years ago) I'm guessing they aren't a common part now which is a shame.

Mine are 100mm eye to eye , I've just measured  them  but the springs are soft so it sits with a bit of sag. 

You need to use the extended shock towers for them to fit.

 

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Thanks, that's really helpful as they have the same part number as some that I have found and they're slightly cheaper.

At the price, I can't help wonder how they compare the the GMade:

https://www.fusionhobbies.com/product/gm22107-gmade-xd-diaphragm-shock-93mm-x2

Though I'd rather get something from a recommendation than take a chance on something that might not work be too soft/hard etc.

Appreciate your help.

 

Is there anything else you would suggest I upgrade?  I'm going to get a ball race set, but apart from that, the GPM towers and shocks I haven't got anything else on the list.

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14 minutes ago, Autovino said:

Thanks, that's really helpful as they have the same part number as some that I have found and they're slightly cheaper.

At the price, I can't help wonder how they compare the the GMade:

https://www.fusionhobbies.com/product/gm22107-gmade-xd-diaphragm-shock-93mm-x2

Though I'd rather get something from a recommendation than take a chance on something that might not work be too soft/hard etc.

Appreciate your help.

 

Is there anything else you would suggest I upgrade?  I'm going to get a ball race set, but apart from that, the GPM towers and shocks I haven't got anything else on the list.

Those gmade shocks do look nicer than the traxxas shocks.  Worth a try I think.

I'd definitely fit ballraced bearings as you said.  I also fitted a hi torque servo and tamiya high torque servo saver.  This made the steering a lot less floppy.  

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They've gone up a bit but still not a bad price for 2 sets. Used to be $24 inc uk shipping.

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/T-Maxx-3-3-SHOCKS-set-8-spacers-assembled-dampers-2-5-classic-49077-3-Traxxas-/331643527222?_trksid=p2349526.m4383.l4275.c1#viTabs_0

Not helped by mandatory post brexit VAT plus the end of the £15 low value item threshold.

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I use the gmade shocks on mine, they are very good and like them a lot, the 93mm are the right ones, I  Have used the 85mm ones with a tamiya long rod end to make them a little longer I had these shock allready from another project, the only  thing you need are the harder spring set, the ones that come with the shocks are a little to soft.

IMG_7026.JPG

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When I had my mudblaster 2, I did run on 50520 tamiya CVA shocks (96mm) (using the alloy shock towers) I swapped the springs for df03 hopup set which are stiffer. There was enough sag to give level running and enough body lean when cornering to look good......

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Thanks again, that's a good price for the 9 Traxxas shocks, though as you say be liable for import duty.

Good to know the Gmade work and also good to know I'll need the harder springs, will take a look at those and weigh up that versus the Traxxas, looking at the Gmade they appear to be slightly better quality but what do I know? ;)

Good to know the 50520's work, I did look as the DF03 set, unfortunately I'd need two sets (I think) to get the 4 longs ones I'd need, otherwise that would be the go to.  I'll look into seeing if the springs are available on their own, such a shame you can't just buy the DF03 rears.

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Otherwise you need approx 4 shock spacers per shock!🤣

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While looking at the Gmade shocks I came across their Piggyback which "look" great:

https://www.fusionhobbies.com/product/gm21107-gmade-xd-piggyback-shock-93mm-x2

Found an old post with someone had them:

Thinking might be worth the extra to get those.

THEN Man Maths kicked in and I wondered whether I should go crazy and order two sets of the DF03 Aluminium Damper sets and try and sell the fronts later.

Has anyone used the rears from the DF03 set on the WT01, do they work?

If not I think it'll be the piggybacks as the Traxxas ones aren't that cheap anymore.

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Another cheap but good option recommended by a TCer (not me) was

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/369645

Recommendation taken from an old thread.

In fact, there's a build thread here that includes fitting of the Absima dampers and some of the Tamiya ones mentioned earlier - including drop-test vids. Hope it helps.

I bought a second hand set of the towers and dampers but have never fitted them! The dampers need cleaning / rebuilding so will go on a future rebuild (I have three Twin Detonators in various states of repair).

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2 hours ago, Badcrumble said:

Another cheap but good option recommended by a TCer (not me) was

https://www.modelsport.co.uk/product/369645

Recommendation taken from an old thread.

In fact, there's a build thread here that includes fitting of the Absima dampers and some of the Tamiya ones mentioned earlier - including drop-test vids. Hope it helps.

I bought a second hand set of the towers and dampers but have never fitted them! The dampers need cleaning / rebuilding so will go on a future rebuild (I have three Twin Detonators in various states of repair).

I had those absima shocks, but they are not good the springs are to stif they leak and they hold together by a little spring 2 of mine came apart and I bend some shock shafts,  the gmade dampers are way better even tamiya plastic ones are much better then the absima ones.

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Good feedback @dannymulder. Jason ditched them in that thread too but went for Tamiya dampers.

I like the GMade dampers too, I built a couple of XD sets for my crawler.

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Thanks both, I read the same thread and initially thought the Absima shocks must be good if someone else is using them, later in the thread as you say he swapped to Tamiya though ended up using the springs from the Absima shocks.  Not sure if that's how it stayed though.

Funny enough, that's what prompted me to write this thread, to check in and see what the latest advice is.

Sounds like it's either the Gmade piggybacks or go crazy and get two sets of the DF03 Aluminium Damper sets (and sell the fronts later), though I now wonder if the Tamiya CVA srpings were too soft, then the ones in the Aluminium set might be too soft too (certainly don't want to go down that road and find they don't work). 

Has anyone used the rears from the DF03 Aluminium Damper set on a WT01?

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Just a personal observation in regards to shock towers for these kind of chasiss and also TL-01B

You can fit a 100mm shock quite easily but if the spring is firm it can make the vehicle quite prone to rolling. A lot of people use shocks closer to 90mm for this reason.

I've noticed though that if you use softer springs on a 100mm shock or don't add too much preload so there's sag, they will corner pretty well and still benefit from the extra articulation. The trick is to have enough sag that the ride height at rest is about the same as it would be work the shorter shocks. That way it corners pretty well but has plenty of up stroke AND down stroke available so the wheels move up and down over the terrain while the chassis remains relatively stable.

Conventional wisdom suggests firmer springs are best for preventing roll overs but I've found in reality that it isn't always the case, especially with monster trucks.

I have a few vehciles that will lean over like crazy when cornering but not flip over yet with firmer springs, they will roll quite easily, almost like the vehicle can't transfer it's weight effectively. I had the same with my modded Lunchbox too, the more body roll it has, the more resistant to rolling it seems to be. I guess the rules are a bit different for MTs vs on-road stuff.

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2 hours ago, nowinaminute said:

Just a personal observation in regards to shock towers for these kind of chasiss and also TL-01B

You can fit a 100mm shock quite easily but if the spring is firm it can make the vehicle quite prone to rolling. A lot of people use shocks closer to 90mm for this reason.

I've noticed though that if you use softer springs on a 100mm shock or don't add too much preload so there's sag, they will corner pretty well and still benefit from the extra articulation. The trick is to have enough sag that the ride height at rest is about the same as it would be work the shorter shocks. That way it corners pretty well but has plenty of up stroke AND down stroke available so the wheels move up and down over the terrain while the chassis remains relatively stable.

Conventional wisdom suggests firmer springs are best for preventing roll overs but I've found in reality that it isn't always the case, especially with monster trucks.

I have a few vehciles that will lean over like crazy when cornering but not flip over yet with firmer springs, they will roll quite easily, almost like the vehicle can't transfer it's weight effectively. I had the same with my modded Lunchbox too, the more body roll it has, the more resistant to rolling it seems to be. I guess the rules are a bit different for MTs vs on-road stuff.

Thanks, that's really helpful.

So the Gmade piggyback would be a good choice as they're 93mm and you can get harder springs if needed.

Though if I go down the DF03 route, I can always get the Setting Spring Set to have a choice of springs, decisions, decisions.  Okay it's not quite as simple as that as the DF03 route is by far the most expensive, whether the extra expense will be noticeable in performance, I don't know.

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