Are we running too little pack?

[Northy]

I was talking to another racer on Saturday night and he asked me why people seem to run so little pack in their Pred shock set-up, which got me thinking.....

I've always run my Preds with generally softer suspension than most, and I most admit with very little pack (the car tends to bottom out after big jumps), but would it go better with less hole pistons & lighter oil (to get the same static damping) which would give more pack?

I remember when Craggy was running the Pred though and he used to use 2hole & 2 groove pistons in the front with thicker oil (ie less pack!).

BUT everyone who has asked my advice on X10 setup have been told to run it with lighter oil, and they all say it goes better for it

Anyway, enough rambling, does anyone have any comments? I'm sure in the US you'd need to run more pack to cope with the big jumps?

G

[psteers]

I have the bone stock car, and I am able to clear large (3m long) double jumps. The chassis does bottom out regularly.

I am running the stock pistons and springs all around, with 30wt in the front and 40wt in the rear.

I feel as though the front has too much pack. Have you tried removing the rebound valve? What effect does that have on the shock action? I assume it speeds up the overall action of the shock, both compression, and release.

Also, are there different stiffness shock springs available for the X10? I need stiffer springs all around on my tracks, and I can't find any replacements anywhere. I tried associated blue front buggy springs, but they're far too soft, and the internal diameter is too small to fit the pred shock bodies.

I think you should tune the pack in your shocks to handle the best all-around on your specific layout. If you bottom out on the big jumps, so be it. Just try to soften the landings by landing on all four wheels.

Pete

[psteers]

OK, I've seen in the other thread that you've removed the rebound valves. I'll try that next time I run the car, hopefully next weekend.

[Northy]

I thought that the rebound valves weren't working as they are made from a too stiff material, so I took them out and I thought it was better. Everyone elso who's tried it thought it was better too. I think they just block the hole off in both directions....

You might have to go up in oil weight if you try it.

[swiss]

Northy, I have been testing mine outdoors.. what differance does removing the rebound valves make??? More steering???

[Northy]

Yeah, more steering, but also handle bumps much better making the car easier to drive.

You may have to increase oil weight to keep the same static damping though.

G

[swiss]

Thanks

I am currently running 35wt in the front.. What 40wt without the piston limiters? This is off road?

[Northy]

Try the same oil at first, but try 40wt if its too soft.

G

[chris burgess]

psteers said:

Also, are there different stiffness shock springs available for the X10? I need stiffer springs all around on my tracks, and I can't find any replacements

You can indeed buy different springs for the X10. they are on the t.tech website, in the suspension page of their online shop.

[chris burgess]

what's the current thinking on this topic?

I am running indoors at the moment, with a couple of jumps that give the opportunity of some big air. BUT when i have been landing, the car bottoms out big time, indeed, it broke a pack of cells apart on one occasion!

I am going to increase the pack in the shocks all round, to see what handling characterisitcs this brings to the fore.

What setups are people running indoors at this time?

[Northy]

Chris,

Me and my mate Jim are playing with this at the mo. I am running much more pack in the rear with the stiffer springs and it jumps (and lands) much better.

I'll post tonight with what I've done.

G

[cockerill]

I personally thought Jim's car looked GREAT when he had them magic valves in at Teeside ;D

[Northy]

Yeah, we over did it a little at one point and the dampers stopped working properly.

The pistons pulled the foam compensators off the seal housing and stuck to the back of the piston creating a one way piston, but the wrong way! So every time the car went over a bump it got lower and lower.......