Why you too need Tekno Shocks

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Mazing3

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Location
Yardley, PA
Arrma RC's
  1. Nero
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I've recently had quite an adventure with my Kraton and Outcast and came out being so impressed that I had to share this with you guys.

I was constantly breaking or bending shock rods, rod ends, having leaks, etc.

Because of the ridiculous parts availability situation with Arrma I started looking at Tekno for replacement shock rods. One thing led to another and I just bit the bullet and bought their full option kits front and rear. 122mm front and 137mm rear. They aren't cheap at around $100 per pair after pistons and springs but worth it. You don't truly appreciate how good these are until you assemble your first set. You also immediately realize how crappy the stock ones are. They completely transformed my Krayton. So I bought a set for my Outcast. Same story.

This past weekend I took the Outcast out for a long parking lot bash session with some local guys. Big ramp and was consistently doing 30-40ft flights with 15ft altitude. I must have hit that ramp 40 times. Plenty of great landings and of course a few mishaps. I was running 6s and with my shock settings (will list at the end) this thing was able to do standing backflips. I don't mean against a wall, just full trigger pull= back flip. Eventually I was just doing long wheelie runs and playing around with steering while up. Ran into a cement light pole. Hit so hard it broke the battery straps and tossed the batteries.

There is no other way to put it, beat the ever living sheet out of this truck. I've never flogged it this hard. At one point I even broke off the front body mounts. Still pinned to the body too.

Eventually the batteries ran out of juice and I packed up and went home. Then I looked at the truck. The rear tower is a bit mangled and a lot of things were broken back there. The RPM wing mounts weren't even phased btw. But the most remarkable thing is the rear shocks... completely perfect. Nothing bent, nothing broken nothing dripping. Even the rod ends were still pristine.

Took those pics for perspective.

I love my setting and they are as follows-

front- Full option kit with the Ti rods. 122mm, 3 hole tapered piston (the white ones) and 90mm orange springs. 70wt oil

Rear- same but with 137mm shocks and 60wt.

I gotta admit, I was so impressed with the first set of shocks that I wanted to see what a whole Tekno truck was like. So I bought an et48.3. That thing is on a whole different level beyond our Arrmas. My Nero was a pos dissaster breaking on every run so I gave up and stripped it for all the electronics I needed for the et48. That Nero motor and ESC in a 9lbs Tekno is rather fun.

Hope that helps someone. Sorry it was so long and I know it sounds like a Tekno commercial but it's not. I was getting pretty frustrated with my Krat and Out but these shocks changed the game for me.

Oh, I do now have a box of Nero stuff if anyone is looking for some spares. PM me. Thing fits in a shoebox when you tear it down. Mine is the latest 6 with the diff brains. Got it in March.
 
Thanks Mr. Blonde.

Yeah that thing is mangled. Oddly still drove pretty well. Testament to these shocks.

Took it off and beat it back flat again. One of those happy rare times when you can fix something by beating it with a small sledge.
 
I LOVE MY TECKNO SHOCKS.

And I love fixing things with a tool designed to break things.

What wt oil are you running in yours.
 
What wt oil are you running in yours.

I'm still waiting for my kit to arrive from DH. :(

Planning to run:
F = Yellow 80mm springs & 55wt
R = Green 90mm springs & 50wt

...At least to start with.

If you were asking Mazing:

front- 3 hole tapered piston (the white ones) and 90mm orange springs. 70wt oil
Rear- same but with 137mm shocks and 60wt.

:D
 
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totally, but the funny thing is that as soon as I saw it was all bent I just automatically went on amazon and ordered another one. Like I've been pre-programmed to do or something. I think it's all a very cunning ploy by the RC companies to keep a steady recurring revenue stream.

Yeah, 70 front 60 rear

How bout you Pricenator?

Blonde- how did you arrive at those weights and springs and what truck was it again? I'm asking cuz I've just been playing around experimenting to get where I am now. I liked the 90mm all around just because I could do more with ride height.

I landed where I am now just because I liked what the Outcast is able to do with the setting. Specifically the standing backflips and limitless wheelie riding. I have a wheelie bar for the Kraton arriving today to see if I can make it do the same thing. It's pretty useful for getting the front wheels up over big logs etc. Plus it's just damn fun.

Btw, I do assume you know why I'm calling you Blonde right? Lol.
 
I think I saw an older post of mine that said I have 80 in the front and 70 in the rear, but then I thought I remembered having 80 in all 4 corners.


Looking at BigFellas post, he is using thinner oil, but has less hole area in his pistons, than I do. I am having trouble with my back end kicking up high when I hit a speed bump. So much so that if I hit a speed bump going fast and then let off the throttle , while it’s airborne, it’ll land on the roof. 60 yards later it’ll slide to a stop and I’ll kick it over. I think I’ll pull the trigger on some 60 wt today and see if I can calm the back end down. Using Tckno orange springs.
 
Yeah the hole area thing matters. Do you have the 3 hole tapered?

I can't remember the OP but I tried that drilling out 2 holes in a blank and doing the 80 thing but im suspicious about that having something to do with all my rod and rod ends bending and breaking issues. I was having the same kick up issues you describe too. They just end up being way to over dampened. Feels good when you compress them in your hand but that's not a real world litmus test compared to what the truck experiences while actually driving.

Fwiw, my Tekno ET48.3 came with green springs and 65wt front with 60 rear. I wouldn't change a thing about how that thing handles. It's 2-3 lbs lighter than an average Kraton or Outcast but I don't think it should be this dramatic of a difference.

I think we all went on a stiffer shocks witch hunt here that might have been the wrong direction.

Blondes rates and wts might be a good setup.
 
I am using the 4 hole tapered white derlin pistons with 10.2 mm of hole area. I may just go mix some 80 wt and 35 wt together and see what happens. What I really need to do is go in and figure out what that dang clicking sound is. I am almost tempted to get bash it on 6S until that click blows something up. That way it’ll be easier to determine what is wrong. OK, maybe not such a good idea. With my luck it’ll break a part I don’t have a spare of.
 
Lol.

What kind of clicking? Like a rattling clicking or rotational? Does it get worse with speed?
Describe it a little... bent axle shafts, or center driveshafts banging into the center braces would click. I always get grass and stuff wrapped around my axles too.

These things are noisy as hell and I never knew if it was normal or not. This Tekno I got is silent apart ffrom the whir of the motor. Forgive me for always talking bout that thing but it became my new benchmark

My Savox makes some clicking but I have 6 of them and they are a little noisy.
 
it's in the front diff or front cups. I need to take it apart, I just hate tearing down the front end. The back end is so much easier.
 
Blonde- how did you arrive at those weights and springs and what truck was it again?

Btw, I do assume you know why I'm calling you Blonde right? Lol.

I've got a Kraton.

why did I pick my setup?

Springs:
Green springs are being supplied with my shock kit and are stock on the ET48.3. As you say, a lighter truck. So, I bought yellows in case the greens are too soft. I've swerved the orange springs because every Kraton I've seen in a YouTube video that wore those springs looked too bouncy.

Oil weights:
They're the heaviest oils I currently have in my toolbox. I'm happy to buy more variations but I may as well give weights these a punt as a first stop. I'll feedback with how it goes.

*************************

I found this:

"Shock Oil: Thicker shock oil will help the car to navigate larger jumps and bumps since the oil will slow the reaction of the shock. In hot weather, increase the weight of your shock oil to maintain the same damping characteristics.

Thinner shock oil will allow the shock to react more quickly, and help your rig soak up smaller bumps and track imperfections. If your rig works well in warm weather, switch to thinner shock oil in very cold conditions.
Temperature is a huge part of choosing shock oil.

Shock Pistons: Choosing the correct shock pistons is quite simple. On smooth tracks with big jumps, Use smaller pistons to slow down the shock action. On rough tracks with fewer jumps, reach for pistons with larger holes to allow the shock to soak up the ruts.

Shock Springs: Try changing both the front and rear springs at the same time to maintain the same balance front to rear. If the track surface is slippery, go to lighter springs to create more body roll and slow the car’s reactions. On asphalt, grass or Astroturf tracks with tons of grip, use heavier springs at both ends of the car to resist traction rolling.

As you’ll notice, each adjustment sacrifices a particular handling trait to gain another. There’s no magic adjustment to make your rig “super dialed”, so decide what your rig needs to do differently, make changes to your car, and see if your lap times improve or your handling improves to your tastes.

*************************

And good eyes for recognising the Reservoir Dogs pic. Splendid film.
 
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Price- yeah hopefully just something banging around in there. I used some too long screws with my skid plate and those holes go right up through that R&p housing.

blonde- your argument makes perfect logical sense like I was hoping. Specifically your comment about letting the suspension do all the work with absorbing the terrain. Not sure that's as clear as it should be around this forum. Clear that you get it though. That's the only reason for the existence of shocks and springs in the first place Let us know how you like that setup.

ultimatley what matters most is how you like what your car does when it drives. I kept thinking I needed everything to be more firm and heavily dampened to support landings of big jumps. damn thing was bouncing so bad it was hard to even hit the jump properly in the first place.

At the end of the day, I could care less if it smacked the chassis on landing. It's anodized aluminum.
 
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