Warning!!! Rando stuff in shocks!

[*420+3RC*]

A while back I got some ZD Racing shocks for my BR. Never used the fronts (105mm) had 115mm on Rear with stock rear on front. Had loads of issues with all over truck. Got her running. And decided to run shorter ZDs up front with stock rear.

Went to check fluid b4 install (thank goodness). Heres what I found. .

1 pillow ball
3 pieces of blue? Metal
2 pieces black plastic

Check your shocks. Guess guy had little shock oil or lost his balls.

 

[SrC]

No upgrade shocks come filled with oil most of the time. And why use the included oil anyway? You have no clue as to the weight that's in there to begin with. I always tear them down and do a complete rebuild. I clean all the parts in solvent. Lube the o-rings and bottom cartridge. There is ususally machining debris found in them. Common. These upgrade shocks, most of them, are cheaply made with little to no QC. Just a fact. They probably cost like $1.50 to make each. Children and unskilled labor assemble these. Just my spin.
Thanks for sharing. Important for many of us know this.

 

[*420+3RC*]

Oh yeah. Its part of the newb learning path ive been on. . Luckily had checked others before use. Well I didjt the stock ones. I took what all else said and didnt want them. Hell my rear stocks turning out better than the Zds that are "upgrade". But with fresh 60wt. I dig both sets.

 

[Edough13]

A while back I got some ZD Racing shocks for my BR. Never used the fronts (105mm) had 115mm on Rear with stock rear on front. Had loads of issues with all over truck. Got her running. And decided to run shorter ZDs up front with stock rear.

Went to check fluid b4 install (thank goodness). Heres what I found. .

1 pillow ball
3 pieces of blue? Metal
2 pieces black plastic

Check your shocks. Guess guy had little shock oil or lost his balls.

View attachment 172672

View attachment 172673

View attachment 172674

Wow looks like you got a Friday built set how the hell a pivot ball got in there is really random, guess someone was having fun that day

 

[*420+3RC*]

I sure have run into things that I haven't heard much about or things folks don't really believe . How it is

 

[aahwhatever2]

A while back I got some ZD Racing shocks for my BR. Never used the fronts (105mm) had 115mm on Rear with stock rear on front. Had loads of issues with all over truck. Got her running. And decided to run shorter ZDs up front with stock rear.

Went to check fluid b4 install (thank goodness). Heres what I found. .

1 pillow ball
3 pieces of blue? Metal
2 pieces black plastic

Check your shocks. Guess guy had little shock oil or lost his balls.

View attachment 172672

View attachment 172673

View attachment 172674

NICE!!!

FREE extra parts! LoL

 

[Edough13]

I sure have run into things that I haven't heard much about or things folks don't really believe . How it is

Man not sure if I ever changed the fluid in the set I have now I want to see if I got any goodies in mine too what color are they as I got the like red, white(chrome) and blue ones.

 

[*420+3RC*]

Red springs silver bodys

It was only 1 of them lol

NICE!!!

FREE extra parts! LoL

Lost the damn pivot ball dropped on the great abyss of the shop floor

Man not sure if I ever changed the fluid in the set I have now I want to see if I got any goodies in mine too what color are they as I got the like red, white(chrome) and blue ones.

What size did u get?

 

[aahwhatever2]

Red springs silver bodys

View attachment 172731
It was only 1 of them lol

Lost the damn pivot ball dropped on the great abyss of the shop floor

Dang….
Guess we will never know what that would of gotcha on EBay…

 

[Sargent_Horse]

A pillow ball? How does that one even happen

 

[*420+3RC*]

Good question. Maybe running low on shock oil. Trying to take space . Idk man just an oops oh well. ??

 

[Edough13]

Red springs silver bodys

View attachment 172731
It was only 1 of them lol

Lost the damn pivot ball dropped on the great abyss of the shop floor

What size did u get?

Same size as yours just blue springs and red colars and caps. Well the 3 I checked had no surprises in them really surprised shock oil is actually pretty clear though as I ran them a good while. Maybe everything settled though as they been sitting for months

 

[*420+3RC*]

Same size as yours just blue springs and red colars and caps. Well the 3 I checked had no surprises in them really surprised shock oil is actually pretty clear though as I ran them a good while. Maybe everything settled though as they been sitting for months

Hey I tell you I had no other debris. And likewise on how clean the oil was. Even on the set I did run for 10-12 packs.

Did u shorten yours? Im thinking about it trimming just a bit not stock heights justa tad longer.

 

[Edough13]

Hey I tell you I had no other debris. And likewise on how clean the oil was. Even on the set I did run for 10-12 packs.

Did u shorten yours? Im thinking about it trimming just a bit not stock heights justa tad longer.

No I didn't shorten them but I no longer run them as I bent a couple shafts and the leak bad.

 

[SrC]

I sure have run into things that I haven't heard much about or things folks don't really believe . How it is

It''s believable and can even be a fluke for sure.
Mentioned prior, I had a short run on a new stock 6s Diff, that I merely topped off and shimmed. It bricked violently after a few minutes. Complete loss. Dumped all the parts, everything, in solvent, pulled out every single piece and found a foriegn metal object in there.
Why?? Because there was a Satellite shim's , center hole punch-out ( metal) floating inside the diff oil.
Poor QC. Cost me a whole diff. Arrma stepped up though.

 

[SrC]

Good question. Maybe running low on shock oil. Trying to take space . Idk man just an oops oh well. ??

A sloppy factory and production line. Horrible hap hazard Mfr conditions. Poor labor conditions. State run industries.
It's all part of that equation.

 

[SrC]

Does anyone know exactly where in China the Arrma products are made. Place of business?
I searched. Seems China hides much in this regard. Just me. Maybe I missed it?

 

[aahwhatever2]

Does anyone know exactly where in China the Arrma products are made. Place of business?
I searched. Seems China hides much in this regard. Just me. Maybe I missed it?

I guess that’s a big fat NOPE!!

I am interested as well. It would be interesting to see where the different manufacturers “all” have their RC’s made.

Just for a side note; Most don’t realize that Horizon Hobby was one of the largest distributors for almost all foreign made RC’s. It’s been a while since I lived in IL, but back then there were only two….or the top two distributors were based out of Champaign, IL. For the life of me, I can’t remember the other one??

 

[SrC]

The old Hobbico and Tower were big. I was using Tower Hobbies 30 years ago. I felt they were the best back then. Always had any part I needed. Even LHS's used them alot. HH became big in the last 3 decades.
There was no Internet back then. M/O or by phone.
I guess you know Arrma was originally a Hobbico brand.
DragonStar RC was a Chinese company that created the Axial and Arrma lines. DragonStar RC offered these lines for sale and Hobbico purchased them.
Hobbico Branded the names Axial and Arrma, and used DragonStar RC for exclusive production rights.
Hobbico went Bankrupt. HH bought Axial and Arrma during liquidation.
I cannot find DragonStarRC anywhere. Searched high and low. I think maybe they are still the production facilities? IDK. Under a different name perhaps. Could even be a Gov't owned company, like so many in China.
DragonStar RC was removed from all search results as of late. China covers their tracks for some reason. Even their GPS system is purposely incorrect. Address wise etc. Hiding their geography? Wierd stuff. A very closed country in many ways, yet they compete hard globally. Their Silk Road philosophy.
Try doing a search yourself. Maybe you will get lucky.

 

[slick2500]

I guess that’s a big fat NOPE!!

I am interested as well. It would be interesting to see where the different manufacturers “all” have their RC’s made.

Just for a side note; Most don’t realize that Horizon Hobby was one of the largest distributors for almost all foreign made RC’s. It’s been a while since I lived in IL, but back then there were only two….or the top two distributors were based out of Champaign, IL. For the life of me, I can’t remember the other one??

This is what I have found. Some of this info I found is sort of old from threads ranging from 2014-current.
Tamiya is made in Japan for their higher end stuff and the Philippines for their lower end stuff.
XRay is made in Slovakia, they even mold their own plastic parts.
Kyosho is made in Japan for their kits and the rtrs are made in Taiwan.
Traxxas is made in Taiwan.
Team Associated kits are currently made in Taiwan. Pretty sure the rtrs are made in China.
Losi rtrs are made in China.
Team Losi Racing is made in Taiwan.
Arrma and Axial are currently manufactured by FS Racing in China.
ECX is made in China.
Dromida is made in China
Duratrax is made in China.
Yokomo is made in Japan.
HB Racing is made in Taiwan.
HPI Racing is made in China used to be made in Taiwan.
Tekno is made in Taiwan.
Mugen is made in Japan.
Serpent is made in China.
Schumacher is made in the UK and China.