montrealer

Just wondering if there are any good aftermarket aluminum threaded shocks that fit the XRAY T2'007. The stock ones are OK but I just feel that plastic is like an insult to the rest of this awesome car. Keep in mind the way they are attached to the tower and arms requires a specific type of ball link.

WalawalaStore

Hi,

My friend has a T2 and he switched to Tamiya's TRF ones, they are lower in price, excellent quality and precision.

Regards

Joaquim

lee172

got em for my tourer, easy to build and they are smooth as silk.

http://www.rcstation.com/eshop/catal...oducts_id=2393

or the fluorine coated shocks..

http://www.stellamodels.net/catalog/...oducts_id=1354

cheech4

I saw those shocks and they have 3 different sets, they have blue, gun metal, and black. any difference between the 3?

C.A.R.

The blue and the gunmetal are identical, the blue ones have just been anodised in blue, for looks obviously

The Black ones are new, the newest in fact, and are supposed to have a much harder inner coating, and the harder the surface on the inside of the piston, the lower the friction. They look really good too!

They are the only differences, they all come with shock setting parts, to adjust length and piston ring/spacer. All of them are very good, probably the only thing that cvan compliment your XRay properly!

Chris.

cheech4

i agree, i may pick me up a set

Foxy

Xray make some of the best shocks in the game, not only are the plastic bodied shocks smoother in operation than the ally bodies ones, they are lighter, which is very important. Not to mention the awesome adjustable pistons. No upgrade required, in my opinion. Same shocks on my NT1...

If I had any other car with ally threaded body shocks, I'd be asking myself 'how I can get myself a set of T2 shocks?'.

Lunchboxer

Best shocks in da business, the Tamiya TRF shocks... !

cheech4

good point taken, i know xray makes some of the best shocks out there, i thought maybe the trf shocks might help, only because i have heard some people using them. BUT since you put it that way i guess i will save the money for something else.

TenergyRep

Threaded plastic is better, not only because of the weight and wear issues, but also the cost. Imagine, if you will, having 2 or 3 sets of shocks in your parts box, each with different oil and pistons. You could do that reasonably without having to shell out $50+ for each set of shocks.

cheech4

another good point, thanks

Lunchboxer

Why do you guys think the plastic wears better than the aluminum cylinder w/ hard coated surface??

C.A.R.

It probably does, thinking about it. If the plastic is ABS then the surface is always very smooth, but plastic doesn't look as good of course. The 'it's lighter' argument may not hold, as TRF shocks are lightweight aluminium. They are stronger than plastic too, but there aren't many forces stressed on the shocks on-road. It's off-roaders that really need the added strength.

Remmember though, TRF shocks do have an inner coating that makes them silky smooth. The only advantage left I feel is the price of the plastic shocks vs the TRF ones. But heh, if you haven't got money in this game you aren't going to be top-level anyway....

Chris.

TenergyRep

I went out and bought some aluminum shocks for my TC4, the AE hard anodized ones. I had to take one set back because the inside of the body had chatter marks from the machining process. It made the shocks VERY sketchy in operation.

Foxy

C.A.R - The ally shock bodies (just the bodies on their own) are double the weight of the plastic ones. Aluminium might be light compared to steel, but compared to plastic, it weighs a ton. As for durability, no question, the ally ones are much stronger. But we're talking about a touring car (an electric as well), not a monster truck or even a buggy where I would absolutely recommend ally shocks, due to increased durability and a few extra grams not being a problem. In this case, however, definitely not worth it, no benefit to be had whatsoever.

TenergyRep

My theory is this with XRay being who they are ,making top quality TCs like they do, if they thought that aluminum shocks would be better the car would have come with them.

Lunchboxer

Why not send an e-mail to XRay and ask them?!

I still think that a properly machined metal surface (remember, you can't really machine plastic precisely..) and then coated w/ slippery material (say, DLC, Ti-N, etc.) is probably still the best way for high precision application..

Actually, if the X-Ray kit is $1,000 instead of $400.. I am going to bet that it will come w/ aluminum shocks w/ DLC inner coating, w/ teflon pistons and Ti shaft...

Hey, just LB's typical unscientific comment.. LOL!

MonkeyFist

At the machine shop I used to work at we used to cut plastics down to +-.0005, I'd call that precision.

Lunchboxer

Is that pretty easy to do?!

Are they special plastic?!

Lunchboxer

From rc411.com



XRAY Aluminum Shock Absorber

Posted on Thursday, August 30, 2007 at 8:07 AM by chilly

Official Press Release:

Premium XRAY aluminum shock absorbers are specially developed and designed to work with both the T2 (electric touring) and NT1 (nitro touring) platforms. These unique black hardcoated aluminum shocks are loaded with all of the features needed for today’s racing. Whether you need ultra-fine shocks for your lightweight electric touring car or ultra-reliable shocks for your nitro touring car, the new XRAY shocks have you covered.


The unique XRAY aluminum shock absorbers have interchangeable internal parts, giving you the option of installing 1 or 2 silicone O-rings. You can also choose between fully-adjustable 4-step pistons, or you can choose fixed 1-piece precision pistons. No matter what you choose, all pistons are ultra-true and round thanks to a very special mould design, resulting in ultra-free movement of the piston inside the shock body.

The XRAY aluminum shock absorbers come with all the necessary parts to build one pair of shocks (2 shocks). Springs and shock oil are not included and must be purchased separately.

Features

• The aluminum shock body is precision CNC-machined on the world's most precise German long-turn CNC machine and every piece is robot-inspected and measured to ensure maximum precision and tolerance. This is especially important with the inner diameter of the shock body to ensure that each one has an identical inner diameter to guarantee ultra-free shock piston movement.

The aluminum shock body is machined from exclusive Swiss 7075 T6 aluminum ensuring maximum strength and rigidity. The shock bodies are black hardcoated using XRAY's own fully robotic colorcoating line with purpose-mixed color fluids, ensuring a very even layer of color coating is applied to each shock body. After the coating process, every shock body is manually checked with high-precision callipers to ensure that the inner diameter of each shock body is exactly within the very stringent tolerances.

• The shock cartridge has been designed for self-centering shim(s) to hold 1 or 2 silicone O-rings, guaranteeing perfect alignment in the shock body. A finely-threaded aluminum shock lower cap secures the silicone O-rings and shims in the shock body.

• Finely-threaded spring preload collars are used to make ride height quick and easy. Even in very dirty conditions it is still possible to very precisely adjust ride height.

• The upper aluminum cap features a small vent hole that makes shock assembly very predictable and easy, since excess shock oil will escape through this vent hole ensuring that only the proper amount of the oil is inside the shock assembly. A super-soft silicone membrane supported by a miniature foam pad (inserted inside the membrane) provides proper dampening characteristics.

Basic Setup: 1 O-ring Setup

For 1/10 electric and nitro touring cars (for example, XRAY T2 and NT1, respectively) XRAY suggests using the 1 O ring setup as a basic setup. The 1 O-ring setup will result in super-smooth action due to improved free movement of the shock rod, providing extra traction and damping.

When installing 1 silicone O-ring, use one O-ring and one think and thick shim in the lower shock body assembly.

Note that using the 1 O-ring setup (as opposed to the 2 O-ring setup) may cause the shock to leak very slightly through the single O-ring. THIS IS COMPLETELY NORMAL. Regular servicing and maintenance is required when using the 1 O ring setup to replace any lost shock oil.

Optional Setup: 2 O-ring Setup

Using the 2 O-ring setup ensures consistent damping throughout long finals, and less servicing and maintenance will be required due to less inherent oil leakage than the 1 O-ring setup. When using the 2 O-ring setup, the shocks will still work freely and smoothly but not as smoothly as with the 1 O-ring setup. When installing 2 silicone O-rings, there are two very thin shims between the O-rings to ensure that the O-rings fit properly in the lower shock body assembly.

Part# 308305

cheech4

any idea when these shocks will be available?? if they are not that is.