i havent seen much posted in regard to mt2 suspension... so i was wondering what u guys recommend and for what surfaces. i have a few sets of springs and various silicone fluid to try out on mine and will post results at the weekend, weather permitting and if any interest is shown in this thread that is...

currently i have the ultra lx front shocks all round, 50 or 55wt fluid in all 4 and stock pistons, with stock ofna black springs on the front and the heavier purple springs on the rear. lower mounts are modded to be very outboard on all, fronts are very inboard at the top, with the rears in the middle top of the towers. ARO towers front and back. shafts are sitting level. its set "square" at the back and a little toe in and -2 degees of camber at the front. all of that gives me about 1.5" of droop, 1.75" of up travel, with 1.5" ground clearance on low profile tmaxx tyres. absolutely no real idea if any of that droop or uptravel is sensible or not...

this works very well on smooth surfaces for braking and grip off the line and tmaxx wheels n tyres dont upset it but they understeer a lot, its great with skinny buggy wheels tho, still only on smoother stuff, but very neutral and grippy. but its too stiff and slow for rougher offroad stuff. understeer/push is my main issue so im gonna try softer springs and lighter oil/fluid to get a happy compromise - in the front especially.

soooo - which shocks, springs, oil and mounting points etc do u use and how does it handle on what type of surface?

I think this is another good thread you started PJ. I don't know squat about adjusting my suspension, but will be looking foward to learning anything I can from this thread. Currently, all my trucks are running the stock suspension setups except for the fabulous ARO towers on my MT2.

wowe... a little more technical than I am when it comes to the mt2... I will measure mine, but primarily I'm concerned with spring rates, shock fluid and travel... I'll check this evening and post the results..

The original CEN shocks I had were running 15wt in the front and rear with medium springs. There were two spacers on the rear shocks to give the springs a bit more tension and a better stance. Now I have the buggy shocks on there I was quite surprised to find that it took 40wt all round to give the same feel and stance as the CEN shocks. The current buggy shocks are medium springs with stiff springs at the top. This is quite soft really but it keeps the truck level while running on bumpy grass or beach. Not sure if this will be any help to anyone as I reckon shock characteristics depend on driving style and terrain as much as anything.

I am running t-maxx aluminum shocks all around.. I forget the brand but I think its integy... I have them set so the truck sits with the cvd's and dog bones level.. I am running soft springs in the front and medium in the rear with 25 weight oil all around.. I have small shock limiters in the shocks to prevent bottoming out on jumps due to the soft settings... I have tried harder springs and heavier oil, but the truck bounces too much... I am very happy with the current settings especially on rougher surfaces... I have the shocks set on the innermost top hole and the outermost bottom for normal running but move the the outer top position for larger jumps only... I will eventually pick up dr hondas shock towers, but mine are still good for now... Poor judgement.. I don't know what camber and droop settings I run on the truck but I do run a slight bit of negative camber on all wheels.. seems to work better that way...

I am going to show my geekness again. Can you guys explain negative camber? I know it is something to do with the way the wheel is aligned with the chassis, but I am not sure if it's the vertical or horizontal adjustment.

Camber is when the wheel is sloping when you look at it from the front. Negative camber is when the top of the wheel is closer to the truck, positive camber is when the bottom of the wheel is closer to the truck.
Toe in is when the front of the wheel is pointing inwards, toe out is when the front of the wheel is pointing outwards.
There is another adjustment called caster but to be honest I'm not sure about this one myself! Hope this helps.

Thanks Scouser. That is a very good explanation. I appreciate it.

explainations and what does what can be found here - http://users.pandora.be/elvo/ very useful little site if u are struggling with handling issues or just curious.

weather is looking not too bad for the weekend, but i really dont want to run it if its much below 10 degrees C tbh - still not got round to getting a new temp gun, how naughty am i...?

I would take 10C right now... We just had a snow storm of around 12 inches and its cold... below 30 or -2C... ran the trucks yesterday in around 3 inches of frozen snow.. had a blast..I love running in the snow and cold... less people around at the track...

u not concerned about engine wear? or do u wrap the cooling heads with foil or similar?

HAHA. and I would love 30 or -2 right now. In Aberta we just got about a foot of snow as well but here it is -15 F or -26 C. I am having trouble setting my suspension in this weather becasue as soon as i go outside the shock oil gets really viscous. Can anyone reccomend a good shock set up for really cold temps?
Thanks

man your lucky yesterday it was -25C and today its +6C and a cant run my truck because its all slop

Poor judgement... I don't do anything special to the engine other than make sure it warms up completely before I run it... I have a several trucks and they all run well in the winter... My biggest problem is waterproofing not the cold... I can handle rain, but snow gets packed into everything and melts getting water into places where it shouldn't... As far as the shocks go, I haven't had too many issues.. I run high quality silicone oil and it seems to work fine.. I don't wear gloves when I drive, so if I can't stand the cold, I don't run it...

what id give for some snow and a proper winter... all damp, wet and miserable here...

Cenracer - and the engine still has compression when the weather warms up?

ive read so many posts saying that engines run in winter will have worn due to the temps not getting up properly, and come summer they are low on compression... its put me off running mine in the cold - u reckon its not a problem?

PJ, I broke my HPI S25 engine in last February and it has been brilliant, the cold weather break-in didn't seem to affect it at all. One thing I have done for winter running, I change the body I fit to one that doesn't have any extra window vents cut out. It may only be a small difference but it stops any wind chill from cooling the engine too quickly.
Come to think of it, my first NT16 was broken in during January and it lasted two years before the compression gave out.

The ambient air temp shouldn't make a difference. What is going to kill the compression is not running it at the proper temp. Too low of a temp causes excess piston/sleeve wear.
When I run mine in the cold weather I will wrap the head with tin foil and remove just enough of it to keep it at the correct temp and I check the temp quite frequently to make sure that it stays in the correct operating range. I strongly recomend using a temp gun for this.



rolland

aye, sounds sensible to me

Like I said.. proper warm up is key... I always run a little lean anyway so getting hot is not a problem....I have a venom temp quage on all my trucks and a handheld as a backup..

well, english weather is definately all screwed up... it must have been around 12 degrees c today, its december for gods sake... madness

maybe i got a bit too technical on the shocks front... ahem... suffice to say that 4 softer springs and some 40wt fluid in the front has made things a lot nicer, some 30wt would probably be spot on - some is on its way. i can only drop the truck from about 18 inches before it slaps the chassis on the floor, but its loads better for it overall.

i guess its all too easy to go too stiff with these little trucks, reading the above posts anyway... im running these shocks slightly lighter than the 1/8 buggy guys, which makes sense i suppose.

ya same here in sk canada it was only +6C, i got my trcuk out and ready to run but the batteries where dead what is a good replace ment for non-rechargeable batteries, should i get rechargeables or can i get a battery pack?
edit: forgot to tell you its a cen mt2 im talkin about

A couple of 6v hump pack rechargables is the best bet. They will give the servos more oomph (technical term), and save money in the long run, double bonus!!

do you know where i can get them and can i run the im the controler as well, and what brand do you recomend?
and where can i get a charger?

Rechargable receiver packs are available through every model shop. They are a very popular upgrade. The battery packs are specifically designed for the receiver not the transmitter, they have their own ones. Brands such as Orion, Peak and Team Magic are among the most common but I doubt if there is much difference between the brands. They come in hump pack or flat pack. The hump pack ones fit the CEN battery box. Hope this helps buddy.

thanks ill check my lhs next time im in the city