Cut Springs?

[JasonA]

I do plan to eventually do the Savage shock conversion, but until then...

Cutting the springs a little bit on the 1:18 Nylints is pretty common -- for more articulation (at the expense of a slightly lower ride height). I haven't seen many people do that on that 1:6 trucks. I'm thinking of cutting the springs JUST to the point where the suspension arms stay off the downward travel tabs on the tummy. Right now, I believe both suspension arms ride on the downward travel tabs (in other words, ride height is maxed "up"). So in doing this, my ride height wouldn't change, but the spring rate would, for the better.

Unless someone says "NO, DON'T CUT THE SPRINGS!", I'm thinking of trying, a coil at a time, and see how she does. Any comments?

 

[hotrodzach]

go for it, if you mess up and want a new set instead of going with savage shocks i'll send you some cheap
-Dalton

 

[JasonA]

Thanks, 'preciate that! I'll let you know how it goes.

 

[taylor smith]

i cut about a half inch off mine and it worked great got almost and inch of travel. but i also cut the tabs at the same time.

 

[JasonA]

I ended up cutting a little less than 1/2" from mine also, just in the back. I lost some ride height, and the upper shock body was sitting less than 1/2" from the base of the spring = very little vertical travel. I ground 1/4" off the upper shock body to regain some of that travel, so in the end, I actually gained some suspension travel in the form of a shorter shock in the back. I don't really want to touch the fronts because the tires are already ALMOST into the body at full articulation, especially at full steering lock.

I haven't cut the travel tabs on the tummy yet. May still do it. But I really like how the Jeep is now. I may not even do the Savage shocks -- at least not yet.

Dalton, I will send you a PM.

 

[JasonA]

A follow-up:

After I ground down the upper shock body cylinders about 1/2" (mentioned above), the lower shock rod was bottoming out in the upper shock cylinder, and there was a very small (maybe 1/4" or less) gap between the upper shock cylinder and lower spring perch at full travel. Opportunity for still more travel here.

So I next cut about 1/4" off the top of the lower chrome shock rods. This allows for full shock travel, and the rear tires are almost getting close enough to the body for me to consider cutting the body (which I don't want to do). And the lower shock rods are still long enough so that they don't pull out of the upper shock cylinders at full extension.

So I think I'm there, exactly where I want to be. It just took me a few sessions of putzing around with it to get there.

 

[Gizmo]

so you are running the shocks at the stock locations right? Because with the triangulated shocks, my old jeep sat about half way down from max ride height.

 

[JasonA]

Yes, they are in the stock locations.

The rear ride height didn't really change MUCH after cutting the springs. The rear ride height used to be maxed out UP because the springs were so strong they would push the axle down so the arms were sitting on the tummy tabs. So just sitting there, the ride height was maxed out upward.

I wanted to cut the springs JUST enough so the arms would come off the tummy tabs, but not to really change the ride height. I did that by cutting one coil at a time, and re-testing. I got that where I wanted it to be, but then the spring was getting soft enough that there wasn't a WHOLE lot of resistance to travel, so it would bottom out fairly easily. So that's when I started cutting on the upper shock body and lower shock rod to get some more shock travel.

My next step is probably grinding the tabs off, and then using some limiting straps/chains. That will allow me to really dial in as much articulation as possible without letting the shocks come apart.

I would triangulate them, but I don't think I'd gain much at this point. I can already almost put the rear tire into the body at full tilt, and I don't want it to get to that point where I'd have to start trimming (I really like the stock body and like how it crawls now).

Maybe if I got another one with a Scorpion body, I'd go real extreme with it.

 

[wheelinjp]

I would move the shocks before cutting them. I did the mod mentioned here and now every time I flex it up the shocks come apart. So I had to make limiting straps for the shocks so they cant come apart anymore. I did all of this on the rear only thank god. I just had to buy new shocks on ebay to replace the cut ones. I found it easier to change ride height by moving the upper shock mounts in and up or down depending on the direction you want to go. It also flexes way better now with the shocks moved. By putting them at an angle it decreases the spring rate too, so making them softer in a sense. I have a 4th gen scorpion and found if you move the rear shocks in but dont cut the long tubes they ride on when you extend your rear w/b it works perfect, spaces the shocks out to work with the longer wheelbase= w/b.

 

[JasonA]

Yes, inboarding the shocks would have the same effect, and would provide for more articulation. I can't use any more (flex) because I have a Jeep body I don't want to cut. Like I said before, if I get another 1:6, but a Scorpion, I'll look at some more extreme stuff.

By the way, if your shocks came apart, it obviously means you cut too much off them. I can't even PULL the shocks apart when they're mounted on the vehicle, and the vehicle sure can't do it under its own weight. So I can actually probably trim a little further, but again, I don't want any more articulation at this point, so I'm going to leave it as-is.

 

[JasonA]

Flex

Here are a few pictures of my flex. This is using one plastic axle stand, stood up, under two opposite tires. This is pretty much full flex on mine now, and as much as the stock body can really handle. I'm sure the rear shocks are CLOSE to coming apart, but they do indeed stay intact the whole time. "thumbsup"

You can see on the second picture that, because the springs are cut, when one of the rear springs totally unloads, it will be completely loose on the shock -- in this case, with about 1/2" slack.

 

[DJEEPER]

i wasted time messing with those crappy nylint shocks. i was so much happier when i got the shocks for 10 bux off of ebay that went on the savage 4-wheeler thing. yeah, they are green, but they dont come apart!!

I also took the oil out of it so it would re-center to a level body. I had to make a rear shock tower and i inboarded the fronts using the shock nuts already in the nylint. It was pretty much a bolt on besides the rear shock tower and minor drilling.

JUST DO IT MAN!!!

 

[JasonA]

If I did it, I would keep them oil-filled. Otherwise, what advantage do they give over the stock Nylint shocks? My Nylint shocks don't come apart at full flex.

I would like to do the Savage shocks eventually. Just no time right now.