sperera's baja experience begins

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I would think it will be hard to make the shocks as soft as you want for track and grass riding then also great at jumping. you will need to find the sweet spot in between. I also gave up on the FG oil since the others are easier to get and cheaper by far in the states. You will get a bouncing wagon if you have too stiff a fluid in the shock. You may want to keep the springs and lower the oil weight and see how it effects it. JM2C.:D
 
yes I think im going to try a lighter oil first and see how that goes. considering im running now 4000wt what do you think I should try next?

oh i also just paid for 2 sets of wheel wizards and 1 set rear despo rims and bow tie tyres, already got the fronts last week. ill be tearing up the grass in no time :)
 
If you lower the oil weight and keep the springs the same the shocks will take the same compress the same as the spring has not changed but extend quicker as the oil is thinner. If you want something similar to a HPI baja style setup i would start with the same oil they use in theirs. I had this trouble with my G3R, i ended up putting in the stiffest springs they made and trying 30-50wt oil to fine tune what i wanted. I would also stop using the fg oils and swap to another brand. Get what ever you LHS stocks mine stocks mugen oil so i use that in all my gear.

A more expensive way would be to wait for the Mecatech adjustable off road shocks to come out. The on roads are already available. There are no different oils to try just 4 sets of springs and the shocks are externally adjustable for compression and rebound.
Type in this part number 001045 at http://www.pitstop-shop.nl/
 
thanks heaps for the info. i wont be looking at new shocks as ive just forked out a small fortune on these and they are good, just need to be tuned to how I want them.

i think ill visit my local hobby shop and see what oils they have, i think they stock Losi stuff.

if its got 4000wt i might try the 3000wt? what do we think?
 
just took a quick vid of the baja to show the suspension reaction time, time it takes from fully depressed to push out again, thanks to the wife for that.

tell me what you think, its only short but I hope its enought to give an idea of whats going on.

 
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my stock 2wd baja was exactly the same, horrendous rebound times. I stuck tome lighter oil in and it is perfect for grass track. I need a little more spring preload though for uneaven tracks as I keep grounding out now (i've not made any spacers for it yet, but will do eventualy).

For info I used 600cst EDITrc oil, got no idea what this is in other manufacturers ratings!
 
Just remember that when you change oil brands the oil weights will have different names. Your 4000wt may only be 40wt in losi, 1000wt and up is normally reserved for diff oils in 1/8th scale stuff and will be a lot thicker. My advice would be to get say 30-50 and try them out. Remember also that if you want something in the middle a general rule of thumb is that if you mix too oils of the same brand say 60+20 together in equal amounts than the resulting thickness of the oil is half the total number. so 60+20=80 so the new weight of the mixture is 40 as long as you mixed it 50:50. IF you get stuck and have the patience you can add more of one than the other and it will affect it a little.

Good luck it can be a tricky thing.
 
sperera said:
thanks heaps for the info. i wont be looking at new shocks as ive just forked out a small fortune on these and they are good, just need to be tuned to how I want them.

i think ill visit my local hobby shop and see what oils they have, i think they stock Losi stuff.

if its got 4000wt i might try the 3000wt? what do we think?
Click to expand...

I have been having problems too & tried the KC balloon springs. These made a slight difference but nothing major. As you say the compression is ok but the rebound is slow. I was informed by Rossendale Models that the standard shocks only need 2000 or 3000 in them. These guys race 5ths so I took their advice and bought FG 2000wt. I haven't tried it yet cos I been busy with work but will be doing over the next week. If you haven't made up your mind by then I will let you know how I get on.
 
How many holes do the Baja shocks or these have in them. The amount of holes will also make the difference in the rebound of each weight of oil.
 
i don't know the number of holes but ill try and find out from the guy that made em.

dwarfy that would be great once you try the lighter oil
 
well i didnt get a chance to buy any shock oil over the weekend but I managed to find an absolute awesome bash spot yeasterday. dandy show grounds, they had an on road meeting there where I usually bash so went to another part that was full of dirt tracks around trees, made a small flat course and had a ball.

was there by myself so no pics or vids but ill talk a couple of mates into coming with me and hopefully get some next time.
 
BUGGER! :( Came across my first problem with the FG Baja last night that wasnt the result of a crash. Giving it a bit of a clean and noticed that every fin on the flywheel, side closes to engine has been snapped off! Pull start side is fine.

Serves me right for not going the crankcase mod!

Anyone know if its possible to replace the flywheel without taking the engine out? I really don't want to pull the engine out as I hate trying to align the gears.
 
Hey Spera, i don't have my FG baja yet but from work on my HPI BAJA and pictures of your baja it looks possible to do but hard. You would have to remove the fan cover and mount accordingly and wouldn't you have to pull the engine out to do the mod anyway. I know outerwears make a cover for under the engine but i am not sure if it will go on with the FG engine mounts.
http://www.davesmotors.com/s.nl/c.885035/n.1/it.A/id.6362/.f
 
thanks, yeah i need to pull the engine out to do the crankcase mod anyway but don't want to do this till Im with mates in case i run into trouble, never pulled and engine out of a 4WD fg before, im concerned I wont be able to nut out the tensioners etc.
 
Than i would say do it in the car. The only real thing you need is a piston stopper so you can undo the bolt and a flywheel puller. these can be bought from DDM.
 
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