PhatDads PhatShaft shock shaft Upgrade kit.

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Timmahh

Bajastafarian Madnes
PLUS member
Messages
3,371
Location
Michigan
Hello all. I just wanted to put up a lil info and some of my personal thoughts and opions on PhatDads PhatShaft upgrade kits. Let me start off by saying Thank You to Tom for taking the time and commitment to trying to get us better shafts. All the current shock options coming out are very exciting. Weve seem some preliminary reports so far so the next few months should really be interesting and exciting in this area of the Bajas Morph to BEAST MASTER, RCs KING OF THE HILL> lol

I was lucky to get an oppertunity to be one of the first to get set. I was firstly impressed with the packaging. Very nicely done in a vacuum seal bag.

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The Package I got Includes New Shafts, front and rear, with a modified lower body cap to fit the new shafts, and sturdy bottom mount with balls installed, which screws on and off the lower shaft for easy replacment in the field should the need arise.
You will also notice spring guides for the rears and new lower spring retaining caps to fit around the bigger shock shafts. Some of the parts are stock parts,
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and the upgraded pieces are very stout, though im unsure of the material used. Very Enginuitive I must admit.
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Once opened I was more impressed with the use of materials to make certain modifications. Very Crafty!!! The fact that the shafts are almost twice the diameter and everthing is smooth, not sloppy at all. I could see right off they are without a doubt beefy and should be up to the task!!!
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note: the shafts with the boots on are the stockers, without are PhatDads PhatShafts. The Phat Shafts are also a Tad longer than the stockers, by approximatly 1/4 inch but the shafts are the same length for travel.


So I went to work putting them in. Assembly was simple.

Remove shocks.
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Take the bottom spring cap and springs off, just the lower spring on rear shocks.
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Grab your wrenches
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and loosen and remove the lower shock cap, which includes the shaft and piston assembly. If you have your boots on, you will need to undo the top of the boot and pull it down. ouu la la

Set the shock body and top cap, still tight, to the side. Set it in a posistion allowing it to remain upright, so you don't have to refill the entire shock with fluid later.
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Now take the stock setup and remove the hyper adjust piston and put it on the new PhatDad Shock shaft. Note: any piston will work in any shock, front or rear.
Tighten the piston on the PhatDad shock so it is secure and snug. don't overtighten and don't forget the small washer on the bottom of the pistion. NO NEED FOR THE E CLIP!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! YAYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYYY.
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Nice BlueNutz on the PhatShaft too! LMFAO!

I chose to leave the boots off for the time being.

Because I didnt drain the fluid, I only needed to add a few drops of shock fluid ( Bel Ray 20w Fork Oil is what im currently useing ), and put it together bleeding it out before I tightened it up.

The best way I can describe the way I have them set up is once together, without springs, when I push the shaft completly into the body, and relaease it, the shaft will push back up about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch. I do try to bleed them so they rebound almost identically between each pair.

Once even, I set the hyper adjust, fully open I think is how I have it currently on all four, then reinstall the springs and put the shock back on.

I could immediatly feel the differance just when working the suspension by hand over a stock set up. the overall action is a bit smoother then it was before, and I set the stock shocks up the same way I did these.


As far as runtime I have only been able to burn thru two tanks.
My Main Tx is in for inspection, and its been a bit longer than expected, So I didnt run the 1st week I had them installed.

So last week I threw ole glitchy back in ( the stock radio and rx.lol ), and added a 2nd failsafe and signal cleaner/amplifier and put some track time in.

Now we are running a flat oval this yr, opposed to the semi bmx type we had last year. Our first few runs this yr included 5 or 6 bent shafts one a flat oval, due mostly to some rollovers. on a flat track? no jumps or bumps.

Im happy to report in the two plus tanks I put thru on ole glitchy before I blew the cylinder gasket saturday afternoon, all is working Great with PhatDads shock shafts. I beliive I have an earlier run of shafts, SS 303, where as the new ones are SS 404. Correct me if I am mistaken on this Tom.

There isnt any sign of noticable wear so far. I have not tore them back down yet. I am gonna toss on a new cylinder gasket and beat the snot out of them more this week in between the rain. I will be running this on some fairly uneven terrain, my side yard and other neighbors back yard area, which is all grass, and mowed, but pretty bouncy terrain with a few long runs to open up on.

I will also be going to a much more tough bashing area to put more abuse thru the shafts, but I suspect they hold up to anything we would expect our Bajas to make it thru and even some of the poop we don't.

Will they take a house jump? Maybe but I would susspect if they bent/broke, we would have a few other broken parts too, but I have NO DOUBT they should withstand the rigors of what some of us more demanding Bashers put our Bajas thru, without bending or other typical issues we are currently experiencing. I give them THREE THUMBS UP!
Please find installed pictures in the 1st reply below.

Once I put two more tanks thru, I ll put them apart and get more pics and an update as to condition and outlook.
But to date, they have Been Great. And after a few laps, one of the nibs is sold. So is the other but hes buying Harley stuff not Baja stuff atm. lol

Not all the stock shock parts are bad imo, so personally, I don't see a need for a full shock swap.

I will say Piggy Backs Surely have my Attention! thats a different story.

I can tell that the PHATSHAFTS Kits will be an essential part of the full equastion to a solid susspension system, and on their own, are an excelling choice to help combat SSBS ( Shock Shaft Bending Syndrome ).
Great Work Tom. I am looking forward to getting my motor back up again, and hopeing ole glitchy keeps me rolling as well as these PhatShafts are doing. Now if I can convince the Thunder and Lightning to go away, I ll be a happy Bajastafarian!

The run before I recieved the PhatShafts, I put 2 new stock lower rebuild kits on the rears, and promptly bent them both. First one was with-in the first 5 laps, the last one was near the middle of that same tank of fuel( after the 1st repair ), and I could tell I was no longer immune to Shock Shaft BS! lol.
Up until then, even in the hardest bashing sessions, I had only bent 3 shafts. and then bent 3 withing the first 3 tanks of the year. Must be making up for the good performance I had last year. lol

All in all I give these a Double BIG Thumbs UP~!~
see you all on the flip flot.
T
Team PhatDad
 
Thanks T you sold me. I ordered mine of Phat and he got them to me in OZ in 4 days. Excellent service. I've been beating them up in my BAJA and these are definitely the best upgrade for the budget BAJA basher. Thanks a million Phat. Top stuff....
 
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