Kyosho Raider improving stock shocks performance

[OptimaFan]

As our daughter seemed to take some interest in RC cars, and a few years ago we regularly played together with a couple of toy grade 1/32 scale cars, with no speed control, and bang/bang left-right steering. After a while, it was clear she was ready for proportional controls. I didn't think running a Mid would be a great next step, would be a bit expensive if she hit a sidewalk at full speed with it. I read some good things about the durability of the Raider, and that it could be found cheap, with still enough cars being offered online to serve as parts donor, if needed.

I found a decent one, and cleaning it up, installing the radio gear, was pretty straightforward, except for some fiddling with the motor spacer. I wasn't too happy about the bouncy shocks. Filling with oil didn't seem very smart, with only a single o-ring at the bottom, and none at the shock cap.

Now I remembered having good results with friction grease on the Losi Micro T, so why not try it here. Here's a vid showing the results:

http://vimeo.com/113142906

The effect of the friction grease exceeded my expectations, bumps are really getting absorbed now. Naturally the shocks can't move as fast as smooth oil shocks, so on a fast succession of small bumps, it will skip some, but compared to the stock situation, it handles much better. First tests on a paved surface were fine. A few days back we ran the car offroad and it handled nice.

Maybe this is already commonly known, but I just wanted to share it.

[alcyon]

I was thinking of letting my daughters drive my swb mid..but with the epa on throttle reduced extensively.

[OptimaFan]

I'm running my cars with a basic radio, no epa adjust on throttle, only on steering.

By the way, does the link to the vid work? I had some problems at first, making it open the right window.

[optimaforever]

No problem, the video works and in great quality!
Indeed, the grease solution seems very clever, and way better than just stock friction. btw the Raider was a good solution to get cheap red shock collars but nowadays it's even cheaper to get Sco2014 ones... Well, the Raider's shock collars weren't exactly the same but they were tougher.

[tahustvedt]

Pretty cool. Maybe I'll do this to my Raider Pro. There isn't much friction in these friction shocks.

[OptimaFan]

Originally Posted by tahustvedt

Pretty cool. Maybe I'll do this to my Raider Pro. There isn't much friction in these friction shocks.

I think it's worth the try. In this case there was a big improvement in handling.

Keep a clean cloth at hand when working with friction grease, it sticks to fingers like glue almost.

[korreka]

I also restored and repaired a Kyosho Raider.

I translated from my blog: http://reparar-cochesrc.blogspot.com...ho-raider.html.
Sorry for my bad translation.

The car was like the picture: dirty, without motor, the speed controller did not work, tires that are loose from the tires, ..




I should clean and change the shock absorbers:


The car needs a motor. Before I must clean and grease:


Cleaning and whitening the wheels with hydrogen peroxide:




In the end, I paint the wheels with the white paint. I also placed a sponge inside the tires:



I paint the letters of the tire with the white paint:


I lubricate the transmission and the gears:


I place ball bearings instead of plastic bushes:



The motor is type 555 rewound by me so that it is faster:








I adjust the 15 teeth pinion:



Replacing front shock absorbers with other oil shock absorbers:


The rear shocks work well (they were previously replaced by the previous owner):


The receiver is Sanwa brand with the old standard; it is valid for an old Sanwa servo but is not compatible for a modern ESC:


I made an adapter for ESC (reversing + and - wires):


The car is already working well:


I will paint the body another day: