Shocks mounted rear or front (rear tower).

[wookieewonder]

Hi I'm a bit confused about shocks mounted either on front or rear of the rear tower. Always thought mounted rear would help give more traction and mounted on the front would help gain more steering. The xray website suggests the opposite?! (see attached jpegs) Its says shocks on front of rear tower for low traction. And vice versa for the shocks on rear. Unless they mean low traction as in will result in less traction? Either way it's not all that clear. Help! Thanks!

[neallewis]

yes I think xray were confused as well.
Try it for yourself if possible. I have.
Shocks to rear does shift quite a bit of weight rearwards and helps to move the rear weight bias to assist traction. Likewise shifting it forwards when mounted to front of arms and tower to increase steering and response.

[Buggyman]

On the xb2 I found that mounting the shocks on the front gave the car more of a direct feel and better on the tighter carpet track I was racing on. It seemed to be more nimble and sharper. I moved the shocks too the rear and found it ruduced rear droop a little and made the car feel more forgiving and safer to drive. It wasn't as good on the tighter sections of the track though and it seemed less nimble but did seem a little better under acceleration.

[jcb]

I've always found that mounting the shocks on the rear worked best in low grip conditions and mounting them on the front is better when the grip is high.

It's difficult to explain how it changes the feel of the car, but on the rear it feels a touch softer and more prone to bottoming out on heavy landings, while on the front the rear end seems freer and carries onto to rotate through the corner in my opinion.

Best bet is to try it and see what you like best.

[/tobys]

Originally Posted by wookieewonder

Hi I'm a bit confused about shocks mounted either on front or rear of the rear tower. Always thought mounted rear would help give more traction and mounted on the front would help gain more steering. The xray website suggests the opposite?! (see attached jpegs) Its says shocks on front of rear tower for low traction. And vice versa for the shocks on rear. Unless they mean low traction as in will result in less traction? Either way it's not all that clear. Help! Thanks!

I think what you have said second is what they mean in a roundabout way; in the example given, low traction means less traction generated by the buggy.

IIRC, Bent (Father of factory team driver) has previously explained it this way, either on here or on rctech...

My experience with other buggies echoes what others have said here - rear mounted makes the car safer/more consistent but a bit slower over a single lap, front mounted is faster but edgier/less consistent. YMMV however

[neallewis]

It could be something lost in translation or the linguistics, because if you read the hudy off road setup book there are other examples where it appears reversed, also I found the same on the original XB4 setup and marketing materials.

[wookieewonder]

Thanks for clearing that up guys. Most appreciated