22 Shock rebuild

[jimbo_468]

Hi All,

I have a TLR22 and I want to rebuild the shocks as I haven't done this since I brought the car second hand.

I've been informed that the shock caps can be changed with plastic items (from the RTR version?) so that it has bleeder screws. Is this a one for one swap so to speak?

I also want to change the springs - now when I look at the springs and measure (whilst on the buggy) do I measure the width of the spring to get the size? it seems like they are about 16mm. Is this the standard size, as a lot of springs are either 12mm or 16mm. If my springs are the 16mm, will this effect my ability to change the shock caps or are they all the same size.

Any help is much appreciated.

Jim.

[diago999]

Hi Jim,

So in terms of shock caps, losi also do aluminum bleeder ones, but they are about a tenner,
it looks like the rtr caps will fit the standard shock bodies as it would be abit stupid to make the rtr shocks different from the standard ones, (I may be wrong here)

in terms of springs, I didnt even realize that they did different sizes, it appears the rears are always 16mm though,

http://www.jemodels.com/electric-mod...tegory_id=1340

hopefully someone will be able to post up the front size, or provide an insight as to why different sizes exist!,

and don't worry about the ability to change the shock caps as this isn't what the springs rest on, its the shock preload adjuster that the spring sits on.

[Chris Elworthy]

Hey Jimbo,

As the previous poster said the plastic RTR shock caps are a direct fit but however a little pricey at £10ish a pair they are also a tuning option. The aluminium bleeder caps are designed to use an O ring as a seal rather than using the rubber bladder that sits inside the standard shock cap. TLR shocks work at their best when you run no rebound in the shocks, zero rebound is when you push the shock shaft into the shock body (with the spring off) and the shaft does not get pushed out again through the pressure/air in the shock. Achieving 0% rebound with the standard bladders is very very difficult even impossible in my opinion as the bladder just creates pressure in the shock body that will always force the shock shaft out.

I found changing my shocks to this configuration and replacing the standard shock O rings with the TLR low friction type (comes in a bag of 8 for around £3 if I remember) was probably the biggest improvement in handling I made with my 22 especially when handling small bumps and rutted tracks where the standard shocks would bounce a lot more.

Hope this helps

Chris

[Chris Elworthy]

Sorry forgot to mention the springs. The rate of the spring on TLR shocks is with a splash of colour on the end of the shock. The standard rear shock springs are yellow which are rated at 2 ibs, this is the default spring for most TLR drivers on the rear in the UK so if you have these I wouldn't change for now. The standard front springs however are the soft Red type, these are generally seen as far too soft for high grip UK tracks when using mid motor config. I suggest you obtain a pair of the Blue front springs, rated at 4ibs, these with the yellow rears were my standard setup practically everywhere I raced. If you want a few other springs as tuning options i suggest the White rear springs at 1.8ibs and front Green springs at 3.6ibs as these could be useful to change to in slippery low grip conditions or if the track becomes very bumpy.


Chris

[Chris Elworthy]

Sorry, in the first post I was talking about using the aluminium bleeder caps priced at £10 a pair....wasn't very clear!!


Chris

[Gnarly Old Dog]

The RTR shock caps are completely interchangeable with the standard TLR 22 alloy ones or the alloy ones with the bleeder valves. The 22 series of shocks are referred to as 12mm which is the internal bore of the shock - not the outer or inner/outer diameter of the springs. The TLR 8ight 2.0 had 15mm shocks and the new 8ight 3.0 series has 16mm - that's where the 12mm / 16mm confusion is likely to be coming from.

Here's some part numbers that might come in handy

TLR5065 - Alloy Caps with Bleeder Valves + Screws (Pair)
TLR5074 - Low Friction Black O-Rings (8)
TLR5093 - Standard (grey) O-Rings (8)
LOSA5006 - RTR (Plastic) shock caps with Bleeder Valves (set of 4)
TLR334000 - O-Rings for Bleeder Shock Caps

Springs
TLR5172 - TLR5177 22 Buggy Front Springs (Red / Orange / Silver / Green / Blue / Black)
TLR5165 - TLR5171 22 Buggy Rear Springs (Grey / White / Yellow / Pink / Red / Orange / Silver)

You should be aware that the standard TLR22 kit shocks use a diaphragm in them at the top of the oil / inside the cap and as such, once the cap is fitted, they need no further o-ring sealing.

The RTR 22 comes with the plastic caps with bleeder valves that make shock bleeding much easier. This makes the shocks emulsive in action (a mix of air + oil) whereas the diaphragms keep the air out but make the shock more tricky to bleed consistently. The emulsive style caps require sealing either with the included O-ring with the plastic RTR caps or, if you use the alloy bleeder valve caps, you can use the external o-ring TLR334000 that fits over the shock cap threads on the shock body and which is compressed by the cap once it is screwed on.

As for O-rings, the standard shocks are fitted with 2x grey O-rings which provide a long-lasting shock with minimal oil weepage. The downside is increased shock stiction (the initial friction of the shaft moving past the o-ring). This makes the shock less active and many racers will prefer the action of the shocks with low-friction O-rings but these require more regular maintenance. Some racers will fit one grey and one black O-ring to achieve a sort of best of both worlds.

If you are refreshing your shocks for the first time, you may notice that the TiNi coating is scratched or worn from the shock shaft (mainly on the rears). It is worth refreshing the shafts at the same time as the seals for that super plush feel. You can always keep the old ones for emergency spares. TLR5087 and TLR5088 are the part numbers for the buggy Front and Rear shock shafts. Both come as pairs.

HTH.

[jimbo_468]

Wow - Guys, thanks so much with that info and taking the time to write it. There is some great tips there which I shall follow.

I'm on JE Models site trying to put an order together and the description says:
Losi 22: 16mm Front Shock Spring 3.5 Rate (Green/Pair)

The part number for these is TLR 5175

I take it this is the normal size? confusing.com

[Gnarly Old Dog]

I'll let Ry or Stu confirm if it's a typo on their website (we HHUK have listed them as 12mm in our system) but I can confirm that TLR5175 is the correct part number for a pair of green 3.5 Rate Front shock springs for a 22 buggy and they're the one that are almost always fitted to the front of my 22 Buggy.

[jimbo_468]

Thanks again for the info - much appreciated!!

[Garry Spice]

Jim...blue or black fronts, pink or yellow rears for maritime.
55 pistons all round, losi 25wt in the rear and 30wt front.

[jimbo_468]

Cheers Garry, was going to facebook you earlier to see what you used. Thankyou!!

[absolute alignment]

I did not realize how little I knew about shock rebuilds! I'm off to model shop today to order some caps with bleed screws and o rings.

Cheers for the advice guys.