The plastic 'CVA' shock absorbers supplied with the Durga appear to be identical to the shocks supplied on the DF03 chassis cars. I didn’t think much to them when I reviewed that car – so, my hopes really weren’t high here.

The shock shafts are soft and scratch easily during assembly if you’re not careful - so take care. The front shafts aren’t even polished but instead come with a satin finish.

Whilst the damper bodies are different lengths front and rear, as you'd expect – rather strangely they are also different diameters!  The rear being larger.

Plastic moulded pistons are included for front and rear shocks (being different sizes - they aren't cross-compatible), and come in three different styles.  The holes in these pistons are pretty large, and all three pistons (both front and rear) feature the same sized holes – the ‘hardest’ piston having just one hole, and the softest having three.
In addition to the large holes, all the pistons have one slight flat area in their circumference where they were attached to the parts tree.  This is another area for oil to pass through.

The only difference with these shocks over the DF03 are the springs.  These darker coloured springs are significantly softer than those supplied with the DF03 – and with the same ‘hard’ oil supplied these actually feel significantly better than the under-dampened DF03.

The rear shocks are shorter than on the DF03 since it uses a shorter ball cup at the bottom. The shocks are approximately the same length as the 501X shocks. Tamiya have some Durga hop-up dampers due for release after this review is complete - but if they are as good as those supplied with the TRF501X, they will be a great upgrade.

Please note: - most images are from the Keen Hawk review - same shocks but easier than photographing the same parts over again.