big bores

[basey]

Is any one running big bors on thir fs or fs 2 do they make a differen.

[mattb]

I ran mine for the first time on sunday at chadderton,i was realy impressed with them,the car seamed better over the ramps and bumpy carpet and seamed to land better of the jumps but i think on a higher grip track slightly stiffer front springs than the yellow ones would be an improvement as they seam quite a bit softer than the old silver springs,im going to try going up in oil and lying the shocks down a bit first,then i minght try some stiff shumacher big bore springs using the old spring retainer cups as the shuey springs taper in at the bottom.

[Neil Skull]

sounds like a plan, would be interested to know if the schuey ones fit.

[RogerM]

The Schumacher springs DO fit, I run them on the Scorpion as I want a #80 equivelent that isn't currently available from X-gear / Kyosho.

Mattb, I think you will find the issue your having is with pistons and not spring stiffness, standing the shocks up would help, laying them down would only make it feel even more floaty and "soft".

I am working (when I get time) on pistons for the big bores. I spoke to Shin about it at the weekend, will keep everybody posted.

[mattb]

roger,i dident have any issues with the car sunday it was ace chadderton isnt that high grip,i was just thinking on carpet or astro minght need stiffer front springs but i think going up in oil will sort it.

[Gayo]

You can also use the outside hole on the front arm. Th'as what I'm planning to do on high grip carpet tracks before trying other springs (specially after spending so much money for them :o)

[RogerM]

All true but it doesn't give the same effect as smaller piston holes.

It all depends on how you drive to, if your silky smooth you can get away with a much softer front end (damping wise) than if you monster the car. For example if I try to run Nick Caro's setup I end up with a broken car in the first 2 minutes, totally beyond me how he gets them around at the pace he does but it sure suits him! I was running significantly stiffer pack-damping than Nick was on Sunday at Ardent and could honestly have done with more!
I was running the same front end set up as Elis as it happens but Elis likes a looser rear than I do, but then he's a superstar.

[/tobys]

So, which springs/oil/pistons are most folk running front and rear with the big bores?

[RogerM]

Toby, first race meeting outdoors with the big bores on the FS2 this weekend at Kidderminster. I have made up some alternative pistons to try but starting with the stock ones so I can do a comparison throughout the day.

Will let you know what I find out.

[/tobys]

Cheers Roger :thumbsup:

[/tobys]

Toby, first race meeting outdoors with the big bores on the FS2 this weekend at Kidderminster. I have made up some alternative pistons to try but starting with the stock ones so I can do a comparison throughout the day.

Will let you know what I find out.

How'd it go Roger?

[RogerM]

I was at a wet Kidderminster where the dirt sections had cut up and rutted badly. Remember Kidderminster has no real jumps / air time.
I still find the stock 5x1.2 pistons to not be to my personal tastes. I find that they exibit all the traits of too small a hole / insufficient holes in the rear and the opposite in the front. On a smooth carpet track the stock pistons seem to work very well though as they soften off the snatch/bite from mini pins and the rear packs up nicely to absorb the landings from the giant jumps that seem to have found favour on indoor tracks these days.

I have made up some 5x1.1 and 5x1.3 pistons (tappered) and have tried 4x1.2 and 6x1.2 (again tappered)

On Sunday I tried both the original shocks (3B/35wt front, 3A/30wt rear) then the big bores firstly with the stock 5x1.2 pistons and then the 5x1.1 (front) and 5x1.3 (rear).

Going from the original shocks to the big bores with 5x1.2 (35 front, 25 rear as that is what I'd settled on after trying 3 combinations in practice) the fastest laptime was just over 1s slower than with the original shocks. This was due to the car suffering a lack of initial turn in from the front end rolling too fast and the rear 'hopping' as it seemed unable to react quickly enough.

Going to the 5x1.1 (30wt oil) and 5x1.3 (30wt oil) and the car was back to how I like her to drive, a nice and responsive nose with a planted rear. Laptimes were back to where they were on the standard shocks.
Spring wise I have fairly well settled on Gold on the front and White on the rear.

There is still MUCH testing to do to find the best combinations though. The way I see it is that the standard kit shocks are still just about the best shock ever included in a buggy kit, I personally don't see the big bore shocks as a "must have" item, certainly not the point of anybody being put off running a ZX5-FS that doesn't have them fitted.

Where they offer the advantage is in landings off big jumps (where they are easily noticable over the kit shocks) and in taking away some of the agression from the ZX5 which some (very few) people have found not to their tastes. I personally like the super alive feel the car has though.

I would suggest to anybody that they try the ZX5-FS, it's a truely fantastic car. If you feel that it's a bit too "alive" or your having issues with landing jumps then go for the big bore 9or indeed if you just fancy them)

[/tobys]

thanks for the breakdown Roger. :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Shame the springs are so expensive, as it makes getting a setup with them either:-

a) very time consuming (cos you buy the springs for next week based on the outcome of last weeks run :yawn: )

b) very expensive (cos you end up buying a range of springs at £15 a pop :cry: )

the good news is though that it sounds like they are not a "must" have unless you run on big air tracks.

[RogerM]

Toby, get the FS mate, sure you'll love it. By the time you have it how you want it on the stock shocks there will most likely be several variations on an outdoor setup for them which will "get you in the ball park".

If your at a MAM or Ardent pop over and have a run with mine if you need any further convincing :D

Big bores or not the ZX5-FS is awesome