ASK Cub Reporter, 06.12.2013, Version- Oooofah, More Questions

I have a ECX Torment that I am modding, and would like to know what kind of shocks/shock oil I should get for asphalt bashing. I already put in a brushless system, a metal transmission, and some street shoes. I would prefer is the shocks were 20-35 buck for eah front or rear set. ( total cost of 70 bucks or less).
Marcus F.

Cubby– Yo hey Marcus, thanks for the email, shoot me or Brian your snail mail so we can get ya out a big ole’ sticker pack.
I see that you have two options-
1. Install new uber shocks
2. Retain the stockers and tune them up

For going route #1- buy new Pro-Line Powerstroke shocks. These are slightly out of your budget but worth the extra cash. They’re tough, look awesome, and work like butter. Start by installing Associated 40 weight oil front and rear and ditching the stock two-stage springs. I say this because a straight rate spring will work better for on-road use, so install Losi “blue” springs front and rear. That should be a good baseline, then tune from there for your driving style and grip levels.

Route #2- Install Associated 70 weight oil in the front and 50 weight in the rear. Keep the stock rear springs, but go with Associated “red” springs in the front. This should be a good baseline for running on pavement or other high grip surfaces.

Whether you go route #1 or #2- Set ride height to arms slightly below level front, and bones slightly below level rear. This helps keep your CG down while still having more than enough travel to soak up road joints and the occasional rock. This is also fine for small jumps like curbs and such. Install washers to limit down travel under the shock pistons. You don’t need a bunch of down-travel when driving on-road, when you limit some out your truck will stay lower and be faster in the corners. Start with 5mm of spacers under each piston and go from there. Have fun, go fast, send pictures of your beast when you are done.

I have the Vaterra Glamis Uno. I read your review and I found it accurate. At the end you gave workability a D, which I find fair, but there was nothing difficult about setting gear mesh. It you meant taking off the cover, just unscrew it, and the bar that makes it impossible to remove, there is a screw in that bar, just to the right before shock. Once removed you can pivot that bar out and then take the cover off. Great review though, it’s an amazing buggy and worth the price.
Sean M

Cubby– Well ya of course our review was accurate, we aren’t the dinosaur media. LOL But seriously, thanks for the props. And… while you may think adjusting the pinion/spur mesh is great fun, it’s way more time consuming than on a typical buggy/truck. Adjusting mesh is one of the core mechanical jobs on an rc car, it should be easy, not a 5 step process. Understandably, for every upside (scale looks, great handling) there has to be a downside (work-a-bility). Building an rc car from the ground up is a huge series of compromises, and quite frankly I think Vaterra went the right way with the Glamis. I think what they gained in scale appearance and driving prowess was worth the extra wrenching time.

Overall, for bashing purposes, the Glamis Uno is the star of the Vaterra line-up. The Glamis has scale attributes without the downside
of lugging around a huge SCT body, and the stock power system has more than enough yank to do crazy stuff with. On top of all that, it is arguably the best driving 2wd we’ve ever tested. We fight over who gets to drive our review unit, it has a few downsides, but how it drives more than makes up for it.

That’s it for this week ya freaks, shoot your emails to me- Cubby at BigSquidRC.com. If yours makes the big-time you’ll get a free sticker pack, if I proclaim yours as “letter of the month” we’ll even send ya a brand spank’n new BSRC t-shirt. YOUR Cub Reporter