Yikes! Yeah, I would also build these up if Dravtechs were $160 a set.

These use a 10mm spring, so Element, Dravtech, Mini-T, they all fit. Element pistons fit-- Enduro pistons fit, but remember, this is variances in +/-0.1mm were talking about-- go over and they don't fit, go under and they rattle around inside the bores.

@@CrawlerCanyon I just went through my bins and found loads of new Tamiya pistons. They are 9.9mm with a 3mm bore. I know we can 'buy' Dravtechs but I much rather go through the self building and making it work process. This video is gonna will be very helpfull, THX!

I like how it's universally ignored that dlux charges 10 doll hairs for assembly, which almost buys a pair of clones 😂

@@DIllybarification That 10 bucks is right out the window unless you own a pair of Channellock 926 to get the clones apart and back together. With Dlux, you can either pay them or buy the 926, and with the clones, you're buying the 926.

@CrawlerCanyon yes, but what I'm getting at is the fact that dravs are so "good"/premium; yet they don't come assembled. $80 + shipping... AND I have to assemble the set? It wouldn't be so bad if it wasn't $10 a pair. Like if it was $2, I wouldn't complain, but $10 for 2 shocks is ridiculous.

Happy birthday bro!

Well, I guess I should, as there are probably 10 of them in-service in the fleet right now.

I have not, becasue there were just too many red flags-- the swaged-in upper pivot balls (that are aluminum) the 3.5mm shafts, the numerous Amazon reviews stating that the included springs are too hard for practical use.

I added a link to the description, and might as well put one here as well. www.aliexpress.us/item/3256806277465165.html Since my set was ordered, AE is with them, there have to be a dozen "different ones." I have ti imagine that quality is going to vary from batch to batch as well.

@@CrawlerCanyon I ordered a set of the Fimonda ones. With tax (yay) they ended up costing just under 40 bucks. Found Traxxas rebuild kit and pistons here, for a total of 15 bucks or so, with shipping. Still way less than a set of dravs, and quite a bit less than a set of 2660. 😁

Nice video, there is also another option who has a 3d printer then can make a piston plate and bottom washer. I ran mine for a while and zero problems. Silicone seals from ali but i had a few bad sellers but now i find a good one.

Honestly, not surprising. I think QC between multiple sets of these is going to be all over the map.

@@CrawlerCanyon agreed

The problem with the included pistons isn't the single hole, it's that they don't fit the bore of the shock, so they practically rattle around. You can use Big Bore pistons, you'll want two packs of those as well bit.ly/49alykw

@CrawlerCanyon so, I ordered 4shocks(weeks ago) for $28/4 shipped, now two rebuild kits and two piston kits for $14 shipped. You think the shafts are ok?

The 10mm bore was almost the standard in older times-- so if you have older pistons from AE, Losi, etc. they will either fit or can be trimmed to fit. The older numbered pistons from AE are 10.1mm OD, so they're almost an interference fit in the ~10.1mm bore.

You can actually get away with the springs from the 90s on the long arm shocks, as there's so much threading on the bodies. But you're definitely better off with the type-specific springs. Oh, and never cut your springs-- as the get shorter they get harder. Less coils = stiffer.

@@CrawlerCanyon more than likely going to run Lizards. Trying to figure out the front geometry, it seems to move 1/4" to the driver side on the compression and back on the rebound. Shocks wont fully compress either. Panhard too long?

@@vb9300 if the chassis panhard attachment point is on the driver's side, axle swing to that side can indicate a panhard that's too short-- but more likely, the "triangle is off." The relationship between panhard, drag link, and upper link are all intertwined. If the length of one changes, the others all change with it. Set your rig at rest in RTR configuration, and measure from the chassis rail to the kingpin on both sides-- it should be the same, and odds are that it won't be. It's going to be off to one side a few millimeters. Adjust the panhard until it's equal on both sides-- this is easier to do with the drag link disconnected, because the servo will try to push-pull to it's resting position. Once the panhard is set, you will need to adjust the length of the draglink, and optimally, you want it to be the exact same length as the panhard. Servo type and position, along with horn length and every other variable might make this impractical. Try to get as close as you can. Depending on the axle, you might not completely get rid of swing, panhards are sometimes tricksy like that. If you can minimize bump steer, that's what we call a win. Oh, and have some shims and spacers-- at rest, you want the panhard and drag link to be as close to parallel as possible in both directions.

@@CrawlerCanyon its an injora lcg for trx4..so trx4 axles..this is my first build and im trying to learn. Hate botherin ya, i know you arw a busy man.

@@CrawlerCanyon maybe a tech notes video on front end geometry for dummies...lol

This absolutely does not mean that all things from China are created equal. And that's the point. Anodization is obviously going to vary from batch to batch (it's as much art as it is science) but I've yet to set a set from DLux where the cap, body, and cup are all completely different colors.

I don't know what the deal is with Traxxas and Europe.

@HVT03 did you check out eurorc/es , RTR Valladolid or Tamico in Germany ? I cant put links here in the comments,sorry.

Dravtechs and Big Bores unsurprisingly share a 10.1mm bore, designed for a 10mm piston. These are close to that, but none of the four orange-ish boys were the exact same ID. The bodies weren't bad, but the pistons were bad.

Would you mind Sharing wich Piston plates you have used? Thanks for the reply.

@@danielkonrad1444 You're going to want to use TRA2669 from Traxxas. Mine came out of a parts bin, Associated 10mm pistons from ~20 years ago.

I would be throwing stuff in the harbor if I had to pay $50 shipping for a set of shocks. But at the same time, I wouldn't put it on Dlux-- I just mailed an 8oz package to Romania and the absolute cheapest method was $20. Any shipper the USPS was $35-40.

@CrawlerCanyon agree its not delux but it has stopped me purchasing for now hence the resion I went with the clones

And in the right light, the caps and bodies are WILDLY different colors. It's not even close.

You will indeed get to. They're being put into service on Baseline, who has to test everything-- so if the shafts are weak or the threading doesn't hold up on caps, bodies, and ends, we're gonna find out about it.

The email is on the about page for the channel, but I couldn't tell you where KZfaq hides it on different platforms. It is simply crawler canyon at gmail dot com. We've had visitors, but a honeymoon visit would be a first.

Pistons for Big Bores will certainly work bit.ly/49alykw but you'll probably want to order two packs, as each pack comes with a pair of two hole and a pair of three hole. They are cheap, the same $2.50 as the seal kits, but the extra $10 to make a set of shocks simply functional isn't great, IMO. Enduro pistons will also fit (or should) as the non-SE shocks are also 10mm bore. But their pistons only come in a huge parts bag, so they cost significantly more.

These go in my imagined "Redcat bucket of design and manufacture," where the people involved in making specific components have never met the people that design said components. Knockoffs are usually (if not always) made by replicating a known source in the cheapest and fastest way possible, which squashes annoying things like precision right out of the gate. The bodies, caps, and cups might have been made on the same line that makes Dravtechs. But everything else seems to have come out of random buckets, bins, and boxes.

@@CrawlerCanyon right on... What always dazzles me is they copy something to the T but dont put it together that is actually works the way it should ....why ? Cost cant be an issue with that . 🤷‍♂

Counterpoint: Dravtech are "rated,: because they are worth what you pay for them. Big Bore > GTS, all day every day, and I'm a fan of the GTS shock. But an emulsion shock with a 7mm bore and no bleeder mechanism is NOT going to approach the performance of a bladder shock with a 10mm bore that can be converted so shorty springs without modification. "Plenty of good shocks on the market now" is a tough statement to back up, as +90% of the shocks out there aren't worth buying, and several others are only worth keeping because they come with the kits. In terms of aftermarket shocks the number of makes, models and types out there borders on the overwhelming, but the number that are actually worth owning is woefully small.

Same.