Kagama Shock Breakages / Replacement Other Brands ...

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Monsieur Velo

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Hi All,

I think I've broken 2 of my Kagama shocks. One has a piston that is obviously damaged and I suspect the piston is the issue on the other shock after swapping a few bits around.

In the UK HD pistons are out of stock till maybe mid march. So I'm wondering if anyone has used kraton or other shocks on their Kagama or 6s builds ?

I've replaced the stock shocks on my Arrma Bigrock 3s & Outcast 4s with Arrma 6s exbs after a few breakages with the originals and the exbs have been very good with no issues. So I was thinking of this option. The Arrma forum has some pretty good info on shocks which helped quite a bit to pick the right shocks.

So I'm interested to hear if anyone has tried other brands of shocks or has relevant tech details on TC shocks compared with others eg Lengths, spring rates etc

Cheers
Neil
 
In my Muraco and my Shogun I've used Kraton 6S shocks. They fit perfectly; standoffs, springs, shock ends. They also made a notable difference in performance, which I found very surprising. In my case , I have the Kraton 6S shocks (not the EXB version) in my Shogun and on my son's Kronos, and I use the TC medium shock springs. No fitment issues at all.

The Kagama arms can supposedly fit on the Shogun and Muraco, so I'd venture a guess that the shocks would be a direct fit as well. The only unknown is the suspension geometry of the Kagama compared to the Shogun/Muraco setup.
 
Corally only offers 3 different lengths on their 1/8 scale rigs, short, medium and long I'll call them, buggies got short front, medium rear (except asuga), all trucks got medium front and long rear (including asuga) and depending on the model (xtr, asuga, kagama) that may change pistons and spring rate but bottom line is if @VaporTrail was able to fit them on the muraco/shogun platform they will fit the exact same on the kagama with the correct hardware required to install
 
Yes thanks for info. Looking at specs it appears kraton rear shocks are 6mm longer. However I have couple of mm on droop screws I can slacken off. So I've ordered the last pair I could see on eBay UK from part strippers. I will let you know how I get on with them and maybe @Jeffwazz will post a video. Here's one from Wednesday. Apologies for inclusion of Outcast but my TC has shock issues 😁🤣😂

 
I used Tekno 16mm pistons in my Kronos rear shocks after I broke a stock TC piston.
Was what I had on hand at the time last summer. I replaced both rear pistons with Tekno to keep them "even". Been fine since.
The pistons I had were for the MT410 v1. Tekno 1/8 all run 16mm bore shocks, as do many 1/8 rigs.. I've even used Tekno shock rod ends, pivot ball and spring cups on my Arrma 1/8 shocks.
Arrma uses plastic pivot balls in their shock rod ends, they don't last long before getting sloppy..Tekno uses hard coated aluminum.. better, but I'd still prefer steel when available for such a high stress, high wear part.
 
Ok guys. Kraton 6s shocks arrived. Slightly longer fully extended than kagama. Compressed very similar length about a mm or so in it. Springs seem similar.

Only minor issue was I needed to lightly trim plastic shock cap with Stanley knife as Kraton top cap is very slightly different in shape.

Did a slow mo drop test and took some pics for your info.


PXL_20240305_163238320.MP.jpg


PXL_20240305_162908224.MP.jpg
 
Monsieur Velo said:
Ok guys. Kraton 6s shocks arrived. Slightly longer fully extended than kagama. Compressed very similar length about a mm or so in it. Springs seem similar.

Only minor issue was I needed to lightly trim plastic shock cap with Stanley knife as Kraton top cap is very slightly different in shape.

Did a slow mo drop test and took some pics for your info.


View attachment 5584

View attachment 5585
Click to expand...
I wonder if the shock rod ends are different lengths? Maybe the TC rod end is slightly shorter? I like the TC steel pivot balls much better than Arrma's plastic, which develop slop rather quickly. I'd bet you can use the TC bottom spring cups and rod ends on the Arrma shock.
I do feel that Arrma's shocks are better overall aside from the plastic balls. Both have done fine for me, but my TC shocks have started leaking while my Arrma's, which are older, have not.
 
The spring seat is definitely higher on the arrma shock, and without the springs on, the arrma rod end looks a few mm longer.
Provided both rods are 4mm, they'll be interchangeable.
@Monsieur Velo , thanks for being the chief test pilot / Guinea pig on this one😂

Seemed to have a little hop off the ground on the top of the rebound, but I expect that'll settle down a bit as the shocks bed in. If it doesn't, taking a bit of pre-load should slow it down a touch.
Less pre-load will let it sit with more sag, and might just bring the damping back into balance. Also as they're new, the sittings might just soften up a little after use as everything else beds in.
 
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Monsieur Velo said:
Ok guys. Kraton 6s shocks arrived. Slightly longer fully extended than kagama. Compressed very similar length about a mm or so in it. Springs seem similar.

Only minor issue was I needed to lightly trim plastic shock cap with Stanley knife as Kraton top cap is very slightly different in shape.

Did a slow mo drop test and took some pics for your info.


View attachment 5584

View attachment 5585
Click to expand...
Good information! Thanks 🙏
 
Close counts for me. So long as the suspension isn't over traveling, good to go. I forgot to mention I have Kraton 6s on the front of my Kronos XTR currently. The stock Kronos XTR springs are too soft for my liking, so I threw Arrma Kraton EXB (v5) springs on it, think they were the stock KEXB springs.
 
Monsieur Velo said:
Ok guys. Kraton 6s shocks arrived. Slightly longer fully extended than kagama. Compressed very similar length about a mm or so in it. Springs seem similar.

Only minor issue was I needed to lightly trim plastic shock cap with Stanley knife as Kraton top cap is very slightly different in shape.

Did a slow mo drop test and took some pics for your info.


View attachment 5584

View attachment 5585
Click to expand...
They do look a bit burlier, those Arrma shocks don't they? 💪
 
KnowAir said:
I seem to recall hearing TC shafts being 3.5mm vs Arrma's at 4mm..that was a couple years back, maybe different now. IDK Interested in hearing your results. 👍
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That would explain why hardcore bashers prefer them.

I really like the idea of shocks with bigger shafts, high volume and umbrella seals for going crazy on jumps.

IRC used to do shocks for the Savage - £120 for a set of 4. They were very strong.

Scolton Savage 4 R.JPG
Scolton Savage 5 R.JPG


IRC - I wonder if they still make these - and are they long enough for Kratons/Kronos use?....
1000016924.jpg


If you manage to bend these, you're doing it wrong - they're 8mm shafts!! 🤣
 
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Horatio said:
That would explain why hardcore bashers prefer them.

I really like the idea of shocks with bigger shafts, high volume and umbrella seals for going crazy on jumps.

IRC used to do shocks for the Savage - £120 for a set of 4. They were very strong.

View attachment 5628View attachment 5629

IRC - I wonder if they still make these - and are they long enough for Kratons/Kronos use?....
View attachment 5631

If you manage to bend these, you're doing it wrong - they're 8mm shafts!! 🤣
Click to expand...
Are those aftermarket? I never got on board with the Savage back when, so not sure what they came with stock. I see nowadays that the Savages come with plastic bodied shocks. I hear they work well, but can't be very durable?
I think that whether we're talking bashers or racers, one area that always benefits from being over built is shocks.. can never be too beefy, no such thing IMO.
 
KnowAir said:
Are those aftermarket? I never got on board with the Savage back when, so not sure what they came with stock. I see nowadays that the Savages come with plastic bodied shocks. I hear they work well, but can't be very durable?
I think that whether we're talking bashers or racers, one area that always benefits from being over built is shocks.. can never be too beefy, no such thing IMO.
Click to expand...
Yeah, those are Innovative RC replacements. 8mm shafts!! 🤣 They ain't bending. Umbrella seals. They ain't leaking either!

Original Savage SS has:

1000016928.png


8 shock design. The shocks included in box where Nylon though...
Savage build 6.jpg

This shot was from 2004 whilst I was building my SS!!

Long, weedy shocks by modern standards - with no droop control. Landing awkwardly with full droop could cause the shafts to bend and/or damage the shock bodies.

Downsides of the alloy shocks - much heavier. Still had weak shock shafts.
 
Just a quick reply as its been a long day. Son's pre-season vball tournament. It's Saturday here; worked this morning, went straight to his tournament after. All day affair and just now I'm winding down. 2223 is the time. :sleep:

Anyways, KA is pretty much on point. I mic'd out the TC shafts, got 3.44. Arrma shafts, 4.03. (y)

Have a good weekend everyone!
 
VaporTrail said:
Just a quick reply as its been a long day. Son's pre-season vball tournament. It's Saturday here; worked this morning, went straight to his tournament after. All day affair and just now I'm winding down. 2223 is the time. :sleep:

Anyways, KA is pretty much on point. I mic'd out the TC shafts, got 3.44. Arrma shafts, 4.03. (y)

Have a good weekend everyone!
Click to expand...
Nice one! Yeah - happy weekend everyone. Cheers for checking the shock shaft diameter - good to know.

I see these on eBay all the time.

1000016946.png

1000016945.png

1000016944.png

£50 for a set of 4 (2x120mm & 2x145mm). Shock shaft diameter is 5mm. Anybody have any idea if these are any good? 🤔

They certainly look decent enough.
 
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