Sunday, August 18, 2019

Wltoys 12428b (part 16: front suspension geometry changes)

A friend of mine told me James May had taken to "un-pimping" his ride by removing the various "upgrades" and reverting it to standard.  The argument being that those dotards who modify cars aren't automotive engineers and they should stick to what they know.. like playing playstation.

But my friend, nor James, have seen this; it is unquestionably the pinnacle of automotive engineering.  I call it a bent bit of metal taken in nice lighting:

..but what does it do..
But what does it do i hear you ask?  Well, I'm glad.. yep.. it's a shock tower for the WL Toys 12428b.  What's that?  Well what it does is makes the front just as bouncy as the rear.  How is that a good thing?  Well because it looks more spectacular when the front is higher than the rear, the alternative being generally embarrassing.

Note inverted shock.  Also note "in process" manufacturing state.
Inverted shock because the normal way up it won't lean over properly.  To do that you need to take the um balls (the little steel bits at the end of the shock) and swap them over so it fits in upside down.

Insert pseudo science; if a shock is more leany it's less bouncy and more smootherer (ref: youtube).  Also note my new part has multiple adjustments like the pros have.

So, currently the car is running the standard dry shocks, the front is stiffer and the rear uses the standard mounts in the most relaxed position (most leaning forwards). Verdict? Honesly? I have no i idea, was too busy having fun :)

zomg it didn't break!! ;)
UPDATE: Over any kind of bumpy ground and especially when turning, this mod makes the car skip and hop then grip and oversteer and just behave wildly.  I do like it however it has allowed me easy access to the front dampers which when upgraded should prove useful.

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