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Let's talk springs

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WideOpen

WideOpen

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I have different color springs for my Associate TC3

  • Silver
  • Green
  • Red
  • Black
  • Blue
what is the difference and how do I know which one to use on the front and rear - this is for a carpeted road track.
 
If you can't tell a difference in the spring rate, find something heavy enough to compress them a bit that will sit on top of one, and measure the spring. Do that with all of them and put them in order. Try the ones in the middle and see what the car does, and swap out to heavier or lighter according to how she drives.
 
WideOpen said:
Right On - I was hoping they were color coded for tension
Click to expand...
If they came as a set, they should be. Do you know what brand they are? A bigass ball bearing works great by the way.
 
Are they these?
801041_Factory-Team-Sedan-Complete-Spring-Kit__77414.1413402142.220.220__30066.1563398739.jpg


If so... Part number 3988 is the set
Green springs #3941 12.0 lbs/in
Silver springs #3942 14.4 lbs/in
Blue springs #3943 17.0 lbs/in
Gold springs #3944 19.5 lbs/in
Red springs #3945 22.0 lbs/in
Copper springs #3946 25.0 lbs/in
Purple springs #3952 30.0 lbs/in
Yellow springs #3953 35.0 lbs/in
White springs #3954 40.0 lbs/in

My guess, the black ones are stock ones and fall in there somewhere. But I could be wrong.
 
Last edited:
WideOpen said:
whatchutalknboutwillis what is AE?
Click to expand...
AE is Associated ;)

Not sure what you mean by loose or tight? Do you mean the pre-load adjustment that compresses the spring?
 
WideOpen said:
yes - that is what I mean
Click to expand...
I always start out with 0 preload on all my RC's and go from there. But I am not much of a touring car guy. And I am more just a basher. Not a racer.

There are a ton of things to learn about tuning your shocks, and I am definitely no expert. But I will say - tune a little at a time. On my buggies and trucks I always get the preload set where I want it first by hitting some bumps and stuff and see how it handles them. If the chassis slaps the ground too much, I increase the preload a bit. Shock oil plays a part here too, and if I get to moving the preload too far for my liking, I increase the oil weight.

You can actually go crazy tuning shocks. Pistons, number of holes in them, shock angles, spring rates, etc, all change one characteristic or another, and change to one of these can affect change to one of the others. Like, you might change your piston, then find that piston works better with a different oil.

But touring cars are a whole different animal. You'll want to hit some corners and watch for body roll and see how the traction is while doing so. For high traction surfaces, straighter shocks, stiffer springs. Low traction, lean them in a bit and use softer springs. Oh wait, then there is tire compound 😜

There's so much to this, it is a lot of trial and error. That's why they make setup sheets and put them in the car manual. You might search the web for a setup sheet for your car that others have shared to give you a starting point.

Are you thinking of getting into racing? Or just bashing around a parking lot?
 
WickedFog said:
I always start out with 0 preload on all my RC's and go from there. But I am not much of a touring car guy. And I am more just a basher. Not a racer.

There are a ton of things to learn about tuning your shocks, and I am definitely no expert. But I will say - tune a little at a time. On my buggies and trucks I always get the preload set where I want it first by hitting some bumps and stuff and see how it handles them. If the chassis slaps the ground too much, I increase the preload a bit. Shock oil plays a part here too, and if I get to moving the preload too far for my liking, I increase the oil weight.

You can actually go crazy tuning shocks. Pistons, number of holes in them, shock angles, spring rates, etc, all change one characteristic or another, and change to one of these can affect change to one of the others. Like, you might change your piston, then find that piston works better with a different oil.

But touring cars are a whole different animal. You'll want to hit some corners and watch for body roll and see how the traction is while doing so. For high traction surfaces, straighter shocks, stiffer springs. Low traction, lean them in a bit and use softer springs. Oh wait, then there is tire compound 😜

There's so much to this, it is a lot of trial and error. That's why they make setup sheets and put them in the car manual. You might search the web for a setup sheet for your car that others have shared to give you a starting point.

Are you thinking of getting into racing? Or just bashing around a parking lot?
Click to expand...
Oh we have started racing it - it is crazy fun and a lot of action. But I hear ya, I think I am learning that there is a lot to this game. Cleaning tires is a dirty mess.
 
WideOpen said:
Oh we have started racing it - it is crazy fun and a lot of action. But I hear ya, I think I am learning that there is a lot to this game. Cleaning tires is a dirty mess.
Click to expand...
There are so many settings on the cars that can alter the way they handle individual tracks it's nuts. So setup sheets would be the best way to learn what changes you make are doing.

All I know is from my old 90 Mustang that I did a lot of suspension stuff to... lots of caster, lots of camber, lower stance, firm springs, and adjustable shocks cranked all the way to harsh made for a go-cart kinda ride. And she out-cornered Z06 Vettes every time I raced one. But hitting a corner at speed that had a bump was scary 😱
 

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