• Welcome to RCTalk! 🚀

    Join the #1 RC community where hobbyists connect, share, and get expert advice on RC cars, trucks, boats, drones, and more!

    • ✓ Friendly & passionate RC enthusiasts
    • ✓ RC tips & troubleshooting
    • ✓ Buy, sell & trade RC gear
    • ✓ Share builds & upgrades

questions on ofna rear buggy shock conversion

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate
links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
3

3.3maxx

RCTalk Talkaholic
Messages
238
Reaction score
4
Points
0
Location
orange
RC Driving Style
any body have any info on doing the ofna rear buggy shock conversion. i am an avid basher and need something a little more stout than the little shafted shcoks and springs that are out there. i usually get about 6'+ air over 15' gaps and need something that will hold up.
i have been told that this conversion would be great and i was wondering if anyone had the information to complete the conversion. such as what parts are needed and what mods will need to be done to accomidate the shocks.
any help would be greatly appreciated
 
I think rear buggy shocks will be too long. They will allow you to overextend your arms.

I bought the UE supermaxx shocks which are modified OFNA 9.5 rear shocks. The are about 4-5mm shorter than real rear shocks (I think), but they are longer than front shocks (I know). They were still about 1-2mm longer than I'd have liked.

You might have better luck running front shocks off a buggy. Or try and find some manuals or something online for different buggy shocks so you can get measurements after they are built.

I think I might still have the shocks laying around. A friend of mine has my old savage that I installed normal 9.5 rear shocks on with some aftermarket towers. I could try and compare them for you if you have time to wait or unless someone else posts.
 
i have nothing but time. i can't run the truck until i get the shocks figured out. i dont want to spend the money to fix the stockers again.
it doesn't necessarily have to be the ofna shocks. i am just looking for a single coil over conversion and was told the ofna's would work. i saw another guy a while ago with a tmaxx at the hobby shop with single shocks that were much larger than stock.
this is the goal. less shocks to have to worry about and hopefully better performance on big jumps.
anything you can provide for info would be great. it seems like you(olds) has a good amount of experience with these things so i do appreciate your response.
 
Well, the UE's are 110mm from center of mounting holes. They are about 120mm from tip to tip.

Here's a pic:
2008-0801-UEShockMeasurement.jpg


And a pic installed in the lowest mounting position:
2004-0324-T-Maxx-BodyOn-FlamesBodyRear01.jpg


If I get a chance (and if I remember), I'll measure my old savage with the 9.5 rear shocks just to give you an idea.
 
Last edited:
Thanks a bunch Olds!!
that does help me quite a bit.

How did you like the performance of the shock on big jumps???
 
Running just four was kind of iffy. It was better than stock, but it was difficult to get it to handle big air and to drive well. I think running 8 would still be most beneficial. You will need to run a light oil and soft springs though to get a good feel. If you don't, it will be bouncy and hard to drive.

The springs that come with buggy shocks are super stiff, at least the 9.5's were that I got for the savage. 4 springs would have held it up fine. But I only drove it a couple times after installing all 8 shocks.

Like I said, I only ran 4 on the maxx and they held up to abuse really well. I want to say I ran 40-50 weight with navy blue UE springs, but I want to say that was on my savage... I ran another set of 4 (or the same set... can't remember) on my savage with weird NE upper arms for t-maxx shocks for a long time.

Sorry, it's been 3 years since I had a maxx... and about 2 years since I drove my savage with the 4 UE shocks. My memory sucks. I just remember them being tough and requiring very little maintenance. Definitly worth the $54 I spent on them at the time... or was it $108... Man, I suck.

You know... I could probably sell you mine. I can't think of a reason to keep them. They are UE's, but a couple of 9.5 front shafts in them which are about 2mm shorter than UE's. I found that that was a good thing though. The UE's shafts would allow the top of the shock to go through the bladder inside and rip it. The shorter shaft wouldn't. You don't get as much travel, but since the UE's were a hair long anyway, who cares?

Again, I'm going from memory of 2+ years, but I know I have 4 of them in my parts...
 
OLDS.....Wasn't it you I esplained the reasons for getting the 9.5 instead of the UE sets?!?!?!?!
OK here's a killer way to save a lot of cash AND have better shocks....
first yes get all 8...especially if you run RPM arms...the 4 shock setup CAN, (not always, seems to depend on the batch of RPM arms you got) let them twist and lock the CVDs up by letting them slip out of the diff cups and bind in the arms...so 8 shocks worked great for me......next the extra length 9.5 shafts are going to be useful so get them.....when you are building them cut a new piece of fuel tube about 1/4" long.....just before you bolt the piston onto the shaft, slide the fuel tube down the shaft and into the shock body (yes it will stay in there with the oil)....slide the piston head on (I like the wider hole for easier faster travel) and finish the shock build.....this will act like a bumper preventing your heavy spinning airborn wheels from slamming the suspension and messing up the piston head seals against the bottom of the shock body.....and then before you assemble the lower shock link place another small peice of fuel tubing or 2 o-rings around the shaft outside of the shock body....these will act as bumpers for the shocks slamming the piston head into the top bladder......saves alot of cash on shock rebuilds.....If you run 8 shocks I recommend going with lighter shock oil and lighter springs for more handling and a stiff set for jumping huge stuff...I got 8 of the Kyosho 777 rear shocks on my maxx and it kicks serious ass in the handling dept....I've rebuilt my shocks 3 times (to find the right setup in oil) in about a gallon of fuel and haven't replaced any of the seals yet...just dropped em right back in...still no leaks
 
you're just an anti-maxxitarian.....

the maxx is like the girl that popped your cherry......she gives you all kinds of problems and tries to run your every waking minute with promises of how good it's gonna be and all the fun you're going to have....but in the end you end up being bitter and you turn away from playing with her for a while....but she knows you want it...you gotta have it so she sucks your walet dry and sits there doing nothing after a while.....
Olds really has one in his closet still...he's just too embarassed to admit it.....
 
I do have a revo and a Jato... but no maxx. A fellow basher of mine has a maxx and just looking at it makes me want to smash it with a hammer... good times... good times.

Don't tell anybody, but I still have the EZ-start on the jato... the shame of it all!
 
Last edited:
thanx a bunch guys. i am fairly new to this. but am learning a lot very quickly. i went to the hobby shop this weekend and was comparing the ofna buggy shocks to my maxx shocks. the fronts look to be the size needed. the rears were just too long. also compared them to some xtm buggy shocks. i really dont liek the xtm shocks. they seems really cheap and not nearly as smooth as the ofna shocks.
i was told by one of the guys at the hobby shop that the ofna building is near my home and they actually have a shop for parts set up in the lobby for the public to purchase. i think i am going to swing by there and see if i can find what i need.
i was alos thinking about running 8 shocks because of the twist of the arm under load. i am still running stocks arms because i havent had any trouble with them. i know i will need them in the near future but it seems like they as well as the stock bumpers and brackets are kind f absorbing some of the impact rather than snapping them.
right now i have MIP center CVD's, Traxxas aluminum motor mount, Traxxas pipe, motor saver intake, Integy 53tooth spur gear, hitec hs645mg and steel hinge pins, that is about it for upgrades.
i havent really had to replace anything else because it hasnt broken. Of course i plan to but i see no need in replaceing something that hasnt broken yet LOl
 
i want to amke sure they are goin gto be of good quality too. none of those cheap xtm junk ones i had a chance to hold. my stock tmaxx ones were smother than that
 
the arms twist at the hinge pin.....with only one shock the side that no longer has one will rise or fall more than the side with the shock....when that happens the end of the CVD that sits in the diff cup can pop out enough to really wreak havoc with your a-arms, shock shafts and bearing carriers....if you are using the stock axles still to the wheels, so this shouldn't be an issue for you....
 
OFNA makes quite a few good shocks as do other companies.

I never really had a "twisting" problem that was all that noticeable when I ran just 4 shocks. I ran 4 for a very long time on my maxx.
 
i definately can see the arms twisting. especially now because they are stock. its weird i actually brok 2 hinge pins but not the arms. one of the hinge pins was broken in to 3 peices. but the arm was still perfect.
i know my luck with stock arms, shock towers, and bulk heads is running out.
i just want the get the damn thing back up and running again so i can beat it up again. lol
anyone know of a titanium motor mount out there. i rip through the billet ones like nothing, a couple of time landing upside down and the rear bolts get pulled right out of the mount. that is the main reason i want the new era cage. now i am just waiting to get paid so i can get the cage and hopefully find a tit-motor mount so i can go boost her again.....
 
olds97_lss said:
Cages bend. Get a new era 3 point roll bar. That thing is tough as nails.
Click to expand...

that is the plan. it seems to be the most rigid and lightest for your money. also doesn't seem get in the way of the motorsaver intake i have on there
 

RC Builds

Back
Top