Kraton 8S Shock Suggestions

[Couch_Bro]

Hi, I made a post about rebuilding my existing shock set up in the suspension section but haven’t received any replies so I figured I would try here.

I have a Kraton 8S BLX with the hot racing bleeder shock caps set up bladder-less. I’m also running M2C’s steel shafts with M2C pistons.

I’ve been happy with the performance of this set up but the O-rings/spacers on the lower section of the hot racing caps wore out and there is now some lateral play in the shaft and they are leaking oil.

The M2C pistons also caused some uneven wear and scratches inside of the shock bodies. This may have been due to the lateral movement of the shaft and the hardness of the piston material along with dirt that made its way into the shock oil.

Long story short my options are completely rebuilding the shocks by replacing the shock bodies, O-rings, and possibly buying a new set of hot racing caps at 50% off through their replacement program, or going with brand new shocks.

I’ve done a ton of searching and have only been able to find shocks by GPM and some offbrand shocks on eBay that will fit the Kraton 8S. GPM has a piggyback version and a standard version but I’ve found mixed reviews on GPM parts and zero reviews on these shocks.

Does anyone have experience with these GPM shocks or know of any other options for aftermarket shocks for the K8S?

Also, are piggyback shocks on an RC a gimmick or do they actually make a difference? There’s about a $25 per pair difference between the piggyback and standard shocks. They look pretty similar other than that. One other thing to consider is that the outer chamber will be exposed on the rear shocks and may be pretty vulnerable to damage. Thanks

 

[Raginbull74]

Besides the 7mm m2c shock rods and rebuild kit, some people run rovan shocks from their buggies, but just the front ones. The rears from rovan are too long. They are super beefy at 10mm. Some have had issues with leaking and dialing in the shock oil to springs ratio can be a pain, but it's all whatever one is into. I ran the piggyback gpm's on my K6. They were alright, but the piggyback can lend to damage, and once they get ripped off from a bad landing or whatever, the shock is trash. Try em out and let us know what the consensus is.

 

[Armarookie43]

Hi, I made a post about rebuilding my existing shock set up in the suspension section but haven’t received any replies so I figured I would try here.

I have a Kraton 8S BLX with the hot racing bleeder shock caps set up bladder-less. I’m also running M2C’s steel shafts with M2C pistons.

I’ve been happy with the performance of this set up but the O-rings/spacers on the lower section of the hot racing caps wore out and there is now some lateral play in the shaft and they are leaking oil.

The M2C pistons also caused some uneven wear and scratches inside of the shock bodies. This may have been due to the lateral movement of the shaft and the hardness of the piston material along with dirt that made its way into the shock oil.

Long story short my options are completely rebuilding the shocks by replacing the shock bodies, O-rings, and possibly buying a new set of hot racing caps at 50% off through their replacement program, or going with brand new shocks.

I’ve done a ton of searching and have only been able to find shocks by GPM and some offbrand shocks on eBay that will fit the Kraton 8S. GPM has a piggyback version and a standard version but I’ve found mixed reviews on GPM parts and zero reviews on these shocks.

Does anyone have experience with these GPM shocks or know of any other options for aftermarket shocks for the K8S?

Also, are piggyback shocks on an RC a gimmick or do they actually make a difference? There’s about a $25 per pair difference between the piggyback and standard shocks. They look pretty similar other than that. One other thing to consider is that the outer chamber will be exposed on the rear shocks and may be pretty vulnerable to damage. Thanks

Meh, I put the front and rear EXB shocks on my Outcast 8s (same thing as my EXB K8S) and I have been very happy with the stock EXB shocks. I personally think that the aftermarket parts for the shocks is not worth it for just bashing. I do 26ft plus high jumps, so I've only bent like one shock shaft and I damaged a shock cartridge during a horrible landing. I would just buy the front and rear EXB K8S shocks from Jennis or Ebay. Way cheaper than what you are planning I believe.

 

[KevinC]

Meh, I put the front and rear EXB shocks on my Outcast 8s (same thing as my EXB K8S) and I have been very happy with the stock EXB shocks. I personally think that the aftermarket parts for the shocks is not worth it for just bashing. I do 26ft plus high jumps, so I've only bent like one shock shaft and I damaged a shock cartridge during a horrible landing. I would just buy the front and rear EXB K8S shocks from Jennis or Ebay. Way cheaper than what you are planning I believe.

Do you know offhand if the K8 EXB shocks can be used on the stock K8 RTR? And is it thicker shafts and beefier shock rod ends?…..I’m too lazy to look

 

[RCbuzz]

Yes the K8 EXB shocks will fit just fine on the stock K8. They have 1mm thicker shock shafts and I am guessing larger diameter holes in the pistons. They work pretty good.

The Regular shocks are actually not bad either. They get a bad wrap because the shock shafts bend. My opinion, the piston holes were way too small causing them to essentially bind on impact. We drilled them out (you can search the forum for details) and sent the truck on some pretty high jumps, no issues.

 

[Armarookie43]

Do you know offhand if the K8 EXB shocks can be used on the stock K8 RTR? And is it thicker shafts and beefier shock rod ends?…..I’m too lazy to look

Yup they can. The shock rod ends are thicker, but they fit right in. The only issue I had with the EXB shocks was that when I started using RPM arms. I just had to remove a little bit of material from the RPM arms so that the EXB shock rod ends could fit.

 

[KevinC]

Thx guys.

 

[Armarookie43]

Thx guys.

Yeah bud. The aftermarket stuff is too expensive and complicated when you it comes to the shocks IMHO. The only thing I've found worth it aftermarket is the M2C chassis, M2C hinge pin blocks, CF sleeves for the chassis braces, bigger electronics, better servos, and such. The stock EXB shocks are more than adequate. Sorry for the rant

 

[Couch_Bro]

Besides the 7mm m2c shock rods and rebuild kit, some people run rovan shocks from their buggies, but just the front ones. The rears from rovan are too long. They are super beefy at 10mm. Some have had issues with leaking and dialing in the shock oil to springs ratio can be a pain, but it's all whatever one is into. I ran the piggyback gpm's on my K6. They were alright, but the piggyback can lend to damage, and once they get ripped off from a bad landing or whatever, the shock is trash. Try em out and let us know what the consensus is.

Thanks for the reply. I looked into the Rovan shocks but 10 mm is way more than I need. i’ve had no issues since I moved to the 5 mm M2C shafts.

I just disassembled my shocks and broke out the caliper to measure all of the O-rings and ordered replacements. Also got a Dremel attachment to sand/polish the inside of the shock bodies. I’ll see how that works before I buy new.

Meh, I put the front and rear EXB shocks on my Outcast 8s (same thing as my EXB K8S) and I have been very happy with the stock EXB shocks. I personally think that the aftermarket parts for the shocks is not worth it for just bashing. I do 26ft plus high jumps, so I've only bent like one shock shaft and I damaged a shock cartridge during a horrible landing. I would just buy the front and rear EXB K8S shocks from Jennis or Ebay. Way cheaper than what you are planning I believe.

You’re probably right. I guess when there’s not many aftermarket options it’s a sign that the OEM part is pretty decent. I bought my rig used and the shocks were already modified somewhat. I did add The M2C pistons and got rid of the bladder in the shot caps which I thought made a difference but I never tried out the unmodified shocks.

Now that I think about it, the EXB shocks are a great idea. I can keep the hot racing bladder-less caps and M2C Pistons and upgrade to 7mm shafts for less than what I was looking at.

If my rebuild project doesn’t work out, I think that’s the route I’ll go.

Yup they can. The shock rod ends are thicker, but they fit right in. The only issue I had with the EXB shocks was that when I started using RPM arms. I just had to remove a little bit of material from the RPM arms so that the EXB shock rod ends could fit.

I had the same issue with the RPM arms. IForgot to mention I swapped out my shock ends for EXB ends but I had to take a couple mm’s off for them to fit.

Yes the K8 EXB shocks will fit just fine on the stock K8. They have 1mm thicker shock shafts and I am guessing larger diameter holes in the pistons. They work pretty good.

The Regular shocks are actually not bad either. They get a bad wrap because the shock shafts bend. My opinion, the piston holes were way too small causing them to essentially bind on impact. We drilled them out (you can search the forum for details) and sent the truck on some pretty high jumps, no issues.

I thought the EXB shafts were 7mm as opposed to The RTR which were 5mm. Either way, at that size one mm still makes a difference.

Like I said above, I’m running 5mm M2C shafts with a heavy ass rig that I launch through the air and have never bent a shaft. I did make some living straps out of thin steel cable which I think helps. Was a real pain in the ass getting them the correct length though.

 

[Couch_Bro]

Yeah bud. The aftermarket stuff is too expensive and complicated when you it comes to the shocks IMHO. The only thing I've found worth it aftermarket is the M2C chassis, M2C hinge pin blocks, CF sleeves for the chassis braces, bigger electronics, better servos, and such. The stock EXB shocks are more than adequate. Sorry for the rant

It’s all a matter of preference. I’m sure the stock ones are fine but when my set up was dialed in, it was amazing how well it handled and took big impacts.

I ran into a couple of guys with stock XMAXX’s at a BMX track and it literally ruined their day when they saw how much sicker my Fully modded Kraton was compared to their trucks.

It was jumping twice as far and sticking the landing every time with no rebound while they were having a hard time clearing the table tops and their trucks would just bounce and roll down the backside of the jump every time.

The suspension had a lot to do with that. The stock X max shocks just bounced like a toy. Again maybe the stock Kraton suspension was better than the xmaxx but I never tried it.

Of course my rig has a brand new Xmaxx worth of upgrades which helps but I didn’t tell them that.

 

[Licklobster]

Yeah bud. The aftermarket stuff is too expensive and complicated when you it comes to the shocks IMHO. The only thing I've found worth it aftermarket is the M2C chassis, M2C hinge pin blocks, CF sleeves for the chassis braces, bigger electronics, better servos, and such. The stock EXB shocks are more than adequate. Sorry for the rant

I wish 1/5 scale sized - losi 1/8 buggy shocks existed. those would be the ticket. so easy to work on.

 

[Armarookie43]

I wish 1/5 scale sized - losi 1/8 buggy shocks existed. those would be the ticket. so easy to work on.

The Traxxas Xmaxx and Maxx GTR shocks are very easy to rebuild and bleed.

 

[Armarookie43]

It’s all a matter of preference. I’m sure the stock ones are fine but when my set up was dialed in, it was amazing how well it handled and took big impacts.

I ran into a couple of guys with stock XMAXX’s at a BMX track and it literally ruined their day when they saw how much sicker my Fully modded Kraton was compared to their trucks.

It was jumping twice as far and sticking the landing every time with no rebound while they were having a hard time clearing the table tops and their trucks would just bounce and roll down the backside of the jump every time.

The suspension had a lot to do with that. The stock X max shocks just bounced like a toy. Again maybe the stock Kraton suspension was better than the xmaxx but I never tried it.

Of course my rig has a brand new Xmaxx worth of upgrades which helps but I didn’t tell them that.

I have a suped up Xmaxx, no stock here. I can do triple backflips like nothing. Max 5 and 1100kv 5687 motor make the Xmaxx a beast. Yeah, stock Xmaxx is just too boring

 

[Armarookie43]

My beast mode Xmaxx :

 

[Jon NC RC]

My beast mode Xmaxx :

Poor thing.....been thru H&@@..... and y'all have LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT

 

[Armarookie43]

Poor thing.....been thru H&@@..... and y'all have LOVED EVERY MINUTE OF IT

It's impressive how much abuse it can actually take for its size . Even stock