ZD Racing shocks

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Update: Sent amazon seller a message and they asked for picture of the parts I needed. I sent them and their reply is below, I think that’ll work? I’ll still pick up some washers and pistons and make sure they’re gtg and end up with an extra set of shocks.

We negotiated with our vendor, we are willing to resend a new set shocks for you as a compensation, no trouble for you to replace the parts. Is it acceptable for you? Please kindly let me know and we will process this for you ASAP.

Look forward to hearing from you soon!
Best regards,
 
What size piston washers are you all using inside? The ones that came with mine were approx 2.5mm I.d. And 5mm o.d. I feel like it needs more of a fender(Wider) washer like In this losi pack, but $5 for 8 washers is a little much. https://www.amainhobbies.com/team-losi-racing-16mm-shock-piston-washer-set-8-tlr243014/p251273
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Finally got my hands on a set of these ZD shocks (part numbers: 8001 and 8002). It took 3 friggin months took to get them from Banggood (ordered 4/1, arrived 6/30) and I actually forgot I ordered them.

Anyways here's my overview and thoughts to help anyone who might be wanting to try them coming from someone who's tried a few different shock options for the 3s trucks including 6s Typhon shocks, 3s and 4s eBay big bore shocks, and mixed parts of 6s shocks built from the 6s Kraton fronts and 6s Mojave fronts with different spring and oil pairings.

First thing I did was measure eye to eye length:
Front: 106mm
Rear: 127mm

Stock 3s length is 100mm front and 115 rear (eye to eye) so some length needed taken out. I 3D printed a 12mm spacer for the ZD rears and a 6mm spacer for the ZD fronts. During disassembly of the fronts I actually found that they don't screw down the shock rod ends all the way (can't tell because of the rubber boots covers it). Once screwed down all the way the eye to eye length is actually 102mm so I didn't even bother installing spacers since it was close enough. I installed the 12mm spacers on the rears, confirmed the 115mm eye to eye length, then filled both with 50wt oil. The shock cap eyelets are too big for a small 3mm screw as mentioned by others (opening is 6.5mm wide) so I printed some TPU rubber bushings and installed to take out the play. This opening is similar to the size of the 6s shock cap (7mm) so I am fairly confident that the Axial bushing suggested for the 6s shocks will also fit the ZD shocks.

The springs they ship with are way too stiff for the granite so I used 6s Typhon front springs for the front and 6s Kraton front springs for the rears (only springs I had left long enough for the rears in my parts bin). Overall with the 50wt oil and about 50% preload on the front and 35% preload on the rear things felt about right. If I had my choice of springs I would suggest 4s Kraton/Outcast springs to use with these.

The rear shock bodies are pretty long so when installed with granite length RPM arms using the inside most mounting holes the chassis barely slaps before the shocks bottom out and at the very end of the travel the shock gets very stiff. Worried that this might lead to breaking the shock mounts on hard landings I moved the shocks to the outer most hole and now it's much better.

The fronts were fine on the inner most mounting holes on the granite RPM arms but they did require a spacer to not rub on the driveshafts. I used a 4mm thick spacer with 3mm ID center hole and a longer 20mm screw and they fit fine after that.

After installing, I noticed that one of my fronts was leaking pretty badly from the bottom seal. I emptied it and took it apart and it seems that I knicked one of the rubber o-rings in the bottom cap when putting them back together compromising the bottom seal. Normally this would annoy me but luckily the o-rings they used are very common metric sized nitrile ones and matched one of the sizes found in my harbor freight mixed o-ring kit. It's just two rings stacked on one another and when the bottom cap (knurled so easy to grip to tighten/loosen) is installed they are compressed to provide a nice seal. I covered them with a little bit of silicone grease and put them back together and no leak. In fact the tension was a little tighter than before so shock play was a bit stiff so I just backed off the bottom cap a little to release some compression and travel was now smooth and still no leaks.

Overall the value for money is there. Total spent on all 4 shocks from Banggood with shipping: $28.39 USD. Spring cost to swap is like 8 bucks per set of springs ($16 total) so total invested minus new oil was $44 USD. They are built well and I would say they are very comparable to Arrma 6s shocks, maybe a tad bit lower quality wise but not much. They are easy to work on and service because the caps have bleeder holes and bladders and common sized o-rings in the bottom seals. The rods and rod ends are common sized and threading (4mm shafts, same thread as 6s shocks) so replacements shouldn't be an issue. They come with rubber shock boots just like the 6s shocks so dirt and debris wear on the bottom seals should be better just like with the 6s shocks. When compared to eBay big bore I think they are miles better just because everything about those big bores is not common or more difficult to use (5mm shafts, weak rod ends, no bleeders or bladders in the caps, no individual parts spares sold for them anywhere, no shock boots, all rounded/smooth and now here to put a wrench in them to tighten/loosen things, etc.)

Anyways that's my take on them. I don't like that it took 3 months to get them but that's probably because I ordered them during the peak of covid and the supply chain issues. Hopefully, orders now would much faster.

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How do I put the spacers for the rears, where do I even get the spacers for the rears what can I use as spacers
 
I found mine fitted the rear fine but needed spacers for the front. I used nitro fuel line but you can use small washers if that's easier. Make sure to use longer screws. I bought a bunch from amazon 12.9 grade steel 20mm x m3 ?
 
I used stock steering bushings I had laying around after swapping for bearings and they work good enough. My second truck got nylon spacers I picked up from the hardware store. I shortened the travel on the rears with some tubing, I DID NOT LIKE the way it made the shocks feel. I removed it and just deal with the extra length. I think it’s much better, but I’m not a shock guru either.
 
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I used stock steering bushings I had laying around after swapping for bearings and they work good enough. My second truck got nylon spacers I picked up from the hardware store. I shortened the travel on the rears with some tubing, I DID NOT LIKE the way it made the shocks feel. I removed it and just deal with the extra length. I think it’s much better, but I’m not a shock guru either.
I used M4 spacers suchtragety helped me with this
 
That ain't because of the shocks. That's because you put metal body post on .. no flex. Easy to replace a body post and cheaper.
Live and learn! All that fancy GPM stuff is in the parts box now!?
 
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I'm going to be ordering the front 8001 and back 8002 ZD Racing shocks, do you know if these will also fit the back as I see the shocks don't come with the top pivots balls?

Thanks
I used these, they’ll fit in most 6s shocks and fill the gap. Perfect fit!
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HoBao shocks took some time to get adjusted on my Big Rock. Finally got them dialed in! They are similar to the Typhon 6s shocks, little stiffer! Definitely a good buy. Built a ramp with my daughter today and really put them to the test. View attachment 74165View attachment 74166View attachment 74167
Just ordered some yesterday!
Finished the HoBao install. It was a little tricky with the GPM shock tower supports. Used 6.8 pivot balls, the one on the front bottoms had an offset. I used 70wt shock oil in the front and 50wt in the back. All in all the truck performed great, still might need some minor tuning. HoBao’s are definitely stiffer than Typhon 6s shocks. No bottoming out, like my Granite (Typhon 6s). View attachment 73271View attachment 73272View attachment 73273
How you like them??
 
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Just ordered some yesterday!

How you like them??
They’re weren’t bad, only ran them for a month or so. I finally broke down and bought another set of Typhon 6s shocks though. That’s what I’m running on my BR and Granite now. Expensive, but worth it!
 
I also bought and installed ZD Racing 8001 and 8002 on my Granite with spacers for the rear ones. I am quite happy with them. But after few runs, on the 4 shocks, 3 of them have had the same piston problem as @Rainger40.
I think I will order new pistons, the stock ZD Racing ones appears to be very weak. What should I look for, 16mm outer diameter, and 2.5mm inside diameter, is that right?
 
I've played about with the zds for a while, was a faff to get them set the way I want. But after a summer of abuse, repairs and rebuilds, parts aren't so easy to come by, I'm going back the stock ones.

The shock shafts on the zds are thicker but bend far too easily.

They look really sweet in they're anodised goodness though.

Gonna try the new v3 silicone o-rings on the original ones... ? ?
 
I just installed these a few days ago on my Typhon 3s. I really like the look and feel of them, however the rod on one of them bent on my first rollover. Performance seems very good, but durability is only so-so.
 
I finally bought Typhon 6S shocks, I am waiting for them for now. Additional pistons are in the package so I will try to use these spare parts for the ZD Racing shocks (pistons are horrible in there). Though I still have a problem and I don't have the solution on the ZDs. They always leak by the little hole on the shock cap when I compress them, even after few runs, some oil is going out of it. Do you have this problem? Is there a specific method to close the shock please?
 
I finally bought Typhon 6S shocks, I am waiting for them for now. Additional pistons are in the package so I will try to use these spare parts for the ZD Racing shocks (pistons are horrible in there). Though I still have a problem and I don't have the solution on the ZDs. They always leak by the little hole on the shock cap when I compress them, even after few runs, some oil is going out of it. Do you have this problem? Is there a specific method to close the shock please?
I don't have that issue. I wonder if your bladder in the cap is ripped or not seated well? You could maybe try a layer of white teflon pipe tape on the threads. I wanted to order a set of 6S shocks but Typhon ones were too much. I'm trying Mojave 6S fronts (for the front) and Kraton 6s fronts (for the rear). That combo length is almost the same as typhon 6s. Then I bough typhon springs to get the match.

Edit: Unrelated but I found a cool video on rebuilding ZD shock
 
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