Team Losi shock shafts

[bshack]

Can anybody from Team Losi explain why we cannot get a shock shaft that does not lose it's Ti Nitride coating after one weekend of use? I sent in 6 front and 6 rear Losi shock shafts in for replacement and recieved only 5 of each back from Losi. All of these shock shafts have already worn the coating off, not to mention the shorting of a front and rear shaft. I have 1 set of shock shafts on my Mod XXX CR that came off of a XXX from 6 years ago.... They still have not shown any signs of wear. Once the coating wears through, the shock shaft becomes rough. Once the shaft is rough, the shaft tears through the O-rings. Leaking and bad shocks starts here. As a driver of Losi cars for 20 some years, I am faced with having to jump ship because of the quality of parts that I've seen in the last couple of years. I even noticed that Losi is putting less color in the shock oils to identify the weight.... Really??? I'm willing to pay for a premium race car as long as I get a premium race car. I have bought 4 XXX-CR's in the last 3 years. Losi could not even put in the right diff spring. All 4 of my cars, my partners car and even the owner of my LHS's car got a BK2 diff spring in the kit, and the front hub carrier/spindle hinge pins that were too long in all kits. Untill a few years ago, I never ever worried about parts missing in a kit when the shrink wrapping came off. Now I have to make trips to the shop to finish the car. Like I said previously, I'm willing to pay for a premium race car as long as I get a premium race car. Well Team Losi, I'm sad to report that unless my disputes against your company get resolved, and quality returns to the kits, I will buy a Kyosho. I just traded a New Jeep Wrangler in for a Toyota because of quality... Will the R/C industry's Great American car follow the same trend as the full size counterparts? Kyosho cost more but I'm willing to pay the premium, for a premium car.

[Briguy]

That`s funny , I`ve had three XXX-CRs and three XXX-TCRs since they came out and never had one shaft wear the coating off . You racing in sand ?

[clintscreations]

Im having the same problem with all of the ti coatings on my losi cars....to this point I have just replaced the shafts but putting new shafts and orings every month is getting expensive
On my 2nd xxxcr and 2nd xxxcr t and the hinge pin get a hard black crud that builds up as the ti coatings wear.....I run the majority on indoor wet hard packed dirt.......so I know its not the conditions I run

[Matt Sunderlage]

I'd have to agree w/Briguy I've never had that problem.

The only Losi car that happened to for me was my 1/10 gas truck. But I ran that strictly outdoors on a rather loose track.

[JeromeK99]

I noticed this happened right as the XXX-CR came out... Losi did replace the first set of these for our group... but they aren't much better... One month of racing and they are all worn again...

Losi hasn't been "the great American car" for some time now. Everything is shipped in from China.. all the metal hardware is crap pot metal. I remember when an rear axle would last forever.. now they break..

Oh.. and I love the fact that everything cost more now too!

Losi used to be better quality than everybody else out there... sadly no more.. but they are the same quality as everybody else..

Oh well....

Jerome :cool:

[Revlimit]

I had the same problem, I got a new xxxcr around christmas last year and the second practice runon the oval the shafts had already started leaking bc of the o rings being shot and actually cracked. I know I put the shocks together right, and the shafts were shot. It felt like someone had taken sand paper to them. I replaced the shafts and the rings, and they were shot in about a month. I put another set of rings in them and called it good, I just have to top off the shocks every now and then.

[bshack]

That`s funny , I`ve had three XXX-CRs and three XXX-TCRs since they came out and never had one shaft wear the coating off . You racing in sand ?

I don't race in sand. I race at CRCRC in Columbus, OH. I race on some of the best clay ever laid down for R/C. You don't even have to dust your car off at the end of the day usually.

I hate to be the one that starts a negative thread on this forum but I feel that Team Losi is forever lost to the RTR crowd and is forgetting about the guys who helped get them to where they are now. Monetarily speaking of course. We used to have XXX's ruling the day at CRCRC for years. 90% of the cars at the track were Losi. Now there are only 2 guys at my track running Losi. Even winning every Sunday has not been enough to convince people to get a XXX. The drivers are still trying to get the BK2 and EA3 taste out of their mouths. I stayed loyal and continued to win with my Losi. The others switched cars. Nine dollar a piece shock shafts that last a week is making me rethink priorities. Losi shocks are the best ever put on a race car but the shocks aren't any good without proper shafts.

[Casper]

I am sorry to hear of your issues. On the diff springs the CR diff comes with the square spring. At least that is what I am using. Works great.

The .9 shock shafts had a bad batch that losi was aware of and was fixing it. The .6 and 1.2's I have had have lasted pretty good for me.

The front spindles hinge pin has always been too long for as long as I can remember.

The BK2 was my favorite version of the car. I am not sure why all the bad taste for that car. The tranny case was too brittle but I liked the rest of the car.

Every company will go through some quality issues. AE and Kyosho were not immune to them over the years and have released fixes to there cars. I don't mean to say that to make it ok but to recognize no matter how hard you try there are some things out of your control and go wrong and all a company can do is to there best to catch them before they hit the market or do there best to make it better once they discover an issue. I ran Kyosho cars for about a year and a half before coming back to Losi and I don't regret it. Kyosho makes a great car, don't get me wrong but I am faster and more consistant with my Losi cars.

As for your shock issues? I really have not had any issues with leaky shocks even when the coating wore off after about 6 months. I can only assume you are using green slime when buiding your shocks?

[bshack]

The front spindles hinge pin has always been too long for as long as I can remember.


As for your shock issues? I really have not had any issues with leaky shocks even when the coating wore off after about 6 months. I can only assume you are using green slime when buiding your shocks?


Why would Losi keep putting the wrong Fr spindle hinge pins in a kit. As long as you can remember is way too long. The BK2 diff spring is longer than the CR spring but made from the same spring stock (Flat Coil). BK2 (about 4 coils), CR (just over 2 coils). I do not use green slime, I put a drop of shock oil on the O-rings when I install them and then put shock oil on the tip of the shaft when I put it through the O-rings. 20+ years of building Losi shocks, Curtis May will tell ya I've built a few. I just want Losi to improve.... If I can have parts with a acceptable service life, and a complete kit with all correct parts, I'll keep racing into the future. That is all I want out of Team Losi. I understand that Kyosho used Gil Losi for development on the RB5 so it's not like I'd be to far from the Losi genius if I decided to make a change.

[Casper]

Gil had nothing to do with the RB5.

I don't know why they hinge pin for the spindle is too long. I think it might be to use the same one for the arm as the spindle. Just a parts reduction deal.

I understand about the shock shafts. That sucks. The diff spring. That is pretty unusual. There kits are normally spot on. To have it happen 4 times they must have mixed up the boxes. I didn't realize the springs were different lengths. I will have to look closer next time I look through my box of parts.

[Matt Sunderlage]

We used to have XXX's ruling the day at CRCRC for years. 90% of the cars at the track were Losi. Now there are only 2 guys at my track running Losi. Even winning every Sunday has not been enough to convince people to get a XXX. I stayed loyal and continued to win with my Losi. The others switched cars. .

Same way at my track. Losi still makes the best quality buggy in my opinion.:)

[RcHippie]

Me to on the bad shafts my xxx t cr bad in like a week and I race it on the carpet!

[bshack]

The bad shaft crowd is coming out. C'mon Losi, any fixes on the Horizon? No pun intended.

[Briguy]

Casper said there was a bad batch that went out , wonder how many are in this batch ? 100 , 1,000 , 10,000 ? I lucked out and never had any problems with either truck or buggy . For the people having this problem try buying the shafts from somewhere different and you might get the good shafts .

[bshack]

The 10 shock shafts that I received from Losi are bad also. I need to send them in for replacement again. I had better get all 12 back this time.

[jrxt]

Can someone tell me what or if there is a loss after it comes off the shock shafts.

[Briguy]

The titanium coating makes the shaft surface harder and smoother . I can`t see much performance loss once the coating wears off .

[JeromeK99]

The o-rings in the cartridges do wear faster when the coating on the shafts come off.. so.. eventually you will end up with leaky shocks and have to refill the oil more often... Most racers don't notice it too much because they are constantly doing maintenance on their vehicles... so not a biggie...

Still disappointing at $10 a pop for each shock shaft!

Jerome :confused:

[bshack]

It gets real expensive when you have 3 XXX's. I run 2wd stock, 2wd mod, and I built a XXX for my brother to run stock with.

[L@gger]

-I found this thread and wants to write mine problems too. I bought mine XXX-CR in May and shafts also lasted only for few races. Im thinking of adding chromium on mine shafts and Im sure it cant be worse.
-I had some problems with differential plates also. My 15t brushed motor isnt so powerful but it was really hard work to have not locking differential what can transfer all power to wheels.
-I broke brace what is mounting servosaver ... It broke under bolts head what was quite unusual.
-Low profile lock nuts are really hard to screw because that hexagon profile is so narrow.
-All Shafts connecting cups has bend. Maybe its because of material

-I would like to suggest cover of shock shaft. Maybe shock would lasts longer because no sand would get on shaft.
-Cover of output differential bearings. I have only problems with those 2 bearings for all buggy life. After every race are locked.
-More rigid ball cups would be also good.

But anyway Im saying that is Losi nice buggy.

[El Scorcho]

Green slime? what's wrong with Green slime? :confused:

[Casper]

Green slime is the AE name for it. Losi has there own version of it that is also green.

http://www.horizonhobby.com/Products/Default.aspx?ProdID=LOSA99208

[El Scorcho]

Is there something wrong with using green slime...i too have worn out a set of front shafts in only maybe a month of weekend usage. Very little nitrate coating left on the shafts?

[Casper]

It is not the green slime. The coatings just don't last very long. I don't worry about personally. My shafts on my 2wd ant truck are well over a year old and still smooth although silver and not gold anymore! :(

[Briguy]

Long as they are smooth and don`t leak I wouldn`t worry about the nitrite coating coming off . The shocks on my JRx2 are original and was before nitrite coating and still smooth and don`t leak .