RC4WD TF2 Teraflex Shackles Mod

[@ScaleCustomCrawlers-SCC]

Whenever i get one tf2 on my hands,you are the one to speak to Mark!Nice info!

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

You definitely need a TF2! I was so psyched to find one last year. Time will tell how this mod holds up and how it performs. I'll probably have more info on this later.

[@zz-tama]

It sure looks like it's running smoothly. It's interesting to see all the different methods and opinions.

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

This truck is always a work in progress. It is running very smoothly but it can always be modded to be better in some way I have found. It is amazing how many options are available for these trucks!

[@squidious1662]

Just got one for myself. Definitely gonna try this. Thanks dude!

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Congratulations! They're great trucks and there's a ton of potential to be unlocked from them. Thanks for watching and feel free to ask questions if you have any.

[@TK421Reporting]

i like the looks of the upside down shackle and it adds more flex and lowers the stance a bit, will be switching mine over meow

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

I also don't use full springs in the rear shocks, just bits of bump coils in there so the pistons don't slam the tops of the chambers. I use softer full springs up front for the matched droop. Super flexy and soft. I've tested it with the shackles mounted both ways and the the thing that really stuck out was when mounted "normally" the leaf hits them and they limit travel, as you saw in the video.

[@jeremyoshea7941]

Your truck looks amazing in the videos the suspension the tires are nice and worn in are you still using the TeraFlex if so are you using the Z boxes as well I have them on the forerunner I also have a lowering kit to get the CG down and then I put a body lift but I do run with the boxes and the TeraFlex in the back.

[@jeremyoshea7941]

I’m sorry Mark I could see now that you are running the Z boxes have you given any thought to running the TeraFlex in the front the only reason I don’t is that I have a A&M front bumper with a +4mm leaf hanger.

[@jeremyoshea7941]

It sounds counterintuitive to have a body lift. Ha but The forerunner doesn’t give you much space underneath the seats or body to have a two cell lipo. Keep that in mind when you do buy your forerunner. Your pretty clever So I’m sure you’ll figure out a way. I would like to turn my battery tray around so I can mount the battery right behind the transmission But being that there’s a concave section where the driver and passenger feet would be Makes it difficult I’m gonna try one of those Helios batteries like a 2000 mA three cell. Anyways love to see your truck videos!

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Now that it's been running like this since last year, it has proven to be very effective. I should do a full video on the setup on this thing from front to back. Go into all the details of how I did the shocks and why. The only thing I need to change now is stronger coils in the front shocks or add better bump coils so the front diff doesn't smack the servo horn on every big bump. I'm thinking of building yet another custom set for the front of this thing. I had them on my TF2 LWB but the axle travel was limited on that truck and just didn't drop out enough for everything to make sense.

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

​@@jeremyoshea7941 Yes, fully stock up front and Teraflex & Z-Boxes in the back. It has almost 4" of corner to corner flex. With that much travel in the rear end. I would like to add a set of Teraflex up front and I may take them off my TF2 lWB to make that happen. But I've been really pleased with the performance so far so I haven't messed with it. I totally get the lift it to lower it thing. The interior of the TF2 is cramped as well. It's one of the reasons I haven't put an interior in there yet. I fear what I'm going to have to move around to get it done. Right now my battery is forward weighted and I don't want to shift that past the gearbox toward the back for obvious reasons. I've thought about doing a pseudo half interior and just go with it. Leave the underside for the space the batter needs. Are there any smaller batteries that would work for your situation? It always seems like the battery is the thorn in everyone's side when it comes to scale trucks.

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

@@jeremyoshea7941 "Helios batteries like a 2000mAh three cell" I think that's your answer. Good juice for a shorter run time but being able to fit it all in is a viable tradeoff. I use 6200s in all my RC4WD stuff and have trouble getting my D90 to sit down on the frame properly.

[@brianwood9849]

Just subscribed. So do you have them on the right direction in video or backwards? I also have the Teraflex gear on my Blazer….

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

I mounted them in reverse. I cover some of the details and compare stock mounting to this modification. Good travel gains with z-boxes and shackles installed.

[@Mr.Bryan1234]

I cant find 100mm shocks rc4wd

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Sorry to hear that. Did you check their website? store.rc4wd.com/RC4WD-Bilstein-SZ-Series-100mm-Scale-Shock-Absorbers_p_5786.html?gclid=CjwKCAjwj42UBhAAEiwACIhADl-HcxJ42GpBBjS6qnSc_OQsPm5gzj6K950zi84TwrgbCIsJV4aNRBoCJjoQAvD_BwE

[@rhettdepol4629]

what size tire are you running? 2.2? Also do you plan on adding the tara flex to the front as well, with 100mm shocks?

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Thanks for the questions! And no, sir. These are 1.9" Injora "Dick Cepek Mud Country" tires on some Injora beadlocks. Not quite as soft as some of the nicer compounds but work very well for everything I've done with them. Nice natural offset, too. No additional extensions. As for Teraflex on the front, I had an issue with front driveshaft disconnection from TOO MUCH flex. I switched back to factory mounting and haven't revisited the idea since. I do have a set to use as well some Z-boxes but I just haven't committed the time to setting it up right. It runs so stinking well that I just haven't felt the need, tbh!

[@rhettdepol4629]

Got ya makes sense. Ok so I’ve been doing some thinking and looking into the a and m garage reverse shackle kit. Do you think it would be possible to run that in the front with the Tera flex hangers on the backside of the front leafs? I feel that could potentially a good way to do it, if they would be able to mount on the back of the front leafs. What are your thoughts?

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

I think as long as you have a 2 piece driveshaft that can handle about 1.5-2" of extension without disconnecting, you'd be fine. Once you install the Teraflex up front, the front axle drops out pretty far. I tried the Teraflex on the front side of the leaf springs with Z-boxes on the rear of them and that's when I ran into problems. Keep in mind, all that flex up front lets it unload a ton of weight headed uphill in the right situation. You'd almost want to run flex limiter straps or whatever. This is all going to depend on how far the travel is on your front shocks, too. You wouldn't want to do all that modding and not have the right shocks to accommodate it, as well. The rear end of my TF1 drops out about 2" at full flex. Something to consider: you're going to want to be really careful about wrapping leafs, as well. I run the single main leafs all the way around with no carrier or mid leaves. So it's loose as can be. Once the axle starts dropping out, the structural integrity of the axle really gets weak, it's relying almost entirely on the strength of that spring steel. All my shocks have just 1 CM bump coils inside, too. And no oil. I like the suspension as loose as possible so it doesn't take forever to make contact with whatever surface it's on.

[@offroad1911]

I’m gonna order these and try them on my Marlin Crawler. I was about to give up leaf springs and do the link suspension conversion. Hopefully this makes it more enjoyable.

[@j.r4985]

What size shocks are you running? Wondering if these will be fine with 80mm or if I should’ve gone with 90mm

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Bilsteins 100mm (full extension) in rear, 80mm (full) up front - just a drop or two of oil and only 1cm of cut coil spring inside for a full droop ride but it doesn't bottom out because of the little bit of spring. It's also setup with Teraflex Shackles and Z-boxes on the rear and it's got about 4" of travel at full extension.

[@j.r4985]

@@VermontScaleCustoms awesome setup! I’m kinda regretting ordering 80mm all around. Would this mod even be worth it running 80mm shocks in the rear?

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

With only 80mm out back you just won’t have the travel for getting over some obstacles. If you look closely, you’ll se that I’m on the lower mount points on the axle and and angled in towards each other at the top. 80mm will give you some travel but it will be very limited.

[@j.r4985]

@@VermontScaleCustoms true enough! Might try it out anyways and see what happens. Might still be better than the stock flex until I upgrade the shocks

[@That_Toy]

Are you running spring less shocks

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Almost. I have "Bump Coils" in there all the way around. I cut about 1 CM of coil for each shock and put the cut side to the top of the shock body. It rebounds right when it needs it and lets it ride in pretty much full droop with just a little bit of bounce. It definitely helps keep it from bottoming out with running only the main leaf.

[@That_Toy]

@@VermontScaleCustoms have you ever thought about a 4 link rear and panhard setup

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

@@That_Toy I have a Gelande II D90 that's set up that way with 100mm dual stage shocks. It's a heavy beast at 12lbs. I really like my leaf sprung trucks. This thing has almost 4" of articulation and it's crazy to drive like that. The front is pretty stock but the rear axle is the sleeper hattrick for this thing. It's easily my favorite rig I own.

[@That_Toy]

@@VermontScaleCustoms cool I was thinking of doing it to my tf2 because we have a cabin crawl in polson and I need good suspension so I was wondering what you thought about it

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

@@That_Toy it's a good mod. It takes the TF2 chassis and makes it more like an SCX10 chassis, I think, with all linked suspension. It certainly gives you options. For me, I like that beat up old Toyota suspension look and feel that is incredibly capable. With Teraflex Z-boxes and Shackles, this probably moves about as much as a truck can. The one thing this rig lacks is the anti-wrap link which helps keep from destroying leaf springs if the truck gets bound up and you don't let the throttle in time.

[@rcplaytime]

interesting bro😀👍👍

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

Thanks! Trying to keep it interesting. People keep unsubscribing from the channel so I'm trying to make it more interesting but who knows?!?

[@stanislavbartl6616]

Trochu jsem nepochopil, proč nejsou ty "houpačky" montovány symetricky, proč je druhá otočená o 180° (spodek, vršek) Opticky to vypadá blbě...

[@VermontScaleCustoms]

I don't care if you think it looks stupid. I didn't do the mod for looks. If you don''t like it, don't do it. It's a proven modification that opens up more flex for the rear end. It also helps to learn how to be more constructively critical on the internet. But what do I know.