Starting a best shock argument !

[Dadio]

So I've just completed a recreation of my old vintage hotshot and I went with the original yellow Tamiya CVA shocks for the build as that's the way it was BITD , anyway last weekend I met up with a mate and we went for a bash at a local spot , he had his CAT XLS and I took the hotshot and mini mustang , while the hotshot wet very well it was clear that better shocks would be a good upgrade .
Now I've been looking at Kyosho gold option house shocks and AE RC10 gold shocks but I've never used either before , I'm looking for nice smooth vintage or vintage style shocks so I thought that sounds like the seed of a good argument
So what do you guys use as a go to shock ?

[GoMachV]

Best all around shock? Hands down, I’m a Kyosho gold guy.
Best shock that held oil the worst? Delta.
Best shock that is nearly impossible to bleed? Delta
Best modern shock? Too many to choose from.
Most overrated shock? Trinity hands down. Complete rubbish
Most interesting shock? Progressive technologies
Shock most prone to ending up on a yokomo? AE
Most complex shock with least oil volume? Platinum
Shock that isn’t a conventional shock? Awesomatix
Shock that is rarely properly identified? Duratrax
Shock I’d most like to own? Maybe a brimod

[juicedcoupe]

With a little tuning, I've never thought that CVA's were that bad.

Associated springs fit the smaller body ones. Traxxas springs can be made to fit the larger body ones, with the Traxxas locators and cups.

I don't have any delusions that they are a race grade shock, but I've had more expensive shocks that weren't near as good.

[Dadio]

The Kyosho golds are high on my list but I know nothing about them really , are there part numbers or sold as a kit of parts ?

[HS-YZ250]

*Lurking to wait for opinions on Yeahracing, since they're cheap.

[Dadio]

*Lurking to wait for opinions on Yeahracing, since they're cheap.

Not seeing anything from Yeah racing that looks right , not fitting on a vintage build or not this one to me , sorry if anybody thinks they are great then chime in for sure .

[GoMachV]

the Yeah racing shocks I built were for touring car, and only had one O-ring, but they were very smooth. Impressive, not Tamiya quality but at 1/3 the cost they were fantastic.

Kyosho Golds were sold separately and as parts, but came in so many kits that Im sure that is where the bulk of them derived from.

[TheDiamondOne]

Kyosho platinums are best performing, and looking of all time.

[juicedcoupe]

Something else to consider is what shock lengths and strokes you need.

With the AE gold shock being available in four body lengths, getting something that fits properly might be easier.

And maybe consider availability as well. If you want something less common you might have to wait and/or spend more.

[Coelacanth]

Kyosho Golds by a large margin. The ease of rebuilding, the consistently excellent damping action, the oil retention...I've opened several decades-old beat-up-looking Golds to find them still full of clean oil. I've rebuilt Platinums and I concur with Jeff on those. I was fortunate enough to get a set of Brimod shocks in a parts car lot from another member and polished them up really nice, they're beautiful...but honestly I don't think they could beat the Golds, either. I haven't found anything that went together that easily and worked that smoothly.

Worst shocks, also by Kyosho: the infamous red OEM shocks for the Optima and other cars. The silly thin plastic gaskets always breaking, the red shock collars always cracking, the need for a special tool just to disassemble them, and the constant leakage put them high on my "worst shocks" list...maybe at the top!




Golds even look great...when they're not gold.

[Coelacanth]

*Lurking to wait for opinions on Yeahracing, since they're cheap.

I don't know about YeahRacing, but I've built several sets of 3Racing dampers (resto-modding a Marui Galaxy RS and the CYANide Optima)...I found that they can work beautifully but may take some tweaking. I opened up piston holes, shortened the travel with spacers on the inside, and used lighter-weight oil and they can work very well. No leaking either. Pretty damn good for a set of 4 shocks for $29.99.

[Dadio]

There are a lot of AE shocks compared to the none Kyosho golds for sale... So that's a major point in their favour.

[juicedcoupe]

There are a lot of AE shocks compared to the none Kyosho golds for sale... So that's a major point in their favour.

Definitely.

And if you really wanted them, new AE bodies and such come up all the time. So having brand new "vintage" shocks is an option.

[juicedcoupe]

I don't know how they compare performance wise, but the re-re Kyosho Beetle, Scorpion, and Turbo Scorpion shocks definitely have the vintage look.

[Coelacanth]

There are a few eBay sellers who stock re-re's of the Kyosho Golds for a reasonable price. I have no idea how well they work, but I've considered buying a set. If anyone can testify that they work as well, that would be another affordable option.