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How to Maximize the Hoss 4X4 VXL's Suspension Performance
Part 2: Suspension and Steering
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Aluminum Shock Caps
Traxxas’ composite-body, oil-filled Ultra Shocks deliver smooth damping and give the Hoss exceptional bump and jump absorbing abilities. Each shock gets plated shafts and dual X-ring seals for long oil life. The shock caps are ball-mounted so hard crash impacts won’t pop off the caps. If you’re looking for an inexpensive and effective upgrade, you can replace the caps with machined aluminum versions. The machined threads resist flexing to help them hold extra hold tight, and the caps come in blue, red, green, or pink for a splash of color.
The Ultimate: GTR Shocks
If you’re looking for the ultimate in competition-grade damping and control, hard-anodized aluminum GTR shocks are the way to go. PTFE-coated bores and scuff-resistant titanium-nitride coated shock shafts glide on X-ring seals for nearly frictionless action and long-lasting performance. The hard-anodized finish is extra durable and reduces drag on the spring coils if they contact the bodies. You can also save a few bucks and go for the GTRs with color anodizing in orange, green, red, or blue.
GTR shocks come in Long and XX-Long pairs
A hard-anodized finish is the best choice for maximum durability
The GTRs’ screw-mounted spring perches stay put no matter what
Spring Selection
The GTR shocks are sold without springs, so you can choose the correct stiffness or “rate” for your application. Spring rate refers to how much a spring compresses under a given weight, but all you need to remember is the higher the rate number, the stiffer the spring. We’re installing Long 0.767 rate front springs and XX-Long 0.874 rear springs, which are both color-coded as “black.” This will be close to the Hoss’ stock springing and damping. If your driving style favors very aggressive terrain and/or sky-high jumping, you can choose stiffer springs up to 0.892 fronts and 1.004 rears.
We went with the "black" rate springs
Choose the correct spring rate for your vehicleWhy Bigger is Better
Naturally the GTR shocks’ larger diameter holds more oil. Compared to the stock, 10 mm-bore Ultra Shocks, the GTR shocks’ 13 mm bores deliver 70% more oil capacity. This equates to more consistent damping and longer oil life because the stress of forcing the oil through the piston is spread over a larger volume. You won’t notice a dramatic difference in feel on the bench compared to a fresh set of Ultra Shocks, but you will notice it in the field. GTRs can also allow you to go longer between shock service sessions.
Machined Aluminum Suspension Setup
Traxxas offers all of the Hoss’ key composite suspension and steering parts in machined aluminum versions for maximum strength and style. We went with blue for this build, and installed a full set of caster blocks, steering blocks and rear carriers. These are stiffer than the plastic parts they replace for flex-free control no matter how hard you push your Hoss. Blue-anodized shock towers beef things up further, and TUBES links round out the upgrade package for a fully-adjustable and stylish suspension.
Machined Shock Towers
The Hoss’ composite shock towers are thickly molded to absorb big-hit abuse, and specially shaped to work with the quick-release body mounting system. The optional aluminum shock towers feature molded inserts to retain that capability, with stout 4 mm construction that makes the towers extra stiff. The thick aluminum also gives greater thread engagement for the hardware, making these towers extra tough for big-air action.
TUBES Links
The Hoss gets a set of 4 mm steel turnbuckle tie-rods and camber links as standard equipment, so you can experiment with your suspension and steering setup. For even stronger links, you can upgrade to TUBES. Each link is constructed of machined 7075 aluminum (a harder, stronger alloy than 6061) with steel threaded inserts and heavy-duty rod ends. You may see a weight savings of a few grams depending on which links you’re comparing, but TUBES’ real benefit is strength. The fat 7 mm center section is extra stout, and the extra-large flats make it very easy to adjust the links. You even get a premium adjusting wrench.
Extra-thick 7075-T6 TUBES bodies 
Aluminum caster and steering blocks
Installed: GTR shocks, aluminum shock towers, TUBES links, and orange HD armsHeavy-Duty Arm Color Options
We installed orange HD arms on our project Hoss to go with its orange body. You can also get the HD arms in white, red, blue, and green. Aside from color, they’re identical to the Hoss’ stock Heavy Duty arms and molded in the same proprietary, high-strength composite. The HD material is engineered to shrug off high loads and hard landings, even in cold weather.
Sway Bars
Adding sway bars to the Hoss only takes a few minutes with no disassembly required, and can dramatically improve handling in high-traction conditions. The 6898 Sway Bar Kit includes front and rear sway bars in two thicknesses, so there’s plenty of tuning range to suit on- and off-road conditions. We’re going with the plated sway bars to start, and will keep the stiffer black bars handy if we need more anti-sway effect.
The 6898 sway bar set fits all Traxxas 4X4 models
Here's a better look at the front sway barWhat Does a Sway Bar Do?
Sway bars help a vehicle resist “chassis roll” when cornering. During a turn, inertia and centrifugal force cause the chassis to roll or sway to the outside of the turn. A sway bar reduces this effect and help the chassis stay “flatter” in turns to carry more speed. As the outside arm goes up, the sway bar transfers some of that motion to the inside arm, counteracting the chassis roll. The sway bar flexes just enough to allow the suspension to remain independent.
Monster Muscle: High-Torque 400 Brushless Servo
The High-Torque 400 is an incredibly powerful metal-gear servo, delivering over 200% more torque compared to the Hoss’ standard 2075 servo (which is no slouch at 125 oz.-in.). The 400’s brushless motor gives it superior responsiveness and precision, and its 400 oz.-in. of torque is ample strength to turn the truck’s meaty Sledgehammer tires at any speed. The servo’s red aluminum mid-case also scores style points, but the real benefit is the way it stiffens the servo case and acts as a heatsink to keep the motor and electronics cool.
Metal gears, brushless motor, and aluminum midcase!
Now our Hoss is ready for action!What’s an Ounce-Inch?
A servo’s torque or “strength” is measured in ounce-inches (oz.-in.). An easy way to visualize the concept is removing a lug-nut from a full-size car’s wheel. Let’s say your lug wrench is one foot long, and you weigh 175 pounds. When you stand on the end of the wrench, you are applying 175 foot-pounds of torque to the nut—175 pounds of force (your weight) applied to a one-foot lever (the wrench). Ounce-inches works the same way, just in smaller increments—inches instead of feet, ounces instead of pounds. The higher the ounce-inch number, the “stronger” the servo.
That marks the end of our build! We hope you had as much fun building your Hoss as we did. Nothing else fits or performs like genuine Traxxas parts and accessories, and the wide variety of options and colors gives you nearly unlimited possibilities to personalize the Hoss (and any Traxxas model) to suit your style and performance needs. Now that our Hoss is now fully fortified with the strongest drivetrain and suspension parts Traxxas has to offer, it’s even more ready for high-flying, hard-charging RC adventure.