Coil Over Shock Absorbers

[BernieSolo]

Hello,

Looking for some advice about using COTS coil-over shocks. These devices usually have oil inside. Would these be a violation of rule R9. Are they considered hazardous or unsafe?

Thank you.

[Chak]

In the blue box under R9:

G. Hydraulic fluids or hydraulic items

I believe the oil would count as hydraulic fluid.
Maybe you can find an air powered equivalent?

[BernieSolo]

Yes, I saw that. And... I also noticed in section 1.4 on page 5:

"Warnings, cautions and notes appear in blue boxes. It is strongly"
"recommended that you pay close attention to their contents as they’re intended to provide insight into the reasoning behind a rule, helpful information on understanding or interpreting a rule, and/or possible “best practices” for use when implementing systems affected by a rule."

"While blue boxes are part of the manual, they do not carry the weight"
"of the actual rule (if there is an inadvertent conflict between a rule and"
"its blue box, the rule supersedes the language in the blue box)."

I hope the Q&A site opens soon.

Thanks for your input.

[dradel]

Use air cylinders as the shocks. Use shrader valves in the ports so you can add or remove air from either side of the piston. Instant shock and no spring needed

[Mr V]

Originally Posted by dradel

Use air cylinders as the shocks. Use shrader valves in the ports so you can add or remove air from either side of the piston. Instant shock and no spring needed

Actually what you would create doing that would be air springs, the "shock" function would be very limited. Not that a robot due to its light weight would really need shocks if it has a spring suspension.

[Kevin Thorp]

Spring suspensions and pneumatic wheels will reduce impact, but cause bouncing. Which might be an issue, or might just be fun to watch

Shock absorbers dampen the bounce. Cars and most motorcycles have springs and shock absorbers.

Here is an excellent video showing the difference between springs and shock absorbers: https://youtu.be/QrQMY8eDDL4

[Ryan_Todd]

Originally Posted by dradel

Use air cylinders as the shocks. Use shrader valves in the ports so you can add or remove air from either side of the piston. Instant shock and no spring needed

Yep, pressurize one side and close that valve completely and you've made a gas spring. Then leave the other outlet open to the air and tighten that valve *most* of the way without closing it completely, and it's a self-contained gas shock/spring combo unit.

[martin417]

You do know that the gas springs that are specifically legal in the rules are partially filled with oil? And that they are dampers (or shock absorbers by another name).

They would act as coil-overs, with the coil spring being replaced with pressurized gas.