HPI spring tolerances

[darrenoakley]

Just got a new set of pro 4 pinks and have an old set so thought i would check them buy putting them together and squeezing them between my fingers. The idea was regardless of force each side they should both compress at the same time roughly. Well the new ones are way harder than the old ones. In fact they are harder than the gold and the whites too. I remember Jamie saying that the newer ones were different but that is loads different.
worth checking guys.
Think I need you to check them at work please Dave.

[martinchallis]

Yeah,

I had the same issue.... The American Pro 4 Sets Were a little harder than expected..

[Reuben]

yeh the original Pro4 springs are rare as rocking horse poo. Very hard to find and get hold of.

I know a number of guys use xray springs to a similar effect? but ive never used them so cant be sure

[Martin Young]

I've started recently using Xray spring, but just be warned the feel is different to the HPI springs

So if you are looking for a comparable spring, the Xray does not have the same feel but that said they do seem to work (for me).

Personal choice for sure!

[yellowshark]

Yup they work for us too

[lesbaldry]

Aug 19, 2010 14:05:14 GMT Martin Young said:

I've started recently using Xray spring, but just be warned the feel is different to the HPI springs

So if you are looking for a comparable spring, the Xray does not have the same feel but that said they do seem to work (for me).

Personal choice for sure!

Spot on Martin,Ive tried equivalent makes with the same ratings and they do feel different to drive,for sure its very much a personal feel and worth playing with!
I only have one pair of the new black coated HPI springs (silvers) and they are very slightly stiffer compared to the old favorites,they seem to sit between the original silvers and pinks?

[darrenoakley]

So the old HPI silvers and golds are actually not painted at all.Just plain metal ?

[lesbaldry]

Aug 19, 2010 21:53:54 GMT @darrenoakley said:

So the old HPI silvers and golds are actually not painted at all.Just plain metal ?

Yes chap golds are gold and silvers silver,its the pinks and blues that are black coated with a paint mark colour code at one end of the spring.

[Dave Chamberlain]

If anyone wants spring rates measured let me have them & I can get them measured on our tensile test kit in the lab at work.. It will compress the spring over a present distance and give a graph output of the load as it increases.

Great for finding those lost pinks & blues when the paint has gone!!!

[jamietraylor]

i can never get on with hpi springs.xray springs feel smoother to drive and suit me indoors and out.

[Reuben]

to be honest, ive only ever tried HPI and Schumacher springs. I would like to give xray springs a go, but i seem to get on with HPI in the schumacher.

[ianlloyd]

While technically this is not the most accurate way to check springs it is a cheap and easy way to get some idea. Just put the two springs on a screwdiver shaft and press them onto something. I have a piece of hard plastic with a hole in that slides over my screwdriver. By doing this you should be able to see if the springs compress equally or not. If one is compressed fully before the other then you know it is softer.

Like I say, not as accurate as a proper spring guage but costs nothing to do.

[lesbaldry]

Aug 20, 2010 10:55:42 GMT jamietraylor said:

i can never get on with hpi springs.xray springs feel smoother to drive and suit me indoors and out.

How odd Jamie I'm the opposite!!..A little story,I was once told by a fellow faster Photon team members to use Xray 26's alround (very close silver equivalent) at Aldershot as they absorb the bumps better round the fast banking,I tried but preferred the HPI silvers ...perhaps I use strange damping,pack and rebound ..Also theres another very fast Photon driver that uses nothing else and swears by Tamiya springs.
Ive always used HPI springs as Ive found them very consistant plus I know where i am with them when I make a change to sort a prob! A set of golds,silvers pinks and blues I have found will alow me to set up and race on any track indoors or out.

[jamietraylor]

like you said its down to personal feel. When we were racing f1 indoors neither of us liked the feel of each other's car's but our own car's felt good to us!