Back to the Optima (suspension)

Ok, i love back to the future, since it was so 80's. So thats how i came up with this title. I was supposed to race my Mid in a race last week but i broke one lazer ZX front c hub while casing a big jump. I got so fed up and went back to the original Optima Mids suspension. One of the biggest reasons was i had  a pair of A & L alumimiun C hubs with bearings and i think i could practically bulletproof the suspension with these c hubs.

The A & L C hub, with 4x8x9x3 flanged bearings.
Thats a ZX-5 plastic knuckle. i ground off 2mm from the top of the knuckle to be 20mm then only it could enter the c hub.

another view.

Rear Optim Mid Suspension with the arms flipped so that i can place the shocks at the rear like the lazer. Thi is done so that i can clear the new layshaft .

Position of shock on shock tower.

I tried the car today on the terrible offroad track and it was much better than before, simply because i removed the durango shock boots that was interfering with smooth suspension movement. the Mid could clear the big jumps most of the time and landings were good. It also handled the bumpy sections rather well. Of course the tree roots still posed a problem, but the car was definitely better. Also since i was using modified kawada touring car knuckles, the mounting for the kingpins was too short causing the kingpins to dislodge itself and ending my testing. i went home and then decide to grind off the ZX-5 knuckle by 2mm at the tops so that i can slide it into the c hub.The zx-5 kunckles felt a lot more secure, and the kingpins felt secure in them too. i think i pretty much nailed this problem with this solution. will test again the next week.