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   LUNSFORD TITANIUM MONSTER SPRINGS  RATING:






LUNSFORD TITANIUM
MONSTER SPRINGS
 quality  
 performance  
 fit  
 appearance  
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 OVERALL  

If you haven't considered upgrading the springs on your Maxx or AE Monster GT yet, it's time to seriously consider it. A spring upgrade is one of the best ways to improve the handling and jumping ability of your truck.

There are a ton of different spring rates out there. Remember this: the softer the spring, the softer the ride. Softer springs will keep the truck from bouncing around like a pogo stick but can also make it feel "mushy" in turns and can affect handling. Stiffer springs will reduce "nose dive" when slamming on the brakes, will reduce body roll and will keep heavier trucks at the proper ride height. "Stiffys" will also help your truck handle bigger jumps.

Stock Traxxas springs are rated at 2.2 lbs. The titanium springs from Lunsford are almost double the spring force of the stockers weighing in at 4.25 lbs of force to compress. We installed these on a mostly aluminum T-Maxx that due to it's construction is considerably heavier than the stock setup. Reference the picture to the left: Note the Lunsford spring on the bottom and the much larger, coarser coil design than the stock Traxxas spring in the middle and the Traxxas Big Bore spring on the top. A stronger/stiffer spring is a welcome and required upgrade on a truck of this heft. The truck is also equipped with Traxxas Big Bore aluminum shocks, 50 weight Trinity oil and two hole shock pistons.

Installation is pretty simple. Shock removal is not required for a spring upgrade. You can just remove the lower shock mount, remove the lower spring cup and slide the spring off. On a heavier truck like ours, we decided to install all 8 springs. On lighter trucks (stock or slightly modified), you might want to start with 4 and go from there. Special note: As noted above, we installed these on Big Bore shocks. For some reason, Traxxas uses a slightly smaller outside diameter upper spring retainer and lower spring cup on Big Bores than they do on the stock plastic shock units (reference picture to the right)? These springs do not fit the Big Bore upper spring retainers and lower spring cups very well? In fact it is a bad enough fit, you need to go and steal the cups and retainers off of your old plastic shocks if you are planning on running these springs on the Big Bores. Weird! Once we swapped the retainers and cups from our original stock set and everything fit together well. This should not be an issue if you are still using stock shocks...we just want to forewarn Big Bore users.

We took the truck out and put it through a number of different driving conditions. First we gave it some high speed runs up and down the street and noticed the truck was less wishy washy and felt that the springs gave the truck better overall control. When trying to turn the truck at higher speeds, body roll was significantly reduced and made the truck feel more stable. (Note that on a lighter truck, running all 8 springs may make it feel more "tipsy".) Strange as it sounds, the truck almost seemed faster as it did not squat to the ground under hard acceleration, but it stayed taught and upright (we know speed did not increase but we liked the hole shot feel much better than the stock springs). Next we took it out to our track and tossed it off a some big dirt jumps....over and over again. The springs seemed to make the truck "pop" off the jump faster. Landings were not a problem and bottoming out was at a minimum. The springs seem to have a very fast response rate, meaning they move back to their original length very quickly, without allowing the truck to bounce excessively.

The springs are a HUGE improvement over the stock units. These are great springs. Titanium offers a nice finish (although the silver titanium finish is the only color available) and obvious strength and longevity. We felt the force rating provided a nice blend of not too stiff and not too soft. Something to remember: not only do they fit the Traxxas T-Maxx (and E-Maxx and SportMaxx), but they also fit the AE Monster GT. With a truck like the MGT, we would guess that all 8 springs would be needed even on a stock truck.

The cost on the spring sets is a little high ($39.95 for the 4-pack) when compared to other springs on the market. It should be noted though that these are titanium springs, not steel. And for many trucks, one set will be all that is needed. Lunsford may be the only (or one of the few) companies offering titanium springs. And let's face it people, when you buy Lunsford anything, you may pay a little more BUT you get what you pay for. There are a ton of less expensive companies out there but Lunsford has really done a nice job sticking to their guns and providing high-quality components. Again, we like these springs and look forward to giving them a serious butt kicking this season.

Check these springs and other cool goodies out at the Lunsford web site.


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