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RACER’S EDGE MINI-T HARD COATED ALUMINUM SHOCK SET

Even with the latest assault of 1/18 scale mini RC vehicles, the Mini-T is still a hot player in this category. And if you own one or have ever driven one, you understand why. One of the biggest weak points on the Mini-T is the cruddy friction shocks it comes with. Racer’s Edge to the rescue!

BYT has been running the Team Losi Shock upgrade for quite some time and they have worked pretty well, except for the frequent leaks. Racer’s Edge offers a Mini-T shock set that we just had to try out. We have been bashing them for the past month or so and here’s what we found!

The RE (Racer’s Edge) shocks are a top load design and the shock cap seals via an o-ring. This provides a better seal than the thin plastic washer the Losi’s use (the ones that leak all the time unless you double or triple stack them). This is a big bonus (anyone who has the Losi’s will agree).

Another sweet feature on the RE shocks is the top cap itself, it is blue anodized aluminum and really adds some extra “bling” to the package. Not only do they look good but aluminum shock caps are also less likely to flex and pop off during big landings (Losi shocks have a plastic cap). The top shock mount that protrudes from the cap is plastic. A note for those of you who are running Losi aluminum shocks right now and are going to make the switch like we did…you will need to dig through your spare parts box, locate and install the original gold colored ball pivots to mount the top of the shock. We found that with our aluminum tower, the threads were slightly different and we had to really ease the top pivots into place. None of this matters if you are still running the stock shock and tower setup…it is a direct fit.

The shocks come fully assembled for convenience however they are fully rebuildable. In fact they are built exactly like (or better than) most 1/10 and 1/8 scale shocks. The shock bodies are hard anodized for extra smooth shock action. The body has a double o-ring seal where the shock shaft exits with seal retainers and a metal retaining clip to hold everything in place. The caps have a bladder in them and the piston is held in place by an e-clip….just like 1/10 and 1/8 scale shocks. We experienced no leaks with the RE shocks during any of our testing.

Side note: Our kit came with oil already in the shocks however the www.racers-edge.com web site says you have to add oil? Just know that you may or may not need to put some oil in yours when you get them.

Here’s yet another killer option on this shock set – they come with lots of spring options, right out of the package! If you bought the Losi’s, you quickly found out that the only springs that come with the shocks SUCK and you had to go and drop another $16-$20 to get the spring sets. Racer’s Edge thought of everything and by including 4 (yes we said FOUR) springs for each shock. You get “softest”, “soft”, “medium” and “hard” spring options for each shock. We opted to run the “medium” springs on our setup (our Mini-T is fat with aluminum) and they feel significantly stiffer than the heavy springs from Losi! The “heavy” Racer’s Edge springs are SUPER stiff! Nice. RE really gives you a wide range of setups with the big handful of extra springs you get. Did we mention you have to pay extra for the Losi springs and RE includes them? Hmmm. That’s a no brainer isn’t it?! The RE shocks also come with a few spring spacers to further fine tune your ride height.

A small, but notable feature on the RE shocks is that the lower pivot ball (inside the lower shock end) is also anodized blue. Granted once everything is bolted together, it is hard to see but we still like it! It is a nice extra touch.

Once we had them installed, movement was smooth as silk. After a few weeks of banging around, the same was still true. Like we said before, no runs, no drips, no errors (that is from an old Krylon Paint TV commercial for those that are too young to know). We experienced ZERO problems with them and they performed very well at all times.

Also included with the shocks is a fill color parts list showing all the individual components of the shock in an exploded view along with parts numbers should they ever need a rebuild or repair. It is handy to keep around as it also shows the springs and what color equals what stiffness.

VERDICT: In our humble opinion, the RE shocks are superior to the Team Losi upgrades. We can’t really find anything wrong with the Racer's Edge shocks, especially when you consider the price (a mere $39.99 for ALL FOUR shocks). The Losi’s cost us $30+ and then we spent $18 on springs! This is an excellent value!

We wish we would have bought these instead of the Losi’s. The Losi's aren't bad by any means. We just think the Racer's Edge shocks are better!! If you are looking for oil-filled shocks for your Mini-T, save money and get better shocks. Buy the Racer’s Edge Mini-T shocks!