WLtoys 12428 front shock tower by tjheikki

Last crawled date: 3 years ago

Front shock tower for the WLToys 12428 R/C car (would probably work but need slight modifications for Feiyue FE-03). Allows using existing shocks vertically instead of horizontally, no permanent modifications required and just fits under the stock bonnet. Two extra 14 mm M2.5 screws (same used in the car elsewhere) would probably be required to make it sturdy.
Installation should be straightforward with the photos included. Attaching the rods and shocks to the tower would require long enough screws, preferably 14 mm ones, of which two IIRC are missing from the pile you get when detaching the original parts.
The stock shocks mounted vertically are a bit too stiff to my taste, I cut 2.5 rounds off a set of spare springs and it feels rather suitable. Oil fill is pretty much required, and the stock shocks would need silicone O-rings (2.3 mm/4.3 mm) and pieces of rubber/silicone sheet or glue to hold the oil for more than a day. I'll adjust the tower for better shocks, when I get those, if required.
In the side view photos with the body installed you can see some clear tape where the shocks used to be; vertical mounting allows much better protection against water/snow/sand, this tape just was the first very quick measure against such annoyances, and already worked pretty well.
With stock stocks and this tower I myself have 25 mm / 1" throw between the highest and lowest position of the car front, and driveshaft (dog bone) ends stay well inside their wheel hub cups, but I have heard about problems with those so there might be slightly different car geometries around. Shorter shocks would help, but limit throw.
The red shocks in some photos are HobbyKing's TrackStar Big Bore 68 mm (between mounting hole centers) ones, very nice and oiltight but for this tower the 61 mm ones (or similar size) would be a better match. I will design another tower for longer shocks, but that won't fit under the bonnet anymore.
A short video about my shock absorber movement with this part in YouTube: https://youtu.be/d8oQ1Gy3SkY