Axon Revoshock II - A Unique Approach to Dampers
December 1, 2020
Earlier this year Axon hit the R/C Drift Scene with a new set of dampers, the Axon Revoshock Dampers (Version 1). They had a unique piston design and sealing method. Unfortunately they were plagued with leaking issues. (At least for me and confirmed by many) The dampers themselves felt great, but leaky shocks just don’t cut it for me.
Enter the Axon Revoshock II Dampers. It looks Ike Axon took what they learned from the Revoshock 1s and applied it to the latest release.
Axon Revoshock II Dampers
I was excited to test the latest Axon Dampers since the v.1s were great other than the leaking. The first thing I checked was how Axon was going to attack the bottom seal. I was pleased to see a single, larger O-Ring in place of the smaller, double O-Ring system they had previously used. I found myself still a bit concerned as I dug deeper since it turns out they are still using a double O-Ring system. One large one, and an even larger, but considerably thinner one as well. From all my past experience, double gaskets / O-Rings will always leak.
Pistons
One thing that really stood out to me was how Axon approached the piston game. Right away you will notice their pistons look like nothing else in the game. Huge holes, a lot of them. It allows you to have a finer range of damping with the available shock fluids. For example, the difference between 100 weight and 200 weight seems to be considerably less than a 50 weight difference. I also noticed Axon has gone with a 12 hole front and 16 hole rear piston (or vice versa) which I like. I usually run heavier damping on the front, which would allow me to use the same fluid front and rear with heavier damping on the front.
The Build
I’m no stranger to building dampers. As far as how many sets I have built over the years, I couldn’t even begin to count, but I always consider myself a student in the learning phase, so I turned to Mikko Yang of Team ReveD and D-Style for any build tips. He recommended to pre-soak the O-Rings for 5 minutes prior to assembly, and then to coat them with O-Ring grease. Of course I listened to the 2020 US Drift King! I also built according to the supplied instructions and rather than to build with my standard push-out, I followed Axon’s recommendation of no push-out and not using the shock vac which I have found myself not using much these days. I also noticed the bladders fit better this time around. No complaints here.
Performance
The Revoshock IIs feel just as good as the v.1s. With the piston design change with less holes for the front (or rear) I found them more to my liking. You will notice immediately they are extremely smooth and without the extreme play inherent to the Yokomo Big Bores. The finer adjustment between fluid weights is definitely something not to be overlooked. Probably the single greatest feature of the Revoshock II. They feel great and if you run a softer setup as I usually do, they seem to be right at home without much change.
Conclusion
Many may have been wondering why I have taken so long to do a write up on the Revoshock II. I feel for the Reveshock v.1 I was a little quick to give the thumbs up, so I wanted to give these some time to show their true colors. After a few days, I found a small amount of leakage going on. It appears to still be coming front the bottom seal. I DO NOT feel it is enough to be a deal breaker for most, and the benefits may outweigh the downside of needing to rebuild more often. I have heard of people storing their chassis upside down to minimize leaking which is a good preventative measure if that works for you.
Overall the Axon Revoshock II is a winner in my book. Slight leaking although not something I personally am ok with, is really not enough to make this a bad product. Just a high-performance damper that will need a little more maintenance than your average set. I have heard of people using Yokomo Blue O-Rings as an alternative, but that’s really not something I am here to test at the moment.
See You On The Track!
Get them here:
http://supergdrift.com/product/revoshock-ii-damper-kit-for-yokomo-yd-2-axon-dd-ys-002/