Well I asked my man Jason at AE and here's what he posted on Rc Tech in answer:
Hello all, this is indeed a confusing topic for most since there is some history that not many current racers know.
First off, the numbers listed on the shock shaft packages are the stroke length for both Team Associated and Losi shock shafts. This should be fairly straight forward for the AE shafts as they measure properly when you assemble them into the body and install the eyelet and spring cup (without limiters).
The confusion comes in with Losi shafts. The Losi shock used to have a different cartridge installed in the bottom that used a piece of foam for volume compensation (like a bladder). The cartridge assembled similarly to the current ones in that they contained 2 o-rings and a spacer, but on top was a hat section that held the foam piece. Since these were Losi's first shocks, all of the stroke lengths were based off of the shock stroke using this VC cartridge. The current design of the cartridge is now shorter since the VC feature was removed and thus the printed stroke on the package is longer than the measured when assembled with current parts. Don't quote me on the number but I think the shafts should have approximately .200"-.250" more stroke than printed.
Hope this helps...
Jason Corl begin_of_the_skype_highlighting end_of_the_skype_highlighting
Area 51 | Team Associated
www[dot]RC10[dot]com
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