Another 02 Viper Suspension Question

mdkuni

mdkuni

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Joined
Apr 7, 2004
Messages
250
Location
Houghton Lake, MI
I am 5'9" and weigh about 170-175 with gear. The sled has a 1.25 camo with no studs and the fra is at A, the tranfer rods are all they up for max transfer and the rest of the settings are stock (Original shock package on the sled). I like to ride hard through the bumps, and enjoy the ski lift. What would you recommend for a better suspension set up?
 
I'm not a suspention tuner but I play one in my garage with my own sled somtimes - so here is some info and someone please correct me if I am misleading this guy.

For trail riding I do not think you want your transfer rods to be at full transfer. I think you are risking your W arm and bottoming out. For trail riding you want those rods to basically give you equall spacing at the adjustment area when you are setting on the sled. Full transfer is for drag racing not trail riding. At full transfer I would think you have to much ski lift comming out of the corners while still turning.

If at all possible you want your FRA in the center so you can easily adjust for a softer or stiffer ride depending on conditions.

Tod
 
I weight in at about 165 with gear on and my transfer rods on my viper are 1 notch from full transfer. With a studded(144) stock track my sled doesn't even think about lifting the skis, ANYTIME! I expect that is why his are set at full transfer, since he is 170-175 with gear on. I have always hated that, I can't get traction to save my life. Although I would think his 1 1/4 track helps. I doubt if he will risk breaking the w-arm from too much transfer, since his weight, like mine, doesn't allow as much transfer to start with. I'm going 1 1/4 this year too. I hope that helps. I just got off the phone with Bruce at Pioneer Performance, if you want a better ride, and still be able to ride hard in the bumps, send in those stock shocks and get them re-valved. FYI, he has 10% off right now too. ;)!
 
Bruce does do great work and can really set you up with an awesome shock valving package for a lot cheaper than a lot of other guys. About the transfer rods, you are are risking breaking your w-arm by running with them at full transfer, but that is only if you are really pounding it hard through the moguls. With the rods set at full transfer, you are effectively allowing the front arm to work indepently of the rear arm for a large portion of the travel. By the time it couples, it is too late, and the front arm bottoms, putting tremendous stress on the w arm, which causes them to crack. Like i said though, if you are smooth trails and dont jump this isn't much of a problem, but if you are pounding through the moguls you will probably want to back off the transfer some. You will probably also find that with less transfer when going through the moguls the sled wont pitch as much, it will fly flatter with less transfer, which makes it easier to control. If you don't have your center preload cranked up all the way yet, do that! It makes a big difference in allowing the front arm to work indepently for part of the stroke, otherwise the suspension couples too early. Hope this helps.
 
Yamaholic do you think you can elaborate a little bit more on what cranking the center preload will actually do? Also is there a recommended setting for the preload or should I just take it as far as I can?

Ridesrx, I love the stock shocks so I am not going to send them in. They have almost 7 thousand miles on them. And as far as the 1.25 track goes you will love it. I think the sled hooks up real nice!

What do you guys think about Tods recommendation to set the fra in the middle I have not tried that yet.......
 
Basically, the suspension couples after the front arm moves a certain distance in compression travel. (It couples even sooner the tighter you have your rear control rods, which means less transfer). With the center spring all the way tight or close to all the way, it does a lot of the work on its own when hitting a bump, instead of just going to fully coupled right away. The more travel that is available before the point the suspension couples, the smoother the ride will be. Now you are probably thinking that setting the control rods for more transfer should have the same effect, and it does to a certain extent, but instead of increasing the travel BEFORE coupling, it actually just moves the point that it couples down, so you aren't using all of your travel. With the center spring cranked it will allow the suspension to use almost all of its travel AND will make distance traveled before the suspension couples longer. Does this help at all?
 
Awesome post! ;)! Thanks a lot for taking the time to write that it helped a lot. Now I guess my question is, is there a way to do that and yet provide a good amount of transfer still. I love how it hooks up now with the transfer like it is.
 
Oh i forgot to mention that. Cranking your center preload will give you a lot better weight transfer as well, so you will be able to back off some on the control rods if you want and still have transfer real similar to what you have now, but with a better ride ;)!
 
Great explaination Holic

I read about cranking up the center preload several times. But it's never been explained to such an extent. I learned a few things just now. Great info! :rocks:
 
I am going to try this for next season. Since I won't be getting an Apex next for next season. (no money) Do you recommend letting the limiter straps out a bit ? What can be done about the front suspension. I have made some improvements by chaning the shocks are per the shock update. The front suspension doesn't seem to want use its full travel though. Thanks again for the info.
 
soften up the front springs as much as you can while still maintaining adequate ski pressure. This has two effects: the first is that it will obviously soften the front the looser the preload is on the springs, and second, the lower you can get the sled to ride, the flatter it will corner because the center of gravity is lower. BUT, decreasing the front preload also decreases your ski pressure, so you can only go so much until you start feeling your sled pushing through the corners more. This is the reason why i personally run a lot of preload on the front springs, because i love A LOT of corner bite, but it does make the front a little stiffer and it has more inside ski lift. It is totally a matter of preference in exactly what you want your sled to do. Same goes for the limiters. If you let them out further your suspension will ride better, will take bigger hits before bottoming, and will transfer better, but it will also make the sled push more and might wear hyfax a little quicker in marginal conditions. Everything has its benefits and trade offs.
 
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