Suspension Setting 101

[Mxbubs]

After sifting thru tons of questions on suspension, I decided to try to explain -what I do know, which isnt everything, nor do I claim to know it all- the basis of atv suspension.

For starters, spring pre-load, setting your ride height should be the primary reason for adjusting your springs. Ideally, you want to get the quad as low to the ground as possible and still have enough suspension travel that you dont beat yourself to death. When you lower the quad, keep in mind the spring gets stiffer, the more your compress it or "load it up". Loading it up will effect the shock performs, it will usually make the ride harder, and it will rebound faster. If you have a good shock, with rebound and compression adjustment, you can squat the quad low, and let those high dollar shocks do there work. When I set my quad low, I usually set the compression adjustments to stiff, and my rebound pretty fast. If you are running thru bumps and going very fast, your shocks will "pack up" if you dont set them right. What this means is, everytime you hit a bump, they compress, and before they decompress and extend back out, you hit another bump, and they compress more. Before you know it, you have zero travel left. It is very important to make sure when setting your quad low, by tigtening down on your springs, that you make your compression and rebound adjustments stiff and fast enough so they dont "pack up". If you set them too stiff, you will be sore in the morning, if your rebound is too fast, youll get bucked around, too slow, and your shock will "pack up".

Im going to say it again, to beat it into your head

THE PRIMARY REASON FOR TIGHTENING DOWN ON YOUR SPRINGS IS TO LOWER THE QUAD, NOT TO GET A STIFFER COMPRESSION STROKE.

The lower the quad is, the faster you can go without rolling, or 2 wheeling in a turn.

I have found that the top spring on all triple or quadruple rate shock serves ABSOLUTLEY NO PURPOSE. It is just stuck on there to make the buyer feel good. The springs are usually so thin and weak, they dont effect the ride. Many shock builders will tell you that when you lower your quad, the will help create a type of neutral zone in the suspension, I personally dont think these little springs have the capability of doing that.

The theory behing having multiple springs is that they will give you a progressive compression stroke. Let me see if I can explain. When you go fast thru ruts or bumps, you dont want to feel every bump. The middle spring is suppose to be softer, and suck up the bump and not give you much rebound, and not let you feel the slight compression. When you hit a big jump and bottom the shock out, the lower bigger springs take over at a much stiffer rate to keep the quad from hitting hard, you will feel this compression. The springs are usually set from top to bottom as -soft-medium-hard. This is what the progression is.

I hope some of this helps. If any of this is wrong, please make a correction post.

P.S. I just got my Elka long travels in. The fronts are quadruple rates, I can tell the top spring is just for looks, as is the top spring on my dual rate rear, however, I think I am going to like them.

[Ex'r Marlin]

I am not an expert on this.... Just my thoughts on what you stated. As for the "SSD" (top) spring not doing anything, I beg to differ. I agree that this spring is the first to move, but I feel the valving in the shocks react to this as well... Thus giving some meaning to having the top spring. You maybe right that it is to give a "neutral" feel, but I think its main purpose is to soak up the light stuff before the other "heavier" springs react... Thus giving the shocks a smoother transition and cushin feel. (My 2 cents).

What I am now trying to understand, is why Elka has made the top crossover ring/spacer one piece? I notice that the top (SSD) spring does not have much to travel due to the length of the spacer. My Elkas came with three pieces (top crossover, and 2 spacers). Now with the new design, you do not have an option to remove a spacer(s) to help dial in your suspension using the SSD spring if you choose to.:confused: Note: My Elkas came with the metal crossovers and spacers, where I understand Elka has made a change from metal to a plastic.

[Foxrage]

I believe That dirtwheels is the main contender on making them go from metal to plastic i read there artical and DW told them to change and the did after probly few complaints but i think the metal would be better.

[NJ300ex]

Having the crossovers and spacers seperate is much better. From my knowledge all the other shock companies have them seperate and they are also all made of metal.

[jwisniew]

i have front works performance shocks, and thats pretty much all i know about them. They were on my 300 when i bought it. On the top i see u can screw them up or down. what do i do if i want more stiffness? the guy i bought them from said i could send them in. If i send them in what would they do, put reservoirs in them?

[airheadedduner]

no, they would probly revalve them. if you want a firmer ride just tighten down the nut on the shock. i agree about having quad rate springs a waste. i think triples are okay but for mx i wouldn't go beyond a dual rate.

[rowlrag]

if the top springs are for looks, try riding without them. They do serve a perpose! As for "tightening down" the preload rings to lower ride hieght, means your raising ride height, you turn the rings up to lower down to raise.

[airheadedduner]

they may serve a purpose but i don't think it is really nessisery to have quadruple spring rate shocks.

[jwisniew]

what's revalve?

First I will let everyone know I am not going to start my post with a disclaimer :) Just take it at face value and please understand that I just love my suspension :rolleyes:


For starters, spring pre-load, setting your ride height should be the primary reason for adjusting your springs.
This is true but from my experience the springs main function is to support the weight of the atv (or car truck etc.) but there can also be changes made to the ride by the spring rate as well.



When you lower the quad, keep in mind the spring gets stiffer, the more your compress it or "load it up". Loading it up will effect the shock performs, it will usually make the ride harder, and it will rebound faster. If you have a good shock, with rebound and compression adjustment, you can squat the quad low, and let those high dollar shocks do there work.
I am not agreeing that lowering anything will effect the spring rate but rather it will preload it and if preloaded incorrectly it will ride harsh as you said and this is due to the spring rate not being correct for the amount of preload needed, and though it will effect the rebound somewhat its the valving that makes the major effects on the pistons travel within the shock. So the rebound and compression is mostly controlled by the valving in the shock and effected by the spring rate and preload.

I believe that you may have the spring lowering thing reversed but I also would try not to adjust the spring compression very much as it will have a big effect on the performance and unless you know what your doing (I am still learning every day and its still a lot of trial and error) be carefull.

You have very good info here but the problem is mainly that most riders have little experience or knowledge when it comes to setting up their suspension. I recomend that anyone thinking about making adjustments to do very small ones and only one at a time. Its alos a good idea to keep notes on where you started and where you changed it to. This way you dont screw up a good performing suspension that you cant get back to the way it was before you thought you could improve it. I have helped more than one friend re-set his suspension and had even more go find a specialist or professional to set it up right.

I have found some very good suspension set up tips on the net and two of the easier to understand sites were Custom Axis and MX-Tech.com. So if your going to try to be able to adjust your suspension (and you should since it helps when traveling to diff terrain or doing more trails than jumps etc) then look into what does what and how to make those little changes that will give you a better ride.

And BTW packing is not good since it not only gives you a harsh ride but when its bad enough you out of controll and into the trees.

And I am ordering my Elka's with both spacer set ups just in case.


jwisniew what's revalve?
they "revalve" it by adjusting the amount of fluid the shock lets move thru it causing the shock to move faster or slower etc at diff times under diff loads. What this means to you when you ride is that it "should" give you a better ride for your weight and riding style etc.

[airheadedduner]

if you are running a zps set-up then no matter what you do to lower the bike you are not changeing shock performence.zps-zero preload, you can't change your spring rate buy adjusting the hight. meaning your bike will be fine if you lower it.

[Mxbubs]

ZPS, Zero Preload is a coined term that was first marketed by PEP suspension. Zero Preload=Set your atv on an atv stand with no weight rested on the tires, when your shock shafts are fully extended, the spring has no load on them. Hence, zero preload. They take it a bit further, the try to valve the shock to where the tires are sitting on the ground, with the rider on them, not moving, the springs have very little load on them, but they will be slightly compressed. This gives a neutral zone so to speak, this makes your quad just float along without feeling rebound and compression strokes that are small, giving you a smooth ride.

[racer_ex55]

Mx Bubs, the top spring on ZPS or SSD shocks serve a purpose. They are their to lower the quad. The light spring compresses and lowers the quad about 1-2" depending on how you have them set up. When you take a jump the shocks extend fully and the valving and main spring soaks up the landing.

[Mxbubs]

Yes, I am aware of that, but I dont think the top springs, because they are usually so small, make a NOTICABLE difference. Thats just an opinion I came to from experimenting. I have raced with the Axis's, Elka's, and PEP's, I just dont think you get your money worths when paying extra for that little spring.

[racer_ex55]

The top spring is only there to lower the quad, hence "zero preload". It pretty much serves no other purpose. The valving and the main spring are the ones that do the work, even the second spring is only there for small hits and third on PEPs. They are their for a plusher initial ride and the main takes all the big hits and is basically what you are riding on almost 100% of the time.

[YLW400]

I got my PEP L/T ZPS front shocks a little while back, with a full rear shock as well. I got these from Baldwin, but I have been thinking, is the ride height set to where it is supposed to be? Does Baldwin set that before they send them to me, or do I have to set it? In another words, can I drop it down a little more? Thanks!

[forum]

the to sprinf does serve a major purpose. THey do lower the ride hieght without scarificing overall travel without them you would have little or no down travel which is esential. Down travel fills the holes when riding so your rear tires are always on the ground getting traction. Everything on the shocks serves purpose. THe center spring(s). Quad rates by elka: the two center springs are 600 lbs per square inch. they are both the same so in actuality your not getting true quadrate. That is a marketing ploy in some ways. But with the diiferent size spazers in those springs. it does chage the spring rate, just not the right way in my mind. I ordered some 300 lbs per square inch center springs and some larger spacers so the center spring doesn't sag to much and make the overall ride to soft. ANd the front spacers being plastic is a good thing. Tell me the benifits of being aluminium! I can tell you a few negatives for being aluminium tho!

[lil400exman]

i love tech threads..........................this needs to go into the faq forum!:)

[QuadTrix6]

Originally posted by YLW400
I got my PEP L/T ZPS front shocks a little while back, with a full rear shock as well. I got these from Baldwin, but I have been thinking, is the ride height set to where it is supposed to be? Does Baldwin set that before they send them to me, or do I have to set it? In another words, can I drop it down a little more? Thanks!

it should come setup at the right height ..you can adjust it but it should be very close

[YLW400]

Thanks Quadtrix....How are you liking your shocks?

[forum]

ok since no one jumped on it I'll tell you.

Plastic is lighter, and doesn't make horible sounds when the shocks moves around. And yes aluminium would be stronger but the crosovers don't need to be that strong. Also the aluminium wears the shock bodie overtime. THere is realy no benifit using aluminium spacers.

[QuadTrix6]

Originally posted by YLW400
Thanks Quadtrix....How are you liking your shocks?

I LOVE THEM!!!!! It is amazing how much of a difference full suspension makes. I didnt think it was possible to ride this good!


Also i do not know how elka sets up their top spring. ( i think it is used for sag and for travel) But the pep top spring ( the 4th really small one) is only there to keep the springs from moving up and down when the wheels are off the ground. Because the 3 main springs are actually way past zero preload so u need the top spring to take up that inch or more gap. I also think it helps with the sag but im not exactly sure.

The shock mfg will try to get the ride height or sag as close as they can for your set up but its up to you to get it dialed in to where you want or like it etc.

The main function of the top ssd or zps spring is to allow the shock/suspension to sag to a lower height without compressing or pre loading the remaining springs. hence the terms Zero Pre Load and Self Sagging Device.

This is desired because with the quad lower it will handle better but without the extra stress on the main springs the suspension will be more neutral and react better to smaller bumps etc because its not pre loaded in the main spring.

When its set up right or very close it works extremely well, but it is worlds better than stk even when its not right. I think that this is why some are so much happier than others with their shocks, and its mostly by chance that the ride height or sag was set closer when they first received them.

Problem seems to be that most riders dont know or understand how this all works and how to adjust it so they just run them how they got them. I cant say I knew how to set up a quad when I first got mine ( I still am not 100% sure lol) but i did know they werent right by how they ride was.

Seems that you need to do a lot of searching around to find the info and not one site I could find had it all. Axis has great info on ride height and some extra tech stuff thrown in, so take a look there. There was also some great comp and rebound info at mx tech.com but it was designed for dirt bikes (some of the info is universal but not all) though they had told me they are working on a new page for quads.

Remember that not every quad is set up the same and there are many factors that effect the weight bias like aftermarket al parts and other stuff so the same set of shocks will be diff on your friends quad etc. That is part of the reason why you need to do the final dialing in on your shocks if you want them to perform better and your ride to be as plush as possible.

[bongwater200]

Originally posted by Mxbubs
I have found that the top spring on all triple or quadruple rate shock serves ABSOLUTLEY NO PURPOSE. It is just stuck on there to make the buyer feel good. The springs are usually so thin and weak, they dont effect the ride. Many shock builders will tell you that when you lower your quad, the will help create a type of neutral zone in the suspension, I personally dont think these little springs have the capability of doing that.




You're kinda right, Bubsy.......... that spring doesn't do Jack She-ot when it comes to suspension action. What it DOES do is keep tension on your springs, collars, crossovers, etc when your suspension unloads. If that spring wasn't there, the rest of your shock hardware would rattle around uncontrollably and probably get wedged in a heap on your shock. No telling what would happen with 2 inches or so of free play in your springs!

That spring is also what makes ZPS, SCS, and SSD shocks feel so "cushy" in the small, choppy bumps.

[Mr_Bub400ex]

to the FAQ forum...please...someone?

[Foxrage]

Ok since this is suspension setting. How the hell do youadjust the stock rear shock? I have been hittin the nut with a hammer and punch and it wont move. It is suppose to move toward the exhaust pipe right? Any tips? Thanks