Attention damping rod fork gurus....

LuckyStar64

LuckyStar64

PR Addict
So I need to dial a set of damping rod forks. According to the Race Tech chart-- I need a set of .44 springs to match the rate of the rear. To do it correctly-- you would probably want to weld the holes in the damping rods shut, and re-drill them smaler to help control the rebound of the stiffer springs. Problem is that the service costs $200.

If I went down 5-10% from the recommended .44kg spring rate to (.40-.42), and went from the recommended 7, to 10 weight fork oil--- would this be as good as welding and redrilling the oil return holes in the rods? If you go up on the weight of fork oil, and down on the spring rate-- leaving the holes in the damping rods stock. Would the heavier oil, and lighter springs work as well as sending the damping rods out-- thus saving me $200? I'm thinking the heavier oil would slow the added rebound caused by the heavier springs, and it would also increase the rate of compression allowing for a lighter spring rate, and possibly feeling plusher than the recommended setup.

Does this sound feasible? I'd rather keep the $200 in my pocket if it's at all possible. --L*64
 
Call Race tech's hot line...They are very knowledgeable and helpful. Im sure they will help you out
 
I'm sure RaceTech would love to sell me a set of emulators. I'm an El Cheapo, so I just want to get springs, fork oil, and call it good.... I'm trying to avoid even getting the rods modded. --L*64
 
Quit trying to calculate it all out to match what RT recommends, just try heavier oil with the same springs first. I have 10w, 15w, & 20w here.
The recommendations from companies really don't matter as much as just seeing what you like.

El Cheapo Method:
1. heavier oil
2. change spring preload

We can also play around with oil level.
 
LuckyStar64 said:
So I need to dial a set of damping rod forks. According to the Race Tech chart-- I need a set of .44 springs to match the rate of the rear. To do it correctly-- you would probably want to weld the holes in the damping rods shut, and re-drill them smaler to help control the rebound of the stiffer springs. Problem is that the service costs $200.

If I went down 5-10% from the recommended .44kg spring rate to (.40-.42), and went from the recommended 7, to 10 weight fork oil--- would this be as good as welding and redrilling the oil return holes in the rods? If you go up on the weight of fork oil, and down on the spring rate-- leaving the holes in the damping rods stock. Would the heavier oil, and lighter springs work as well as sending the damping rods out-- thus saving me $200? I'm thinking the heavier oil would slow the added rebound caused by the heavier springs, and it would also increase the rate of compression allowing for a lighter spring rate, and possibly feeling plusher than the recommended setup.

Does this sound feasible? I'd rather keep the $200 in my pocket if it's at all possible. --L*64
Click to expand...

NO! Although you might achieve results more favorable than stock, and they may be acceptable depending on what you want you will not achieve the best performance, as you will be harsh all the way through the stroke and you will be riding lower in the stroke from the beginning. IE (because of the lighter springs / you will have lost the bottom or Beginning of the stroke) then push hard on the compression and very slow on rebound. May get away with this for light trail riding. but for SX MX I think you would be better off doing just the opposite and be slightly over sprung and lighter oil, and lower oil height. this will give plusher stroke and keep the suspension up higher with more travel and less bottoming.
 
Interesting. Wouldn't the lighter oil let the forks rebound too quickly though? I never really considered where in the stroke the forks were operating before. ---L*64
 
LuckyStar64 said:
Interesting. Wouldn't the lighter oil let the forks rebound too quickly though? I never really considered where in the stroke the forks were operating before. ---L*64
Click to expand...

I am sure they would act much like a pogo stick if you left the adjuster way out but turning in a couple three clicks from what they would normally be at would easily compensate for the rebound of the heavier spring. this would be a much better ride than the other method. Been their and done that. Blisters and Arm Pump!
 
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