Question about softening up the suspension

I bought a set of 27" EFX Motoclaws that are 8ply and hard as shit.  I also put a 2" Savant lift on and the ride is pretty harsh.  I only have 3 or 4 threads of preload to back off and I'm not sure what is the best way to setup my rebound and compression on my SE shocks.  I know right now it is pretty damn harsh.

Its definately some what stiff!

pre load is for ride height..turn the top screw counter clockwise 1 turn

Right now I have my compression 12 clicks out in front and 10 in the rear.

I've finally adjusted my rebound and compression rates on my SE shocks and it make so much of a difference...

BayouTiger wrote:

I've finally adjusted my rebound and compression rates on my SE shocks and it make so much of a difference...

Any idea on what your settings are on compression, rebound, and preload it would help Kevin out for a starting point since you have similar setup as he does?

thePayne wrote:

BayouTiger wrote:

I've finally adjusted my rebound and compression rates on my SE shocks and it make so much of a difference...

Any idea on what your settings are on compression, rebound, and preload it would help Kevin out for a starting point since you have similar setup as he does?

I used the stickie post at the top of this thread as my starting point. I've had to tweek(not twerk)it very little.

I think that adding the lift alters the leverage ratios on the suspension. I do not have any experience with the lift that Kevin runs but I do have some experience with the CFM lift. Me and my buddy both had to back off almost all the way on the compression clickers to get a comparable ride to stock. Why you add a lift, you also lose some, if not all, of your suspension downtravel.

Again, this is just from my experience with a CFM lift on two different later model Rhinos, but the front lift took away almost all of the down travel of the suspension before the shock was "topped out." You can tell by going over to the front bumper and lifting up. I would barely pick up any and you could feel the shock reach the top of its stroke. This also contributes to some of the degraded ride quality. The tires can't really drop into a hole because of the lessened downtravel, so the other shocks have to compress to let the low side droop.

Finally, the tires make a world of difference in ride quality. I ran heavy tires with lots of ply sidewalls. Radial Outlaws are super tough; you can run them dang near flat and they hardly belly out. But they are tough and you don't have to worry about flats and cut sidewalls very much. You pay for it in the ride quality.Just bolting up those 27" Radial Outlaws on an otherwise stock machine made a big difference in ride quality over trail junk and bumps. Kevin had Bighorns before this, which are known for their good ride but are considered mediocre on sidewall strength. Put 5psi in a Bighorn and then 5psi in a tough 6 or 8 ply tire and watch the sidewalls. Everything is a tradeoff.

My advice to Kevin to just try (because it is free, lol) is to back out all the way on the compression adjusters and go see if you like it. You'll likely bottom out more than you are used to, and if you do bottom out that front end a lot, then start adding a few clicks of compression dampening. Remember it's a tradeoff. The smoother the ride, generally means the faster you are going to blow through your available suspension travel.

I don't see a need to adjust the threaded spring preload adjustment over stock. Unless you need more ride height or have made your Rhino substantially heavier then stock, the preload isn't going to positively affect your ride. The more you thread it in (tighten it) the firmer your ride will be because you are adding tension to that spring.

Ok, couple of questions. How many clicks of adjustment is there, is it possible to back it out too far and the screw come out. Second, what about my rebound adjustment. Im not sure where to go with that either.

thekevin wrote:

Ok, couple of questions.  How many clicks of adjustment is there, is it possible to back it out too far and the screw come out.  Second, what about my rebound adjustment.  Im not sure where to go with that either.

You can't back out the clicker screws to the point they come out of the shock. You manual has the details about how many clicks there are. I want to say mine had around 20 clicks on compression and 8 or 12 on the rebound.

Rebound dampening seems to be more fiercly debated than religion or politics. Personally, I like more rebound than less because rebound seems to stop the bucking sensation in higher speed whoop type stuff. You know that feeling when you hit a dip at higher speed- the front dang near bottoms out, the back takes the hit and almost bottoms out, but then the back bounces back off the ground nearly pitching you sideways? The rebound slows that bucking down in my experience.

I'm obviously not a suspension expert. The good thing is that you have great shocks. You just have to spend some time adjusting them for your riding and your suspension geometry.

Prolly have to run about 4 or 5 lbs of air in those bad boys to get any kind of sidewall flex. Some Rhino owners run up to 10 or 15 lbs in lesser sidewalls.

When I got home today I backed the compression all the way out on all 4 corners and backed my rebound out 10 clicks. I took my front tires from 9lbs to 7lbs and my rear tires from 11.5lbs to 8lbs. I am super happy with the difference it made. I didnt have much time to ride it but I took it down my most technical trail and I can really stuff the front tires up in the front fender now.