Rear Suspension Help! 01mxzx800

[Nicks800x]

I hope that someone can help me! I have a 01 mxzx 800. while I sit on it, the rear blocks suppose to be in the middle--I CAN GET THE BLOCKS IN THE MIDDLE..aaaaaaaahhhhhhhhhhh
front shock is adjusted on the soft side-was in the middle
rear shock is adjusted on firm
rear springs are on the #2 setting (my weight)
I did place the rear springs even on the #4 setting and the blocks were only about a 1/4 in from the back. It seems that I am a heavy slob, but I only weigh 210lbs....what else can I do???
I did adjust the block setting...

[SDRENE800RER]

Gosh that avatar.......wow

sorry! Got sidetracked

Whats the sled doing or not doing? Ive come up with some pretty good setups for other guys and you never have to worry about where the blocks are.

Todd

....that avatar......its mezmorizing.....so dirty......LOL

[Nicks800x]

todd it seems like the sled rebounds too much over the bumps..my friend has a 01 800 and the thing is great over the bumps, but does not hook up on the lake. Now mine hooks like crazy and most of the time beats everyone out of the hole...I dont want to loose that. Now when I first got mine I put the settings just like my buddys, and just doesnt go though the rough stuff like his does...what do you think

[SDRENE800RER]

Nick, are you bottoming out in the rough stuff? Do the ski's lift bad when drag racing?

What changes have you made on the suspension, what settings are the the front, mid, and rear springs at? Have you made any changes to the limiter strap?

Todd

[idooski]

I have an 02 and this is how mine is set. Front shocks@1.5, front rear@2, torsions@2, limiter strap@stock, rear block@uncoupled and who cares where it sits in(it doesn't matter), rear/rear shock set in the forwardmost position at the top locator bolt. I weigh in at 200 dressed and I have one of the best riding MXZ's I've been on.

Oh...by the way, mines an 'X' too.

[SDRENE800RER]

Nick,

idooski's settings are pretty much what I would suggest to start with, but with the only the addition of tightening the limit strap 1 hole. This set up works great for trails, rough or smooth. I have set up a few sleds this same way, and have also helped out quite a few guys out there on the different post sites with this same setup....all very happy campers!

The only difference to concider is rider weight. Anyone that weighs more than @200-220 with out riding gear should look at the next heavier rear torsion springs. The stock springs set on #4 get sacked out pretty quickly by aggresive riding by a large rider, I am myself a big guy so I know from real world trial and error on this one.

Dont worry to much about how the blocks look or where there at when your sitting still bouncing up and down on the boards trying to make them look like they do in the service or owners manuel. They dont explain them very well and over exagerate the condition for the photo.

Todd

[BlackZX8]

Hey drene, how long do the rear springs last? I am 260 lbs without gear and I have my rear springs @4. My sled is an X with 2500 miles. Do they make more heavy duty springs? With the springs @4 I have absolutly no weight transfer, but it takes the rough stuff like a bat out of hell. I need more transfer though, i can't get the sled to hook.

[Nicks800x]

todd, Im not quite sure if it is bottoming out in the ruff stuff. What I do know is when I jump the thing (3 foot drop) the back does bottom out. When I do drag race, the front ski's do come off the ground maybe 10 inches and carry them for some time..these are my present settings
Front/Rear shock--about 1'' of threads showing before full soft
Mid shock--at full firm
Torsion bars--at #2 setting
limiter strap is stock setting
Now last time i rode it, the Front/rear shock WAS adjusted in the middle--Kind of hard..Torsion bars were at #1 soft I did not ride her last weekend (the sled) so I dont know how she rides now..

As for raising up the limiter strap..wont that make me loose some (HOOK) on the lake?? I ran out of room!!

[SDRENE800RER]

BlackZX8, I dont think that there is any typical lifespan for the springs nor is there any way that I know to truly test a torsion spring. I still use the seat of the pants method. Other than use and age, just letting the sled sit on its track and ski's for 9 months while waiting for snow takes it toll on springs also. They dont get weaker, but they will do whats called "taking a set" which means that they dont go back to full extension anymore, or they have lost there "memory". Basically these leads to sled squat.

The out of the box OEM springs are really only good for an aggresive rider up to @200 pounds with gear. Anybody over that realy should run the heavier springs. It will make a big improvement in comfort. Torsion springs are a simple swap that only takes @ 1/2 to 1 hour as long as you have the big allen wrench to fit the tunnel iddler shaft bolts. I think that its a 10mm. Lift the rear so that tracks off the floor. Set the spring to soft setting. Remove the allen bolt that holds the torsion spring leg onto the skid. Hold the leg with one hand while removing the bolt with the other. There is a little tension , not to much though, you just dont need the bolt to go flying. Do both sides before removing the tunnel iddler bolts. When you remove the second iddler bolt, it will be handy to have a freind there so that the skid dosent just drop suddenly. It will swing on the front bolts as they act like hinge. You shouldnt have to remove the tension block, just flop the spring back and forth and wiggle it out.....one thing that I cant remember right now, there may be stops that have to come off before the springs come off. After the springs come off, put everything back in reverse order. Now is also a good time to use some air and blow out any grit thats found its way in to areas that you cant easily.

Todd

[SDRENE800RER]

Nick, you problem is that center shock preload, any setting over 2nd notch is to much.....the other problem is your owners manuel...lol Take the pages with the suspension and steering info and photos, tare them out and burn them....NOW! They dont explain the potential problems and fixes very well and the photo examples are over exagerated......

That said.....What you are doing with the center shock preload tosses the balance of the sled. There are 3 potential points of pressure under the sled.
#1 is the front ski's, right under the spindles
#2 is the flat part of the skid frame that the track rides on
#3 is the front part of the skid from the front iddler where the skid bends up into the front of the tunnel.

Any pressure on number 3 is bad. You want the front and rear of the sled to work in balance with each other. Putting pressure in the center of the sled lengthwise screws this up and creates a pivot point in the middle of the sled.

This creates a couple different handling issues. If you get up on the tank for the start of a drag race or aggresive stance, your weight will now be puttig pressure on the ski's and front of the skid, basically the front half of the sled. This leads to wicked track spin, no acceloration and heavy steering.
Now slide back on the seat. The pressure leaves the ski's and your weight is putting pressure just on the skid. This is what causes ski lift during acceloration. A correctly set up ZX chassis sled should have almost no ski lift, with or without picks in the track. The other problem now created is that the center shock is pushing down on the skid and not allowing the skid to absorb bumps and it transfers the bumps to you the rider. Most riders at this point crank in more preload which is the wrong thing to do.

The center shocks job in life is to pre-absorb bumps for the skid frame while trying to keep everything at a level attitude and help with the coupling effect. Its not supposed to hold up the weight of the rider or sled. Thats the primary job of the torsion springs.

I hope your starting to understand the front/rear balance thing from my explanations.

As far as the limiter strap.....again burn those pages of your manuel

If you get the front/rear balance right, tightening the strap 1 hole will pull the changes together and wont make the steering heavy at all. It should get better if set up properly. Think of the strap moving the front of the frame up and down....in exagerated fashion, if you let it all the way out the relationship between the driver pully and track contacting the skid....making the front of the sled point uphill and puts the front of the track at a 90 degree angle or square edge, now youve made a wall that hits the snow and bumps with the track.
Pull the strap up into tunnel and that angle of attack smooths out and and the track can more easily roll over the snow and bumps. One hole tighter works wonders on a ZX sled no matter if its a MXZ or Renegade.

So this is what I would try

Front springs 2nd or 3rd notch on the clickers or if you have the twist type, go 1/2" to 3/4".

Center shock 2notch

Rear 2nd or 3rd depending on your weight

Limiter strap 1 hole tighter.

This should help get you started. If you are still running the stock carbides and get a push in the turns or it wont turn at all, you may need to get some decent aggresive front carbides, like Woodies, StudBoy or Roetins. The stock ones realy suck.

Anyway...i hope that my Suspension101 class helps
Good luck

Todd