Shock Valving?

[deviant_illusion]

So I have been playing with the sock valving allot on my teryx. I just ordered some more shim stack from polly performance and got a call saying they wont ship for a week and a half so I have been surfing the web looking at how other UTV owners have their shocks set up only to find 1 ya just one thread on RDC that has any valving specs for a UTV. It was a short course rhino with some crazy shim stacks.
Does no one valve their own shocks or does no one talk about it?
I know every car is going to be different but I must admit I am wondering how close I am to what others have set up.

Any one care to share what valve stacks you run and maybe a few other details about your setup. IE shock stroke, Make of UTV, How much longer your arms are then stock, type of riding.

It would be cool to have a place for people to look to get a starting point even if they feel like they want to take this job on.

Oh and does anyone run a flutter stack on their UTV?

 

[the stripping shop]

i do run a flutter stack but i have 2.5 internal by-pass shocks on our rzr. So none of our valving will work for a 2.0 shock. Not many people are going to post what they have because you are always changing to race conditions.When i build my short course car will use a shock that is very adjustable so i dont have to take shock apart as much. I would suggest getting with a guy that has the master set of shims and go test. If you have kings brett always has a test day.

 

[deviant_illusion]

Its kinda funny to me how this whole thing goes down. Those that know how to valve shocks wont talk about it. It seems far more closed in the UTV area then other areas also. So say I keep at it with the trial and error and get it down am I going to get kidnapped by some guys in a black van and forced to sign a contract of silence in my own blood or else?

 

[deviant_illusion]

I guess what Im asking is every one has a starting point. All of these LT kits ship with the shocks valved. I am curious what shim stacks people are starting with.

 

[megadesertdiesel]

Shock Valving and shim stacks will be different for every driver and every machine. You are going about it the correct way, just keep trying different stacks, pressure and springs until you get it right for your liking.

I have spent lots of money and time on my valving. Mine was setup for shortcourse and wools, which was great for glamis. But now I have a different motor I have to start all over again this fall.

I will post my stack when I get home next week. It's for a lonestar +8 and swayaway 2.0 remote resivoirs.

 

[Big Guy]

I would definatly go with an adjustable shock. you can adjust the compression and rebound then adjust your valving accordingly. Once your valving is down you can go either way with your clickers to fine tune for different terrain.

 

[tatum]

megadesertdiesel is right on.Your driving style and terrain,speed etc are all going to affect your final decision on what you like.
I dont think there is any super secret, just trial and error.A shim stack in a Fox shock and a King shock could have the same shims and react completely different depending on the piston design of the different manufactures.
Also some of the shocks I have had apart have bypass holes in the piston on the outside of the shims and can be opened or closed for different amount of free bleed.
If you have externally adjustable shocks it can help you decide what you want to change without taking the shock apart as many times.The shocks also change depending on the temperature outside and heat build up during extended hard driving.
Good luck and let us know what you find out.