S
Snowblind
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Firecat Rear Suspension Settings
When testing our F7 and F5 sleds, earlier this winter, it became very apparent that the sleds were very sensitive to body weight and positioning. Under extreme acceleration, the front end would lift (and sometimes not come down for a long ways), and would react dramatically to the shifting of your body weight from side to side. It was nearly to the point that it was uncomfortable to ride at times.
The second week of testing, we took a good look at the rear suspension and made some adjustments to allow the vehicle to have a more "firm" ride in the above mentioned conditions. We re-positioned the coupler blocks to the #3 position from #1, and also placed the rear spring retainers in the center position. After making these adjustments, we went out to test and found that the vehicle acted completely differently. The sled had a fair amount of ski pressure, and acted very "firm" under acceleration and in the few bumps, we were able to find, on our wind swept lake.
We then went back in and put a slightly more aggressive spring tension on the shock of the front arm of the rear suspension. This adjustment produced the ride we were looking for. We were able to maintain an aggressive level of acceleration, while still being able to steer with ease.
The highlight of these simple adjustments is that they will cost you nothing but time to do, with the ability to have a vehicle that will act and react as you want for your personal riding style. Take the time to make simple adjustments like this on your new sled--whether it is a Firecat or of the ZR heritage. The more you learn about the tuning of this for your liking, the better your snowmobile experience will be.
When testing our F7 and F5 sleds, earlier this winter, it became very apparent that the sleds were very sensitive to body weight and positioning. Under extreme acceleration, the front end would lift (and sometimes not come down for a long ways), and would react dramatically to the shifting of your body weight from side to side. It was nearly to the point that it was uncomfortable to ride at times.
The second week of testing, we took a good look at the rear suspension and made some adjustments to allow the vehicle to have a more "firm" ride in the above mentioned conditions. We re-positioned the coupler blocks to the #3 position from #1, and also placed the rear spring retainers in the center position. After making these adjustments, we went out to test and found that the vehicle acted completely differently. The sled had a fair amount of ski pressure, and acted very "firm" under acceleration and in the few bumps, we were able to find, on our wind swept lake.
We then went back in and put a slightly more aggressive spring tension on the shock of the front arm of the rear suspension. This adjustment produced the ride we were looking for. We were able to maintain an aggressive level of acceleration, while still being able to steer with ease.
The highlight of these simple adjustments is that they will cost you nothing but time to do, with the ability to have a vehicle that will act and react as you want for your personal riding style. Take the time to make simple adjustments like this on your new sled--whether it is a Firecat or of the ZR heritage. The more you learn about the tuning of this for your liking, the better your snowmobile experience will be.
^_^ 
