If those rods are straight, then the ride height is way off. They should have a slight downhill angle on the lower ones. Walker Evans Racing’s Reid Nordin says a quick-and-dirty check is inspecting the radius rods. Measure from the open edge of the tube to the ground. In the rear there are two open-frame tubes near the radius-rod mounts. On a RZR XP-series machine, WER measures from the rear A-arm mount bracket in the front to the ground. You find your car’s ride height by measuring from a chosen point at each end of the machine to the ground. The basis of all UTV suspension settings is ride height. We started with a 2017 Polaris RZR XP 1000 with the Ride Command option and 30-inch Tusk Terrabite tires installed. It is a good idea to have the fuel tank near full as well. They, too, should have a downward angle when the car is sitting, especially if there are no passengers in the machine.īegin with the car ready to roll with everything you normally carry. You won’t be lifting the car much-just enough to take the weight off the suspension, so as soon as you see light under the wheels, you are good to make adjustments.įor A-arm cars, the A-arms should not be straight. You will need a tape measure, a floor jack to lift the car and the proper tools to move the preload rings on the shocks. Before you start, make sure that all four tires are set to your normal pressure. He spread a tarp on a flat section of terrain, but he says that you can check these settings in the driveway before you load up or even on the deck of your trailer. You will want to work on a flat surface when adjusting suspension, so we met up with Nordin in the desert. The rear is the most likely to be off if you are carrying anything in the bed or using a spare-tire mount. Use that point to measure to the ground in the rear. During his time at Kawasaki, he was involved in testing most of Kawasaki’s off-road products.Īt the rear of the XP line are open frame tubes that face down just below the radius-rod mounts. He has been a specialist at Walker Evans Racing ( ) for several years, but he has 30 years’ experience at Kawasaki starting as a pro three-wheeler race mechanic for Jimmy White. We contacted Reid Nordin at Walker Evans Racing (WER). In the front you measure from the lower rear A-arm mount.Īfter our experience with these cars, we decided to see what pros had to say about setup. Taller tires add to that number, so know how tall your tires are. Most of the Polaris XP 1000 or Turbo machines should be pretty close to the measurements we used-13 3/4 inches front and 13 1/4 inches in the rear with stock tires. Both were embarrassed at how much performance they had ignored by not checking the most basic suspension settings.Įach family or brand of machine has a specific ride-height measurement to shoot for. ![]() We spent a little time adjusting the preload on one car, then let the owners try both cars back to back over a small loop. When we were driving behind them, the cars didn’t look like they had much travel. Both cars had 2500 miles and were on the original tires and CVT belts. Not even the preload setting had moved from the factory. On the other hand, both had stock and original suspension. Both had added between 100 and 200 pounds of popular additions to the stock machines. These cars are basically clones of each other with almost identical aftermarket parts installed. Two friends have identical 2012 RZR 800 S models. Recently, we had a unique opportunity to work with UTV suspension. Having your UTV set at the correct ride height will help the handling, suspension action and the suspension articulation, in addition to maximizing the available ground clearance. Walker Evans’ pros tell all - By the staff of Dirt Wheels with Reid Nordin.
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