I recently moved back to Yuma, AZ and in a position to enjoy my X3 much more than previously when I lived in northern AZ. With that being said I was quickly reminded about the shortcomings I previously experienced with the stock suspension when I lived here before. The low-speed dampening was horrible and quite harsh and I definitely felt I wasn't getting the suspension travel as advertised. (I've read that they're cranked down from the factory to allow for transport or ride comfort.) I was just about to pull the trigger on a brand new MAX rs when I decided to conduct an experiment which only expense was going to be my time...
I've heard about the FOX "race" tune of the stock suspension, here and elsewhere, and that FOX was more than happy to set up anyone's buggy with it for free at any of the big shows in Glamis, etc. I wasn't in a position to wait for a show or travel to one, and after several requests of my dealer to dial my suspension in resulted in no appreciable gain in performance, I decided to do it for myself. The main reason why I didn't do it earlier was the majority of my tools are in storage a few thousand miles away and I knew that it was going to be more time consuming without them handy.
Bottom line, I should NOT have waited and FOX's recommended "race" setting is the way it should have came from the factory!
My before measurements were 13-1/2 inches of ride height driver's side front, 13-1/4 passenger side front and 12-1/2 inches both sides rear. Three of the four crossover rings were set at 5-1/2 inches with the passenger rear set at 5-5/8. I zeroed out the shock settings and dialed those in first, and suffice it to say there didn't appear to be any consistency. Since the shock settings can be quickly adjusted I decided to do those first and I wasn't expecting too much of an improvement and would say it made a mild one at best. The next morning I decided to have at it and set it up exactly according to FOX's race tune settings. It took over 3 hours, which included cleaning out the air filter and clutch housing and removing the mud scrapers from the inside of the rear wheels. A couple of the crossover rings gave me a hard time and were partially seized up, and a shot of PB Blaster helped fix that.
Once I had it all dialed in I ended up with a 16-inch ride height all the way around (FOX says it should be 14-1/2 inches with stock tires). I thought that was a little higher than expected, even with my up-sized tires, and decided to see if a blast around the desert would change it and settle. I had barely gotten into the desert out my backyard and noticed the low speed dampening wasn't only far less harsh, it was arguably plush (a word I loathe to use but best describes it!). The tendency for the front end to plow was likewise gone and hammering over the same sets of whoops that I have thousands of miles doing in this and two previous buggies was a completely new and pleasant experience; no more stacking which in turn allowed me a significantly higher speeds. The only downside I've picked up on is I'm much more aware of the bump steer issue which I'm looking to rectify with Shock Therapy's kit. Post ride measurements reflected the 16-inch ride height hadn't changed.
With all that being said I'm thoroughly enjoying my all new buggy/suspension, and while I've always had a full Shock Therapy build in my plans, this will definitely do the trick in the interim. Best part of all is that it's essentially free, and anyone interested in trying it out for yourself should check out these two FOX resources:
https://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=powersports&t=tuningtips&v=Maverick
I've heard about the FOX "race" tune of the stock suspension, here and elsewhere, and that FOX was more than happy to set up anyone's buggy with it for free at any of the big shows in Glamis, etc. I wasn't in a position to wait for a show or travel to one, and after several requests of my dealer to dial my suspension in resulted in no appreciable gain in performance, I decided to do it for myself. The main reason why I didn't do it earlier was the majority of my tools are in storage a few thousand miles away and I knew that it was going to be more time consuming without them handy.
Bottom line, I should NOT have waited and FOX's recommended "race" setting is the way it should have came from the factory!
My before measurements were 13-1/2 inches of ride height driver's side front, 13-1/4 passenger side front and 12-1/2 inches both sides rear. Three of the four crossover rings were set at 5-1/2 inches with the passenger rear set at 5-5/8. I zeroed out the shock settings and dialed those in first, and suffice it to say there didn't appear to be any consistency. Since the shock settings can be quickly adjusted I decided to do those first and I wasn't expecting too much of an improvement and would say it made a mild one at best. The next morning I decided to have at it and set it up exactly according to FOX's race tune settings. It took over 3 hours, which included cleaning out the air filter and clutch housing and removing the mud scrapers from the inside of the rear wheels. A couple of the crossover rings gave me a hard time and were partially seized up, and a shot of PB Blaster helped fix that.
Once I had it all dialed in I ended up with a 16-inch ride height all the way around (FOX says it should be 14-1/2 inches with stock tires). I thought that was a little higher than expected, even with my up-sized tires, and decided to see if a blast around the desert would change it and settle. I had barely gotten into the desert out my backyard and noticed the low speed dampening wasn't only far less harsh, it was arguably plush (a word I loathe to use but best describes it!). The tendency for the front end to plow was likewise gone and hammering over the same sets of whoops that I have thousands of miles doing in this and two previous buggies was a completely new and pleasant experience; no more stacking which in turn allowed me a significantly higher speeds. The only downside I've picked up on is I'm much more aware of the bump steer issue which I'm looking to rectify with Shock Therapy's kit. Post ride measurements reflected the 16-inch ride height hadn't changed.
With all that being said I'm thoroughly enjoying my all new buggy/suspension, and while I've always had a full Shock Therapy build in my plans, this will definitely do the trick in the interim. Best part of all is that it's essentially free, and anyone interested in trying it out for yourself should check out these two FOX resources:
https://www.ridefox.com/fox17/help.php?m=powersports&t=tuningtips&v=Maverick
