YXZ Short Course Stock Suspension Setup! Gladman Gives Out All Our Setup Secrets!

It’s Episode 38! With all the interest we’ve received over the last few months on setup videos we decided to touch on a popular subject…suspension setup for short course on stock shocks! We’ve had a ton of messages from viewers all wanting know how we got our cars around the track on the hammer with stock shocks. So in this episode we’re gonna tell you everything!

[@ricksteel6401]

Awesome Video!!

[@chrisvaden3488]

Thanks guys very helpful for US YXZ owners.

[@kevingladman4735]

Anytime Chris! If you can think of anything else you guys want to see or want to know let us know. Send us a message on here, Facebook, Instagram or send smoke signals lol.

[@writeselwelding]

Chris, Thanks for the comment and thanks for watching we really appreciate it! Like Kevin said if there is anything else we can help with or anything you might like to see in the future let us know!!!

[@stianlamey942]

Awesome info thanks! I noticed a huge difference after watching video and adjusting suspension ! Maybe you can make a video on what tires and size are good for gravel dirt roads /track , that be helpful! Thanks a bunch !

[@writeselwelding]

That’s awesome!! we’re glad we could help! The tire video is an excellent idea we will definitely keep that in mind! Thanks for watching!

[@DUNEATV]

Very nice! Love the YXZ!

[@writeselwelding]

Thanks! Thanks for watching!!!

[@mikeharlow2908]

Thanks for the info! I’m not racing yet, but need the info to fight the buck and other high speed anti roll situations!i have a 19 SS SE that was really soft from the dealership and I think the springs got softer after a couple hundred miles so reset ride height but needed a jumping off point for high speed drive ability! I think you guys might have provided just the magic potion I needed! Thanks again for your time and knowledge!!

[@writeselwelding]

No problem Mike! Glad we could help…thanks for watching!!! If you have any questions let us know!!!

[@kevingladman4735]

Anytime! Happy that we could help! Let us know how it works out!

[@chadshumaker2789]

Also on your measurements you need to reference the crossover nut to the slider not the preload nut. You can set the preload nut much lower to lower your ride height and then put your cross over nuts just above your slider and that is a more definite measurement. For short course I run my slider 1/8" off my cross over nut so all the tender spring does is take up the small chatter.

[@writeselwelding]

I’m not sure I totally understand…we don’t reference the preload nut to slider we take the measurements for both from the top of the shock. We don’t like to measure the distance between the slider and the nut because depending on where the car is settled out at that measurement could change and measuring from the top it’s consistent. And wow 1/8” that’s interesting, you’re basically on the main all the time!

[@chadshumaker2789]

@@writeselwelding I get what your saying and that works as long as you are not changing the preload/ ride height of the car. However if you set the car down in ride height now your measurement to the cross over nut changes. The way I measure it no matter where I set my preload I know how long (in distance) I will be on my tender before I get on my main. it can all be calculated from the measurements you gave but it requires math and thinking when ride height is changed and I avoid thinking when I can LOL. But yes the way I am set up I am on my main pretty much all the time. I only use the tender to take up the initial jump and small chatter. It stops more body roll as well with the spring and doesnt take as much sway bar so you get a bit more wheel articulation while still managing body roll. its just a different way to go about it. I manage body roll with the springs and not so much with the sway bar. These are all setting from GForce shocks also so its not only my preference.

[@writeselwelding]

Oh ok gotcha!!!

[@townsendYXZ]

Say I want to make it smoother for trail riding should I speed up my rebound at the bottom of my shock. I experienced a little with the rebound on my pit bike aftermarket shock and when I went all the way fast on the rebound screw on the shock it rode alot better than when I turned it to slow. I figure it my transfer to my yxz totally new to this just trying to do a little research. seems to me rebound screw would be easiest to experiment with first. Don't really want to mess with the bolt with the little screw if it turns with it yet till I learn more but that single rebound screw at bottom of shock seems easy enough

[@writeselwelding]

Yes the rebound setting will have some affect on the ride no doubt, but to be honest if we were going to try and improve ride quality on the trail I wouldn’t go there first. The first two things I would look at it the low speed compression setting, or if it has a dual rate spring setup we would look at where the slider is in comparison to the crossover nuts when the car is at ride height which controls how much of your rod is being controlled through the tender spring. Don’t be afraid to adjust on the compression nuts. They have 4 turns of adjustment all stiffer rotating clockwise. Put a wrench on the high speed and count the number of turns until the screw bottoms out. Back the screw out back to where it was and soften it by 1 turn. If you would like to discuss this more in depth we’d be glad to help. Go to the Race Relentless website and send a customer email and leave a number and we can call you back to discuss further.

[@hphillips7425]

Interesting and informative

[@writeselwelding]

Thank you!

[@ricksteel6401]

You said that it’s the same with the stock white single coil springs on a 16 correct? You just disregard the crossover spring settings.

[@writeselwelding]

@@ricksteel6401 thank you and yes! Of course the measurements would not be the same but overall the idea and the theory behind it applies to both.

[@jamesbrady1959]

My 17 yxz has X2 shocks. Is it possible to tighten the springs up that much on these? The other adjustments made a huge difference. I do a lot of road riding to hit the trails and would like a tighter ride.

[@writeselwelding]

Hey @jamesbrady1959 thanks for the question. When you say tighten up the spring are you referring to moving the compression nut at the top of the spring to compress the spring more?

[@TheExtremeRace]

I have a talon r livevalve not much I can do to lower the center of gravity, what do you think of me using limit straps to achieve that. Also what tire pressure do you run?

[@writeselwelding]

@TheExtremeRace I’m not sure…that’s a very good question. I don’t really know enough about the live valve to give you any advice on that…on a non live valve shock yes the limit strap will help you get the ride height your looking for if your spring stack isn’t long enough but it takes away from your full droop when the car is off the ground so yes the straps will help you get the car lower but your giving up shock travel in return! As Gladman would say the limit strap will work but it’s really a “crutch”!

[@writeselwelding]

And as far as the tire pressure we ran 26” ceros and depending on track conditions the rears were between 25psi and as much as 28psi and the front were a little lower between 23psi and 25psi…we ran the rears a little higher just help the rear rotate on corner entry

[@kevingladman4735]

Unfortunately with the live valve you’re stuck unless you know someone that can tune the shock’s ecu. Here’s why. The computer has a set point programmed into it that it knows ok this is home or there shouts for a set factory ride height. So you can valve it and make it better and also spring it for whatever you’re wanting to do with it/set your ride height as low as you want. But as soon as it leaves the ground or shock droop the computer is gonna adjust the shocks to try and stay at that pre set height. Eventually it’ll sag down to whatever height you had your springs set at. So in short you’re kinda hosed. I talked to Shawn Hess when we raced against him about why he isn’t running the live valve and he said he can’t find anyone to map them. Said as soon as they get past the set height point they lock the bleed in the valving down and it totally messes you up and it takes forever for them to settle back out while your racing. And yes i believe using a limit strap is a crutch unless you’re using it to keep from over drooping and hurting the stock piston. But not to hold the car from a set height. You spend money to have a shock that travels 16” or whatever. Might as well figure out how to use all 16”. Send Scott a message on Facebook and see if he knows of anything to cheat the live valve system. I know he’s done several sets of talon live valve shocks. Scott Hewitt at HPE SHOCK SERVICE. What tires are you running?

[@TheExtremeRace]

Running stock talon tires, I did a rally cross event at the firm this weekend and most of the is asphault and part roadbase, on the asphault the tire gives way to much into turns. I do have a e2racing adjustable rear sway bar running on the middle setting. I think I should make it 1 setting stiffer to see if helps more.

[@TheExtremeRace]

@@writeselwelding I was reading about those maxxis ceros tires and it said max pressure is 18psi. Is it ok to go as high as you have it?

[@chadshumaker2789]

Good video. there are all kinds of different set ups to get you around the track. I finally had to go to a front sway bar to keep the car from going up on 2 wheels all the time. Now it corners flat and does well. I have been tossing around the idea of getting rid of the X3 and going to a YXZ and stepping down to that class. I suspect it would be just as much fun while not having the car on the ragged edge all the time. I am sure I will miss the speed an power though is my only thought.

[@writeselwelding]

As far as local racing goes the Pro Stock N/A class always has a good count and the racing is super competitive…We kicking around the idea of building a turbo car but from what we seen it just wasn’t worth it so went the stock route….you should 100% get a YXZ!!! Lol

[@chadshumaker2789]

@@writeselwelding I think there is usually a better count in those classes because price to get into it is so much lower and accessible to so many more. I will probably go the YXZ route. Just have to move the X3 along first.

[@kevingladman4735]

Totally agree with Donald! It’s more cost friendly and very competitive and high car count. But it’s hard to turn down big power lol

[@chadshumaker2789]

@@kevingladman4735 Yup. I think its the move I am going to make. Its just going to be hard going to half the HP sometimes LOL. But I have always said its more fun to drive a slow car fast than a fast car slow. Sometimes its not about having the most power. Its fun if everyone is about the same and its just the drivers skills vs the other drivers skills

[@writeselwelding]

@Chad Shumaker some of most fun I’ve had in racing is leaving the super buggy sit and getting back in a 1600 car…when the racing is super close and you can’t make a single mistake without loosing car links it’s fun!

[@TheKrutch44]

Do you guys every ride the trails? Do you have a Tails set up you run.

[@writeselwelding]

Hey Edward! Thanks for watching and thanks for the comment! We do take the stock unit out and trail ride when we’re not racing. We run the high/low speed compression on max stiff for racing but we usually soften the low speed compression a few turns for tail riding. The rebound settings we use for racing actually aren’t too bad for tail riding and of course putting a little bit of ride back in the car by the compression nuts never hurts if your going to be in deep rutted trails.

[@aslkdjfzxcv9779]

building a yxz this year for the 2023 season of gas. you guys prefer manual or automatic for short course?

[@writeselwelding]

That’s awesome! Good luck to you!! This is Donald speaking and this is the ultimate debate. I run the manual and Kevin runs the paddle. Both of us prefer the ones we have and both of us are way slower in each other’s cars lol!!! For me I turn faster laps in my manual car but if I had to run the paddle shift it has to have our push button shifter kit in it especially in a car that doesn’t have a steering quickener!!

[@kevingladman4735]

Man, that’s a tough one. If I got a manual right of the start I’d love it. But, I do like the convenience of the sport shift after we’ve scienced out the push button shifters and some mcu tuning. If you go the ss route I really recommend our push button shifter kit. They both have their advantages for sure, some say the manual is better cause you can use the clutch in certain situations. But if you watch our videos it’s tough to call which is better cause both cars always find each other 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@aslkdjfzxcv9779]

thanks, gents. and which oil should i use? xD (j/k) i'm a manual type of guy, i love the modulation you get w/ the clutch and the gas (corner entry and exit). of course, when there's enough silicon involved the skill becomes moot and maybe a hindrance. fortunately this gen of sxs doesn't seem to be overly digital.

[@GUTI-ps6oy]

Is manuel Clutch easier to drift?

[@kingasapj3160]

Hi guys I have a 2017 YXZ SE with the X2's what's your thoughts on a better ride for this setup?

[@writeselwelding]

Hey, Thank for watching thanks for the comment…a better setup for improved ride quality really depends on what type of riding or racing you primarily do with your machine? What do you use your machine for most of the time?

[@kingasapj3160]

@@writeselwelding we do a lot of sand dunes and desert riding

[@kingasapj3160]

Wow great! Were out in Arizona so would need new springs? Oh also do you guys run the sway bars front and rear?

[@writeselwelding]

Yes we run Eibach bars front and rear on one car and on the other we run the stock bar up front and a custom built setup on the rear. Definitely a dual rate spring setup is the ticket for desert riding…the dual rates will allow way more fine tuning. If your in the desert at higher speeds across the chop you can work the tender springs and play with the high speed compression settings and then rely on the main spring for the bigger jumps…that will be done with your crossover setting

[@jasonbilow2877]

Would these setups still apply to stock springs? I just got a 21 xtr. We have a track here buy has no jumps. I do trail ride slso so what setting are good for that ? Thanks!

[@writeselwelding]

Hey Jason!! Thanks for the comment! Does your 21 have dual rate springs?

[@jasonbilow2877]

@@writeselwelding No their all stock.

[@writeselwelding]

Jason…the exact dimensions and settings will not be the exact especially if your working with stock springs but the same principles will apply!

[@writeselwelding]

For anything on a racetrack with stock valving you’ll want your high speed and low speed compression on max stiff! And when you hit the trails you can soften them up for a more plush ride… more rebound clicks in the front than the rear will help it jump level…start at 9-10 click out on the front and 4 clicks out on the rear and adjust from there…you can adjust your spring compression nut to lower ride height for the track but you’ll be giving up the ground clearance for the trails! I hope this helps you get started in the right direction! If there’s anything else we help with let us know or send a message on our Facebook page!

[@jasonbilow2877]

@@writeselwelding Thank you very much for your time and giving me this. This is my first sxs so I dont know alot yet. One thing for on the trails what do you do on the rebound?

[@gavin7620]

quick question im running the exact same setup with the weller short course springs and stock shocks with all the preload taken out and full max compression and when I was running a little taller hoosiers I never had this issue but I recently switched to a 27" maxxis ceros and now sometimes off of bigger jumps or whoops the rear skid plate will actually bottom out and smack the ground, what would you recommend to stop it from doing that? add a little preload? or do you think the shock is just getting a little worn?

[@kevingladman4735]

Does it do it right off the rip? Like first lap out or does it take 3-5 laps to do it? Also keep in mind it could be the added weight of mud stuck to the car that’s compounding that problem cause the ceros throw a shit load more dirt around. If it’s lap one bottoming out I’d say your probably right and need to add some preload to it. Just make sure you move your cross overs accordingly so the mains engage at the same point as they did before you moved it. Otherwise the car will become lazy again. In our experience it’s been gas bleed off in the reservoirs. If you have a way to check your nitrogen pressures it would be wise to check and see if they bled off. If not the fluid is probably killed in them. This will be more noticeable as the race goes on. The stock unit is fantastic the first 3-5 laps then the shocks get heat in them and the fluid starts cavitating. Then it gets really lazy and unpredictable. But that’s from lack of a simple shock service. Plus exhaust heat on rear shocks is unreal on the early yxz while racing. Just throw your hand on the reservoirs one time after a race and see how hot they are. There’s a couple things you might be battling from the sounds of it. Just have to do some looking to see if it’s a shock issue or just a simple preload adjustment. Let us know what you figure out and if you have more questions don’t hesitate to hit us up!

[@gavin7620]

@@kevingladman4735 okay, im gonna try a little preload and see if that's the issue, if not ill hit you up about how to do a maintenance on the shocks because I've never done one before. I appreciate the help!

[@Hondarider35]

Where do you guys race at? Mao?

[@writeselwelding]

@Hondarider35 no we’ve never been to any MAO events that’s a long tow for us. We race the SXS in the Ohio Pennsylvania area. We’ve never ran any real big event with the SXS but we did run the buggies at 6 races with Champ Off-road last year

[@JoshStenberg]

Did you all not have minimum ride height when racing?

[@writeselwelding]

@JoshStenberg ..no we never had a minimum ride height rule at any of the places we were racing…I think that’s what you’re asking? We have a 10” minimum ride height rule in the pro buggy but we never had a ride height rule to follow in the sxs

[@JoshStenberg]

@writeselwelding yeah I seenyou all in Lena last year since champ off road has that rule. I'm running in sxs class and they have it top. Hence why I asked. Also might see you at a couple races too. I will stop by and such

[@writeselwelding]

@@JoshStenberg yes! Stop by anytime!!

[@all_out_of_bubble_gum]

Could the Lone Star+3,5" Kit make lowering the ride?

[@writeselwelding]

I’m not sure I’m fully understanding the question, what exactly are you asking. I don’t wanna answer and sound stupid lol

[@all_out_of_bubble_gum]

@@writeselwelding I am trying to find Out if it is possible to make the yxz much lower. Kind Like a Buggy. The Lone Star Kit makes the ride wider, but is it able to lower the Chassis .

[@writeselwelding]

Ok gotcha now! So ride height on a coil over setup is typically determined by the spring compression setting. However shock length and location can also affect this if they are changed so in the case of the lone star kit if the same overall shock length is used and the shock mounting location on the upper arm is moved out towards the wheel then yes the lone star kit could potentially lower the height. I’m not familiar with that kit enough to say whether those mounts are in the factory location or not! I hope this helped in some way!

[@all_out_of_bubble_gum]

@@writeselwelding thank you! Yes now I See whats the main question Here : "mounts factory Location" It Seems it's Not that easy and expensive to make the Yamaha low.

[@writeselwelding]

Well not necessarily. You can simply adjust your spring preload setting as it sits and will lower the ride height but you are bound by the total length of the spring stack at full droop………..unless you introduce limit straps! What suspension setup are you currently on? And what machine? You may have a few cheap options