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03 Escape suspension setup

R

RMKcowboy

Free Member
I thought about selling the sled and "upgrading" (not sure if it would be an upgrade or not... :confused:) to a Rev or XP, but decided I like NOT having payments more than I like having a newer sled. I've never touched a single thing on the suspension on my 03 Escape, and I'm wondering what a good setup is that will maintain some stability on the trail (hey, you gotta ride at least some trails to get to the good stuff where I ride) but still work well on the hill. I'm probably 200-210 with my gear on.
 
I rock the front shock in the lower position and my limiter straps all the way out. Much better at getting up on top of the snow than the stock positions and still easy IMO to corner on the trail. Still sucks up bumps well too. I have my rear springs set to as soft as I can get them without bottoming out. Works great on flat to incline approaches.

I also took out my sway bar and will never look back. Much better in the powder and still good on the trail. IMO still corners better than my Dragon on the hardpack. I do use fox floats up front.
 
I have left the swaybar in because I didn't want it to "fish out of water" on me going down the trail, but maybe I'll try it w/o this year and see how it works.
 
The sway bar is a personal prefernce thing. I absolutely hate them without a swaybar. Then again, I am a big guy and have problem tossing the sled where it needs to be.

When is the last time you have rebuilt your shocks? Ever? They generally go little by little and you don't realize just how bad they have got. If you are running the stock 03 escape shocks, they are a very good shock. I would start by just pulling all four of them off and having them rebuilt. You may be very suprised on just how well it rides again! Then play with the clickers. There is a ton of adjustment in those shocks. Just make note of where they were set to begin with and you can always set them back to that same setting if you get all mixed up and don't like it. Don't be afraid to change things up. I run my limiter strap in the middle hole. I don't want a wheelie moster when climbing. You can't climb when you have to back out of the throttle to keep it from coming over bacward. Yet, I do a ton of boondocking and need to be able to lift the front as needed so the middle works for me.
 
theultrarider said:
The sway bar is a personal prefernce thing. I absolutely hate them without a swaybar. Then again, I am a big guy and have problem tossing the sled where it needs to be.

When is the last time you have rebuilt your shocks? Ever? They generally go little by little and you don't realize just how bad they have got. If you are running the stock 03 escape shocks, they are a very good shock. I would start by just pulling all four of them off and having them rebuilt. You may be very suprised on just how well it rides again! Then play with the clickers. There is a ton of adjustment in those shocks. Just make note of where they were set to begin with and you can always set them back to that same setting if you get all mixed up and don't like it. Don't be afraid to change things up. I run my limiter strap in the middle hole. I don't want a wheelie moster when climbing. You can't climb when you have to back out of the throttle to keep it from coming over bacward. Yet, I do a ton of boondocking and need to be able to lift the front as needed so the middle works for me.
Click to expand...
Yes, stock shocks all around and never touched the clickers at all. No money in the budget this year for a rebuild, so they will get run as-is.
 
$40/shock to rebuild them and it is worth it. .405 HD springs in the rear, you won't be bucking around though like the older sleds did. Remove the swaybar just to try it, install it again if you don't like it without it. Crank up your springs a couple turns when you do and clickers up 2-4 clicks. You'll have excellent trail manners and powder running will improve.
SLP Powder Pro's are awesome on the VE's, way better than stockers and Simmons. No more unplanned diving.
 
hunt around and see if you can find a set of 08 or newer factory gripper skis(dragon sleds)they are a very good ski and will bolt right on.....
 
just throwing it out there, i bought some heavyer duty rear springs from the dealership, Im about 220 with gear, its made a realy difference, even with climbing too.
 
Just my thoughts so don't shoot me down.

You like the sway bar in, leave it in.
You don't want to wheelie over backwards, leave the limiter strap in the middle hole.
Now, move the rear scissor and all its parts to the front hole (about 3" forward). You will be moving the upper mount, front mount and rear bottom mount as well as the rubber bump stop on the rail. This allows the weight transfer to happen without the front end coming up uncontrollably. You can adjust how much you like the front end to come up by moving your weight forward or backwards on the running boards.

My opinion is, that having the limiter strap set to the bottom hole, the front of the skid is forced down under hard acceleration as the track pulls the skid forward (like a winch winding the track forward over the drivers). When the front of the skid nose dives, it increases the approach angle and doesn't let the sled climb up on the snow as well as if the angle was shallower. Even better would be to move the limiter strap to the top hole which holds the approach angle flatter over more conditions, but with the trade off of less suspension travel. Again, my opinion is that with this ability of the machine to transfer the weight back with less approach angle loss, it still lifts the front of the sled up allowing the rider to roll it onto its side easy enough that the additional resistance of the sway bar is not noticed as much. Another theory that I believe, is the additional spring pressure of the sway bar (being that the suspension is tied together), when sidehilling, it helps to hold the front end up out of the snow a bit more for less drag, and the rider gets more steering response from the ski that is in the snow.
 
volcano buster said:
Just my thoughts so don't shoot me down.

You like the sway bar in, leave it in.
You don't want to wheelie over backwards, leave the limiter strap in the middle hole.
Now, move the rear scissor and all its parts to the front hole (about 3" forward). You will be moving the upper mount, front mount and rear bottom mount as well as the rubber bump stop on the rail. This allows the weight transfer to happen without the front end coming up uncontrollably. You can adjust how much you like the front end to come up by moving your weight forward or backwards on the running boards.

My opinion is, that having the limiter strap set to the bottom hole, the front of the skid is forced down under hard acceleration as the track pulls the skid forward (like a winch winding the track forward over the drivers). When the front of the skid nose dives, it increases the approach angle and doesn't let the sled climb up on the snow as well as if the angle was shallower. Even better would be to move the limiter strap to the top hole which holds the approach angle flatter over more conditions, but with the trade off of less suspension travel. Again, my opinion is that with this ability of the machine to transfer the weight back with less approach angle loss, it still lifts the front of the sled up allowing the rider to roll it onto its side easy enough that the additional resistance of the sway bar is not noticed as much. Another theory that I believe, is the additional spring pressure of the sway bar (being that the suspension is tied together), when sidehilling, it helps to hold the front end up out of the snow a bit more for less drag, and the rider gets more steering response from the ski that is in the snow.
Click to expand...
Good info for sure, thanks for sharing!
 
any suggestions on suspension setup for bigger guys? I'm 6'3 and about 250 with gear. anybody have any suggestions for where the walker evans shocks should be on an 03 escape?
 
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