Front shocks Float2 or Evol R?

[renegadefred]

If I upgrade my front shocks what is the main differences between Fox Float2 or Evol R beside the prices? I know evol will offer more adjustments and tunability but you guys with the float 2 are you satisfied? For the rear it will be Tom's Air Evolution for sure but coming from a 08 Summit X is the front upgrade as the same return on investment than the rear?

 

[mtn-doo]

I had a pair of the new Float-2's most of the season from Tom's. This spring I made a big order of shocks for several sleds and decided to upgrade mine as well and try the Evol-R. WOW! There is a huge difference. If you don't ride them you will never miss them, just because you don't know what your missing. I was very happy with my float 2's, but no comparison to the EVOL-R's. Everything is different. Silky smooth going fast on small chop, perfect rebound hitting big whoops hard and fast, exactly like a moto-cross bike would feel! Then on BIG drops, no bounce and no bottom out. Fast but smooth rebound without the bounce or kick. The Evol chamber is high pressure, 250 psi for the progressive portion of the shock, the shock body is low pressure, 60psi for compression, slow speeds and ride height. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Also, Tom is first rate to work with, so no hesitation there....I've dealt with him a lot.

 

[renegadefred]

I had a pair of the new Float-2's most of the season from Tom's. This spring I made a big order of shocks for several sleds and decided to upgrade mine as well and try the Evol-R. WOW! There is a huge difference. If you don't ride them you will never miss them, just because you don't know what your missing. I was very happy with my float 2's, but no comparison to the EVOL-R's. Everything is different. Silky smooth going fast on small chop, perfect rebound hitting big whoops hard and fast, exactly like a moto-cross bike would feel! Then on BIG drops, no bounce and no bottom out. Fast but smooth rebound without the bounce or kick. The Evol chamber is high pressure, 250 psi for the progressive portion of the shock, the shock body is low pressure, 60psi for compression, slow speeds and ride height. I hope this helps. Good luck!
Also, Tom is first rate to work with, so no hesitation there....I've dealt with him a lot.

Thanks for the info, if I upgrade, I'll trow in the extra 300$ (US $ but our funny money Can looney is getting good vs US) now that I know they worth it. Any other to chime in?

 

[F-Bomb]

I also will agree with what has been said concerning the FOX Evol series of shocks both R and X. If you have an opportunity to ride a sled setup correctly with these shocks you will quickly "EXPERIENCE" the value. This past weekend we had a unique opportunity to ride multiple sleds of the exact same brand and basic configuration but with a wildly varying batch of shocks from basic stockers to full Evol X. Interestingly, we also took a customers sled that had Evol R's that were not properly setup and re-tuned them (we ran through multiple shock pressures and basic rebound settings to "DIAL" a custom setup exactly to this sled and riders preference. That all took about ten minutes and a few test runs. The difference in performance was "shocking"! You would not believe how much difference a few pounds chamber pressure and a twist of the rebound knob created!

This particular sled had an Alpha-X rear suspension from Holz Racing Products so not only was he able to tune up the front with ride height, pressure, and rebound but he was also able to tune his rear suspension for ski pressure control, transfer, and basic ride feel. (there is more here concerning limiter strap settings for his application but generally speaking the shock adds a lot of variables) It turns your sled into a fully touch tune race car instead of a nice expensive store bought street car. Everybody weighs different rides different and has different expectations and needs for performance. After a season on Fox Evol X I have become a HUGE advocate of this product.

Tom's is the distributor of models for this application on Ski Doo and can offer you vast experience for setups on your application. Holz Racing Products is also an excellent resource on the Ski Doo.

 

[renegadefred]

Thanks a lot for the comments. Its just hard to figure to invest 3000$ (can) of hard to earn money over 13000 Can$ of already hard to earn money on aftermarket suspensions part when buying a new sled. Not include: clutch kit, vent kit, 2.5 camo ext track, egt, and BB BJ 860 kit ..... Now I understand why you western guys are keeping your sled a couple of years. When you mod your sled, better keep it for a while. Maybe I'll keep my 08 154 for another few years and just refresh the crank and top end, and a a suspension from tom after my laon will be paid.

 

[F-Bomb]

If you can afford them and USE them they are really impressive. In bottomless powder or in groomed trail conditions they are a complete waste of money....the one time you come down way over forward and prepare to eat your bars is when you will find the money very "well spent". Also note that if you don't have them adjusted correctly they can be a waste (painful) as well. I almost broke my wrist Saturday because the setup was so poor on one of the sleds. It was very strong running turbo and you don't let out of mtn sled doing a wheely at 60 MPH on a hill over a knob if you have inferior front shocks or the wrong rebound setup! We set the sled up correctly then you could literaly smash the front end down at any speed get right back in it and ride away fast, happy, and silky smooth. Very cool stuff!

 

[gman086]

Here's the MAIN differece:

I've been using and tuning Fox air shocks for years (mainly MTB applications but same principles apply). The BIGGEST difference between the Floats and the Evols is that the Evols have a platform - which means the shocks don't move until a threshold level is reached. The threshold level is controlled/tuned by the remote reservoir air pressure (not even remotely close to what a remote resy does on a coil over shock). So what does this do for you? Basically IF you don't run a stabilizer bar then you should seriously consider the Evols over the Floats as it will dramatically reduce body roll without affecting bump absorbing or sidehilling capabilities - you CAN have your cake and eat it too.

Have FUN!

G MAN

 

[renegadefred]

If you can afford them and USE them they are really impressive. In bottomless powder or in groomed trail conditions they are a complete waste of money....the one time you come down way over forward and prepare to eat your bars is when you will find the money very "well spent". Also note that if you don't have them adjusted correctly they can be a waste (painful) as well. I almost broke my wrist Saturday because the setup was so poor on one of the sleds. It was very strong running turbo and you don't let out of mtn sled doing a wheely at 60 MPH on a hill over a knob if you have inferior front shocks or the wrong rebound setup! We set the sled up correctly then you could literaly smash the front end down at any speed get right back in it and ride away fast, happy, and silky smooth. Very cool stuff!

Where I ride in Québec northeast, we have to ride some trashed trail to get to the playground and we don't have the bottomless powder many times in a year so a good suspension is a good investment. If I could have your endless powder covered backcountry and 1000 ft hillclimb... it would be the paradise on earth. I will have to go west to find THE real playground soon. Thanks for sharing your experience on the Evol.

 

[F-Bomb]

Fred Venture into the Polaris section and read Idaho Hot Shot's post on falling in love.

We do have incredible free ride sledding here in the west but don't be fooled into thinking we don't "HAVE" to ride trail. It's a rare rare area that doesn't require some hard pan bumpity bump access to the promised land. Actually what we traditionally ride is one track never groomed hell for a few miles to get to the good stuff.

Bottomless champagne fluff is the filet mignon while most of the time we just have a really really good sirloin! (woo is me) Killer shocks are only way I can get through the grissle. These babies are the grey poupon of sled parts while everyone else just gets ketchup.

 

[trinitypowder]

I've been happy with my Float2's! They are a nice improvement over the stock x package stuff. I looked at the Evol R's, but went with the 2's simply for the weight(or lackthereof!)difference. You can't beat the Float 2's for lightweight!

 

[drypowder]

how about the shock under the gas tank? is the zero pro a good choice?

 

[renegadefred]

any other input?