Crutchfield Shock Absorber Reviews

[outlandish]

A Review by Outlandish

I received theshocks today courtesy of Crutchfield Performance. They were well packaged and individually wrapped in plastic. Very impressive looking.

Removed my old shocks, stockers withNON-XT MAX springs. The Crutchfields are over an inch longer.

[outlandish]

Installation was fairly straight forward and easy with just a little compression needed.

I have a ground clearance increase of 1 1/2". I went from 12 1/2" to just over 14" with 29.5 Swamp Lites @ 5psi. These areadjusted to about 3/4" from the lowest possible setting.

[outlandish]

This will be an ongoing report but first ride impression, WOW these things handle great! A little stiff but no body roll on corners and very little dive under hard braking. I think by adjusting the springs down a little that stiffness will soften up some. They feel good and the machine feels like an ATV should IMO. So far anyway, no bottoming, no body rollor nose diving...

[outlandish]

The only real problem I see is that now the rear sits a little low even at the highest setting on the stock non xt springs.

[outlandish]

Second ride. Another very short ride but I spun the adjusting ring down about 1/2" and it rides much softer and sits more level. It now has 13 5/8" of clearance. Still stiffer than stock but it should be firm and not mushy I think. I found some rocks to ride over (8-10"). When the front hit, it just sucked them up but the rear bucked like a bronc with the stock shocks set on high. The real beauty of these is the many spring combinations available. They can be set up for anyones weight/riding style. more to come

---------

Will be adding more when I install the lighter springs. They should be here soon. The snow here is almost gone so I can get out and really run it in some rough stuff for a good test.......

------------------

Took a good ride on Monday using the 200/160 spring combo. We did about 50 miles locally and I definitely noticed a difference between the 180 and 160 springs. The bike still rides firm but much more comfortableon my old bones. LOL It has a little more nose dive but still very acceptable. No noticeable body roll.

The terrain wasmostly hard pack with some snow/ice, water/mud andsome rocky areas. We also rode an old railroad grade for a couple miles. This grade is all whoops. I was able to ride it at 10-15 mph faster thanbefore with the stock shocks and 26" tires. I was riding on 29.5" tires, it never bottomedand the tires never rubbed at all.

This spring combo seems to be very good for my style of riding however I will try the Crutchfield 180/160 frontand stock rears andreport on that before installing Crutchfield rears, stock size tires and giving my final view on these shocks.


-------


The ride is softer with the 180/160 on front. Still handles great, has a bit more dive but still no noticeable roll. Adding the Crutchfield 180/140 on the rear made a world of difference from the stockers. I have these set to about the middle of the adjustment band and they are just soft enough for my old aching back but still hold good ground clearance and no side to side roll. My Outty kicks it outin the corners better than ever. I put on my 25" Bighorns and I haveground clearance of:

25" tires 5psi

Front: -12" clearance

Floorboard: - 12" clearance

Rear: - 11.75" clearance

I am very satisfied with these shocks and can only imagine how good the Precision Stablizer would work in combination.

[outlandish]

Review from MtnOuty:

Iinstalled Crutchfield 180/160 springs/shocks on all four corners this weekend, went out Monday and tested them.

The trail wasthrough bigdiameter pine trees with up to eight roots stretching across the trail, 2" to 5" diameter. On many parts of the trail,it splits around a big pine tree, one way much smoother without asmany whoops andfewer roots. I took the rougher trail section at every opportunity. Also, many trail sections had snow melt washes across the trail, with lots of ground elevation difference from high sidenext totreedown to the trail itself with roots across most ofit. This made for lots of camber change, roots, ruts, washouts, all within 15' of each other. Best place I know of to givesuspension package a workout. What the trail amounts to is camber left, camber right, 1.5'to 2' whoops, tree roots, all happening in 10'-15' trail sections. This is a 5-10 mph trail for the average rider, average ute.

I had been on this9 mile trail section about 16 times beforewith oem suspension, rear stock shortys in the frontand rear, so I was familiar with it. With me aboard, quad weight is right at 1,000 lbs plus impact forces which can be double at anycornerduring bottom-out.

Started out at 5-10 mph, just to get the feel of the Bilstein gas shock/Crutchfield spring sets. Very easy going, so gradually kicked it up to as fast as I could go, which was between 15-20 mph.

I did not feel the tires come off of the ground at any point along this wavy, rough trail. No neck snapping bottom-outs as had occured athalf thespeed with the oem suspension. Also, no out-of-control launching when trying to make a little time through that section. Instead of bottoming out, I feltsmooth spring compression as the crutchfieldskept the tires in contact with the ground. I was so intent in feeling the ride, I almost lost it at a camber change next to a tree. Put my mind back to ride safety.

Bilstein shocks/Crutchfield springsallaround......I give them an A. Never felt safer or more in control. Felt just a little stiffer,got used to that after 3-4 miles.

Ground clearance in the front went from 8-1/4" to 12-1/4". GC in the rear went from 10" to 11". Spring settings all the way around are at 1/2" from the bottom. I am going to leave them there as I typicallywill not ride a rougher trail anywhere in the state during the rideseason.

Root bump steer was not a problem as the Precision steering stabilizer is installed on my quad, settings 8 center, 6 sides for this ride. Ran over as many as 10 rootswithin 8'-10'.

Tires are 26" Terracross R/T's on 14" ITP type 7 rims, 4-3/4 psi all around.

The Crutchfield springs, Precision's stabilizer, Terracross Tires, all get an A on this ride.

[outlandish]

A Review from Sweeper

I got my shocks today from Ed, they Look great, but I haven't put them through

they're paces yet. Mud season is here and the local trails close for a couple of weeks.

I mounted them and the clearances increased from 11.25"- 12.25" Rear and 11"-12.25" front. The Nose dive under braking,that was very pronouned with the OEM shocks,is effectively gone. The springs are much more linear than I thought they'd be. The rebound seems fine for the road ride I took today. We'll see how that is this weekend.

Overall I think I'm going to love them! I really didn't even know how bad the OEM springs/shocks were. Plus they look GREAT with gold and blue springs and Yellow shocks.:dan:

I even get the rears replaced under BRP warranty, due to leaky seals. and excessive sags in springs. I'll put those in the cellar to be thrown away when I die.

Ed is great, he called to offer faster delivery, belive that? I never have anyone do that. I got them and called him to ask a question and he called me back today to see if all went well. I'm getting the steeringstabilizer next from him.

MORE

OK, Took the crutchfields for areal test yesterday on fairly high speed 1-3' whoops with flat out straights with hard braking.These trails are narrow and require prescion to keep it out of the trees. I wasn't able to go more that 25mph on these with the OEM set-up. THe rebound would launch you off the top of the bump and would be crossed up on landing, then the front end would dive hard into the next bump. Scary!! And god forbid ifyou let off the throttle!!!

I have 200/180lb rear springs and 200/160 fronts. Bilstein dampers, some euro type.

Stock XT wheels and 26" carlisles

I gained about 3/4" of clearance all around. There is some sag (1/4")in the springs, the way they were shipped and I think with a little more pre-load that'll be better.

1st impression was, wow these are too stiff and my wife is going to hate these. Easy enough to replace springs, ed was willing to work with me.

I took the XT Max out for a flying run and I was truly amazed. Ed really dialed in the valving on the dampers andit makes the ride totally predictable. I only weigh 150lbs, i always work up to top speed as I found with throwing it in at full boogie out of the gate usually bites you in the rear! So with that said, i was able to ride through that stuff 35mph and I thought i was doing 25 again. This is without pushing. The launch off the whoop was easy and the landing was smooth as glass, with throttle on the bike just sucked them up with less arm work. The bike tracked precisely and on the straights the front end was lightand required a little more attention up to 60. The weight shiftwill need to be adjusted through corner balancing.

Brakes like a race car! WHICH IS AMAZING SINCE THE BIKE WEIGHS 851LBS, over a grand with me on it. never mind the crap that's mounted on it. The weight shift here is perfect for me and bike stays planted andvery littleNOSE DIVE. I was worried since the center of gravity is definatly higher. THe straight line brakingto throttle on cornering was pretty good, i would likemore compression damping, or adjustability. I was able to kick the rear out when I wanted and the griphook up was great, due to high/low speed settings (un-adjustable). This was all in 2wd.

In 4wd the light front end required a little more attention, this probably due to the fact that I was going much faster than before, there was no cavatation with wheel spin, in fact even in the whoops the big machine ripped right through.

Plushness- still rides great with a little more vibration in the handle bars, not much.riding two up with really be greatand I can't wait to take her out and prove to her that it isn't too stiff. I was spacing out, came around a long sweeper andpractically fell into a deep rut with a major mound in the middle, a little off camber and I thought, here we go andthe bike saved my butt. The front shocks eat the rut and the higher clearance allowed the bike to "SKI on skid plate" Couldn't do that on the polaris!!! When in doubt, it's flat out"

All in all i give the crutchfields anA compared to factory. I think adjustibility would begreat, both compression and re-bound. But you have to PAY!!!! I think the price is a little high, but worth the itif you're thinking of buying the HPG shocksfrom BRP, wastingthat money seems crazy to me.

I would liketo try the Elkas or Works to compare. I think Ed has done a good job and the friendly and knowlegable, and imagine getting some product you ordered 2 days early, combined with the 30 day (if he's still doing that) return policy,makes them worth every penny.

This what BRP should have done in the first place!!! This is a good machine, lets make the chassis as good as the engine.

[outlandish]

Review by Gutbuster

Everything arrived yesterday just as promised by Ed. Here's some pics of the new toys!

I even installed my new Renegade Foot Rests since I was elbow deep!






After I come back from WindRock this weekend,...I'll post an after ride review. I'll have to do a little adjusting I'm sure to get them exactly where I want them.

Just by installing these shocks,..I've already gained 1-3/4" Ground Clearance. Which I have needed.

Here's some pics:

Awesome Looking Stuff. Very Well made. Front Stage II's on the Left,...Rear Stage I's on the Right.


Rear Shocks Comparison,...There's No Comparison! These are the Stage I's.


Front Shock Comparison,...There's No Comparison here Either! These are the Stage II's.


Rear Stage I Mounted!


Front Stage II Mounted!

Went to WindRock this past weekend in Oliver Springs, TN. for 3 days of riding. I was really excited due to the new toys being installed on the Outty.

First of all I'll cover the Precision Sterring Stabilizer,....There's not much more that I can say that hasn't already been said about this marvelous piece of equipment. It is awesome to say the least. The Stabilizer makes riding and steering the machine an absolute joy! WindRock is very technical, rocky and rough in many sections. The stabilizer performs superbly and keeps your front wheels where you point them and makes life wonderful for you by eliminating any work for your arms during your ride. A+

The Crutchfield Shocks performed just as well. The Stage II's up front took the hits and the quad stayed straight on without any nose dive ever. The ride was very comfortable and the extra ground clearance was sweet! I'm leaving these front shocks just as Ed Crutchfield sent them to me. Spot On! A+

The Stage I's on the rear of the machine are awesome as well! Honestly,...I probably could've gotten by with Stage I's all around,....but felt the need for a little extra up front. The shocks performed perfectly during all our rides and regardless of the terrain they handled everything thrown at them,...and we threw plenty at them. I do plan to stiffen up the Rear Stage I's just a little. These were left as Ed sent them to me as well during the ride. I was carrying a little extra gear this trip just for the heck of it. I give these Stage I's an A+ as well!

As I've said,...you can get by wonderfully with just the Stage I's. However,..if you like to ride hard and fast, with a lot of tight technical rough stuff thrown in,..put the Stage II's on the front at minimum. You'll be very well pleased. Ed and I discussed my riding style thouroghly and chose what was best for me. I'm glad I went with the Stage II's up front. These Shocks are awesome!

[outlandish]

A Review By Badride:

I have not been happy with the suspension on my 07 Renegade so I decided to purchase a set of Crutchfield shocks. I had already put a set of Elka’s on my 06 Outlander so I knew what I was getting into with them $$$$$$$$$$$ and decided to try something else. Yes, Elka wanted all my information, weight of tires, weight of wheels, my weight, and weight of any accessories, what type of terrain, my riding style, blah, blah blah. I thought they would really be perfect after I dialed them in a little. I have tried adjusting all the settings and springs and I really wasn’t impressed with the ride of the Elka shocks although they did bring the ride height back on the Outty but heck, a stiffer spring would do the same thing for a lot less money. Well, I ended up taking a lot of weight off the Outty and even changing tire wheel weight. So I call them back and tell them about all the weight I took off and asked what I needed to do because it really hadn’t rode as good as I had expected from the beginning and I wanted to know what to do about it. They said nothing, it should be fine after adjusting the spring pads, compression and rebound. So to me they took all that info in the beginning for nothing except to sound good. The Elka’s would probably be good if you were racing motocross going over huge jumps but they don’t really suit me for the woods. I usually ride at Windrock (Oliver Springs Tn) where there are plenty of rocks and rough trails. The biggest difference, (besides the price, the Elka’s were about twice as much) is that the Crutchfield’s made the Renegade ride much softer at slow to moderate speeds and even at high speeds than the stock shocks and even better than the Elka’s on the Outlander. Now the Renegade is much easier to ride through the rough stuff, so much so I even had to change the settings on my steering damper because I was riding at a faster speed. All I had to do to the Crutchfield’s was stiffen up the preload on the front springs to make it corner a little better the rear shocks were dead on. Ed did ask a couple of questions to help with the spring selection and it only took him a few days to get them, he even offered to help me install them at his place at Windrock, try that with Elka! If you have a Renegade or any other 4 wheeler and you are not happy with the ride and you are thinking about buying a set of Elka’s, I suggest giving Ed a call, 706-931-2513 or go to http://www.Crutchfieldperformance.com and get a set of Crutchfield’s and put the rest of the money you would have spent with Elka in your pocket. Even though my Elka shocks were set up for my weight and riding style and they have adjustable compression and rebound dampening with remote reservoirs the ride is not even close. Overall for me, there is no comparison, the Crutchfield’s win hands down!

[Huck BB62]

Just ordered a set of stage 2s for the front, 1s for the rear, and a stabilizer. They're the most wonderful people to talk too. I'm from their neck of the woods. Listening to their North Georgia drawl makes me awfully homesick. I don't need to post a review as the topic's already been covered, I'm positive I'll love the change to the Max.

By the way, Ed's trailer got damaged in a fire. He solicited no help but it's a bummer. I hate it when bad things happen to good folks.