[huntertim214]

I have a 2019 T4 LE with stock suspension and I haven't messed with the preload at all yet. I've heard that the factory set-up is pretty stiff but before I start experimenting I thought I would see if anyone has done adjustments and may have a good starting point for general trail riding? I am usually riding with two adults in front and one or two small kids in back. I am guessing I should back it off a few turns at least, but not sure how far you need to go to make a difference. I'm not concerned much with ground clearance or anything, I just want the most comfortable ride. i will be removing the front swaybar as well and I'm considering a brute performance lift just for the shock angle adjustment.

 

[6.2Blazer]

Start with changing the little adjustment knob for the compression settings. Just adjust by hand and many people turn them all the way down. I would recommend setting them at both extremes and riding around a little to get a feel for them (fyi - in my experience you can feel the difference but it isn't an extreme difference....). After that you can try reducing the preload some. Keep in mind that as you reduce the spring load it will lower the ride height some, and you will start losing some of the uptravel. If you loosen the preload a lot it will "soften" the spring but at some point could make it ride worse....that would be because the shock is now bottoming out and has less uptravel.

 

[huntertim214]

Start with changing the little adjustment knob for the compression settings. Just adjust by hand and many people turn them all the way down. I would recommend setting them at both extremes and riding around a little to get a feel for them (fyi - in my experience you can feel the difference but it isn't an extreme difference....). After that you can try reducing the preload some. Keep in mind that as you reduce the spring load it will lower the ride height some, and you will start losing some of the uptravel. If you loosen the preload a lot it will "soften" the spring but at some point could make it ride worse....that would be because the shock is now bottoming out and has less uptravel.

thanks for the info... I have messed with the compression for different conditions and have kind of figured out where I like that, but have yet to change the preload at all. I will start by loosening it up in small increments and see how it reacts.

 

[VirginiaHawk]

For general trail riding, I have my shocks set to 9 clicks in the front, up from full soft, and 6 clicks in the rear. I also ditched the front sway bar. I am running a 2" lift and 28" Rockabilly tires at 7 psi.

I'm a 2-seater and ride mostly alone, but I carry a LOT of gear. This setup works well for me. I have never touched the preload. Don't forget to consider your tire pressure when looking for a smoother ride. Tire pressure will have a much bigger impact on ride quality then pre-load or shock setting ever will.

 

[Andy>]

For general trail riding, I have my shocks set to 9 clicks in the front, up from full soft, and 6 clicks in the rear. I also ditched the front sway bar. I am running a 2" lift and 28" Rockabilly tires at 7 psi.

I'm a 2-seater and ride mostly alone, but I carry a LOT of gear. This setup works well for me. I have never touched the preload. Don't forget to consider your tire pressure when looking for a smoother ride. Tire pressure will have a much bigger impact on ride quality then pre-load or shock setting ever will.

I was just gonna ask if anyone had a lift with the sway bar unhooked. I might have to do this on mine.
I unhooked both front and rear bars on my other machine and it rode way better after but was a little tipsier in the corners.

 

[VirginiaHawk]

You can safely remove the sway bar. It does get slightly more tippy, but you get used to it real fast and getting rid of it allows the suspension to work better. Less lifting one wheel when going over a rock. You won't regret taking it off

 

[Andy>]

Then I can take it off some sweet jumps?

 

[VirginiaHawk]

If you try to jump a Teryx, be careful. They tend to be quite nose heavy when they land. Dont ask me how I know.

 

[huntertim214]

For general trail riding, I have my shocks set to 9 clicks in the front, up from full soft, and 6 clicks in the rear. I also ditched the front sway bar. I am running a 2" lift and 28" Rockabilly tires at 7 psi.

I'm a 2-seater and ride mostly alone, but I carry a LOT of gear. This setup works well for me. I have never touched the preload. Don't forget to consider your tire pressure when looking for a smoother ride. Tire pressure will have a much bigger impact on ride quality then pre-load or shock setting ever will.

That is a good point, I do adjust my air pressure quite a bit depending on where I'm riding - very low for sand and a bit more when riding the rocky trails in TN/WV. I'm currently on the stock 27" 2.0's but I have a set of 28" 2.0's waiting to go on. I have been running the compression a bit lower than that most of the time, usually around 4-6 clicks in front and 6 in rear but it's still a pretty rough ride in certain conditions. Maybe the problem is that I made the huge mistake of ripping around in my buddies Talon 4 Live Valve for a few hours. Getting back in the Teryx after that was about like jumping on a Massey Ferguson

You can safely remove the sway bar. It does get slightly more tippy, but you get used to it real fast and getting rid of it allows the suspension to work better. Less lifting one wheel when going over a rock. You won't regret taking it off

I have been putting this off because one of the things I don't like about the Teryx 4 is that "tippy" feeling when on off camber trails... especially down South when you're looking down a huge cliff while leaning towards it, lol. That's the main reason I put on 2" spacers as well. I am hoping the benefit of more wheel articulation offsets any extra lean that I may get. I am also considering putting on the Brute Performance lift to get the benefit of the shock relocation but then lowering the preload to soften it up and still keep the COG down as much as possible. Spending about $5k on an HCR long travel kit would probably solve most of my issues, but I don't have that kind of money, lol. And if I did that would put me into the cost range of a Talon 4, so there would be a trade in involved

 

[6.2Blazer]

The tire pressure and disconnecting the swaybar are both good points. In regards to feeling tippy with the swaybar removed, on mine you could notice it during a high speed corner on the road but never noticed anything on slow speed trails or off camber situations.

Going to just aftermarket shocks makes a huge difference as they offer a better ride and are longer and offer more suspension travel. For the Brute Performance lift just remember that decreasing the spring load in conjunction with that lift will really lower the spring rate. Not saying you can't do it at all but remember you can make the ride worse if the shocks start bottoming out. I tried the same concept with the Highlifter kit with decreasing spring load but using the lift so I didn't loose as much ride height. They were adjusted so had around 1" lift in rear and 1.5" lift in the front. To be honest I didn't notice any huge difference. Currently run the Bandit shocks and they do make a huge difference.

 

[VirginiaHawk]

I think the big thing to remember here is that the Teryx and the Talon are two totally different classes of machines. You are never going to get the same ride without spending insane money. If you want a Teryx ride that is BETTER than the Talon, get the Teryx-1000 KRX. I think the Talon starts around $19,000 and goes up from there. I can get a base model T2 starting at just north of $12,000

 

[6.2Blazer]

I think the big thing to remember here is that the Teryx and the Talon are two totally different classes of machines. You are never going to get the same ride without spending insane money. If you want a Teryx ride that is BETTER than the Talon, get the Teryx-1000 KRX. I think the Talon starts around $19,000 and goes up from there. I can get a base model T2 starting at just north of $12,000

Exactly. The biggest thing about the ride of a Teryx is you just can't complete with the machines that have double or triple the suspension travel.

 

[huntertim214]

I think the big thing to remember here is that the Teryx and the Talon are two totally different classes of machines. You are never going to get the same ride without spending insane money. If you want a Teryx ride that is BETTER than the Talon, get the Teryx-1000 KRX. I think the Talon starts around $19,000 and goes up from there. I can get a base model T2 starting at just north of $12,000

I know that those machines are not comparable, and it was a calculated decision to get my T4, but man it's just hard to ignore how well those sport machines soak up the same terrain. For 98% of the year I am super happy with my T4 for what I do... it's only those 5 or 10 days a year when I'm riding with Talons, X3's, RZR 1000's that I wish I went with a sport machine. I need a 4 seater and I have always been a Honda guy, so I really wanted the Talon 4 when it came out, but I could not justify the cost. I picked up my new T4 LE for around $15,000 - about $8,000 cheaper than a Talon 4. I had a hard enough time justifying the Teryx into my family budget, so that extra $8,000 probably would have led me to a divorce and that would be a LOT more money!!

 

[joshbrownncsu]

I have a ‘17 T4 LE. I kept my stock tires but swapped out my shocks for Bandits. Completely different ride. Now all those little bumps that would rattle you on the trails are non-existent now.

 

[Rgeorgeut]

I have a ‘17 T4 LE. I kept my stock tires but swapped out my shocks for Bandits. Completely different ride. Now all those little bumps that would rattle you on the trails are non-existent now.

I second the Bandits! I put Bandits on my 2019 2-seater Teryx. Best decision, so much better ride than oem Fox shocks. Well worth the money.

 

[TRex Beast]

If you try to jump a Teryx, be careful. They tend to be quite nose heavy when they land. Dont ask me how I know.

Just did that a couple weeks ago while riding in Arkansas and my neck still hurts. There's nothing to stop your head from snapping back due to the angle of the seat back.

 

[TRex Beast]

That is a good point, I do adjust my air pressure quite a bit depending on where I'm riding - very low for sand and a bit more when riding the rocky trails in TN/WV. I'm currently on the stock 27" 2.0's but I have a set of 28" 2.0's waiting to go on. I have been running the compression a bit lower than that most of the time, usually around 4-6 clicks in front and 6 in rear but it's still a pretty rough ride in certain conditions. Maybe the problem is that I made the huge mistake of ripping around in my buddies Talon 4 Live Valve for a few hours. Getting back in the Teryx after that was about like jumping on a Massey Ferguson



I have been putting this off because one of the things I don't like about the Teryx 4 is that "tippy" feeling when on off camber trails... especially down South when you're looking down a huge cliff while leaning towards it, lol. That's the main reason I put on 2" spacers as well. I am hoping the benefit of more wheel articulation offsets any extra lean that I may get. I am also considering putting on the Brute Performance lift to get the benefit of the shock relocation but then lowering the preload to soften it up and still keep the COG down as much as possible. Spending about $5k on an HCR long travel kit would probably solve most of my issues, but I don't have that kind of money, lol. And if I did that would put me into the cost range of a Talon 4, so there would be a trade in involved

I put the Perfex 2" lift kit on mine and added 28x10x14 tires on MSA wheels with 1.5" spacers. I chose the Perfex because of it's design, which is supposed to prevent axle binding. I firmly believe it was the right choice after studying all the others out there. I didn't change the preload. Disconnected the sway bar. Didn't notice a tippy feeling on my 2 seater. Left the stock shocks on (couldn't afford $1300) for a new set of shocks. Went to Wolf Pen Gap in AR right after Christmas. Experimented with different shock settings and found the full soft setting was just right for my set-up and those trails. I've been running with friends with a Rzr and a Rzr Highlifter and have gone everywhere they've gone at Wolf Pen Gap and Barnwell Mountain in E. TX. Getting ready to go back to WPG in March for more playtime. Hope this helps.

 

[VirginiaHawk]

Best advice I can give on the shock settings is to set your shocks to full soft and dial them up only as far as necessary to prevent bottoming out under your riding conditions.

 

[huntertim214]

I have a ‘17 T4 LE. I kept my stock tires but swapped out my shocks for Bandits. Completely different ride. Now all those little bumps that would rattle you on the trails are non-existent now.

I second the Bandits! I put Bandits on my 2019 2-seater Teryx. Best decision, so much better ride than oem Fox shocks. Well worth the money.

Yeah, the bandit shock upgrade would be on my list down the road, but I can't justify spending that much on it right now. It's kind of a bummer because the Fox shocks were a major selling point to me on the Teryx4, lol.