6 replies to this topic

[Gunsight Mnt]

I was lucky enough to test ride a friends Tundra Extreme. Wow, what a nice mating of the XU chassis with the 600 E-Tec. The clutch engagement was very low as well, not what I expected. The ride made me realize that my front shocks were blown on my 2012 Tundra LT. They must have went gradually because I didn't notice right away. I did notice the Tundra would lean when stationary and I thought it felt a little sloppy at times but didn't give it much more thought till I climbed on the Extreme. Wow, what a difference good shocks make. I removed the shocks(fairly easy 1 hour job) and both were leaking. There were no flat spots in the stroke? I looked online and it appears the same shock is used throughout the XU line up. I estimate I had around 400 miles on my Tundra when I began having issues. I have over 700 miles on the machine now and haven't encountered any other mechanicals. I think BRP is going to warranty the shocks. Does anyone know if an upgrade to a rebuildable gas shock is available?

Chugach Mountain Range
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[MXXXXX]

On yesterday's ride, I noted that my LT wanted to roll over too easily on the right side when going downhill. I'll be checking my shocks too, while keeping an eye on this topic.

[LabradorBoy]

What you are describing is the best aftermarket opportunity in the Utility market that exists today. These hydraulic shocks are the same throughout the entire BRP 2011+ strut lineup and one single, better shock design would be applicable to all of these models. The ski shocks are quite automotive in design with the nut stud on the top which passes through the chassis shock tower and I would hope that an existing supplier sees this golden opportunity before too long.

The stock front shock/spring offering isn't even close to the capabilities of the rear and all of us are sacking these out quickly. Anybody have a friend in the shock industry? Now would be the time to engage them on a product that will sell very well with very minimal design/manufacturing effort...

[Gunsight Mnt]

You nailed it Labradorboy. "The stock front shock/spring offering isn't even close to the capabilities of the rear and all of us are sacking these out quickly." Great observation. The rear suspension is vastly superior to the front.

[LabradorBoy]

You nailed it Labradorboy. "The stock front shock/spring offering isn't even close to the capabilities of the rear and all of us are sacking these out quickly." Great observation. The rear suspension is vastly superior to the front.

Gunsight, can you please do me a favor? If you have your strut shocks still pulled, I need some dims, i.e. fully open, closed, shock body length, shock body OD, shaft dia, lower eye dims, etc. Better yet, if you have a sacked one on your bench can you send it to me? I am 99% sure an existing strut cartridge insert can solve our problem with minor mods/adjustments.

Let me know.

[Gunsight Mnt]

Gunsight, can you please do me a favor? If you have your strut shocks still pulled, I need some dims, i.e. fully open, closed, shock body length, shock body OD, shaft dia, lower eye dims, etc. Better yet, if you have a sacked one on your bench can you send it to me? I am 99% sure an existing strut cartridge insert can solve our problem with minor mods/adjustments.

Let me know.

I wish I could LabradorBoy. The dealer kept the sacked shocks for warranty and the Tundra is put away for the summer. Removing one is not that bad of a job with the right tools. I wonder if the shock specs could be obtained on paper? The dealer might have a stack of sacked shocks piled in the corner as well that could be measured? I also wondered last winter if some of the major after market shock manufacturers were considering building a high performance rebuild-able gas shock for the XU platform? Now it's on to work season and the Polaris quads if I have the opportunity. I'm still planning on installing that $42 inline block heater next winter when it's time for the sno-go's to come out and will share the info.

[LabradorBoy]

I wish I could LabradorBoy. The dealer kept the sacked shocks for warranty and the Tundra is put away for the summer. Removing one is not that bad of a job with the right tools. I wonder if the shock specs could be obtained on paper? The dealer might have a stack of sacked shocks piled in the corner as well that could be measured? I also wondered last winter if some of the major after market shock manufacturers were considering building a high performance rebuild-able gas shock for the XU platform? Now it's on to work season and the Polaris quads if I have the opportunity. I'm still planning on installing that $42 inline block heater next winter when it's time for the sno-go's to come out and will share the info.

Fair enough and thanks for getting back to me, I will try my local dealer as well to see if he can throw me a sacked ski shock. It seems that it is difficult to get the physical dims of this or any shock without pulling one yourself so I may as well go that route. I do not have an XU chassis sled right yet so I do hope that the dealer can help me out.

In my experience the aftermarket doesn't automatically do anything for the Utility segment, they have to be prodded... and that's exactly what I plan to do once I get one of these shocks in my hands.