Durability of the Fox Floats?

[08NitroRTX]

These questions are aimed at the guys who either race x/c, sno-x or really ride hard! Please, if groomed trails are your thing, right on, but it will not help my decision making very much by answering here.
1) In your opinion, will the fox floats last 2000 HARD miles with out having to take them off the sled. (this 2000 miles will be put on in about 45 hours of riding time if all goes well)
2) Has anyone had one shock or a set of shocks fail and if so what happened?
3) How much does the ride change IF you were to start the morning off @ below 0 (F) and it warms up to above freezing? (I guess I'm asking does ambient temp effect the ride or action of the shock?)
4) Anyone ever stop and checked temp of the shock body after running down a few miles of rough trail while trying to go fast?
5) Anyone taken them apart? Do they have simular valve stack as a hydraulic shock?
6) Any link to a schematic for these shocks?

Thanks

 

[billey100]

I can answer a few but not all... we ride really hard and I had 3000 miles on my Cat and my floats were fine up until 2500 or so. Now thats rough trail and riding really hard but not racing conditions. We've never had one fail in our group per say but we had one that lost air for some reason, but we nursed it back to the truck and it took air so we don't know what happened there? Under the FAQ section Mr. Sled had a good blurb there that every 50 degrees in temp will change the psi by 5. So it depends on how much the temp change is and where you adjusted the shocks. If you did it in a heated garage or trailer it would be a lot more than if you just did it outside. Either way 3-5 pounds makes a big difference, I mean you can definietely tell when you get on it if it goes up and down a few pounds. Hope that helps.

 

[Metallicat]

http://www.supertraxmag.com/article.asp?nid=596

How about these? They sound like a more durable alternative to the Fox floats.

 

[08NitroRTX]

Thanks but IF we are to replace these floats we will be replacing them with remote res. Ohlins. We already have a line on them and Ohlins track record is ... well what all other shocks aim for!

 

[SlowPoke]

One advantage I see the Flotes have over the RideFX's is that most people don't have access to a nitrogen pump, so it is alot easier for the rider to change the setting on the Floats.

 

[cannondale27]

Only thing I have seen is one case where the guy didnt have the guards on the floats and must have been riding really close to someone else.The shocks got really banged up from the roost which must have had gravel in it.That caused the sleeve bushing to bind up.Other than that they are no different than any other FOX,ACT shock.I would use the guard and put quality oil in and run them.

 

[bjowett]

They are a great shock, but IMO lack conistent performance at temperature extremes. They should hold for 2k w/o issues. I ran them for a full season in the mud on an ATV and the only one that failed had a knick in the body which compromised the air seals. I have one appart in the garage, and can snap some pictures if you'd like to see. The valve stack is the same as the regular shocks, but is much lighter in valving due to the friction/stiction created by the air chamber seals. Their big hit performance is hard to argue with. I'm considering getting out them... I have a pile of stuff including rezi versions, PM or e-mail me if intereted.

 

[gsxr]

fox

floats are great

 

[Turtle]

I've got close to 2500 hard miles on my Floats ('06 Nytro) and I have had zero issues. They are awesome for bump performance.

I did add the float guards when the sled was brand new at the recommendation of my dealer. I was told that debris could nick the shock body and compromise the sealing. Or ice could build up causing the same effect. But with running the guards, my shock bodies still look brand new.

But regardless, mine have worked flawlessly and I have no reservations about continuing to use them.

 

[pro116]

NitroRtx.
I would give high gear suspension a call and get the resavoirs added.I don't care what shock it is, if you do 100's of rough miles without stoopping the oil will get hot and slighlty fade.This is where you don't want if your in a cross country race and getting towards the end and your getting fatigue you don't want your shocks to work only 3/4%.
With resies your oil will stay alot cooler.

 

[welterracer]

My buddie has 3200 miles on his (05 F7) and they work great.. They do leak a little air over the summer.

 

[ReX]

I only have 2500 miles on the floats on my 07 RTX, but so far they're holding up well.

From my experience with them for big bump performance and at the same time providing a compliant ride you can live with for 14+ hours of riding straight, I'd give them top marks.

As far as temperature, after riding some very rough trails for several hours they do get quite warm to the touch.

As they heat up, the valve damping softens a little, but it feels far less than most shocks (that I have experience with - mainly custom valved regular Fox shocks on Polaris sleds). I suspect the reason they don't seem to fade much is as the temperature of the shock goes up, the internal pressure goes up, which helps to compensate partially due to the increased spring rate.

I don't know if this helps, but the main rear, remote reservoir shock on my RTX ran much, much hotter than the floats and that shock faded horribly after the same rough trail riding. On rough trails I'd crank the clicker all the way to full hard and the shock would run toasty hot (uncomfortable to touch with bare hands) and provide nowhere near enough damping (felt like there was no shock at all at times).

One comment on the remote reservoir modification. With Fox floats, this greatly changes the effective spring rate. Without the reservoir, the spring rate goes from almost nothing to incredibly stiff as the shock fully compresses. With the remote reservoir this rapidly changing spring rate mostly goes away (depending on fluid volume, etc.). If you're planning to encounter a large variation in terrain, I would definitely consider making sure whatever setup you go with maintains a high amount of spring rate change (although stock the amount of rate change is excessive).

If I was planning to run a cross country endurance type event I would definitely consider the floats (but keep in mind I'm not a racer, instead just an aggressive rider who will run 14+ hours straight at times and happily put on 600 miles per day and 2500 miles in a week).

One guy I would definitely call for advice is Mike Carver at Carver Performance (888-349-7469). He has done a lot of valve work on our Polaris sleds and his shock valving is probably the best out there (he also does all the big name snow cross sleds). He has a fair bit of experience already with the new Nytro.

 

[cannondale27]

I dont understand how a nick in the body can affect the pressure since the airseal is on the sealhead right where shaft enters the body.Ultimate setup for racing would be the Fox Evos they work awesome on quads still Air sprung but all the adjustments and more.