We got a good blast of snow here and was out on the weekend. The sled is new to me, 2007 phazer mountain, so I am not sure on the set-up and was looking what others have done. To start I have the stock shocks the front are set in the middle, the centre rear stiff, and have the 2500 springs in the back. In the powed it handled prettly good, but would it handle better with no sway bar? as well on prettly hard trail it pushed hard. Looking into any advice thanks.
Suspension set up
- Thread starter Nickrx1
- Start date
LJ 452
TY 4 Stroke God
Tighten (shorten) the front limiter strap in the skid. I would go to the tightest or the second tightest holes. This will provide two things, reduce the push in the corners, and improve the deep snow capability as you will flatten out the approach angle. You will need new shocks in the front as those can barely keep the sled from bottoming on the small stuff. Also if you pulled the sway bar the shocks would have to work independently, making the already low spring date even worse.
blueironranger
TY 4 Stroke God
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,002
- Reaction score
- 499
- Points
- 1,203
- Location
- Iron Range MN
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2014 Viper XTX
2009 Phazer MTX
must be a big difference between the 07' and 09' MTX's as far as shocks go (there was an upgrade in 09', went to throw away gas charged instead of hydraulic). I've got the A-Arm shocks on full stiff but I've NEVER bottomed the front suspension out even on big drops off snowbanks onto hard pack. In the rear the center (front skid shock) only bottomed once in a blue moon set to stiff. Fixed that with a Fox Float! The rear shock on the other hand is definitely the worst, bottomed out quite a bit until I learned how to land the sled level instead of tail heavy of bumps/jumps. stiffer springs in the rear are not the answer, a better rear shock is, one that provides a bit more compression and ALOT more rebound control. I still have the 1700nm springs on mine and they are staying, my sled sits pretty high in the rear compared to 07-08 MTXs due to the gas charged shock providing extra lift.
blueironranger
TY 4 Stroke God
- Joined
- Feb 3, 2009
- Messages
- 2,002
- Reaction score
- 499
- Points
- 1,203
- Location
- Iron Range MN
- Country
- USA
- Snowmobile
- 2014 Viper XTX
2009 Phazer MTX
oops, forgot to post my "trail" setup, I'm ~200# with riding gear on.
I run the limiter strap on the center shock in the 3rd/middle hole and all springs set to stiff. At this setting I can take corners at over 1/2 throttle without any push what so ever, the sled would probably roll over before it would push. I've also got 6" Bergstrom triple point carbides on stock MTX skis. I find this the best happy medium between cornering ability/steering stiffness/wheelie ability.
From the factory the MTX is in the 2nd hole and allows the sled to wheelie too easy, any more than 1/4 throttle it would push in corners. I've tried the 4th hole and It as to much ski pressure, It would rail corners at over 3/4 throttle If I dared but I'd really have to hang my body out to keep from rolling since It had too much ski bite IMO. Also that setting was bad for Mixed trail/boondocking, it was hard to get the sled to carve with the strap that tight.
I run the limiter strap on the center shock in the 3rd/middle hole and all springs set to stiff. At this setting I can take corners at over 1/2 throttle without any push what so ever, the sled would probably roll over before it would push. I've also got 6" Bergstrom triple point carbides on stock MTX skis. I find this the best happy medium between cornering ability/steering stiffness/wheelie ability.
From the factory the MTX is in the 2nd hole and allows the sled to wheelie too easy, any more than 1/4 throttle it would push in corners. I've tried the 4th hole and It as to much ski pressure, It would rail corners at over 3/4 throttle If I dared but I'd really have to hang my body out to keep from rolling since It had too much ski bite IMO. Also that setting was bad for Mixed trail/boondocking, it was hard to get the sled to carve with the strap that tight.
cankiller
Newbie
so from reading this i want a tight strap for jumping, and a loose strap for carving??
LJ 452
TY 4 Stroke God
Just the other way around, a tighter strap will slightly reduce the shock travel but flatten the approach angle. The steep approach angle makes the sled a dog in the deeper snow, it just saws through the snow rather than get up on top. For jumping, it really doesn't matter, having the extra 1/2" of shock travel may help but if your going to bottom out, the 1/2" probably wasn't going to change the world. Really you have to just try things out and make changes one at a time. Just remember, write down were everything is at now, then document each change as you go. If you have a smartphone that's a good place to make notes as paper and pen get a bit tough to deal with on the trail. Also, If you tighten the heck out of the front strap, the sled will be biased to the front, so you may need to either stiffen the front shocks, or tighten the rear of the skid, you can add a strap like the Nytro has, of soften the rear springs a bit. It's a balance, you would be amazed at how much better a balanced sled with softer springs can deal with large hits vs. a supper stiff rear or front only.
The Phazer is pretty top heavy as it is, so lowering the ride height will greatly improve the carving ability as well. It won't have as much of an abrupt feeling when leaning.
The Phazer is pretty top heavy as it is, so lowering the ride height will greatly improve the carving ability as well. It won't have as much of an abrupt feeling when leaning.
