Here is the how to fix the strut bar if you would like to do. 1- on the front of the frame there is 4 bolts that hold the front clip on 2 to each side. To make it easy remove, the top bolt and replace with about a 6 inch long bolt. Then remove the lower bolts completely. Not cut the ty raps holding the wiring and pull the clip out until you move it forward about 3 1/2 inches. 2- now remove the two end bolts on the stock strut bar and the other bolts attached to it. 3- Now the strut bar should move forward enough to remove from the SS. 4- Now measure the inside of the stock strut, I think it is 1 1/2 inch. Now go and get you a piece of heavy square tubing Alum. or steel will work the length of the stock bar. Round the four corners so that it will go inside of the stock strut bar then drill the bolt holes on each end and reinstall to the Slngshot. It can be done, this is what Mitch did to his one of the times when he had his SS apart. You could probably do this in a couple of hours with a good back. Good Luck You do not have to remove the hood to do this, that is what the long bolts are for. To hold the clip in place.
mods to improve handling
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Here's an almost free mod that vastly improves handling. It's copied from TDS and is known as 'Otter's second mod'.
This is another almost zero cost mod but the improvement in handling is Priceless. OK, IMHO. I'm still working on humility
As I have said before, the lack of steering force gradient earns the Slingshot a failing grade for me. Some owners refer to this as "lack of centering", the tendency of the steering to return to center on it's own if the steering wheel is released after a turn. If this was not fixable I would not be a long term owner. But I saw no reason why a reverse trike should be tied to this shortcoming .
The suspension setup parameter that controls this characteristic is caster. Positive caster is how far ahead of the tire contact patch that a line drawn from the top ball joint to the bottom ball joint and then onto the ground falls.
For reasons unknown, Polaris set the unshimmed caster to a NEGATIVE value, i.e. the line falls behind the contact patch. At some point during development they shimmed the caster to about zero. This is what gives the SS that lack of centering. What we want is POSITIVE caster so that the force required to turn the wheel increases as the radius of the turn decreases. This mod does just that. It's accomplished by moving the top ball joint pivot back toward the rear. You can do this by moving a shim from the top rear control arm bushing and adding it to the front bushing shim stack. Directions below if you need'em. The stock bolts are not long enough for the taller stack in front so longer bolts are needed.
To do this mod all you need are socket wrenches (15 & 17 MM), four 10 mm x 1.5mm thread pitch x 80 mm long, grade 8 or better bolts and a floor jack. It is more comfortable to do this mod if you remove the wheel but it can be done without.
Jack up the wheel by jacking the frame up just enough to lift the tire an inch or so. This takes all the pressure off the suspension.
Loosen all of the 4 bolts a couple of turns on the upper control arm bushing.
This will allow you to remove the medium thick (about 3/8") shim from the rear bushing but leave any thin shims installed in place. Tighten the bolts on the rear bushing but leave them a couple of turns loose.
Remove one of the bolts from the upper front bushing. replace the stock bolt with one of your new 80 mm bolts and tighten, leaving enough room to put the shim removed from the rear bushing in place. Now remove the remaining stock bolt and replace with another 80 mm long bolt and slide the shim from the rear bushing behind the front bushing.
Make sure all the shims are slid all the way down then tighten all 4 bolts to about 35 ft lbs.
Repeat on the other front wheel and enjoy!
I have droned on at length in other threads about the brain dead handling characteristics of the Slingshot so I won't repeat them here. By handling characteristics I don't mean how many G's the SS will corner at (it corners fine) but how intuitive and easy it is for the driver to get all the machine is capable of. It this respect, the Slingshot is just not very good. All I can say is that this mod eliminates all the handling shortcomings for me.
I challenge anyone to try this mod and say it isn't at least 100% better. It doesn't feel like the same machine and that's a good thing
There are a few other refinements and comments I'll be making on this mod later.
Edit: 5-2-15: I lacked the tools/ proceedure to measure stock caster with the stock shim setup. I was guessing that the stock caster was close to zero based on how it feels to me. Later info revealed that the stock caster with the factory installed shims is about +4 1/2 degrees, not enough to give proper force gradient IMO. This Mod increases the caster by 3 degrees for a total of 7.5 degrees
Edit 5-24-15: For those who need Polaris's blessing to do this, I think this is it.
Here's a link to a recent magazine article. Look carefully at the photo #3 of the front suspension and you will see that it sure looks like Polaris did this mod to the SS furnished for the review.
Also interesting comments in "Testers' Log" where the tester said he was wrong about the handling when they did a brief test ride last year (in 2014) They hated it then, This time he loved it!
He wasn't wrong before, Polaris snuck in this mod without telling them.
http://www.mcnews.com/mcn/model_eval/Feb15Slingshot.pdf -
there seem to be a million different things one can change on the slingshot to increase the power, but what about improving the handling performance? other than better tires the places like Slingmods seem to offer three things - shocks, sway bars & end links. Are there any other mods that can be made to the slingshot to improve cornering (other than a quad conversion) or are those three things pretty much it?
Take a week at a professional racing class at a track? I don't know your experience if at all on a race track or not. This is coming from someone that an experienced race driver can out drive these mod's. This comes from experience many times on the track without modifications.This is by no means to offend your skill's driving. This is a Modification most overlook.
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I was reading thru this thread just to see if someone else Posted about Otter's 2nd Mod, and saw that @BryanL beat me to it.
I haven't done that mod and have been happy with my steering/handling.
I seem to recall someone posting that some Slingshots might not have enough shims to allow this mod to be performed as it seems every Slingshot has some variation in the frame which evidently is at least partially corrected via the shims. I haven't really personally checked, so this might or might not be true.
Those who have done the mod seem to usually swear by it. -
Otter's second mod'.
I did it back in 2015, not sure if it helped or hurt anything. It did help bring the steering wheel back to center when turning so I left it.
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Take a week at a professional racing class at a track? I don't know your experience if at all on a race track or not. This is coming from someone that an experienced race driver can out drive these mod's. This comes from experience many times on the track without modifications.
This is by no means to offend your skill's driving. This is a Modification most overlook.
back in the day I went to the Bob Bondurant school of high performance driving back when it was located at the old Ontario Motor speedway. That was when I owned my Porsche 356c so I did most of the training in it. After I graduated I got to drive one of their formula cars on both the outer course and the inner road course. It was a kick and I would love to do it again in the Slingshot just to really learn its quirks in a safe environment
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I did it back in 2015, not sure if it helped or hurt anything. It did help bring the steering wheel back to center when turning so I left it.
As I recall, the lack of elf-centering of the steering was Otter's main complaint about the Slingshot.
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Otter's second mod'.
As I recall, the lack of elf-centering of the steering was Otter's main complaint about the Slingshot.
it was. Others also wanted a more touring type feel. I was not a fan of it because for me I think the factory settings is honestly aimed towards performance handling from the start.
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Otter's second mod'.
it was. Others also wanted a more touring type feel. I was not a fan of it because for me I think the factory settings is honestly aimed towards performance handling from the start.
I liked the original settings on my 2015. I did not like when they updated to the new settings on the steering.
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back in the day I went to the Bob Bondurant school of high performance driving back when it was located at the old Ontario Motor speedway. That was when I owned my Porsche 356c so I did most of the training in it. After I graduated I got to drive one of their formula cars on both the outer course and the inner road course. It was a kick and I would love to do it again in the Slingshot just to really learn its quirks in a safe environment
Awesome!
I hope you get to do it again! -
Awesome!
I hope you get to do it again!There is a BMW race driving school down here in the desert, but I don't know if thy would let me use Slingshot
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Sometimes you would be surprised. I always say. They can just say no, it never hurts to ask.
They might think it’s funny then when the joke starts to out handle them they will stop smiling lol.
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Hey all! Who has QA1 shocks? I thought there was a posting on some starting points for settings. What do you find as a good starting point for track days v/ street, etc? Anyone? Just wanted to see what others have found.
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Here's an almost free mod that vastly improves handling. It's copied from TDS and is known as 'Otter's second mod'.
This is another almost zero cost mod but the improvement in handling is Priceless. OK, IMHO. I'm still working on humility
As I have said before, the lack of steering force gradient earns the Slingshot a failing grade for me. Some owners refer to this as "lack of centering", the tendency of the steering to return to center on it's own if the steering wheel is released after a turn. If this was not fixable I would not be a long term owner. But I saw no reason why a reverse trike should be tied to this shortcoming .
The suspension setup parameter that controls this characteristic is caster. Positive caster is how far ahead of the tire contact patch that a line drawn from the top ball joint to the bottom ball joint and then onto the ground falls.
For reasons unknown, Polaris set the unshimmed caster to a NEGATIVE value, i.e. the line falls behind the contact patch. At some point during development they shimmed the caster to about zero. This is what gives the SS that lack of centering. What we want is POSITIVE caster so that the force required to turn the wheel increases as the radius of the turn decreases. This mod does just that. It's accomplished by moving the top ball joint pivot back toward the rear. You can do this by moving a shim from the top rear control arm bushing and adding it to the front bushing shim stack. Directions below if you need'em. The stock bolts are not long enough for the taller stack in front so longer bolts are needed.
To do this mod all you need are socket wrenches (15 & 17 MM), four 10 mm x 1.5mm thread pitch x 80 mm long, grade 8 or better bolts and a floor jack. It is more comfortable to do this mod if you remove the wheel but it can be done without.
Jack up the wheel by jacking the frame up just enough to lift the tire an inch or so. This takes all the pressure off the suspension.Loosen all of the 4 bolts a couple of turns on the upper control arm bushing.
This will allow you to remove the medium thick (about 3/8") shim from the rear bushing but leave any thin shims installed in place. Tighten the bolts on the rear bushing but leave them a couple of turns loose.Remove one of the bolts from the upper front bushing. replace the stock bolt with one of your new 80 mm bolts and tighten, leaving enough room to put the shim removed from the rear bushing in place. Now remove the remaining stock bolt and replace with another 80 mm long bolt and slide the shim from the rear bushing behind the front bushing.
Make sure all the shims are slid all the way down then tighten all 4 bolts to about 35 ft lbs.
Repeat on the other front wheel and enjoy!
I have droned on at length in other threads about the brain dead handling characteristics of the Slingshot so I won't repeat them here. By handling characteristics I don't mean how many G's the SS will corner at (it corners fine) but how intuitive and easy it is for the driver to get all the machine is capable of. It this respect, the Slingshot is just not very good. All I can say is that this mod eliminates all the handling shortcomings for me.
I challenge anyone to try this mod and say it isn't at least 100% better. It doesn't feel like the same machine and that's a good thing
There are a few other refinements and comments I'll be making on this mod later.
Edit: 5-2-15: I lacked the tools/ proceedure to measure stock caster with the stock shim setup. I was guessing that the stock caster was close to zero based on how it feels to me. Later info revealed that the stock caster with the factory installed shims is about +4 1/2 degrees, not enough to give proper force gradient IMO. This Mod increases the caster by 3 degrees for a total of 7.5 degrees
Edit 5-24-15: For those who need Polaris's blessing to do this, I think this is it.
Here's a link to a recent magazine article. Look carefully at the photo #3 of the front suspension and you will see that it sure looks like Polaris did this mod to the SS furnished for the review.Also interesting comments in "Testers' Log" where the tester said he was wrong about the handling when they did a brief test ride last year (in 2014) They hated it then, This time he loved it!
He wasn't wrong before, Polaris snuck in this mod without telling them.
Couldn’t get the link to work....
Does this change the alignment?
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As ed just pointed out to me....this is exactly what Bryanl is talking about without monkeying around with shims and longer bolts... and you can dial these in precisely...
I like the idea but I see a potential problem...in the factory picture....where it bolts on...the shims are there to take up the gap between the arm bolt holes and the frame...
Look at the red one...you still need the shims in place...or the bolts are going to bend the ears the bolts go through......so is it going to help or not......might be why they are discounted and there are no reviews....
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Hey all! Who has QA1 shocks? I thought there was a posting on some starting points for settings. What do you find as a good starting point for track days v/ street, etc? Anyone? Just wanted to see what others have found.
Otter's Fourth Mod: QA1 Shocks & Springs Install Tips | Polaris Slingshot Forum
Don't remember if he addresses track setup or not, but he has raced Pike's Peak, IIRC.
General Google search for QA1 and Slingshot - QA1 shocks for the Polaris Slingshot - Google Search -
For the record...I just set mine all the way to soft...now it rides like a car with worn out shocks instead of a 1970 pickup truck...LOL
