Better ride

    wife loves the slingshot, but disliked the ride. I thought about new shocks, but couldn’t justify price, in the hopes that it would do any good. Thought about new seats, again, the price had me a little gun shy. I got some real soft seat covers, for the back, and seat, and they helped a lot. The low profile tires always had me wondering about how they rode, especially on the rear. I found an 18” rim at dealer, that came off of an earlier model, that they said would fit on my slingshot. I took the rim to discount tire, and ask if they had a 255/45/18 tire. I had a 255/35/20 on rear, and looked on computer and found out a 35-20” and a 45-18” tire was the same diameter. The 45 has an inch more sidewall, which in my old mind, theoretically would mean a better ride. I got it put on today, and went for a ride on the bumpiest road I could find. It seems like it made a big difference, tomorrow the boss is going to make her opinion on it.
    sorry so long

    Quote from Scoots

    wife loves the slingshot, but disliked the ride. I thought about new shocks, but couldn’t justify price, in the hopes that it would do any good. Thought about new seats, again, the price had me a little gun shy. I got some real soft seat covers, for the back, and seat, and they helped a lot. The low profile tires always had me wondering about how they rode, especially on the rear. I found an 18” rim at dealer, that came off of an earlier model, that they said would fit on my slingshot. I took the rim to discount tire, and ask if they had a 255/45/18 tire. I had a 255/35/20 on rear, and looked on computer and found out a 35-20” and a 45-18” tire was the same diameter. The 45 has an inch more sidewall, which in my old mind, theoretically would mean a better ride. I got it put on today, and went for a ride on the bumpiest road I could find. It seems like it made a big difference, tomorrow the boss is going to make her opinion on it.
    sorry so long

    The happier 'Momma' is the better for everyone.... And yes there are lots of things from seats to shocks that can smooth out the ride, new tire probably most cost effective.

    With your location being so close to Maggie Valley as well as a couple other slingshot functions, I would recommend that you attend one of them. There will be a LOT of slingshots there and I'd venture a guess that more than half of them have upgraded the shocks for the same reason that you have experienced. Some of the guys would be happy to take you out for a ride so you can see for yourself how replacement shocks improve more than just the ride. There will even be a vendor (DDM Works) attending the Maggie Valley event next month that sells them and has them on his slingshot. I'm sure Dave will be happy to demonstrate them as well. Plus, if he has any of them with him that are ready to go, they will do the installation for you you while you wait. I'm sure if you contact him before the event and tell him what you're looking for (spring color, single or dual adjustable etc) he can make sure he has them set aside for you, Just ask him - he's a great guy and won't steer you wrong

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE

    Going to ditto what everyone says: New shocks. There are plenty out there from $100s to $1000s. - this is a case where you get what you pay for. I have a competitor's brand of shocks, but can highly recommend the DDM Works ones. And you don't have to go full adjustable if you aren't looking to do any serious driving (track days, aggressive curves, etc).


    The 3 adjustments are Height, Compression, and Rebound. Single Adjustable are generally for ride height only. A double-adjustable adds the C & R as a single adjustment, Triple adjustable make the C & R separate adjustments. I have the triple adj but pretty much I set it once and left it. I might adjust it if I know I'm going out for a specific ride, but you could save a lot of money there if you don't need it.


    This is one of those cases where it is definitely money well spent.

    I've contemplated putting JRI touring shocks on mine.

    When chatting with the guy from Lite Your Slingz he recommended the hydraulic shocks, but $800 vs $2000+ was too much of a difference for me.
    Would a rear tire with more sidewall cause more wear to the front tires or did you change all 3?

    Quote from echoraven

    I've contemplated putting JRI touring shocks on mine.

    When chatting with the guy from Lite Your Slingz he recommended the hydraulic shocks, but $800 vs $2000+ was too much of a difference for me.
    Would a rear tire with more sidewall cause more wear to the front tires or did you change all 3?

    Rear tire is worn down through acceleration (which is why many don't last 10K miles). Front tires are warn down through steering. No need to keep front and rear the same size (just make sure both fronts are the same size - and note tire directional pattern).


    And just a little side note: Speedo is measured at the front tires, not the rear or transmission. Try to keep them close to stock for speedo but do whatever you want on the rear.

    Hmm?? That's not what I was told by someone who should know. I have larger all the way around, but when I checked about being able to correct it, I was told it was in the front wheel sensors, not the tranny and couldn't be changed/corrected. And of course I have been passing that around here and everywhere else.


    So, if it's in the tranny, shouldn't it be setable by either an ECM or sensor change?

    Quote from BKL

    For 2015-2017 Slingshots and, I assume, all 1st gen Slingshots with the Ecotec motor/transmission package the speedometer is driven off the transmission, so the rear wheel diameter can affect speedometer accuracy. See Post # 108 here - Stock rear SL rim - how wide of a tire?

    I saw that post and the parts listing showing the vehicle speed sensor as a transmission item. As a side note anyone who has put a slingshot on a dyno should be able to tell you its not hooked to the front wheels

    Cage Free - 2016 Pearl Red SL

    DDM Short Shifter, Sway Bar Mounts Coolant tank Master Cylinder Brace & CAI

    Twist Dynamics Sway Bar, JRI GT Coilovers, Assault Hood Vent

    OEM Double Bubble windshields & various other goodies

    Quote from chavey2

    Hmm?? That's not what I was told by someone who should know. I have larger all the way around, but when I checked about being able to correct it, I was told it was in the front wheel sensors, not the tranny and couldn't be changed/corrected. And of course I have been passing that around here and everywhere else.


    So, if it's in the tranny, shouldn't it be setable by either an ECM or sensor change?

    AFAIK, the way Polaris has the ECU programmed/encrypted, the only thing that can be done to the speedometer reading is if you upgrade from Base wheels to SL, the dealer can reflash the ECU to allow for that change. It might be possible to change gearing in the transmission that feeds the speedometer output, but I doubt most folkd would want to do that. I just used http://www.willtheyfit.com to compare the specs for the SL rear wheel to the wider SLR wheel and the wider SLR tire is just under 5 mm taller, so the impact on the speedometer is negligible. As long as the overall tire height is kept close to the original tire, any speedometer impact should be minimized.

    SL vs SLR rear tire -


    SL vs Base rear tire -

    As can be seen, there is virtually no difference in tire diameter between the 20" SL rear tire and the 18" Base rear tire.

    I have seen several posts on different forums saying the speedometer is driven off the front wheels, but the Service Manual clearly states the speedometer is driven off the transmission driving the rear tire.

    Edited once, last by BKL ().

    Thanks for the info. I know that i was one of the people passing along that front wheel information - because that's what I was told by someone we would all recognize as an expert (name withheld).


    That being said, I think my speedo is off by about 10%, basing that on my speedo vs GPS readings. I've got the Twist Dynamics 22" in the rear and 20" on the front. No way to correct it? (On my truck, just needed to reprogram the ECM.)

    Quote from chavey2

    Rear tire is worn down through acceleration (which is why many don't last 10K miles). Front tires are warn down through steering. No need to keep front and rear the same size (just make sure both fronts are the same size - and note tire directional pattern).


    And just a little side note: Speedo is measured at the front tires, not the rear or transmission. Try to keep them close to stock for speedo but do whatever you want on the rear.

    my SS was converted by the dealer from a plain SS to an SL. With adding the infotainment center and bigger wheels. The dealer needs to use the Digital Wrench to set the Speedo correctly for the larger wheels. So putting on a higher profile tire and or wheels is going to change the Speedo.

    Quote from Funinthesun

    Sorry, but the digital wrench that Polaris uses to "calibrate" the speedometer only allows them to choose which size STOCK tire size you have (base, sl, slr etc). Too bad they didn't allow it to be changed based on tire diameter

    could be they don’t want you changing the tire sizes.
    the SS was designed to use the tire and wheel sizes it came with.

    If that's the case, why didn't they weld the seats in place so nobody could change those either? Why did they waste money installing a drain plug in the oil pan if they wanted you to use Polaris oil? Geeze bro. Not everything in life is a conspiracy

    Nobody gets outta here ALIVE

    I don’t see why tire and wheel size really matters. If original tire diameter is 27”, and you put a 27” diameter tire configuration back on it, it seems to me like it should be samo samo. In exaggeration, seems like you could go with a 10” rim if it would fit, and as long as you get some sort of a tire to make up the difference to get a 27” diameter, you should be good. The energy and torque and all to turn 27”, shouldn’t mattter ima thinken.