Front tires shot

    IIRC, Otter originally felt the Slingshot designers/engineers changed the shim ratios after a Polaris executive drove it and had an unexpected spin-out the test drivers had never experienced. Otter felt the change he made made his Slingshot handle in a manner he was used to. I waited to try driving my Slingshot first and never really felt the need to try Otter's settings.


    WARNING - IIRC, some folks felt this was not necessarily a safe mod and that it may introduce unwanted changes to the front suspension. I remember it as an interesting mod, but not one I felt I needed to implement.

    Edited 2 times, last by BKL ().

    Quote from BKL

    IIRC, Otter originally felt the Slingshot designers/engineers changed the shim ratios after a Polaris executive drove it and had an unexpected spin-out the test drivers had never experienced. Otter felt the change he made made his Slingshot handle in a manner he was used to. I waited to try driving my Slingshot first and never really felt the need to try Otter's settings.


    WARNING - IIRC, some folks felt this was not necessarily a safe mod and that it may introduce unwanted changes to the front suspension. I remember it as an interesting mod, but not one I felt I needed to implement.

    Wasn't it a lot of fun back then as the initial bugs were being worked out of the SlingShot? :thumbsup:


    Bill

    Quote from wjfyfe

    Wasn't it a lot of fun back then as the initial bugs were being worked out of the SlingShot? :thumbsup:


    Bill

    Oh, yeah! I loved having my headlights turn off during a night ride! Switching to HIDs and eventually LEDs solved that before Polaris did. I also instaled a switch so I could run my Auxiliary Headlights off the Fog Light circuit. I also had lots of fun when my hood popped up at 60 mph on a left curve! At least since it was a left turn I could see the shoulder ahead to my right and pull over to relatch the hood.

    Quote from BKL

    Oh, yeah! I loved having my headlights turn off during a night ride! Switching to HIDs and eventually LEDs solved that before Polaris did. I also instaled a switch so I could run my Auxiliary Headlights off the Fog Light circuit. I also had lots of fun when my hood popped up at 60 mph on a left curve! At least since it was a left turn I could see the shoulder ahead to my right and pull over to relatch the hood.

    Hee hee, the worst one that we ever experienced was the "steering glitch", you remember, when suddenly while going down the road the SlingShot would develop that "catch" and excessive play where you had to shut things off and restart to get the steering back again?


    Bill

    Quote from wjfyfe

    Hee hee, the worst one that we ever experienced was the steering glitch, you remember, when suddenly while going down the road the SlingShot would develop that excessive play where you had to shut things off and restart to get the steering back again?


    Bill

    Fortunately, I never had to experience that joy! I did need to often restart my engine to get my Cruise Control to work again. I can't remember if I'm on my second or third set of brake pressure sensors.

    After Googling UHP tires with soft sidewalls, I came across this on the Evolution.net forums -

    Someone asked - How can you tell if the tire has a soft sidewall or stiff sidewall?\


    One of the responses was-

    Look for load rating and speed ratings. If you want a stiffer tire, get a higher load rated or XL load rated tire. Also look at constructions. Number of ply layers and overlay help the tire stiffness. And aspect ratio -- tall sidewall tires are not going to be as stiff. You need some sidewall complacency for handling. Too stiff and the tread patch will not work effectively (keeping the car glued in turns). Too soft and steering response suffers. Another response mentioned - Extreme Summer tires tend to be firmer. All-seasons or Touring softer.

    Those shims on the a-arms are set from the factory for proper caster/camber. Don't just start switching the shims around without using the Polaris alignment tool. It can cause serious handling issues. AS with any adjustment you will sacrifice one thing for another. Polaris has tried very hard to make the Slingshot handle in a manner most people are used to and can drive. If you really want your Slingshot to handle better invest in better tires and have and laser alignment done. Also aftermarket suspension is worth every $$ and a smart investment.

    2JZ Swap - 400+ WHP - Custom Hood - PRP Seats - Cerwin Vega Stereo - AccuAir - Foose Wheels - Hankook Tires - LiteTheNite LED's

    Quote from xd675x

    Those shims on the a-arms are set from the factory for proper caster/camber. Don't just start switching the shims around without using the Polaris alignment tool. It can cause serious handling issues. AS with any adjustment you will sacrifice one thing for another. Polaris has tried very hard to make the Slingshot handle in a manner most people are used to and can drive. If you really want your Slingshot to handle better invest in better tires and have and laser alignment done. Also aftermarket suspension is worth every $$ and a smart investment.

    That was the general sentiment of those folks who didn't like Otter's mod. Otter was looking for a specific handling characteristic and his mod met his needs, but isn't necessarily needed for everyone.

    Quote from BKL

    That was the general sentiment of those folks who didn't like Otter's mod. Otter was looking for a specific handling characteristic and his mod met his needs, but isn't necessarily needed for everyone.

    The interesting thing that I got out of the thread is that our March 2015 built SlingShot basically seems to be set up out of the factory as Otter describes after his mod, so maybe this was an issue just on initially built SlingShots?


    Now I have the itch to finally take a day and make the 300 mile round trip to get the front laser aligned just to see what the outcome will be? Especially since we just installed the new tires........................................


    Bill