i have been running a 170mm fox38 with 2 tokens and 100psi for a few months now. i just dropped in a 160mm air spring, same 2 tokens, same clickers(5 hsc and 8 lsc), and noticed 100psi felt really soft and divey. i ended up going to 110psi and it def feels better.

anyone experience the same? needing MORE air for a smaller air spring?

 

Haven't swapped springs but you're putting more weight on the fork by lowering the head tube.

 

2021 38 Grip 2 170mm
172 lbs
90 psi
3 token
HSR 5
LSR 6
HSC 3
LSC 5

 

205#. Sitting roughly in the Fox recommended area. Little more compression and faster rebound. Tried softer and firmer Spring and running one spacer. Now I generally don’t get full travel. But prefer the ride feel at this setting.

105# pressure. Back to 2 spacers. Stock.
-8 LSC
-4 HSC.

Canht remember rebound.

 

I've been constantly experimenting with this fork. I am currently liking this setup.

weight 220lb(100kg) ready to ride

170mm 38

114 psi
0 tokens
7 LSR
5 HSR
6 HSC
10 LSC

 

Anyone else running the runt in a 38? Damn it’s good. 38 small bump is amazing to begin with but take another 20psi off your main pressure with the runt and it’s the most supple fork I’ve ridden while still maintaining superb midstroke support. I’ve been through more forks than I care to remember and I think this is the best setup I have ever had. So stoked.

 

Anyone successfully re-valved this VVC thing to get some actual compression damping out of it yet? Doesn't seem like many tuners have tackled that one.

 

I believe Dougal @ Shockcraft has some experience with the VVC.

 

I think it's quite effective. But everyone has different ideas when it comes to compression damping.

I always think of spring rate as your basis, and compression damping is just the icing/cherry on top. Some people just like more icing

 

There's always personal preference, but 2 conditions exist with this damper.

First, dyno plots show that it does next to nothing.

Second, if the needle is closed (LS) and there's basically no difference, it means the port damping is useless and/or the cracking pressure of the high speed valve is basically zero. A full sweep of the adjustments won't firm it up noticeably, so either no sealing or a weak valve. Simple as that.

 

Ok. Fox 38 screw up by me. I was interrupted while re-assembling my fork and absentmindedly put 20wt Fox Gold in the damper side too. I then did about 20 miles on it before I realized what I did.

What's the easiest way to insure the damper isn't now filled with 20wt? Easiest fix without having to rip everything apart.

 

You'll be fine until next service. All dampers ingest oil and the GRIP's don't ingest much unless they were underfilled.

 

I'd say you are fine, gonna take a lot more than 20 miles before the damper starts ingesting 20wt.

 

If you didn't notice any change to the damping I'd say it hasn't ingested any yet so just drop the lowers and replace the gold with the lighter oil.

 

My turn.
200#
110PSI 2 Tokens
-8 LSC
-3 HSC
-6 LSR
-4 HSR

Tried One token going to try O tokens next. Find that 2 tokens Makes it quite poppy deep in the travel. 1 token is more controlled. Should be interesting to see if O has enough bottom support without too much initial PSI.

 

Went at it with a Shockwiz at the bike park to see if it can really help optimize it for the specific terrain there. I feel like my mid travel trail bike is fine with ballpark settings and so i never dabble much in really learning fine tuning. But for this longer travel bike, i wanted to really get the most from this setup since it only gets ridden there anymore. I asked it to give me a softer, controlled setup since its always very choppy and rocky and smooth, buff trails never last long. I dont go that big on jumps and drops so was looking for more of a soft, controlled setup with a little in reserve rather than a firm, poppy setup for big hits. The "before" setup was more or less the recommended baseline settings from fox for my weight and I never used the last 2 inches of travel with that setup. I'd say the only caveat i have now is that the front end is much more plush than the rear (ext coil) and so i might need to do another tuning session to balance things out and refine the overall picture.

Before:
180mm with Secus
210#
115 PSI 1 Tokens
-10 LSC
-5 HSC
-3 LSR
-2 HSR

After:
180mm with Secus
210#
91 PSI, 0 Tokens
-6 LSC
-8 HSC (full soft)
-3 LSR
-3 HSR

 

Yeah, that would dive too much for me. I like to ride my bars prettty hard though.

Trying 120PSI with 0 Tokens next. @ 200# rider weight.

 

I did notice some added dive, too soon to tell if its too much yet though. The rocks here are super chunky and so it might be a compromise i live with.

 

120 PSI with no Spacers is golden on the 170 version. I’m 200#.

intersting comments about not enough dampening. Im coming off a RC2 and find the 38 is fine. I’m at the closer end to closed but still have some HSC and LSC to go. Same with the HSR and LSR. Im ripping pretty hard on it too. Drops and chunk. People complaimed like crazy about the previous forks being too over damped. Looks like fox have given the customer what they wanted.

 

What is everyone’s opinion on the relation between HSR and LSR?
I think regardless of weight there is a sweet spot between those settings. I have it set at 5 clicks HSR and 9 LSR atm.
I weigh 145 pounds with gear and running 86 psi , no tokens but with luftkappe.

I tried to use the recommended rebound settings , where you have 1 or 2 clicks less HSR than LSR, but that would give me to much feedback whenthe fork returns from deeper in the travel. Opening LSRand closing HSR helped me with this.

 

Yeah my LSR is 7 and HSR is 3 or 4 (depending on tire weight). I think the easiest way to set rebound on these forks is to set the rebound to Fox's recommendation then start opening up the LSR until you find the sweet spot then start opening HSR until you find the sweet spot (which is probably not going to be far).

The good thing about Fox's recommendations is that they're probably as slow as anyone would want to go. Personally I think the easiest way to set rebound is to start way too slow then open it until you find what feels too fast then close it one click. Starting with LSR then do HSR. This is because I'm not always sure if my rebound is too slow but I always know when it's too fast.

 

agreed. The HSR acts as a bit of a choke if too closed, around 3 clicks is the sweet spot for many. Any more closed it feels harsh to me. I float around 3-4 clicks usually.

Then open the LSR more than recommended, you get the nice small bump fluttery chatter eliminated but have the deep stroke control for the bigger hits. You will know when you go too fast on the LSR

 

I’m around -3 from closed on my HSR and -5 on the LSR. Agree with starting at the recommendation and opening unti it’s too loose or bucky.

 

Gotta add...suspension is all about compromise. You can get ideas from forums, in the end it;s up to you to trial and error it. I'm sure I would still want to make some adjustments after using a shockwiz.

After my ride yesterday, I've decided to add back one spacer for a total of one. Started with:

1. 105, 110, 108 with 2 spacers. Good, but got bucky deep in the travel. Could really feel the ramp up at my pressures.
2. 110 with One spacer. Good, felt I should try 0 spacers
3. 115, 120 with no spacers. Good on trail and tech, but had a strong bottom out on a big drop. Probably too linear for bike park.
4. 120 back to One Spacer next. Looking for a compromise of not noticing a major ramp up, but a little more bottom out resistance on big drops.

You need to do this for all your adjustments.

 

You know, one thing I noticed with these Grip2 VVC dampers is they work better when you increase the LSC. I found on both my 40 and 38, I ended up putting the LSC more or less in the middle.

 

Agree with that assessment. Depending on your weight, don't be afraid to try using a bit more LSC then factory recommended. Found I started liking it better as I increased the compression.

 

175lb rider
170mm 38
96psi
3 tokens
hsc open
lsc open
hsr 4
lsr 7

forks feel amazing excellent small bump and traction but still good support . i am very happy with this setting

 

This issue has been touched on a bit but today I did some messing around and confirmed this with my Grip2 damper (fork at 170mm travel with 115psi):

-The HSR is pretty independent and does not affect the compressing of the fork. I ran the fork in -3, -2, -1, 0 clicks on a ride today. The LSR on the other hand, is completely useless with less than -6 clicks. Anything less (so -5, -4, -3...etc), and it feels like the fork has a ****-ton of LSC and that makes it's practically un-rideable. But when you have 115psi and with two spacers, -6 is a little fast. Meanwhile the Fox setup guide suggests I run the fork with -2 LSR and -1 HSR. I tried that and again, completely useless.

It's weird because my 2021 Fox 40 is great and the settings suggested by Fox are pretty close to where I actually have them set.

I think I'll be taking the damper to my Fox service center to see what they say.

 

I got a suspension tuner involved setting mine up, I’ve tried tweaking and always ended up back at their settings. I ride DH tracks, bike is an Enduro.

38s set up
183lb rider
90 psi, 2 tokens
HSR 4 from max
LSR 9 from max
HSC 3 from min
LSC 7 from min

 

Chiming in because this thread has been helpful to me thanks, but still tuning...

Ebike Specific 38 Performance Elite this time, Grip 2, grease cleaned out the air spring (made a minor difference to sensitivity). About 198lbs kitted. 0 tokens. Been running 100psi, tried more and less. More is too harsh. Less doesn't offer the bottom out support.

Different characteristics for me from the setups mentioned by other users. HSR to be kept low else it feels chattery and harsh. LSR seems useless. At 6 LSR (from closed) the fork felt horrendous.

HSR - 3
LSR - 1
LSC - 0
HSR - 5

Came from 2021 Pike Ultimates which were so smooth. I think I might be trying to chase that same feeling with a fork that isn't designed to do that. Worth mentioning I ride Surrey Hills in the UK. All blown out natural rooty trails so think chasing low speed chatter is pointless when the forks busy soaking up roots and ruts.

Next steps for me are to add in a token and adjust air pressure. I dont see how adding LSC will benefit me.

 

Chiming in because this thread has been helpful to me thanks, but still tuning...

Ebike Specific 38 Performance Elite this time, Grip 2, grease cleaned out the air spring (made a minor difference to sensitivity). About 198lbs kitted. 0 tokens. Been running 100psi, tried more and less. More is too harsh. Less doesn't offer the bottom out support.

Different characteristics for me from the setups mentioned by other users. HSR to be kept low else it feels chattery and harsh. LSR seems useless. At 6 LSR (from closed) the fork felt horrendous.

HSR - 3
LSR - 1
LSC - 0
HSR - 5

Came from 2021 Pike Ultimates which were so smooth. I think I might be trying to chase that same feeling with a fork that isn't designed to do that. Worth mentioning I ride Surrey Hills in the UK. All blown out natural rooty trails so think chasing low speed chatter is pointless when the forks busy soaking up roots and ruts.

Next steps for me are to add in a token and adjust air pressure. I dont see how adding LSC will benefit me.

Yeah the LSR 6 clicks from closed seems to the be cut off point before the feeling of the fork goes to hell. The only way I'd say adding LSC would help is by keeping you up in the travel a little more, keep it from diving as you're riding over the rough terrain. That way the fork isn't riding too deep in the travel and constantly hitting the air spring progression wall.

 

Fox 38 @ 170 travel with luftkappe
88kg
105psi no tokens
LSC 2 from closed
HSC 2 from closed
LSR 6 from closed
HSR 4 from open

 

Fox 38 @ 170 travel with luftkappe
88kg
105psi
LSC 2 from closed
HSC 2 from closed
LSR 6 from closed
HSR 4 from open

How do you find the luftkappe?