[darkslide18]

I am going to do an oil change and basic maintanance on my 08 lyrik solo air. It says to use 5 wt oil but I am thinking of using 7 wt fox float fluid. I am wondering if this is a good idea ? what if any affects will the 7 wt have on the performance of the fork. Im figuring since Im a 200 lb rider a litle heavier wt. oil might not be a bad idea. Any thoughts??
thanks in advance

 

[Suirad]

Honestly, it won't do much of anything. The Lyrik like most current forks has a damping speed range that goes from ridiculously slow to ridiculously fast with the stock 5wt oil. The slowest settings are far far slower than what anyone would ever want because of the great ooh aah factor on the sales floor when a customer is shown how nice and smooth the fork rebounds at full slow setting. A switch to 7 weight will only change how many clicks you have to turn your knobs before you get the feel you want. Back in the day this might have been beneficial because the external adjustments were not as good, or just weren't there to begin with, but now it's pretty useless.

 

[d-bug]

I tried going to 7wt oil on my PIKE a few years ago, and promptly went back to 5wt after 1 ride. With 7wt the fork was much less responsive and harsh.

On my Lyrik, I recently went to 2.5wt, and like it much better than the 5wt. It's much more responsive. You might find with a thinner oil you'll have to add more air. With a thicker oil you might need to lower the air pressure.

I think the best thing you can do is stick with one brand of oil, and make adjustments according to feel. One brands 5wt, is another brands 10wt. So going to Fox 7wt may not make any difference at all.

 

[scottzg]

On my Lyrik, I recently went to 2.5wt, and like it much better than the 5wt. It's much more responsive. You might find with a thinner oil you'll have to add more air. With a thicker oil you might need to lower the air pressure.

Why do you need to mess with the spring when you mess with the damper? Only makes sense if you don't touch your damper settings.

 

[d-bug]

Why do you need to mess with the spring when you mess with the damper? Only makes sense if you don't touch your damper settings.

I say that based on my experience.
The thinner oil is flowing through the ports faster, and providing less resistance, which is making the spring feel softer. I had to go from a medium spring to a firm spring when I changed to the lighter oil. Even with compression fully open, there is still some compression dampening happening. The oil is still flowing through something that's restricting it. I bet if you removed all the damper oil, you'd find the spring to feel even softer.

 

[scottzg]

I say that based on my experience.
The thinner oil is flowing through the ports faster, and providing less resistance, which is making the spring feel softer. I had to go from a medium spring to a firm spring when I changed to the lighter oil. Even with compression fully open, there is still some compression dampening happening. The oil is still flowing through something that's restricting it. I bet if you removed all the damper oil, you'd find the spring to feel even softer.

hmm... that makes sense. Never really thought about that, as i always ride with the lsc kinda cranked. Heavy oil just makes it harsh, even at full open, in my experience.