I very much appreciate your insights here, but I would appreciate your views on the shock relocators. My ride is a GS SE5 with Evo bar and RT shocks and springs. I run higher than called for tire pressures and all my spring adjusters are on the tightest notches, and I only use a 1 inch bar riser. I live for twisty canyon roads, and unlike most Spyderlovers, I don't give a rip about comfort as I rarely do more than 350 miles in a day. Any thoughts on the relocators?
Even if you don't care about comfort, you shouldn't compromise safety. Increasing the spring rate (as well as tire pressures) beyond reason can compromise safety so please go easy. Proper suspension and tire performance is
much more important to improved handling performance than just dialing out the body roll by severely restricting suspension movement or making the tires too hard. You don't want to starve Peter by feeding Paul. You want moderation and balance so all suspension components can function properly. You can't cheat physics and you shouldn't try, it'll win every time.
I don't own a set of the relocators yet so I hesitate to comment but I have been following the development of them for quite some time. In fact I actually worked with an expert mechanical engineer friend of mine and we developed a set of our own on SolidWorks Premium, a professional (and very expensive) 3D CAD modeling program. We then did a market analysis and found we could manufacture and sell them for less than $100 a set and still make a good profit. What blew the business model out of the water was the cost of liability insurance. If you don't have insurance and just one person sues you because they had an accident and claimed your product was at fault, you're toast, even if you prove them wrong (due to the high cost of litigation). So we shelved the idea.
Anyway what we discovered in the development process was that altering the suspension and possibly the steering geometry is not to be taken lightly. There are many factors involved and even the high powered SolidWorks CAD program we used could not discover them all. What was really needed was extensive real world testing but we decided that there was no way we were ever going to do this testing by selling a prototype as a finished product, that would be unconscionable. We simply did not have the testing and proving facilities that BRP has. I am
not saying Pittbull did not adequately test theirs, I'm sure they did, they certainly had more means to do this then I did. I'm only saying that thorough testing is absolutely required before selling a product that so obviously affects the safety of the vehicle in so many ways. Even with extensive testing problems still occur as can be seen by the DPS issues BRP has had not to mention others. So some risk is always involved.
SolidWorks modeling did show that placing the shocks and springs at a higher angle would indeed allow them to perform more effectively, if only marginally. The front suspension moves mostly up and down yet the shock is mounted at a relatively low angle to permit it to fit in the limited space available while allowing for adequate travel. This is a common design compromise on such vehicles. If you notice in vehicles where there is adequate space, shocks are mounted vertically, in line with suspension travel. So the more upright you can place the shocks the more efficiently it can perform its function. The few degrees of improvement the relocators allow does not make for a huge improvement, but some improvement is better than none so I would consider it worthwhile. Just don't expect a night and day difference. Such a geometry change may also make the steering more responsive, and indeed that is what is being reported by new users of the relocators. Whether this is a good or a bad thing is entirely up to the rider. Some people like more responsive steering while others may find it unsettling. This is a dichotomy that has plagued sports car manufacturers for years. A little understeer is generally considered safer for unskilled drivers but skilled drivers may prefer a bit of oversteer. So everyone will have to make up their own mind based up their skills and preferences.
Bottom Line: The shock relocators may improve the efficiency of your shocks and springs and provide some marginal better rough road handling and some improved resistance to sway. A side effect may be more responsive steering.
I have heard of heavy set riders that get the Elkas because it helps on the road conditions and the RT OEM anti-sway bar is made for heavy conditions (designed for 2 up comfort).
