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¦ The hard part
To use the adjustments there are a few things to remember: First, the front end (IFS) requires less changes as the race goes on. Setting up the front takes about 20 percent of the time, while getting the track suspension right as the racing surface deteriorates is the main challenge and usually takes about 80 percent of the effort, according to Hayes. Return dampening can be a problem. With too much dampening you get a condition known as packing or ratcheting. This means that the suspension doesn’t extend all the way out before it hits the next bump. With successive bumps it may actually ratchet up and lock in a very stiff position which will make it ride very hard over bumps. Hayes therefore advises to adjust return dampening slightly on the loose side. The low-speed compression dampening works well on long shallow bumps, but in the front it is also used mainly to control roll in corners. Stiffer low-speed dampening on the front will let the sled handle flatter in the corners. Roll is also affected by pretension and rate of the springs, but Hayes feels that a stiffer front end that rolls less in the corners may be fine on longer bumps where the driver can compensate by lifting the front end with the throttle.
Getting the track suspension right is the most important part, as it is located directly under the driver and this is his main communication with the track.
Hayes uses a thick paint to check out if the rear suspension works well. He recommends painting the top of the bump rubber on the rail, which the cross-shaft hits. If the paint is all gone at the end of your session, the suspension is set too soft, but if it is still there it means you are too stiff and not using the full travel. It would be very difficult to cover all tuning options in a short story, but Ben Hayes has some good advice: Know how all the adjusters work and spend most of your time making the track suspension work once the front end works well.
There was a time when setups were a big secret that factory racers kept to themselves. Times are changing and Polaris feels that customers are entitled to have good information in order to get the best performance out of their expensive racing equipment. Having a team like Ben Hayes and Rick Bates watching everyone at practice, heat races, qualifiers and the final makes it possible for customer racers to feel they have a good chance to compete and that their success as a Polaris racer is important not only to them and their team, but the people who design and build their racing sleds.