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2010 Marzocchi 888 Evo tuning thread

IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
ugh, finally figured out how to tighten the nut without any problems. i tilted the cartridge slightly to cant the bottom and was able to get a good bite on the threads. what a pain.
dont know why i didnt think of that earlier :doh:

edit: another question. the rebound shaft moves up and down 1mm or so when trying to tighten the two top knobs causing the detent balls to shift..any ideas?
 
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IH8Rice

I'm Mr. Negative! I Fail!
Aug 2, 2008
24,524
494
Im over here now
Still don't know what is the right oil volume to put in these forks(2013). Re built them today with 310ml in the RH leg and 100ml in the LH leg.
have the new forks changed position of the damper and spring? the oil levels on their Tech Area show 80cc for the left and 290cc for the right. those numbers should be swapped if the damper is still on the left
 
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tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
nah moar shimz feel better and this is wrong:

Low speed damping is typically used to dial out excessive fork dive or rider induced movement. High speed is typically used to make the forks action more progressive and resist bottoming out.
The compression adjuster on the 888 is located at the base of the LH leg. The RC3 compression adjuster will affect both high and low speed damping, simply put if you set the adjuster all the way to “+” it will give you maximum low speed damping, set the adjuster all the way to “-“ will give you maximum high speed damping.
Both high and low speed damping curves cross in the middle so the adjusters neutral position is in the middle (count the clicks/ turns). Adjusting out from the middle with give you a varying combination of both high and low speed damping, so in theory you have all the combinations of damping you would normally have in two separate adjusters, but in one easy-to-use adjuster.
 

freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
feel the difference man.

much better with 6-7 clicks of compression.

huge variations with just a knob!!!

yihaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa
 

tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
closing the lsc-adjuster (which influences the hsc aswell but not in the way described above) makes the fork feel harsh pretty fast. Add an additional 20 or 21mm shim to the shimstack.
 

freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
yeah i know, but i don't feel it is harsh. maybe if youu are lightweight.

with 83kg, standard spring and 6-7 clicks of compression it is smooth and controlled!!!

and keeps high in the travel.

i am not racing and not very fast though.
 

tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
83kg without gear might be too much for the standard-spring. Maybe you get away with riding not very fast on steep terrain but the main problem with this fork is that people tend to compensate for the incorrect springrate and that just doesn't work well.
 

jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,726
6,163
in a single wide, cooking meth...
yeah i know, but i don't feel it is harsh. maybe if youu are lightweight.

with 83kg, standard spring and 6-7 clicks of compression it is smooth and controlled!!!

and keeps high in the travel.

i am not racing and not very fast though.
I will save you the pain of scrolling through 77 pages of this thread and offer that I weigh the same as you and I run the stock 5.5 spring with 200 ml of oil in the spring side, and IMHO, it is suspension victory. Ran the "correct" spring rate (firm spring, 6.5 I think) in it for awhile and it sucked all the dicks...all of them. Had VAR and comp all the way out, and it still rode like a jack hammer. I think even Gee Atherton would've given it the nod of approval. My buddy, who is probably a little heavier and faster than me, felt the exact same way when he tried the firm spring in his 888EVO. I will say with the stock spring and factory oil levels, it was too soft for me, but in my experience, the spring side oil trick was the answer, not the firm spring. Some will still insist this is a less than ideal solution, but aside from the additional weight of the oil, the fork performs flawlessly in my, non-WC pro not riding Mt. Pyschosis opinion.
 
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gemini2k

Turbo Monkey
Jul 31, 2005
3,526
117
San Francisco
83kg without gear might be too much for the standard-spring. Maybe you get away with riding not very fast on steep terrain but the main problem with this fork is that people tend to compensate for the incorrect springrate and that just doesn't work well.
Yeah that's my only complaint with the 888. Basically, if you're over 190-200 pounds, the fork is always going to be under sprung. Avy cart definitely helps though!
 
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tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
I don't have personal experience with the different mz-springrates but it sounds that they are weird. Some guys use the fox-springs.
 

freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
I will save you the pain of scrolling through 77 pages of this thread and offer that I weigh the same as you and I run the stock 5.5 spring with 200 ml of oil in the spring side, and IMHO, it is suspension victory. Ran the "correct" spring rate (firm spring, 6.5 I think) in it for awhile and it sucked all the dicks...all of them. Had VAR and comp all the way out, and it still rode like a jack hammer. I think even Gee Atherton would've given it the nod of approval. My buddy, who is probably a little heavier and faster than me, felt the exact same way when he tried the firm spring in his 888EVO. I will say with the stock spring and factory oil levels, it was too soft for me, but in my experience, the spring side oil trick was the answer, not the firm spring. Some will still insist this is a less than ideal solution, but aside from the additional weight of the oil, the fork performs flawlessly in my, non-WC pro not riding Mt. Pyschosis opinion.
thanks!!! a few more questions:

1. have you tried to add oil in the damper side?

2. have you tried not to change the oil amount but a heavier weight oil? (instead of 7.5, to put a 10wt oil)
 

ChrisRobin

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
3,410
212
Vancouver
The Fox spring works ok but the spring rates are all wonky. I tried a blue medium Ti spring and the fork barely moved.... well it moved but felt like it would be equivalent to an extra firm Marz spring.
 
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jackalope

Mental acuity - 1%
Jan 9, 2004
7,726
6,163
in a single wide, cooking meth...
thanks!!! a few more questions:

1. have you tried to add oil in the damper side?

2. have you tried not to change the oil amount but a heavier weight oil? (instead of 7.5, to put a 10wt oil)
Haven't messed with the damper side, or experimented with different oil weights, although if you're willing to read through the aforementioned 77 pages of RM technical glory, there's info on these concepts. While admittedly a fairly crude damper, it's always offered functional adjustability for me, so I wasn't inclined to change anything on that side. I just used the standard Marz oil for the spring side, although I'm not sure if it matters that much as it's just displacing volume in this case.
 
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freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
how much is the weight difference between ti and steel 888 spring (fork is 2012 model if it matters)?
 
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freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
150g.

well i guess, it isn't big deal!!!

i'll put a ti in the shock, in order to compensate!!!!:weee:

do you know a shop in europe to get the firm steel spring?
 
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freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
a properly performing fork outweighs the extra 150gr weight!!!

come on, put super gravity schwalbe tyres, and you compensate easily!!! :)

it's downhill after all!!!
 

freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
2 questions:

1. i bumped into this

When adding the steel coils in a 888 Ti fork you will need a new spring seat. The spring seat may need to be replaced based on the year of the fork
did anyone confront this issue? (i have a 2012 evo rc3 v2 ti, and will fit a steel firm spring)

2. do you put around the spring a shrink wrap or a heat shrink?
 

tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
right but I would never pay retail on that ti-spring. It's about 300$ or more over here... I'd rather invest that into the new 380-cartridge if it fits. Could save ~100g of oil too.
 

freeriding

Monkey
Jun 5, 2011
138
1
i am about to fit the firm spring.

i won't leave the shrink wrap on, cause it may dissolve because of friction, heat and oil.

has anyone managed to put a heat shrink? what shrink ratio should i put, and what diameter?

is there much clearance in the inner fork leg, or does the heat shrink have to be really thin to fit?
 
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ChrisRobin

Turbo Monkey
Jan 30, 2002
3,410
212
Vancouver
No leave the shrink wrap on... it's supposed to be there. It won't dissolve. Normal shrink wrap you see on other fork springs is too thick. The only type of shrink wrap that does work is shrink wrap they make battery packs with.
 

plonka

Chimp
Nov 15, 2013
1
0
London
Hello all,

Does any one have any opinions or actually user based info/review on the 2014 888 cr?
looking at getting one of these as there pretty cheap on trade for me, and will most likely upgrade in the future with a ti spring and a avalanche cartridge.

main question though is it a good platform at the start, knowing it has a kinda cut down version of the DBC of the 380.

One other thing i cant decide on is the correct spring i should get, ive had a 2012 66 rc3 evo Ti that had the standard spring and that suffered from serious brake dive.
I weigh 72kg/158lbs with kit on, i ride pretty fast, and aggressively so im thinking a firm would be a good choice?

Reece
 

tabletop84

Monkey
Nov 12, 2011
891
15
Any input on shimstack tuning? I have modified the original 20,19,18,17,16 to a 21,20,19,18,16,17,16 to get more hsc and mid-stroke support (original shims are 0,2 I added 21,20 and 16 in 0,15). What are your experiences? I still ride the 5.5 spring but will upgrade to a blue fox spring if I get one. Maybe I need to upgrade the shimstack after this again.
 

schwaaa31

Turbo Monkey
Jul 30, 2002
1,543
1,146
Clinton Massachusetts
Ok. I picked up a 2014 RC3 EVO V2. I don't really feel like reading through 31 pages to get tips on set up. I'm 175 pounds without gear. I ordered the firm spring after doing a little bit of research. Is there a good base set up on adjustments? Something I can start from? Thanks.