[MikeD]

Alrighty, here goes:

Bought a used Ti spring through the buy/sell forum, advertised as a 2.3 stroke/550 Lb RCS spring. Deal went fine; spring looked a little short when I got it. Got the spring home and tried to mount it on my 7.5x2.25 Avalanche...it was too short, and even with the collar all the way in, the spring was still loose.

Compared with my Avvy 2.3 and Fox 2.25 springs:

Obviously, it's not a 2.3 stroke. Emailed the seller and told him it didn't fit, and got this:

"The stroke on my shock is 2.25. the RCS springs come in 2.3. I wish I could help you out but the reason I sold that is because Im really short on cash. I cant afford to send you the money back (its already gone). And after paypal fees and shipping I lost out even more than I should have. I know you can sell that spring for a lot more than I sold it to you. Sorry and good luck."

Before I went ballistic on him, because this obviously isn't a 2.3, I checked RCS's website, and it seems the springs are not rated by stroke length at all...just by overall length and spring weight. This is their standard 4.8" long 550 lb spring.

So, #1: Is this type of sizing due to the properties of Ti (ie, not having to worry so much about coil bind)?

#2: Should I feel entitled to a refund? I think I should. The product was not as advertised, (even though he may have used it on one specific 2.25 stroke shock, it's not necessarily a 2.3 stroke spring, as evidenced by its length and lack of fit) and telling me to re-sell it is complete horsesh1t. And I have zero sympathy for the paypal fees and shipping. The price was quoted to me as shipped, and I didn't haggle or bargain...I offered him his asking price up front, because I thought it was reasonable if not great.

#3: Anyone got a spring they want to trade for this one? I need a 500 or 550 for my 2.25" stroke avvy.

Haven't emailed him back yet. I made my points in the draft I wrote, and mentioned that if he didn't want to refund me, I didn't think he'd have much chance of selling anything on the Monkey again with the rep this would give him.

Just wanted to do a sanity check on myself. I feel like I'm taking crazy pills here!

MD

 

[vitox]

mike, by just looking at it i would say it could very well be ok for your application

what you could do is to measure the space between the coils, if it is more than 2,25" + safety margin (measure your original fox to see what safety margin is built in there) then it should be OK.

to make it work you can use a spacer so that you dont have the thread problem.

 

[kidwoo]

edit: what vitox said

Maybe the avalanche is "at fault" for not threading the body long enough?

Regardless, if you ask for your money back you should get it. I'd feel justified.

 

[MikeD]

to make it work you can use a spacer so that you dont have the thread problem.

I considered this; someone told me it would be suicide. Since I don't know jack, I took that possiblity seriously...

 

[vitox]

update

just measured a 3.0 (76mm) ti spring for a romic and it has around 86mm free space between the coils, aim for a "safety margin" around that.

 

[zedro]

So, #1: Is this type of sizing due to the properties of Ti (ie, not having to worry so much about coil bind)?

yes, Ti will let you do that if thats what the spring designer wanted....theres more than one way to wind a springs with only a stiffness and stroke specification. This spring could be in fact a 2.3 stoke spring, and winding it this way will make it lighter to boot.

Got the spring home and tried to mount it on my 7.5x2.25 Avalanche...it was too short, and even with the collar all the way in, the spring was still loose.

Avy seems to make their springs longer than others, so the shock body would be threaded with that consideration as well.

#2: Should I feel entitled to a refund? ....The product was not as advertised, (even though he may have used it on one specific 2.25 stroke shock, it's not necessarily a 2.3 stroke spring, as evidenced by its length and lack of fit) and telling me to re-sell it is complete horsesh1t. And I have zero sympathy for the paypal fees and shipping. The price was quoted to me as shipped, and I didn't haggle or bargain...I offered him his asking price up front, because I thought it was reasonable if not great.

if it is (and can be) a 2.3 stroke, then yes it was as advertised. The free length has nothing to do with it, a stroke spec can have any number of different free lengths...its your shock that cant fit the spring, not the other way around IMO. If you had a Fox, then this wouldnt of happenend.

If i were him tho, i would take back the spring, refund you but minus the my shipping cost (why should your mistake cost me?). May sound harsh, but really its the buyers responsibility to make sure the part fits. I dont think you can hold a seller responsible for every possible fit combination out there (like say i sold a Fox RC spring and the buyer complained it doesnt fit his 5th Element). He didnt lie or misrepresent the product, but rather some important considerations were not asked about.

Just IMO.

 

[Curb Hucker]

Mike what all of them said is right. You can make a spring shorter overall with Ti than with steel but still have the same stroke. Since Romic and Avalanche springs are the same theres an easy way out. My friends who have fly's with romics all have an aluminum spacer between the spring collar and the spring for lenght compensation around .5-.75in long. Id call romic and get one if it will solve your problem

 

[MikeD]

If you had a Fox, then this wouldnt of happenend.

I have a Fox (edit: make that I have a fox as well ) , and this spring doesn't fit...length or diameter-wise. The Fox spring is almost an inch longer, as you can see in the pic.

In any case, if a spacer can make this work, I'll probably just talk to Spookydave and see if he can machine me one, or talk to Avvy or Romic and find out if they have a spacer. In fact, I suppose calling Craig and asking what he recommends is the best course of action...I don't WANT to return the spring, see, if it can work. It's really light, especially since it IS so short...

MD

 

[DHRracer]

Avy offers a 1 inch tall (non threaded)collar that should solve this issue.

 

[MikeD]

Great...I'll talk to Craig and see what he can do. Thanks!

MD

 

[DßR]

Yeah, got to this late, but Avalanche uses a special collar/spacer to take up all the extra space when using a Ti spring. They have a much shorter free length than steel springs.

 

[Extrovert]

Indeed. If you look at the 'Products' section on the Avy site you will see the difference, the steel spring shock is at the bottom of the page. (small pic) The Ti sprung one in the middle of the page. The pictures say it all....

 

[Extrovert]

PS. I'm sure that cup should come with the RCS spring though.