Shock Therapy Polaris General Dual Rate Spring Kit - Installation
How To Install Polaris General Deluxe Shock Therapy Dual Rate Springs
Shock Therapy's dual-rate spring kit is the ultimate in suspension improvement through springs. The springs with this kit are custom-tailored to your vehicle specifics.
Their coil springs are made in the USA, and they’re guaranteed for life.
The spring kit will do a couple of things for you.
- It will stop all of the settling that is prevalent in the factory Springs.
- It will give your Polaris General a much more plush ride quality.
Lauren of Shock Therapy, who is in charge of their inventory and a certified technician, demonstrated how to mount a Dual Rate Spring Kit on a Polaris General.
Installation was performed in the steps below.
Jack Up The Front
Jack up the front of the car until it’s tires are just off the ground and always use jack stands for safety.
Remove Shock
Loosen the hardware for the front shock and remove it. Make sure that you do one shock at a time as these are site-specific and should not be swapped from left to right.
Lower Bump Stop and Remove Perch
With the shock removed from the car, put it in the spring compressor and lower the bump, stop down the shaft to remove the lower spring perch.
Remove Springs
Remove the factory spring package with the save divider.
Set the Preload Height
The height of the preload should be set one inch and three quarters (1 3⁄4”) from the bridge.
Install the Cross-Over Rings
About three and a half inches (3 1⁄2”) down from the Bridge, mount the cross over ring on the shock. The cross over should be installed with the recess in the cross over facing the bottom of the shock; the recess is for the silent o-ring.
Slide the silent o-ring over the shock body and tightly into the recessed groove of the cross over.
Install the Shock Therapy Springs
First, install the upper spring on the shock and ensure the part number and the shock therapy logo faces the correct way, then install the factory spring divider and then install a lower spring to make sure the logo faces the right configuration.
Line the springs up so that the ends of the springs on opposite sides touch the spring divider, which will keep the divider straight and keep the spring package as straight as possible.
Install Spring Perch
Compress the springs and have the lower spring perch installed.
Install the Shock
Install the shock back into the vehicle, first start with the upper hardware when the shock is mounted. Keep the hardware loose so that it can be easier to change the height of the ride afterward by removing the shock from the vehicle.
Lower Down the Car
When both the shocks are installed, then remove the jack stands and lower the car back down.
Repeat the steps on other sides.
Settle the Suspension
You must settle the suspension; you can't do it by jumping up and down on the car you have to drive that back and forth, or maybe around the block once you've settled in, get to a stop without hitting the brakes to measure the height of the ride.
Measure the Ride Height
Measure the front ride height from the lower control arm mount (With the driver in UTV), the front of the car will be fourteen inches (14”) off the level. Measure the height of the rear ride (With the driver in UTV) from the mount of the rear control arm, the rear of the car will reach 13 and a half inches (13 1⁄2”) from the ground to the bottom of the chassis at the mount of the control arm.
Wrapping UP
If the ride heights are fixed you can tighten up all the hardware, and you're good to go, but if you have to adjust the ride height either up or down to get the numbers then that’s the time, you can pull off the shock and do so very easily in the spring compressor.
It is necessary to get all the heights of the ride perfect before tightening up any hardware. Ride heights are adjusted by pressing down the preload collar to lift the vehicle or lift the preload collar to perfectly lower the vehicle with your ride heights.
You may then check the cross over ring gap. Verify that your hardware is tight until you wrap up with all these measurements checked and installed. Your installation is complete.
Note
Another thing to keep in mind is that all their coil springs are brand new which means they will take a set one time of their lifespan between 100 and 300 miles. After that time period measure the ride heights and adjust accordingly, the springs will hold the ride height for the life of the car.
Also, adding accessories to your car can add extra weight and make the car sit lower. The springs can be adjusted to compensate for any new upgrades you might get.
