[NormaNator22]

Alright everyone looking for some input...

I have a little walking around $$ saved up and I am trying to decide between either upgrading to Walker Evans shocks, or... a sheave kit with ecu flash for the performance. I am considering both to be around the same $ amount so its one or the other as of now.

I mostly do trail riding at my hunt club, places like Windrock, Ride Royal Blue, etc. Not mudding, not riding open deserts.

The terrain here is hard as a rock lots of the time, however I don’t have too many complaints about the ride quality as is, but know what it could be with the WE shocks.

Kid of the same feeling about power... it does what I need most 99.9% of the time, however I have heard that the sheave kit with the ecu flash can wake the beast.

Open to all thoughts/suggestions... GO!

And thanks in advance!

 

[MassiveOverkill]

Hunterwork's sheave and Weller ECU flash is going to be half the cost of a WE shock upgrade.

 

[Budro2]

Hunterwork's sheave and Weller ECU flash is going to be half the cost of a WE shock upgrade.

Given your riding style and terrain it would be all about the improved ride if it was me.

If it was a gen 1 wolverine my opinion would be the opposite!

 

[wolvymanx4]

I say sheave and flash. I ride on hard packed, rocky, mountainous terrain and have no complaint about the ride as well and have the flash and will probably get the sheave really soon. It makes the roads to get to the rail heads go by quicker plus just plainly increases the fun factor. The only reason I would ever do the shocks would be for the slight lift you get from them to allow larger tires. I am hoping someone someday puts a better 2-3" lift on the market than what is currently available so larger tires can be ran though because those shocks are crazy expensive :yikes:

 

[NormaNator22]

Hunterwork's sheave and Weller ECU flash is going to be half the cost of a WE shock upgrade.

Yes sir I understand the WE Shocks are more... I’m “Considering” them to be the same...meaning one or the other.

Massive, I see you have both the WE shocks and the HW Sheave/ECU Flash. Any input between the two based on the riding I do?

 

[NormaNator22]

it would be all about the improved ride if it was me.

Meaning the shocks? Not sure what the Gen 1 Wolverine comment is referencing sorry.

 

[NormaNator22]

The only reason I would ever do the shocks would be for the slight lift you get from them to allow larger tires.

Yeah I saw you could get a little extra room, however I am running 27” tires and currently have no issues or intentions of going bigger as of now. So the clearance wouldn’t be a factor for me as of now.

those shocks are crazy expensive :yikes:

Yes...yes they are haha... but man they do a great job!

I’m really leaning towards the Sheave/ECU right now...If I do go that route, time to decide which Sheave/Weight/Etc...

 

[Budro2]

Meaning the shocks? Not sure what the Gen 1 Wolverine comment is referencing sorry.

Yes the shocks! Gen 1 comment meaningless, just it came with better shocks and more wheel travel than the 18 X4 did so I believe the ride was better however the HP with it is more challenged so with a gen 1 a sheave would be more important to me. Coming from a gen 1 the 850 would feel really strong so Id be going for improving that ride all I could!

 

[MassiveOverkill]

Yes sir I understand the WE Shocks are more... I’m “Considering” them to be the same...meaning one or the other.

Massive, I see you have both the WE shocks and the HW Sheave/ECU Flash. Any input between the two based on the riding I do?

That's a really tough call. Shocks are going to add longevity to your body from you not getting beat up so much from a rough ride plus being a pre 2020 model you'll be much less likely to get bent shock towers with good shocks. Shocks have increased my overall trail riding speed a good 10 MPH when I'm not trying to smell the roses. Sheave is going to add longevity to your clutch and engine life and give you better gas mileage and cruising RPMs. Weller ECU flash improves drive-ability via better drive-by-wire programming and gives you cooler temps. Do both eventually. I really envy 2020 R-Spec/XTR owners.

 

[Alex]

Yes sir I understand the WE Shocks are more... I’m “Considering” them to be the same...meaning one or the other.

Massive, I see you have both the WE shocks and the HW Sheave/ECU Flash. Any input between the two based on the riding I do?

Based on how terrible my X4 used to ride, the WE shocks are the one upgrade I would refuse to live without, the Sheave and Flash are great but the shocks are 100% the best option IMHO.

 

[kevin5881]

Buy the bandit shocks, with the $300 savings, you could do the ECU or the sheave as well.

 

[DILLIGAF]

Weller flash and HW sheave

 

[Punkinhead]

My wife and I rode Tackett Creek this weekend and the Bandit shocks were a lifesaver. I bought them to smooth out higher speed washboard, but was surprised by how much they improved the low speed rocky trails. That was our first time riding eastern Tennessee and you folks have some seriously rocky trails. We would have hated them on the stock shocks.

I never felt like I needed more low end or more speed so a sheave is not on my to-do list.

 

[RichTate]

My wife and I rode Tackett Creek this weekend and the Bandit shocks were a lifesaver. I bought them to smooth out higher speed washboard, but was surprised by how much they improved the low speed rocky trails. That was our first time riding eastern Tennessee and you folks have some seriously rocky trails. We would have hated them on the stock shocks.

I never felt like I needed more low end or more speed so a sheave is not on my to-do list.

Punkinhead - Do you still have the torsion bars connected? I've heard if you disconnect one of them it greatly increases the ride quality of the stock shocks. I'm getting my first X4 this weekend and I think I'm going to try that first. The Bandits are a good value but still pricey.

 

[NormaNator22]

Buy the bandit shocks, with the $300 savings, you could do the ECU or the sheave as well.

Interestingly enough, I have been looking into the Bandit shocks for the last 24hrs... seems to be good feedback on their performance and you can save some $$

Do you have the Bandits?

 

[NormaNator22]

My wife and I rode Tackett Creek this weekend and the Bandit shocks were a lifesaver. I bought them to smooth out higher speed washboard, but was surprised by how much they improved the low speed rocky trails. That was our first time riding eastern Tennessee and you folks have some seriously rocky trails. We would have hated them on the stock shocks.

I never felt like I needed more low end or more speed so a sheave is not on my to-do list.

This is what I am looking for! Great feedback. I love to hear they help with the low-speed rocky trails too. All I seem to ride these days is rocky trails.

I would be lying if I said I wouldn't WANT a little more low-end or top speed for playing around...however feel like the ride quality is higher on the list since this is my family rig.

 

[Punkinhead]

Punkinhead - Do you still have the torsion bars connected? I've heard if you disconnect one of them it greatly increases the ride quality of the stock shocks.

I haven't disconnected them because we like to ride the WV Outlaws where we have to jump onto twisty paved roads to connect sections of trail. The idea of taking a 45+ MPH corner on pavement with body roll isn't something I've wanted to try. I might be being too cautious.

Disconnecting the front this weekend at Tackett Creek probably would have been a good idea because of the large rocks and deep off camber ruts.

 

[kevin5881]

Interestingly enough, I have been looking into the Bandit shocks for the last 24hrs... seems to be good feedback on their performance and you can save some $$

Do you have the Bandits?

I do have the bandits. I installed them back in January but haven't been able to get a ride in to really test them. I have ridden around my property and I know they will be an improvement. I toiled over this decision for months and went back and forth between the bandits, walker evans and 814s. The bandits have the best specs of any of them. Thicker shafts, rezzies, comp and rebound adjustment. I've run bandit springs on another machine and that was a game changer for that machine. My stock shocks had settled bad after only 600 miles. The bandits got me my ride height back and then some. From what I can tell so far, the ride is much softer than the stock shocks but at the same time, it is still sporty feeling. I still have everything set near the soft/ slow side of things and my preload is set at about the minimum to achieve the recommended up/down travel of the shocks. I am really itching to get them on the trail and dial them in. I did a write up a few months ago in the suspension section of this forum, there are a bunch of pictures and measurements that I took during the install.

 

[kevin5881]

Punkinhead - Do you still have the torsion bars connected? I've heard if you disconnect one of them it greatly increases the ride quality of the stock shocks. I'm getting my first X4 this weekend and I think I'm going to try that first. The Bandits are a good value but still pricey.

I did the front sway bar disconnect on mine with the stock shocks. It allows the shocks to work independently of each other and allows for better articulation in the slow stuff. I didn't really notice much difference in high speed handling but the ride was a bit better. I now have bandit shocks and will probably leave it disconnected, provided that I still don't have any high speed handling issues.

 

[NormaNator22]

I toiled over this decision for months and went back and forth between the bandits, walker evans and 814s. The bandits have the best specs of any of them. Thicker shafts, rezzies, comp and rebound adjustment.

I have been back and forth a lot. I agree that the Bandits seem to have really good specs... enough so that I've started leaning towards buying them. I appreciate the feedback and look forward to hearing your full review once you get a chance to take them for a ride.