Fork Oils

kingie3105

I have read that it doesn't matter what weight of oil I put in my forks, because all brands are different.. However how different are they? Would 15wt work or do i need a bit lighter oil?
Cheers

The Northern Monkey

Are we supposed to guess what forks you have?

kingie3105

Rockshox Recon Solo Air, sorry

cooldad

What does the manual say?

kingie3105

They advise 5wt, but I have read around and apparently, Rockshox 5wt is just rebranded 7wt, but I think that 15wt may be too heavy

The Northern Monkey

5wt is 5wt, 7wt is 7wt... but does depend on quality of the oil.

Using different oil weights in forks can give different characteristics, use whatever is recommended...

poah

The Northern Monkey wrote:

5wt is 5wt, 7wt is 7wt... but does depend on quality of the oil.

Using different oil weights in forks can give different characteristics, use whatever is recommended...

actually, no its not - the viscosity index can be different between the same wt of different makes

http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/fil ... 20oils.pdf

http://www.mediaturbo.com/clients/marzo ... osity.html

The Northern Monkey

POAH wrote:

The Northern Monkey wrote:

5wt is 5wt, 7wt is 7wt... but does depend on quality of the oil.

Using different oil weights in forks can give different characteristics, use whatever is recommended...

actually, no its not - the viscosity index can be different between the same wt of different makes

http://www.peterverdone.com/archive/fil ... 20oils.pdf

http://www.mediaturbo.com/clients/marzo ... osity.html

I stand corrected!
Therefore definitely use whatever is recommended.

nicklouse

So back to the OPs question some oil in forks is just for lubrication so the WT does not matter much.

But the damping side it does. Changing from what us fitted will change how the fork behaves.

Changing brands of oil can cause problems if the WT is not measured.

Terrytibbs

What Nick said.

All it'll do is change the damping. Using a 5 wt instead of 15wt will force the oil through quicker. just stick to what's recommended even if it's from a different brand. But I'd still just use exactly what's recommended personally.

Cqc

Terrytibbs wrote:

What Nick said.

All it'll do is change the damping. Using a 5 wt instead of 15wt will force the oil through quicker. just stick to what's recommended even if it's from a different brand. But I'd still just use exactly what's recommended personally.

So would a thicker oil on the damper side increase Low speed Compression damping?

poah

thicker oil will increase all areas of damping

if you look at this page

http://www.mediaturbo.com/clients/marzo ... osity.html

rockshox 5wt is rebranded Torco RFF 7 - any oil around the same viscosity of 16.10 will be fine to have the same characteristics as the standard fork. you can experiment by mixing oils or totally replacing. if you wanted to go thicker then find an oil with a higher rating than 16.10. also pay attention to the other number, the viscosity index as this relates to how well the oil keeps its viscosity at higher temps.

jimothy78

kingie3105 wrote:

I have read that it doesn't matter what weight of oil I put in my forks, because all brands are different.. However how different are they? Would 15wt work or do i need a bit lighter oil?
Cheers

If they're anything llike my Revelations, then you actually need two different oils. A lightweight one for the damping circuit, and a heavier one for the lower legs and foam rings to provide lubrication. Like others have said, the manual will tell you precisely what weight and what volumes are needed. Download the relevant one from the SRAM website (they tend to be very well written and easy-to-follow, even for amateur mechanics).

As for the oils themselves, these are good, and at this price there's no reason not to buy both the correct weights:
http://www.chainreactioncycles.com/sten ... rp-prod112