Fox suspension fluid alternatives

I’ll be fitting some of the new SKF seals to my 36 Float Rs, doing a lower leg service and changing the Float fluid in the air spring soon. I jsut wondered, what would be an alternative for the Fox Green 10wt oil in the lower legs? Would any 10wt oil do or is the Fox stuff just something else rebranded? If so, what brand is it?

I used 10w engine oil in my open bath Fox 140 Talas. Everything is fine, felt the same. IS the same. Change to 7W & you’ll notice a different feel so they say… you can tune in this way!

use motorcycle fork oil.

This thread at MTBR answers your question.

Cheers

Just buy the Fox stuff, its hardly expensive and won’t void your warranty if you have one.

robsoctane – Member
I used 10w engine oil in my open bath Fox 140 Talas…..IS the same.

No it isn’t.

I asked a similar question on here a couple of weeks back. The general consesus seemed to be that it would be no real difference in performance.

If you look on Loco’s section for oils etc he lists Motul oil which you maybe able to get from a motor factor but failing that relevent weight motorbike fork oil should be ok.

Why would you spend shit loads on some forks and skimp on suspension fluid? £14 a quart for the Fox stuff, hardly going to break the bank. You use minimal amounts each service, it will last you ages.

because fox fluid is just ordinary fork oil?

because fox fluid is just ordinary fork oil?

I didn’t say it wasn’t.

I went into Halfords the other day, and asked the bike staff if they did fork oil.

Once they had figured out that I was neither Irish nor accusing them of lazyness, they sent me to the motorcycle section. It seems to work fine in my long out of warrenty 2007 talas’s (tali?)

so why spend many times as much as you need. decent quality fork oil is cheaper and as good.

It will void you warrenty tho =- but then so will almost anything as the servicing requirements are so onerous

so why spend many times as much as you need. decent quality fork oil is cheaper and as good.

If out of warranty then yeah definitely, but you don’t save that much, £5 at the most?

All “oil” is not the same. If anyone is interested read the linked thread I posted.

High quality synthetic engine oil eg Mobile One is a good substitute for the bath oil. However it is no cheaper than Fox Green which is apparently bespoke for Fox.

There’s a lot more to it than just using “fork oil”. I never knew that Silkolene Pro RSF swelled seals so just be aware of the properties of the oil you use.

I never knew that Silkolene Pro RSF swelled seals

Source for this? Pretty widely held that this is exactly what Fox fluid is.

I use silkoline and its fine in all my forks and has been for years

No way is the fox oil specific to them – its a some other manufacturers rebranded – can[‘t remember which right now.

Multigrade engine oil is not the right thing to put in the lowers – it will work but you do not need the additives.

TandemJeremy – Member

I use silkoline and its fine in all my forks and has been for years

Same here. Albeit only because it’s a pretty colour.

Its what my local motorbike shop had 🙂

Had a read of the link, pretty interesting.

Glad I bought Fox.

Edit: Although I do have a warranty to worry about.

some utter nonsense in that link.

I see its actually mobil ATF they are recommending which is not teh right thing to use either in a fork. Fork oil is the right thing

I am quite happy using silkoline and getting good performance from my forks with no appreciable extra stiction and no seal swelling.

Fox 10wt was rebranded Torco. However the new Green is made by Torco exclusively for Fox.

Silkolene is excellent for dampers but not the bath.

why not entonox?

Entonox – Member

Fox 10wt was rebranded Torco.

That link says that fox red 10W is Pro RSF?

Sorry I was referring to the older Fox Fluid. Was is it the 7.5?

Anyway this thread is about a replacement for the Green which is for the bath. From what I understand other oils have better properties for bath lubrication over Silkolene.

Use what you want. There’s plenty of info out there to help you decide.

Fair point- I’d lost sight of the OP’s request to be quite honest!

I think the only issue I have, is that people (inc Fox) recommend the Pro RSF for damping but say don’t use it as a lubricant oil because it swells seals- what about the seals in the damper? The argument about friction levels does make perfect sense but that bit baffles me.

(I keep typing Pro FST, definately not the ideal fork oil!)

yeh, I’m intersted in the Green 10wt. So the alternative would need to be a good lubricant.

I can say from personal experience that Silkolene Pro RSF has issues > I rebuilt my DT forks using Pro RSF, and they were awful afterwards with stiction, but couldn’t work it out as Pro RSF is meant to be a premium oil! I picked up on a thread about not using Pro RSF with Marzocchi forks/catridges, and the DT Launch Control is uses a similar set-up (AFAIK). Removed the damper and there was loads of stiction when cycling it. Anyway, replaced the oil with Motorex and they’re now fine.

I’m not so sure it’s seal swelling that causes the stiction. The cause I repeatedley read about is that Pro RSF has an excellent VI rating – ie the oil remains stable (in terms of viscosity) at higher temps. However, the additive to get this characteristic has a detrimental effect on how ‘slippery’ the oil is/how smooth the forks are.

Went to my nearest motorbike shop and bought motul 5wt fork oil (I’m not very heavy). Forks feel great.

Always used Silkolene for the lower lube might try engine oil now 🙂

I see its actually mobil ATF they are recommending

i thought ATF/gear oil was the replacement for the float fluid, ie. the heavy stuff you soak the foam seals in? Lore seems to suggest that this is just 90wt gear oil sold in overpriced 2cc packs.

I’ve used gear oil in mine for lube a few times, cant tell any difference.

I’ve used gear oil in mine for lube a few times, cant tell any difference.

Oh my

Stendec good stuff and they do seal grease too

I’ve used gear oil in mine for lube a few times, cant tell any difference.

Pah! I’ve used float fluid in a Sturmey Archer 3 speed… Will I die?

Well, as nobody really knows what the Fox Green is I just boought a litre of the proper stuff 😆

Well, as nobody really knows what the Fox Green is I just boought a litre of the proper stuff

Best bet mate

LOL 🙂

The big bottle of fox oil I have says Fuchs on the cap. It’s good stuff. Just buy that.

Fuchs = Silkolene!

The oil in the lowers and the air spring is just for lubrication not damping so you don’t have to use suspension fluid. There is a very good argument that using synthetic engine oil is better because it is slippier and adheres to the metal parts better. It’s not going to harm anything in the fork and won’t swell the seals.

If you want further proof that engine oil is fine have a look on the Enduro Seals website, they recommend it on many of their sea installation guides (eg http://www.enduroforkseals.com/sitebuildercontent/sitebuilderfiles/36_talas_rc2_1.pdf)