Factory vs. Performance Elite

Edthorne
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Edthorne
I feel like all of us have some level of desire to be dripped out in Kashima coat like a divorced dentist, but how many of you, given the opportunity would take a Factory fork/shock over it's Performance Elite counterpart? Do you feel that Fox's claims of reduced friction are enough to justify the increased cost? Or do you think it's just another shiny bauble for people to drool over?

For the sake of this poll pretend we live in a normal world where you could actually source either of these...

Factory vs. Performance Elite

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SharpieMTB
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SharpieMTB 3/18/2022 12:00pm
3/18/2022 12:00pm
I think to 90% of riders out there, the stanchion coating will not be noticable. Get more performance elsewhere for the few hundred less performance elite is.
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BlueSpruce
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BlueSpruce 3/18/2022 12:36pm
3/18/2022 12:36pm
If you're buying aftermarket the price difference isn't that much. It's about a $50 difference and Kashima should last a bit longer.
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Falcon
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Falcon 3/18/2022 12:58pm
3/18/2022 12:58pm
If I could afford it, Factory, all the time. I wouldn't be able to tell the difference, but Kashima Koat looks cool and just knowing that it works better for someone is good enough for me. Yeah, I'm that guy.
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grambo
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grambo 3/18/2022 1:54pm
3/18/2022 1:54pm
I have had Factory on my last 3 bikes because it came with the bike but I wouldn't pay significantly more for it. As pointed out above the retail pricing isn't that much different.
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Zaeius
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Zaeius 3/18/2022 3:58pm
3/18/2022 3:58pm
I actually prefer the blacked out look of the performance elite. The kashima is gaudy in my eyes and the fact that the colour is never the same between the fork and shock kills my OCD.
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Jon_Angieri
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Jon_Angieri 3/19/2022 6:04am
3/19/2022 6:04am
Fox for the sheeple
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Edthorne
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Edthorne 3/19/2022 10:25am
3/19/2022 10:25am
I know Fox claims that Kashima reduces friction, but I haven't been able to find any actual numbers to confirm that from Fox or an impartial source. Given that none of the other brands are trying to copy it, I would tend to doubt it makes a functional difference.

Fox doesn't use it on their damper shafts. I realize there's less surface area for friction to occur, and it shouldn't have any lateral loading on it. But given that it would be marginal gains at best between the two coatings on the stanchions, at what point are marginal gains too marginal?

I guess in my mind the small price difference is evidence to support the idea that there's no functional difference between the two, and it's really just an aesthetic thing. It is interesting to see people's opinions on this though!
boozed
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boozed 3/19/2022 5:50pm
3/19/2022 5:50pm Edited Date/Time 3/20/2022 9:11pm
It kind of depends on the product. Of those that include HSC in "Factory" trim, only the 36 and 38 also offer it in "Performance Elite" trim out of the box.

Edit: Add the 2021+ Float X2.

mfoga
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mfoga 3/20/2022 5:55pm
3/20/2022 5:55pm
Depends if it’s shock or fork. fork there is normally no difference besides the coating but shocks tend to have less features too.
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vinicius gabrielli 3/21/2022 12:42pm
3/21/2022 12:42pm
I have a 49 performance and i chose to sawp the stanchions for kashima because they were running out of color, this really annoyed me.

But I've seen comments that in fact the black stations are smoother than kashima, in my opinion Kashima coat is overrated due to its super durability, not how smooth is.
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Nzdinosaur 3/21/2022 1:48pm
3/21/2022 1:48pm
The kashima isnt smoother, but more porous so holds microscopic amounts of oil, more than normal anodising does. So the forks a better lubricated, meaning the oil not the stanchion becomes the wear item
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Yoda
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Yoda 3/21/2022 1:58pm
3/21/2022 1:58pm
Better, a used bike with Kashima sells (price + interest)...
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thegromit
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thegromit 3/21/2022 5:49pm
3/21/2022 5:49pm
A lot of moto companies use kashima but they will also coat the entire shock bodies. DLC is big as well in the industry and I haven't seen any comparison between the 2. I think the original black coating proto on boxers 35 were DLC but they said it wasn't worth the cost. I always heard kashima started on cookware.
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Brevard_Bikewrench 3/21/2022 7:36pm
3/21/2022 7:36pm
Performance elite all day, but my fork has to match my shock, and my shock has to match my fork. Unfortunately my enduro bike will have factory suspension until I switch to rockshox, or get stuff for free.
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BlueSpruce
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BlueSpruce 3/21/2022 7:51pm
3/21/2022 7:51pm
Nzdinosaur wrote:
The kashima isnt smoother, but more porous so holds microscopic amounts of oil, more than normal anodising does. So the forks a better lubricated, meaning the...
The kashima isnt smoother, but more porous so holds microscopic amounts of oil, more than normal anodising does. So the forks a better lubricated, meaning the oil not the stanchion becomes the wear item
Yeah it's impregnated with molybdenum and really does reduce friction and wear. Whether that's really noticeable to the average person is debatable.
TEAMROBOT
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TEAMROBOT 3/21/2022 8:12pm
3/21/2022 8:12pm Edited Date/Time 3/21/2022 8:12pm
Based on my observation, the biggest influences on stanchion wear have been skipping regular service and dropping your bike on rocks. Loading your bike into the car in a hurry is a good one, too. Stanchion color is pretty low on that list.
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Edthorne
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Edthorne 3/22/2022 1:08pm
3/22/2022 1:08pm
TEAMROBOT wrote:
Based on my observation, the biggest influences on stanchion wear have been skipping regular service and dropping your bike on rocks. Loading your bike into the...
Based on my observation, the biggest influences on stanchion wear have been skipping regular service and dropping your bike on rocks. Loading your bike into the car in a hurry is a good one, too. Stanchion color is pretty low on that list.
I would tend to agree with that. Stanchion wear should probably not be an issue if you properly maintain your suspension.
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Zero Cool
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Zero Cool 3/23/2022 6:10am
3/23/2022 6:10am
I want their black not Kashima as it doesn’t match any other colours on any of the bikes I’ve had in the past. And I certainly don’t want orange lowers.

Also I’ve never noticed any performance benefits with the Kashima ones (not at my level of riding)
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Frank191
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Frank191 3/23/2022 2:13pm
3/23/2022 2:13pm
Jon_Angieri wrote:
Fox for the sheeple
I agree. My Topaz and Durolux are better than anything Fox makes. And cheaper
Panic_rev
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Panic_rev 4/17/2022 8:49am
4/17/2022 8:49am
To quote my wife

“You get what you get, and you won’t throw a fit.”

I’m currently building a bike with factory parts and I don’t anticipate any noticeable performance gains for myself. All visual for me.
Jakub_G
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Jakub_G 4/18/2022 5:14am
4/18/2022 5:14am Edited Date/Time 4/18/2022 5:17am
Nzdinosaur wrote:
The kashima isnt smoother, but more porous so holds microscopic amounts of oil, more than normal anodising does. So the forks a better lubricated, meaning the...
The kashima isnt smoother, but more porous so holds microscopic amounts of oil, more than normal anodising does. So the forks a better lubricated, meaning the oil not the stanchion becomes the wear item
Actually, it's the other way around. Kashima has pores completely filled with moly, so it's one of the worst surfaces when it comes to holding oil on them, up there with chrome. But it's harder wearing, so for those who service their forks once a year (or not even that often) it will last longer than hard ano. For those who actually care about performance and service the suspension regularly, hard ano is lower friction because it holds oil much better.
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