Suspension oil weight chart
There is a lot of confusion about the suspension oil to use in our front forks or shock absorbers. So, to facilitate the searching, we have made a Suspension oil equivalence chart for you.
Now you can compare quickly suspension oils by brand.
SAE range
Despite what many believe, the SAE range does not define the exact viscosity of an oil. It is a reference to a range of viscosities in which it can be contained.
Therefore, the SAE range is more appropriate for use in motor oils rather than for suspensions. Keep in mind that each manufacturer places its oils where they think it should be (it’s not a standard).
In addition, what can cause when changing the oil brand while maintaining the SAE, is that your suspension (being a front fork or shock absorber) behaves in a different way (because the kinematic viscosity is different).
And in a 99% of cases, doesn’t perform better than before.
General recommendations
We recommend using the original oil on your suspensions so that the damping behavior is not changed.
In case you can’t find the original oil, use the one with the closest kinematic viscosity.
You can look up for the original oil specs in the workshop manual or by asking to an official dealer.
You can also look up for it on internet forums, although it may take longer.
Viscosity or density?
The viscosity is measured in centistokes (cSt) or mm2/s at 40ºC as a reference temperature and is a technical characteristic of each oil.
Viscosity index indicates the “quality” of the oil. The greater the number, the more stable the viscosity is against temperature changes.
Therefore, it is important to remember that the viscosity of a fluid (resistance offered by a liquid to flow) has nothing to do with its density (mass per unit volume).
Check the next video to learn more about the importance of viscosity (and suscribe to our channel!)
Suspension oil equivalence chart
Below you can find a equivalence suspension oil chart (both for motorcycle and bicycle) where you can easily choose the closest oil to the original one.
Oils are sorted by Viscosity. SAE range is only shown for your reference.
If you can’t find the same viscosity as your original oil has, choose one with a difference of +/- 5cst. Beyond that, the damping behaviour is quite different.
A change on oil’s viscosity could need a new damping adjuster (low speed adjusters COMP/TEN) set-up.
Example
Original oil was a 14,14cst. Couldn’t find nothing else than a 15.3cst oil. This means that all damping (compression and rebound) will be slower, in general.
Turn the external adjusters 1 click/1/8turn anti-clockwise.
This doesn’t means that suspension behaves exactly the same as with 14,14cst oil, but slow speed behaviour is similar.
The bigger the difference in viscosity from the original oil, the more turns/clicks would need the adjuster.
| SAE range | Brand/product | Kinematic Viscosity @ 40ºC (cSt) | Viscosity index |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2,5W | Putoline GPR6 | 6,66 | 438 |
| 2,5W | Wilbers TF Fork Oil | 6,74 | – |
| 2,5W | Putoline HPX R | 6,74 | 458 |
| Öhlins 1302 | 7,00 | – | |
| 2,5W | RockShox | 10,75 | 325 |
| 2,5W | Showa SS25 | 11,27 | – |
| KYB K2C | 11,30 | – | |
| Öhlins 1304 | 12,00 | – | |
| 3,5W | Putoline GPR6 | 12,80 | 378 |
| 3W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 14,00 | 228 |
| 2,5W | Silkolene RSF 2.5 | 14,00 | – |
| Öhlins 1306 | 14,00 | – | |
| 5W | Showa SS19 | 14,14 | – |
| Öhlins 1312 | 14,26 | – | |
| 2,5W | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 14,50 | 250 |
| Motorex Racing Shock Oil | 14,80 | 272 | |
| 5W | Shell Advance Fork Oil | 15.00 | 153 |
| Öhlins 1311 | 15,00 | – | |
| 5W | Putoline Light Fork | 15,00 | – |
| Motorex Racing SD-1 | 15,00 | 110 | |
| 2,5W | Motul Fork Oil Factory Line | 15,00 | 112 |
| 5W | Showa SS-05 | 15,10 | – |
| 5W | Showa A15 | 15,30 | – |
| Liqui Moly Shock Oil | 15,30 | 106 | |
| 3W | IPONE Fork Fluid 3 Racing | 15,50 | 115 |
| 5W | Fox Racing Oil | 15,80 | 168,2 |
| 5W | KYB 01 (old) | 15.60 | – |
| 5W | KYB 01M | 15,85 | – |
| 5W | KYB KHL15-11 | 15,90 | – |
| 5W | Valvoline SynFork | 16,00 | 339 |
| 4W | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 16,00 | 250 |
| 5W | KYB KHL15-10 | 16,05 | – |
| 5W | RockShox | 16,10 | 285 |
| 5W | Maxima Racing Fork Fluid | 16,20 | 201 |
| Motul Shock Oil | 16,3 | 400 | |
| 5W | Showa SS7 (Honda Pro SS07) | 16,6 | – |
| 4W | Putoline HPX R | 16,90 | 138 |
| Liqui Moly Shock Oil RACE | 17,4 | 124 | |
| Silkolene 02 SYNTH Fork Oil | 18,00 | – | |
| Öhlins 1303 | 18,00 | – | |
| 2,5W | ELF Fork Oil Syn | 18,00 | 155 |
| 5W | Motul Fork Oil Factory Line | 18,00 | 121 |
| 5W | KYB G5 | 18,10 | – |
| 5W | IPONE Oil Fork 5 | 18,40 | 115 |
| 5W | Liqui Moly Fork Oil Light | 18,40 | – |
| 5W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 18,60 | 223 |
| 5W | Motul Fork Oil Expert | 18,9 | 108 |
| Öhlins 1309 | 19,00 | – | |
| 7,5W | Öhlins 1330 | 20,00 | – |
| Nitron TVT 02 | 22,00 | – | |
| Öhlins 1310 | 22,00 | – | |
| 7W | IPONE Fork Fluid 7 Racing | 22,00 | 126 |
| 7,5W | Shell Advance Fork Oil | 22,00 | – |
| 5W | WP #5 | 22,00 | – |
| 7,5W | Liqui Moly Fork Oil Light/Med | 22,1 | 139 |
| 5W | Wilbers TF Fork Oil | 22,50 | – |
| 5W | Putoline HPX R | 22,50 | 162 |
| 5W | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 22,90 | 250 |
| 5W | Silkolene RSF 5 | 23,00 | – |
| Öhlins 1313 | 23,05 | – | |
| 5W | ELF Fork Oil Syn | 23,30 | 130 |
| 7,5W | Motul Fork Oil Factory Line | 24,6 | 131 |
| 5W | Putoline Formula GP | 25,10 | 147 |
| 5W | Lucas Oil | 25,34 | – |
| 7W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 26,70 | 139 |
| 5W | Castrol Synthetic Fork Oil | 28,00 | 151 |
| 10W | Liqui Moly Fork Oil Medium | 28,5 | 146 |
| 7W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 30,40 | 218 |
| 7W | Fox Racing Shox | 31,82 | – |
| 10W | Castrol Fork Oil | 32,00 | 150 |
| 11,5W | BMW Motorrad Fork Oil Type 2 | 32,00 | – |
| 10W | Putoline Medium Fork | 32,00 | – |
| 10W | Shell Advance Fork Oil | 32.00 | 153 |
| 10W | Valvoline SynFork | 32,00 | 204 |
| 7,5W | Wilbers TF Fork Oil | 32,10 | – |
| 7,5W | Putoline HPX R | 32,10 | 151 |
| 10W | KYB G10 | 32,20 | – |
| 10W | RockShox | 33,00 | 240 |
| 7,5W | WP #7.5 | 33,40 | – |
| 7,5W | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 34,70 | 250 |
| 10W | Showa SS47 | 34,88 | – |
| 7,5W | Silkolene RSF 7,5 | 35,00 | – |
| Öhlins 1315 | 35,00 | – | |
| 10W | Honda Fork Fluid SS-55 | 35,00 | – |
| 10W | Honda Pro HP fork | 35,20 | – |
| 10W | Motul Fork Oil Expert | 35,90 | 116 |
| 10W | Motul Fork Oil Factory Line | 36,30 | 134 |
| 10W | Showa SS08 | 36,51 | – |
| 10W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 37,40 | 182 |
| 10W | IPONE Fork 10 | 37,70 | 110 |
| Fox Float Fluid | 40,00 | – | |
| 20W | Öhlins 1314 | 40,00 | – |
| 15W | H-D Fork Oil tipo “E” | 41,00 | – |
| 10W | Lucas Oil | 42,00 | – |
| 15W | RockShox | 42,80 | 250 |
| Silkolene 05 SYNTH Fork Oil | 43,00 | – | |
| 10W | ELF Fork Oil Syn | 45,40 | 135 |
| 10W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 46,00 | 219 |
| 15W | Castrol Fork Oil | 46 | – |
| 15W | Shell Advance Fork Oil | 46,00 | 154 |
| 10W | Silkolene RSF 10 | 47,00 | – |
| 10W | ELF Fork Oil | 47,00 | 153 |
| 15W | Maxima Plush Damping Fluid | 47,10 | 159 |
| 10W | Fox Racing Oil | 47,36 | 302,7 |
| 15W | KYB G15 | 47,40 | – |
| 10W | WP #10 | 48,10 | – |
| 15W | Lucas Oil | 49,2 | – |
| 10W | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 49,50 | 250 |
| Öhlins 1320 | 50,00 | – | |
| 10W | Wilbers TF Fork Oil | 50,10 | – |
| 10W | Putoline HPX R | 50,10 | 151 |
| 15W | Liqui Moly Fork Oil Heavy | 50,4 | – |
| 10W | Putoline Formula GP | 52,40 | 152 |
| 15W | Motul Fork Oil Expert | 58,1 | 116 |
| 15W | IPONE Fork Oil 15 | 60,20 | 115 |
| 10W30 | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 63,60 | 180 |
| 15W | Wilbers TF Fork Oil | 66,80 | – |
| 15W | Putoline HPX R | 66,80 | 165 |
| 15W | WP #15 | 67,80 | – |
| 20W | Castrol Fork Oil | 68 | 143 |
| 20W | Silkolene SF 20 | 68,00 | – |
| 20W | Putoline Heavy Fork | 68,00 | – |
| 15W | Motorex Racing Fork Oil | 71,90 | 250 |
| 15W | ELF Fork Oil | 72,60 | 155 |
| 20W | Lucas Oil | 77,5 | – |
| 20W | Motul Fork Oil Expert | 81,1 | 103 |
| 20W | IPONE Fork Oil 20 | 83,10 | 110 |
| 40W | Öhlins 1316 | 98,00 | – |
| 20W | Fox Racing Oil | 98,90 | 137,9 |
| 15W | Silkolene RSF 15 | 99,00 | – |
| 20W | ELF Fork Oil | 99,00 | 150 |
| 20W | Wilbers TF Fork Oil | 99,40 | – |
| 20W | Putoline HPX R | 99,40 | 155 |
| 20W | Fox 20WT Gold | 100,00 | – |
| Öhlins 1325 | 100,00 | – | |
| 30W | Silkolene SF 30 | 100,00 | – |
| 30W | IPONE Fork Oil 30 | 102,90 | 106 |
Your favourite oil is missing?
Can’t find your favourite oil? Send us an e-mail and we will add it to the list!
16 Responses
Hello, could it be possible to add the Liqui Moly fork oil range? Regards
Hi Fernando,
The Liqui Moly suspension oils have been added to the list.
Thanks!
Could you add the Nitron 02 fork oil?
Hi Ed!
Job done! Nitron 02 included in the chart.
Regards!
Can you add the YSS 10w to the list? Thanks!
Hi Michael,
We couldn’t find YSS suspension oils anywhere.
Do you have a link to them?
Regards
Please can you add Repsol Qualifier: https://lubricants.repsol.com/content/dam/repsol-corporate/en_gb/productos-y-servicios/lubricantes-documentos/qualifier-fork-oil-5w-10w-en.pdf
Hello, can you add KYB K2C and if possible old KYB 01?
Hi Calvin,
Added those couple of KYB oils to the list.
Thanks!
Just verified that Putoline HPX R 15W is not 66,80 but 62,70 and Putoline HPX R 20W is not 99,40 but 94,50! Did they changed that over time, or this is a mistake? https://www.putoline.com/en/catalogue/maintenance/
Hi!
We always take the viscosity from manufacturer website or Material Safety Data Sheet, what’s available. We have found on several manufacturers that they slightly change the kinematic viscosity of their products, as in the example of Putoline. This can be by an oil supplier change or additive packages change (by any possible reason). We will check the Putoline range as 4cst is a big difference in viscosity for a product labeled with the same name. Thanks mate!
Hi
I am in Iceland and the average temperature is around 10C° in the summer and 3,75C° for the hole year. my bike should use 4W now I am using Motul 5W (4W is not available in Iceland) and I think it is to firm.
If I go down to Motul 2,5W will that compensate for this low temperature here in Iceland.
Temperature effect on oil.
Hi Kristbjorn!
True, oil viscosity varies according to temperature. Frankly speaking, I have never thought on changing the oil spec for extreme conditions, thanks for pointing that out.
In your case, check the original oil viscosity in cst’s and lower it 5 to 8 cst’s.
For example, if the suggested oil by the manufacturer is 19cst@20°C, go to 14cst as a starting point.
Don’t rely on the weight shown in the oil’s bottle because as you can see in the chart, it has no relation between brands.
Hope this helps!
Hello, can You add Honda/Showa SS-55 oil? Honda CBR 600RR 2005 front fork.
Hi Michal!
I have never seen the SS-55 oil and neither can find any reference to it. I looked on Showa’s Safety Data Sheets and this oil doesn’t appear (or I was unable to find it).
This Showa fork was used by other manufacturers, and although they were using different shim stacks, they were not using SS-55.
Do you have the service manual to check the exact oil it is using?
Hi again Michal,
I could find it, but it’s branded by Honda (not Showa), that’s why I was lost.
It is somewhere between 30 and 35cst @40 Celsius.
Look in the chart for something in between those numbers.
Will add it to the chart when I find the exact cst’s.
Regards!