Member of the Month

abjectwoe
May, 2025

Online

Welcome to the Newschoolers forums! You may read the forums as a guest, however you must be a registered member to post. Register to become a member today!

New FKS screw pattern width.

profile picture
Capurnicus
Posts: 9947 - Karma: 1,886
Question: I read somewhere online that they "new"(2009 and beyond) FKS 180 has a wider screw pattern than the pre-2009 FKS. Is this true? And does anyone know exactly how much wider the new pattern is? And is this "wider" pattern on the FKS180 only or the FKS140 as well?

I'm asking this because the old FKS heel pieces had such a narrow pattern that they used to blow out from my hellbents all the time. I had one pair that had to be heli-coiled 5 times.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
hollygrove
Posts: 7845 - Karma: 93
Can't give any insight towards the actual width of the new ones, but I found the same thing with my older ones on fat skis, always blowing out. WIth that being said I know TONS of people who have been mounting the new ones on fat skis and no one I know has had that issue yet. I'd be interested to see if thereis a difference. Maybe the addition of the stock wide brake gave a wider pattern to he heel? idk, all speculation.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Ghini
Posts: 2267 - Karma: 3,057
Just measured my Look Pivot 18s for you;
no difference with some of my older FKS..
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
afterbangingyou
Posts: 47 - Karma: 10
put fks in a ski with metal.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Justo8484
Posts: 3905 - Karma: 206
no difference. if they pulled out five times, i'd say your ski is compromised and no amount of helicoils or epoxy is going to hold the binding in. i've had a few pairs on various different skis and haven't had any issues with them ripping out. make sure your skis aren't cold or wet when you're mounting them, use wood glue, and give them long enough for the glue to dry before you ski them and you "shouldn't" have any issues, but i'm sure you know this.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Capurnicus
Posts: 9947 - Karma: 1,886
Thanks for the info guys! I kinda figured that the "wider mount" was bullshit bc that would require a whole binding mold redesign.

I've had 3 pairs of wide skis rip out on me with FKS, each multiple times. They were all mounted correctly. They all ripped out skiing park, which really isn't too surprising with a 65mm wide mount pattern on a 122mm ski.

Needless to say, I won't be mounting FKS on my new pow skis :)
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
wrenegade
Posts: 6631 - Karma: 41
Same pattern. I use mine on Wrenegades (113mm), Billy Goats (116mm) and C&Ds (129mm) all mounted with Quiver Killers. No issues whatsoever.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
SteezoSaurus
Posts: 2630 - Karma: 2,671
Yup its the same pattern.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
jca
Posts: 4180 - Karma: 6,366
i've only pulled em out of shitty, soft cored skis (5x on 3 pairs of k2's) but they've been solid on my Moments and ON3Ps.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
bobs
Posts: 4801 - Karma: 868
Made from the same parts as the old ones. Only structural difference is the more convenient brake widths.

As for ripping out, can't say I've ever had the problem. Using plastic heli's right from the start could help as preventative or at least keep yo mind at ease.
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
Bloc_chain
Posts: 26051 - Karma: 4,433
this, the core of the ski has far more to do with binding pull outs then the mount pattern (aka don't buy k2/line)
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
ski2fast4u
Posts: 569 - Karma: 6
Try using a 3.5 bit not a 4.1 and hand tapping the holes and putting the screws in by hand not a screw shooter
14 years ago
0 0
profile picture
triebby
Posts: 8670 - Karma: 2,190
I was gonna say the same thing about putting in the screws by hand. When I mount an FKS/Pivot, I always hand tighten the heels completely. For some reason the heel screws like to strip out really easily and far more often than your average binding.
14 years ago
0 0
All times are Eastern (-4); Currently it's 10:38PM