The Smiler - General Discussion

[Secret Weapon]

I would guess they have swapped to softer wheels, after 2015 I recall hearing they swapped to hard wheels to prevent another valley, but they may have swapped back for a better ride experience.

That was my assumption as well - especially as they have gradually reintroduced theming pieces that were removed during the 2016 reopening (suggesting that they are gradually relaxing the restrictions that were imposed at the time), and the new wind sensors are probably now accurate enough that another rollback / valley is unlikely to happen (I don't think there has been a rollback on this ride since the 2016 reopening, but I may be wrong).

My guess is that the park wanted to get through the 10-year anniversary before making any changes to the ride, but I may be wrong.

Hyperia is a different story, because it still rolled back even with the wind sensors and so it will probably remain on faster wheels for the foreseeable future, if I was to guess.

 

[George W]

I would guess they have swapped to softer wheels, after 2015 I recall hearing they swapped to hard wheels to prevent another valley, but they may have swapped back for a better ride experience.

This would add up with the fact they're testing with water dummies a lot more now, meaning they need they slight bit more momentum on their cold morning or windy test runs.

 

[Jordanc14]

For what it’s worth I rode a couple of weeks back on the back row and didn’t notice much of a difference, thought it was pretty bloody rough but rode on the front yesterday and it definitely reminded me of earlier Smiler days!! What a treat!!