Ok Taylor,
I'm starting to think that maybe, just maybe, I was wrong
Last night I realized something. The R40 comes with black springs (both front and rear). And just like the silver and gold springs I talked about earlier, the front black spring has a thicker wire but is shorter than the rear black spring and both have the same number of coils.
Building the R40 by the instructions, the only difference between the front shock and the rear shock is the springs. Same oil, same piston, everything is the same except for those freaking springs.
If what I said before were true (springs with the same color have the same rate), then the front and rear shocks of a stock R40 are exactly the same. Well,,,, I really don't think that is correct.
Soooo,,, I stand corrected
The rear spring is softer than the front.
I only wish HPI would include the spring rates along with the other specs they give us for their springs.