80 shock thread - familiar territory could use update (1 Viewer)

[LFD2037]

I believe all shock manufacturers measure from bolt eye center to bolt eye center or to the bushing washer.

 

[DylanICON]

Maybe we should define how to measure a shock. If measured differently it can add to the confusion.
How does Icon measure compaired to OME?
Bolt center to bushing washer? etc...

the same
it is pretty standard

 

[LFD2037]

Fox measurements:
Front
1-2.5" #985-24-070 Extended 24.85 in.; Collapsed 14.75 in.; Stroke 10.1 in
3-4" #985-24-076 Extended 25.95 in.; Collapsed 15.35 in.; Stroke 10.6 in.

Rear
1.5-2.5" 985-24-073 Extended 25.15 in.; Collapsed 15.55 in.; Stroke 9.6 in
3-5" 985-24-087 Extended 27.25 in.; Collapsed 16.65 in.; Stroke 10.6 in.


I like the Icon's front length but the Fox's rear length (for their 3-5" lift), though an extended bump stop will be needed in the rear.

 

[GW Nugget]

Thanks.
OK, I just went back through this 8 pages of shocking news.
Have I read this correctly, we are on the preach of two new coil designs for the 80 series coming to the US market very soon?
One from @AutoCraft Aus and one from @DylanICON.
I'm very eager to see how all this pans out.

 

[concretejungle]

I actually kind of hate that i just clicked on this thread and read through it.

I have been very pleased with my slee 4inch lift. I have his progressive heavy rear springs and i do like them. This is coming from a OME J front and "medium" rear set-up. I have a lot of weight with drawers, fridge, rear swing out, RTT, ect... and the difference i can feel from the old lift to the new one is amazing. I tend to do a more overlanding type of wheeling which does mean long dirt roads with washboard sections that will rattle the bolts out of the cruiser.

However, i was hesitant to buy the OME L shocks. Slee told me that was probably the easiest and best shock for my springs and he actually designs the springs around that shock.

So, that is really the only reason i clicked on this was to see what shocks people are running these days because i honestly haven't done much research.

I would like to ask a question to Darren and Dylan since i appreciate your direct input in this thread: would you suggest a particular Icon shock for slee's 4 inch spring? Specifically the progressive heavy spring? I feel that 3 inches is not enough and the 4 is just right, so i would be hesitant to sell a perfectly good spring just to take advantage of a MUCH better shock.

thanks!

 

[S.CarolinaFZJ80]

@DylanICON thanks. Perfect, my 80's weight is right in the middle of your range @ 6,000. I look forward to obtaining your shocks & the springs when they become available.

As many folks are running 850J/863J springs, I pulled up their specs for comparison sake.
OME 2850J 220 lbf/in. Free height 20.67/21.06 inches (515/525mm)
OME 2863J 250 lbf/in. Free height 20.08/20.47 inches (505/515mm) ... according to Cruiser Outfitters website but Slee's site says the 863J is 265 lbf/in

How do your springs measure up?

5500-6500 ish
mine is about 5700 with the winch and bumper. The front wont vary as much as the back because that is where peoples set ups vary the most. mine is a bit light in the back with not much stuff as a DD.

The rear dual rate will help compensate for extra load. The front dual rate is set up ride well but be able to be driven harder as it engages later

preliminary rates are
190/300 front
200/280 rear
I may tweak them a bit after further testing

for comparison the 850/860 are 220 front and rear. stock is 160 front, 170 rear. LX is softer yet

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

preliminary rates are
190/300 front
200/280 rear
I may tweak them a bit after further testing

for comparison the 850/860 are 220 front and rear. stock is 160 front, 170 rear. LX is softer yet

Our slinky coils for front are 260 lb [SNOWY has these]
rim to fender is 800-825mm, and because the last 2 5/8 thick coils are completely dead, it allows us to trim heights to suit by removing a coil if we need to.

We also have a 290 lb front for fully loaded diesels.

This is a linear coil for the 670mm shock length, but not Slinkies.

its an 810 - 820mm rim to fender height.

I am running 300s on my coil overs with 100lb keepers at the moment in my 1hdt #worwgn
I am running 810mm rim to fender height.

Our rears are 270lb intermediate,

810-830mm rim to fender.

and 320 lb HD
810-830mm rim to fender.

330 lb longer lineear coil 30mm higher EHD.
830-850mm rim to fender.

We also have a 495 lb rear coil for big heavy extended chassis tourers.
830-860mm rim to fender.

All our slinky coils are 160 lb on the tapered wire section.

We normally try and work to a 30mm [1 1/4"] rake when vehicle accessory fitted but unloaded as we see it to install.

Our intermediate coils drop aprox 12mm [1/2"] per 100kg of load.

Our HD drop aprox 8mm per 100 kg of load.

How we measure those, rim to fender, for 80 we talk 16" rim, and add 12mm for 17s, 24mm for 18s, etc.

This makes it easier with deep dish wheels, than centre of hub, and removes tyre pressure variants.

Measuring shocks is centre of eye.

Or on pin mount to the first washer location on the pin before any rubbers etc are fitted.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

I would like to ask a question to Darren and Dylan since i appreciate your direct input in this thread: would you suggest a particular Icon shock for slee's 4 inch spring? Specifically the progressive heavy spring? I feel that 3 inches is not enough and the 4 is just right, so i would be hesitant to sell a perfectly good spring just to take advantage of a MUCH better shock.

thanks!

Do you know the free height of this coil ?

 

[DylanICON]

Fox measurements:
Front
1-2.5" #985-24-070 Extended 24.85 in.; Collapsed 14.75 in.; Stroke 10.1 in
3-4" #985-24-076 Extended 25.95 in.; Collapsed 15.35 in.; Stroke 10.6 in.

Rear
1.5-2.5" 985-24-073 Extended 25.15 in.; Collapsed 15.55 in.; Stroke 9.6 in
3-5" 985-24-087 Extended 27.25 in.; Collapsed 16.65 in.; Stroke 10.6 in.


I like the Icon's front length but the Fox's rear length (for their 3-5" lift), though an extended bump stop will be needed in the rear.

Our longer rear option that requires a bump stop spacer is 16.9comp - 28.3 ext. for the 2.5" and 16.85 comp - 27.42ext for the 2.0"
with the fox it would be best with a spring that is at least 21" free ht and our 2.5" at least 22" free ht

the fox with a 863J and a 30mm coil spacer and 3/4 to1" bump spacer would work.

 

[DylanICON]

Do you know the free height of this coil ?

X2!!!

free ht is overlooked all the time. for example: the common 850/860 springs are only .5" taller free ht in the front and almost the same in the back when compared to stock. which means the lift is coming from increased rate. this may be your solution if you added 2000lb and wanted it at stock ht again.

 

[tacosupreme]

X2!!!

free ht is overlooked all the time. for example: the common 850/860 springs are only .5" taller free ht in the front and almost the same in the back when compared to stock. which means the lift is coming from increased rate. this may be your solution if you added 2000lb and wanted it at stock ht again.

Agreed. (I know you know all of this) Springs rates are calculated by the pounds of force it takes to compress the spring one inch (Kg per mm in oz). The other part of the puzzle, and the one most often overlooked by us hillbilly mechanics is the block height of the spring. When the coils are all touching, it's a solid block of steel.

The way Slee and many others accomplish lift is by installing a taller spring (more coils), or higher spring rate coils (thicker wire, taller block height). That's why they have to extend the bump stops (or from too long a shock at compressed height) at the cost of bump travel. The slinky springs solve this problem with thinner coils and a lower block height, allowing more wheel travel. That's the right way to do things.

Build it at full stuff and go from there.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

Our longer rear option that requires a bump stop spacer is 16.9comp - 28.3 ext. for the 2.5" and 16.85 comp - 27.42ext for the 2.0"
with the fox it would be best with a spring that is at least 21" free ht and our 2.5" at least 22" free ht

Thats our sizes right there in 2.5.

Why did I not know about these 2.0s, doing drawings for them now, for adding to our range, because there has been none !

Our rears are 22' and fronts are 24" free height on the slinkies, so we have room for more travel, or in the front, ride height trimming by removing a coil.

 

[LFD2037]

Build it at full stuff and go from there.

I could not agree more! This is why I've asked, many times on this forum, if anybody had measurements of an FZJ80 w/no springs installed & sitting on bump stops. That would be the absolute MAX compression length, regardless what springs I went with. Having the block height of my particular springs would help me dial it in exactly. I've gone round & round trying to find a perfect shock for an 850/860 spring combo. This thread has opened some doors & shed some light on something I've lost sleep over! Now that a true 3" spring (not just getting 3" lift out of a stiff ass spring) I'm even more excited & looking forward to it!

 

[LFD2037]

Our longer rear option that requires a bump stop spacer is 16.85 comp - 27.42ext for the 2.0"
with the fox it would be best with a spring that is at least 21" free ht and our 2.5" at least 22" free ht

the fox with a 863J and a 30mm coil spacer and 3/4 to1" bump spacer would work.

Awesome news! What's the part #'s for these shocks (the 2.0's) & are they designed specifically for an 80? I can't find any info on them. Also, your upcoming 3" springs would match the shocks? Thanks!

 

[concretejungle]

I will need to find out the free height of the slee coil and report back. Since this thread is staying on track pretty well and it's focusing mostly on one or two shock options, it might be nice to consolidate some options of Icon shocks per springs.

 

[DylanICON]

@DylanICON thanks. Perfect, my 80's weight is right in the middle of your range @ 6,000. I look forward to obtaining your shocks & the springs when they become available.

As many folks are running 850J/863J springs, I pulled up their specs for comparison sake.
OME 2850J 220 lbf/in. Free height 20.67/21.06 inches (515/525mm)
OME 2863J 250 lbf/in. Free height 20.08/20.47 inches (505/515mm) ... according to Cruiser Outfitters website but Slee's site says the 863J is 265 lbf/in

How do your springs measure up?

This matches the OME listing that I have except the metric to inch conversion
505mm = 19.88"
515mm = 20.27"
525mm = 20.67"

note that on some of the apps that are referred to as medium or heavy the rates do not change, but the heights do to yield the desired lift for differently loaded vehicles. I would prefer matching the rate as well for more consistent ride frequency between loadings.

 

[Tapage]

you guys got to compare the OME comp coils which are 300lb/in front ..

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

LFD2037][/SIZE]
I could not agree more! This is why I've asked, many times on this forum, if anybody had measurements of an FZJ80 w/no springs installed & sitting on bump stops.

Like this you mean ?

I dont have the block height handy, but I know we cant do slinkies in 22mm wire or we run out of space.

I will need to find out the free height of the slee coil and report back. Since this thread is staying on track pretty well and it's focusing mostly on one or two shock options, it might be nice to consolidate some options of Icon shocks per springs.

Yes, on another note, Its been great to be able to add information about a topic, and have others do the same, and everyone asking great questions, and keeping on track nicely, great thread.

Very refreshing !

 

[LFD2037]

Like this you mean ?

I dont have the block height handy, but I know we cant do slinkies in 22mm wire or we run out of space.

Yes, on another note, Its been great to be able to add information about a topic, and have others do the same, and everyone asking great questions, and keeping on track nicely, great thread.

Very refreshing !

Yes! Care to give the measurement of the top pic? My thinking is, & correct me if I'm wrong, but if I have the 'sitting on factory bump stops' measurement & the spring free height then I can know exactly what the compressed/extended length of my shocks should be. I'll be able to get full compression w/out cramming the shocks & full extension just shy of the spring coming lose. I have had coils come unseated (not on my 80). Whilst not a real big deal, it can become a pain in the ass over time.

 

[AutoCraft Aus]

shocks is an easy one.

410mm front comp

395mm rear.