Featured 100 - spressomon
- Thread starter spressomon
- Start date
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I've been reading this thread and you are the man. I'm very impressed by everything you've done.
You wife must be an angel. Mine gets po'd every time I start wrenching.
You wife must be an angel. Mine gets po'd every time I start wrenching.
- Thread starter
- #423
^ yeah right 
. No matter what the deviation/hobby a guy has...if its not about them then most of the 
can only hold out for so long 
Unless they happen, in the rare case, to have camping/wheeling/exploring in their DNA.
And thanks for the compliment. Its been a 7-year overnight project
. No matter what the deviation/hobby a guy has...if its not about them then most of the can only hold out for so long Unless they happen, in the rare case, to have camping/wheeling/exploring in their DNA.
And thanks for the compliment. Its been a 7-year overnight project
pkelly72 said:
And a bunch of guys in 80s supporting his experiments....
Certainly one of the best 100 build threads... It seems impossible to actually "finish" a build... I assume you custom fabricated the new rear shock mounts? Is this a product you are working on? Aside from improved ride quality are you getting more suspension travel in the back? Sorry for 20?'s but you have had more different 100 series suspension setups than anyone on Mud at this point I think...
- Thread starter
- #426
No...the mounts are custom and I gotta believe 99% of 100 owners just couldn't wrap their heads around it even if it were developed into a weld on kit
Hopefully that doesn't come across as arrogant but that's just where we're at with the 100-Series platform and its rather limited front suspension.The rest of the story:
Well, back a few years ago no one made a bolt on high performance shock for the rear (post style upper mount). And after waiting a couple years for shock vendors I got impatient and had the shock mounts moved to the rear of the axle. Version one was too close to the rear tire sidewall (hey I even mentioned this potential problem to the guy that did the work but I was told "the tire would never flex over to the shock mount...blah blah blah..." to no avail). And oh what a surprise: It didn't even make it a week before slicing into one of the rear tires; on a run with some of my homies. Yeah...dummy me: I had to PAY HIM to fix his eff-up...not to mention pay for a new tire...stupid me
. That was the first of many bad experiences with the same fab shop. It would take a case of beer to relay all the wrong doings this guy has done to me over the years...let's just say my arsehole is pretty damn sore and my wallet's been raped
This allowed us to run eye upper and lower mounts which was important to me. But it also allowed me to move away from the OME shocks that had become inadequate for the weight of my rig, where and how I like to drive.
Almost a year ago I moved up to Radflo 2.5" x 11" travel shocks after speaking with Glenn (Radflo owner) about what I wanted him to build me (a special thank you goes out to DesertRun for his assistance with all of this!). I just can not say enough good things about Glenn, his knowledge of shock tuning, meticulous design and construction along with his 100% willingness to make me what I wanted.
But the shop here in the Reno/Sparks area that did the re-work on the rear shock mounts (same shop that did the original mounts for the Fox 2.0's years ago) apparently didn't cycle the suspension, as I paid them to do (and they said they did BTW), as they missed the bottom out target by 1.5"
mad: & WTF?); the upper PS side ripped from the frame last fall apart of a DV trip with beno, Cruiserdrew, et al, and left me in a lurch. That's what I get for trusting them to do honest work I guess.To add salt to those wounds I immediately drove back from DV to Reno to get the upper shock mount bracket re-welded just so I could rejoin the group and finish out the trip (and address the bigger issue post trip)...which I did but with no help from the shop that did the original work (he was "too busy"). I found another welding shop that was able to weld it back together to get me through the trip...it took him 20-minutes with zero up front wait time (Washoe Metal & Fabrication):
So after the original guy (Samco) told me it would be at least another grand to fix his eff-up I decided to just do the damn thing myself. The difference is night/day!
Like I said...about 95% of the fab shops, high end or not, are criminals IMO. Its after you experience this you come to really appreciate guys like Gary Kardum (Mudrak), Christo Slee and his crew as well as a few others...that are completely trust-worthy and willing to take care of you. We all make mistakes. But it really takes someone special to admit they made a mistake and honor up!
Thank you too for the compliments! And yes...I'm using 10-3/4" of the 11" of travel. I'm very, very happy with the rear suspension set-up. One of these days I'll get a pair of 2.5" Radflos to replace the existing Fox 2.0's up front...but for now its pretty darn dialed for what I need and want.
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Cruiserdrew
On the way there
So not only did I have the honor to be there when the shocks originally ripped off the mount, I got to go through DV with Spresso last week and see the masterful job of remounting and repair.
Let me tell you I got a full dose of shock envy. And will be running Radflo's on my FJ60 by next summer.
But anyway, Spresso had these zip ties on the shock rod to see how much the shocks compressed. On full compression he had about .5mm of shock travel left, which means the mounts are PERFECT and allow full travel without over compression or putting the mounts at risk.
The truck rides excellently, and absorbed bumps that I thought were beyond what the suspension was going to handle. Spresso even told me I had the death grip on the hand hold when riding with him, which is explainable by my FJ62 frame of reference.
So it's a great, great addition.
The only thing we didn't have was any Espresso, which is a story for another day.
Let me tell you I got a full dose of shock envy. And will be running Radflo's on my FJ60 by next summer.
But anyway, Spresso had these zip ties on the shock rod to see how much the shocks compressed. On full compression he had about .5mm of shock travel left, which means the mounts are PERFECT and allow full travel without over compression or putting the mounts at risk.
The truck rides excellently, and absorbed bumps that I thought were beyond what the suspension was going to handle. Spresso even told me I had the death grip on the hand hold when riding with him, which is explainable by my FJ62 frame of reference.
So it's a great, great addition.
The only thing we didn't have was any Espresso, which is a story for another day.
- Thread starter
- #428
^ Ok...make that 2 cases of beers worth of s*** to x'splain 
Great to hear..... it only took me 5-6 years of being on here to finally realize that I really needed to pay close attention to this thread to get my rig right.... Dan has definitely taught me a ton....
Mxndrnks said:
Dan has been doing this for a long time....and he is very good about sharing his knowledge.
beno said:
Stop sucking up Onur, I am sure Dan will invite you again next year.
J/k. This thread is amazing and I am amazed at what Dan has done with his rig.
Stop sucking up Onur, I am sure Dan will invite you again next year.
J/k. This thread is amazing and I am amazed at what Dan has done with his rig.
- Thread starter
- #433
Stop sucking up Onur, I am sure Dan will invite you again next year.
J/k. This thread is amazing and I am amazed at what Dan has done with his rig.
I need beno along to help me fix my junk
rusty_tlc
Dain Bramaged Member
Off topic, Dan is also a master at smoking trout, actually anything related to cooking from what I've seen so far.
Cruiserdrew
On the way there
- Thread starter
- #436
^ Sandy just asked me WTF I was laughing at
Dats funny!
Rusty: Back atcha with the beer
Dats funny!
Rusty: Back atcha with the beer
Well, let's just hope the OBW is one thing that goes unused on our trips...
Jack
Disclaimer: This poster is in no way is attempting to taunt the fate gods or those spiritual beings that control backcountry karma and on the next outing will give many thanks and ask for their continued protection against trail breakage. Now where is my "bow down" smilie??
Jack
Disclaimer: This poster is in no way is attempting to taunt the fate gods or those spiritual beings that control backcountry karma and on the next outing will give many thanks and ask for their continued protection against trail breakage. Now where is my "bow down" smilie??
As usual, it looks good Dan. It was good talking to you the other day, can't wait to seethe trip pics when you get back.
- Thread starter
- #439
Just thought I'd pass this along...
One Timbren bump stop for each front lower control arm is much better than the OEM bumps but still left me wanting. So right before I left for the Utah foray...I had Carl at JT Diffs send me another pair of Timbren front compression bump stops. Thanks Carl for getting those right out the door so I could have and test them on this trip!
I really got to test these out in Utah the past week and the difference is worth the investment! The compression bottom with 2 Timbren's mounted for each lower arm is much more "rounded" and without the abrupt bottom out when compared to 1 Timbren per side. They're not quite in the Light Racing jounce shock arena...but $$$ less
And kudos, once again, to Slee and the gang: The front and rear Slee bumpers along with the belly pans got a serious workout on this trip and did their job well without subsequent damage from all the wall approaches and drop-offs. The rear frame side LCA mount sliders I tabbed really paid dividends too!
The truck, with all the changes made during the past year, has never felt better. Utah was the acid test for it...and I was all smiles when the dust settled. Finally!
Dan
One Timbren bump stop for each front lower control arm is much better than the OEM bumps but still left me wanting. So right before I left for the Utah foray...I had Carl at JT Diffs send me another pair of Timbren front compression bump stops. Thanks Carl for getting those right out the door so I could have and test them on this trip!
I really got to test these out in Utah the past week and the difference is worth the investment! The compression bottom with 2 Timbren's mounted for each lower arm is much more "rounded" and without the abrupt bottom out when compared to 1 Timbren per side. They're not quite in the Light Racing jounce shock arena...but $$$ less
And kudos, once again, to Slee and the gang: The front and rear Slee bumpers along with the belly pans got a serious workout on this trip and did their job well without subsequent damage from all the wall approaches and drop-offs. The rear frame side LCA mount sliders I tabbed really paid dividends too!
The truck, with all the changes made during the past year, has never felt better. Utah was the acid test for it...and I was all smiles when the dust settled. Finally!
Dan
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