Front Shock Choices for flexy SOA??? (1 Viewer)

[sdgraber]

Hey Fellas...and Felladies?


Got my Spring Over with Shackle reversal done last night , but still have some tweeking to do to get it all right. My Pro Comp shocks that are 15 inches eye to eye when compressed and only have about 7 1/2 inches of usable movement, are maxed with the new set up. (Maxed just sitting there, not even flexing Anybody got shocks they are happy with on a SOA FJ-40 with flexy springs that you'd recommend? It looks like shocks that are around 17 inches eye to eye compressed and flex out to around 27 inches would be ideal. Any such animal, or should I look at relocating my shock mounts...and if so, what works well?? Thanks for the input

Scott
78 FJ-40 "Rudy"

 

[hendo]

i can email you what i did and maybe you can help me with something ? i did a soa and turned my front springs around to get a little more wheel base,did you ?and if so how did it work ? and how did the u bolt next to the pinion work out or did you use some other besides stock u bolt? oh i see you dont have email so i cant send you a pic,

 

[woody]

IMO, buy 14" stroke shocks and modify your mounts to get them to work full stroke. I run 14" DT3000's up front and 11" strokers in the rear at a 45 degree angle. Doesn't appear to limit suspension at all.

Will be doing Bilstein 5100's next....

 

[sdgraber]

Hendo,

I would love to see pic's....sdgraber@hotmail.com I had planned to reverse my springs for added wheelbase, and probably still will, but for now they are sitting with the long end forward (stock). As I was mocking things up for the SOA, my front axle was so far forward with the reversed springs, that my tie rod and drag link were getting some pretty nasty angles. I plan to do a custom hi-steer, but since I wasn't ready with the needed parts, I wanted to be able to drive the rig in the mean time and therefore, stayed with the stock leaf setup for now.
The pinion u-bolt was a bit of a trick, but did mount up. I ground the perch down to nearly flat and did a lot of trips back and forth from the grinder to get a good level fit. I also had to grind a little on the welds on the axle as the u-bolt would not fit cleanly through the mounting plate without some axle weld grinding. The u-bolts I used came with a 2 1/2 in Superlift spring kit that is now history....

a quick thanks to Woody for the shock info. I don't know what "DT" stands for though...is it a company, or the kind of shock from a company? And who might I contact that sells them? Also, any leads on a good retailer/wholesaler of Bilsteins? Much thanks,

Scott
78 FJ-40 "Rudy"

 

[woody]

check the vendor threads at pirate4x4.com/forum - there is a recent thread on the Bilsteins. DT3000 is Doestch Tech...it's a soft shock, great for street, but some feel it's too soft for trail use. I lke it, but it doesn't control wheelhop as much as I'd like. See the shock spreadsheet in the tech links too for LOTS of options!

 

[theo]

[quote author=woody link=board=1;threadid=5821;start=msg46403#msg46403 date=1064973813]
IMO, buy 14" stroke shocks and modify your mounts to get them to work full stroke. I run 14" DT3000's up front and 11" strokers in the rear at a 45 degree angle. Doesn't appear to limit suspension at all.

Will be doing Bilstein 5100's next....
[/quote]

So I should size my shocks for the amount of actual travel that I have and replace the shocks when I modify the spring setup?

Or can I buy long travel, use them with short travel suspension, then have them on there when I increase travel with SOA or softer lifted springs or whatever?

Or nope can't do that because the shock won't absorb well if you only use it for half the travel it is designed for??

And on top of that I'm all set to order up 4" Skyjackers and DT3000s and you're going to go to Bilsteins. How can I emulate the master if the master changes his philosophy??

signed
weedhopper

 

[sdgraber]

Woody,

I checked out the tech archives for the skinny on different shock companies and applications...one thing I don't get and didn't see explained...for "Mount Style" e.g. how the shock is attached, they have abbreviations like "EB1" or "S1", "ES17" and about twenty other options. I assume for the FJ-40 style mounting system I want "EB1" since that is what is next to the DT 3000's you recommended?? Is that right, and what is EB..External Bushing?? Thanks,

Scott
78 FJ-40 "Rudy"

 

[woody]

I'm gonna gues here....EB = Eye Bushing, S = Stud

Cruisers are Eye Bushing, and thats the most common of mounts styles. Most shocks come with a couple different bushings for diff pin sizes.