in need of some shock valving advice.... (1 Viewer)

[js93cruiser]

so i'm trying to button up my rig for the wheeling season and i'm investing in a new set of shocks, i've decided on some 14" bilstein 7100's. heres the question, my rig is heavy, its a 96 lx, 5 inch ome comp coils, 3-link front, 37.5 bfg ta km 2's, i wanted some opinions about the valving, any recommendations on which ones i should get? the remote reservoir or the scrader type? i'm split between the 255/70, 275/78, or the 360/80 valving, any suggestions?

 

[KyleT]

360/80 or 400/100 is a little stiffer. Bilstein Shocks, KW Suspensions and much more: eShocks.com they know alot about them.

 

[KyleT]

Oh and i like short body reservoirs because you get more travel without as much overall length.

 

[bsilva132]

Oh and i like short body reservoirs because you get more travel without as much overall length.

x2. I have the standard body ones (got them for free so I can't complain) and they are friggin long. Had to rework the upper and lower mounts to get them to fit right.

 

[Tapage]

good thread .. what about something like 300 / 80 .. ?

 

[js93cruiser]

THANKS FOR THE INFO SO YOU GUYES WOULD REC THE 275/78 then? what are the short reservoirs? is that the "scrader valve" type?

 

[js93cruiser]

or are those the 5150's your talking about?

 

[bsilva132]

the 14" 7100's can either be regular or short body. The short bodies are about the same length as a 14" Rancho 9000. The regular one's are a few inches longer.

 

[js93cruiser]

thanks, i'll keep that in mind, i'll probably go with the long body remote reservoirs

 

[KyleT]

THANKS FOR THE INFO SO YOU GUYES WOULD REC THE 275/78 then? what are the short reservoirs? is that the "scrader valve" type?

no those would be very soft and bouncy... not good for a coil sprung vehicle that is as heavy as an 80.

schraders are not short body or reservoir. you want "Reservoir with Short Body".

 

[js93cruiser]

awesome thank you kyle, what valving would you rec. then?

 

[4WheelUnderground]

Your shocks valving needs to work in conjunction with your spring rates. if they are rebuildable shocks, buy more than one valve set and start playing with it. Look at it in order like this.

Weight of vehicle
Spring rate
Valving

 

[js93cruiser]

they are rebuildable i believe, my truck weighs approx. 6300 ish pounds, i'll look up the spring rate of the coils i'm running, there pretty firm though

 

[js93cruiser]

the "linear" spring rate for the coils is 300 lb

 

[4WheelUnderground]

You need to weight the end of the vehicle that is getting the new shocks. But you cant include the unsprung weight on the sprung. So no tires and axle. 300lbs is pretty stiff compared to a coilover. I would think (I dont drive fj80's) that you would want more rebound than compression. Typically the compression number is first when valving is noted. Fox is like this 50/80. But Bilstein uses that funky Euro stuff, so Im no help there.

 

[js93cruiser]

ya i was reading about that your supposed to take some number and multily it by 1000 ewtons or something like that... i dont care if my valving is spot on, its better than the es 1000's i'm running right now

 

[mookie]

don't even think about not getting the remote reservoirs

 

[js93cruiser]

don't even think about not getting the remote reservoirs

why not??

 

[mookie]

extra shock fluid is never a bad thing

 

[lehiguy]

Both the remote resevoir and the non-remote use a dividing piston to keep oil and nitrogen separated. Usually, the length vs. travel of the two is the same, the exception being the "short body" versions which use a shaft that is two inches longer in the same housing but only come as resevoir type since there is no room left in the tube for a dividing piston. Having used lots of Billies in the past, I will come out in open rebellion agianst the heavier valving. Your dental work is at risk with those. Even the softer valving is harsh on square-edged impacts like rocks and tree roots. The resevior type are much easier to rebuild if that is a concern. I made my own shim stacks and I used bladders from dirt bike shocks instead of the nasty dividing pistons which are a royal PITA to deal with and are not always 100% effective at keeping oil and gas separate. If you get a non-short body resevoir type, you can replace the shaft with one that is two inches longer for more travel. All the parts are available separately and don't cost too much.