Shock Therapy - SUGGESTIONS (1 Viewer)

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Hi Team - SO....Its time for new shocks....Looking for some suggestions and recommendations.

What I got:
  • Fully armored, drawers, winch and sitting on 35"s
  • OME Heavy Kit front and rear. J series springs in the front. So 3.5" front lift and 2.5" rear.
  • Current suspension feels springy, like there's not much for dampening and I do feel humps and bumps with an occasional spilled drink.
  • Compression feels hard, rebound feels fast.
What I do: SO FAR
  • Traverse across the western deserts, mountains, rocks and dunes of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado. (I plan like to explore more, so take it easy on me)
  • I like to travel fast (safely) in the desert. I came here from pre-running a truck for many years...
  • I have started to dip my big toe in crawling, however nothing sketchy enough for panel damage. (I try to keep the 80 nice)
What I'm thinking:
  • Fox 2.0 shocks (but they're not available until June 2021)
  • Looking for Fox 2.0 with remote reservoir.
  • King shocks (no model in mind yet) but with a remote reservoir as well.
  • I think going to coil-overs would be too much of an undertaking, since id have to build extended shock hoops and reinforce the mounting points on the axles. (Seems like a PITA)
Do any of you have a butter ride when on the trail or in the bush? And if so, please feel free to chime in.

*Disclaimer for those who have an attention to detail. I know the 80 wont handle the desert like a built pre-runner due to weight & weight distribution, size and overall stock geometry being limited on travel, length of stroke (with my application) and having a solid front axle as well. I just want to try to get the ride as best as I can without dropping 5k on fabricating all new suspension points, along with associated parts. I also don't want to need to even get into all the reinforcing that I think would be need to be done to handle high speed bumps and impacts. I also know that rubber bushings have their limit on absorbing impacts and not near the capabilities of heim joints.

But maybe I need to swap springs as well? The Heavy springs do support the weight well, I'd just like to dampen the ride better. Maybe I also might need an additional coil spacer, half inch or inch to get a tad more articulation out of it when increasing shock length.

I do want to keep my 80 with as much USABLE travel as I can without getting too tall...
 
Hi Team - SO....Its time for new shocks....Looking for some suggestions and recommendations.

What I got:
  • Fully armored, drawers, winch and sitting on 35"s
  • OME Heavy Kit front and rear. J series springs in the front. So 3.5" front lift and 2.5" rear.
  • Current suspension feels springy, like there's not much for dampening and I do feel humps and bumps with an occasional spilled drink.
  • Compression feels hard, rebound feels fast.
What I do: SO FAR
  • Traverse across the western deserts, mountains, rocks and dunes of California, Nevada, Utah, Colorado. (I plan like to explore more, so take it easy on me)
  • I like to travel fast (safely) in the desert. I came here from pre-running a truck for many years...
  • I have started to dip my big toe in crawling, however nothing sketchy enough for panel damage. (I try to keep the 80 nice)
What I'm thinking:
  • Fox 2.0 shocks (but they're not available until June 2021)
  • Looking for Fox 2.0 with remote reservoir.
  • King shocks (no model in mind yet) but with a remote reservoir as well.
  • I think going to coil-overs would be too much of an undertaking, since id have to build extended shock hoops and reinforce the mounting points on the axles. (Seems like a PITA)
Do any of you have a butter ride when on the trail or in the bush? And if so, please feel free to chime in.

*Disclaimer for those who have an attention to detail. I know the 80 wont handle the desert like a built pre-runner due to weight & weight distribution, size and overall stock geometry being limited on travel, length of stroke (with my application) and having a solid front axle as well. I just want to try to get the ride as best as I can without dropping 5k on fabricating all new suspension points, along with associated parts. I also don't want to need to even get into all the reinforcing that I think would be need to be done to handle high speed bumps and impacts. I also know that rubber bushings have their limit on absorbing impacts and not near the capabilities of heim joints.

But maybe I need to swap springs as well? The Heavy springs do support the weight well, I'd just like to dampen the ride better. Maybe I also might need an additional coil spacer, half inch or inch to get a tad more articulation out of it when increasing shock length.

I do want to keep my 80 with as much USABLE travel as I can without getting too tall...
Do NOT get 2.0 shocks.

There are a lot of options now for 2.5” shocks (Icon, Dobinsons, King, Slinky (which are customized Icons), I’ve heard Fox will be coming out with some 2.5s, Radflo, Slee (which are customized ADS), which is the only thing that will achieve the performance you’re looking for.

Different springs (variable taper or dual rate) will help a little, but not as much as nice shocks will.
 
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Do NOT get 2.0 shocks.

There are a lot of options now for 2.5” shocks (Icon, Dobinsons, King, Slinky (which are customized Icons), I’ve heard Fox will be coming out with some 2.5s, Radflo, Slee (which I think are customized Radflo but I’m not sure), which is the only thing that will achieve the performance you’re looking for.

Different springs (variable taper or dual rate) will help a little, but not as much as nice shocks will.

Having had the 2.0's for some time, what's the reason for this? I don't find them to be "supreme" but neither was the price. My only complaint is a slight thunk on compression over such things as speedbumps.
 
Do NOT get 2.0 shocks.
Noted.
options now for 2.5” shocks (Icon, Dobinsons, King, Slinky (which are customized Icons), I’ve heard Fox will be coming out with some 2.5s, Radflo, Slee (which I think are customized Radflo but I’m not sure), which is the only thing that will achieve the performance you’re looking for.
Okay, so your advice is absolutely 100% go with a 2.5 but mostly from one of those manufacturers you noted above?
 
Having had the 2.0's for some time, what's the reason for this? I don't find them to be "supreme" but neither was the price. My only complaint is a slight thunk on compression over such things as speedbumps.

There is absolutely nothing wrong with 2.0s, that statement is simply a piece of advice for that particular person based on what they say their use case is, and the fact they are used to blasting through the desert in a prerunner.

Noted.

Okay, so your advice is absolutely 100% go with a 2.5 but mostly from one of those manufacturers you noted above?

That is certainly not a complete list, it’s just who I know to have setups already available for 80s. ADS would be another one, but they might not have something already built and tuned for an 80. OME BP-51s are an option too, I always forget about them. I don’t think they are 2.5 though.
 
That is certainly not a complete list, it’s just who I know to have setups already available for 80s. ADS would be another one, but they might not have something already built and tuned for an 80. OME BP-51s are an option too, I always forget about them. I don’t think they are 2.5 though.
This is a great point for me to consider, I appreciate it and will check into some 2.5 options.
 
There is absolutely nothing wrong with 2.0s, that statement is simply a piece of advice for that particular person based on what they say their use case is, and the fact they are used to blasting through the desert in a prerunner.



That is certainly not a complete list, it’s just who I know to have setups already available for 80s. ADS would be another one, but they might not have something already built and tuned for an 80. OME BP-51s are an option too, I always forget about them. I don’t think they are 2.5 though.

I completely brainfarted earlier. I could have sworn I read you say "Fox" 2.0 specifically, I just re read and realized that isn't the case at all lol.
 
I had a set of the fox 2.0 shocks on my 91. They didn't even last a year before failing. I personally would stay away from them. Other than that I only have experience with OME and Iron man shocks. I like the iron man more than the OME. I do a lot of washboard roads and the ironman handle this type of driving quite well.

20210410_101032.jpg
 
I had a set of the fox 2.0 shocks on my 91. They didn't even last a year before failing. I personally would stay away from them. Other than that I only have experience with OME and Iron man shocks. I like the iron man more than the OME. I do a lot of washboard roads and the ironman handle this type of driving quite well.

View attachment 2643142
You bring up a good point. ALL rebuildable shocks need to be rebuilt on some schedule. Folks who get “fancy” 2.0” or 2.5” shocks really need to be made aware of that before buying them. They ARE a “buy once, cry once” item, but do need regular maintenance to perform correctly. It is fairly straight forward to service them, and there are some good YouTube videos on the subject.

This is one of the reasons I try to push folks to the 2.5” body shocks since they will perform SO MUCH BETTER with a heavy rig, and last longer between needing servicing, especially on rough roads. 2.0” shocks (of ANY brand) will get overworked rather quickly.
 
You bring up a good point. ALL rebuildable shocks need to be rebuilt on some schedule. Folks who get “fancy” 2.0” or 2.5” shocks really need to be made aware of that before buying them. They ARE a “buy once, cry once” item, but do need regular maintenance to perform correctly. It is fairly straight forward to service them, and there are some good YouTube videos on the subject.

This is one of the reasons I try to push folks to the 2.5” body shocks since they will perform SO MUCH BETTER with a heavy rig, and last longer between needing servicing, especially on rough roads. 2.0” shocks (of ANY brand) will get overworked rather quickly.

Yeah I didn't realize they were rebuildable when I purchased the fox shocks. When they failed I contacted fox and they told me they were rebuildable but they couldn't rebuild them and they were back ordered on the rebuild kits.

Fox told me to try and take them to a local 4x4 shop to get them rebuilt, none of the shops in my area would touch them. At this point I threw the fox shocks in the trash and installed new OME shocks. I am not an expert on shocks but I couldn't notice a difference in performance between the fox and the OME on dirt roads.
 
Yeah I didn't realize they were rebuildable when I purchased the fox shocks. When they failed I contacted fox and they told me they were rebuildable but they couldn't rebuild them and they were back ordered on the rebuild kits.

Fox told me to try and take them to a local 4x4 shop to get them rebuilt, none of the shops in my area would touch them. At this point I threw the fox shocks in the trash and installed new OME shocks. I am not an expert on shocks but I couldn't notice a difference in performance between the fox and the OME on dirt roads.
And that is why I have chosen to stay faaaar away from Fox!

Also, the OME/Dobinsons/etc shocks are basically a non-rebuildable 2.0, so not surprised at all that you don't notice a significant difference between them.
 
King or Fox 2.5’s hands down for your use.

Get the Kings from Filthy Motorsports. Great customer service and they can and will configure for your exact specs and build. Kings have compression adjuster option only.

Get Fox from Accutune who will also configure them to your specs. Fox have compression and rebound adjuster.

Fox are a bit more $$$ than the Kings.

Cheers
 
Shocks are easy to rebuild, you can do it yourself or have the vendor you buy them from do it for you. Revalving is also easy.

Shims stacks to do both Fox and King are readily available. You don’t need to deal directly with Fox or Ling for the shims, get those from the vendor who sold you the shocks.

Cheers
 
I am running BP51’s on my truck. They are ok, not that great but far better than all the other low end shocks. I can easily get the BP51s hot doing some high speed desert driving.

I will be going to a King or Fox 2.5 with adjusters at some point.

Cheers
 

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