Shockies for lifty's

[dbleon]

Hey dudes and dudettes,

My Ironman leaf spring kit is (finally) in the mail to arrive on Monday (minus shocks).

I was advised by a well known and respected cruiser guru to wait on shocks so I can measure the suspension travel after install of the springs. Apparently, this is due to Ironman not getting the shocks they supply in thier kits 100% correct...

Im ok with this because:

1. shocks are apparently back ordered through Ironman.
2. I would prefer to the better/best shock possible within budget
______

The question is, what would be a good ballpark valving for "medium" lift springs (I realize "medium" may be relative between brands).

I could also use some recommendations .....

I feel comfortable spending no more $400 for a set of nice shocks on this rig.

Thanks in advance!

D.

 

[robustbambi]

I had the foam cells from ironman and loved them. Worked really well with my b springs.


...via IH8MUD app

 

[Crick60]

I didn't buy the ironman foamies purely because they were new to the market but the market seems to have responded quite well to them.

I'm running RS5000's and while they're not fantastic they certainly do the job, next time I'll probably look to to bilsteins or wide bore tough dogs.

It is definitely a good idea to get the spring measurement right first but I think you'll find ironman have got their kit pretty much right.

 

[dbleon]

I guess ill measure when I get the kit on, then shop around... Vendor couldn't get them when I ordered the kit... out of stock and backordered. Same through two vendors I checked. I am guessing there are some laying around in stock somewhere just need to look harder.

OTOH: Bilstiens are about the same price.... but not sure on dampening ratios.

 

[KeepCruzin]

I run Old Man Emu's. But thats because my whole kit is OME. I absolutely love them. I run mediums front and rear and the ride is really great.

 

[Crick60]

It still kills me how much you guys run OME over there in the states. Virtually no one runs the new OME stuff down here in Straya.

Bilstein's and Koni's are both rebuildable and I believe can be valved to your desired setting, it depends on your spring rate and % offroad to what you're damper setting will be.
Probably best you speak direct with the supplier to get the right product, depending on the reseller they can give you bad information depending on how interested they are vs how gullible they are when the reps come around.

 

[TobyB]

My experience with Bilsteins has been that they never. wear. out. Even when you want them to.

t

 

[dbleon]

My experience with Bilsteins has been that they never. wear. out. Even when you want them to.

t

Have you run them on a 60? And if so what springs and what model/valving??

Not sure you comment gives me confidence in the direction Im heading...

Myself, never run Bilstien before, but my bro likes them alot on his Tundra and i know many folks swear by them. Just wondering how to go about figuring valving and such on aftermarket springs for these heavy wagons...

In general, is it better to have a soft compression/hard rebound damping on a heavy rig with what appears at first glance to be fairly high spring rate???

 

[dbleon]

It appears the Bilstein 5100 comes in a stud mount variety. So no need for a mount kit on the front as I originally thought. 311$ for a set...cheaper than Ironman's stuff.

I think I'm gonna try them.

 

[Crick60]

Yeah you've got to be careful with the bilsteins because as is well documented here in mud there is no real out of the box for for all lift shock in their range.
A lot of blokes do the pin to eye conversion to get a bit more strength and get the better travel.
Have a look at their B6 range also, but really you should speak with the supplier or at least the person who's going to sell them to you to get the right shock, you don't wanna get down the road and have the shock rip out the bolt or bottom out.
Again valving depends on how tight you want it on the road vs how response you want them to react to corrugations or deep ruts and rocks, bilsteins out of the box are pretty much spot on any way.

 

[dbleon]

Hey Crick,

Yes.... I also do not like the idea of an adapter for the upper stud mount.

However, check out this thread I just bumped; see the last post on page two. https://forum.ih8mud.com/threads/fj62-bilstein-shocks-with-ome.511747/page-2

Apparently Bilstein is out with a new stud mount shock that will work with lifts. Hopefully the gentleman who posted this info will respond to my questions.

255/70 sounds like the "ballpark valving" from what i can gather... but as you suggested I will call them to pick their brain before placing an order.

cheers