Why no alternative to "L" shocks?

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sonk76 said:
I've been looking around at various shock options, and have begun to wonder why is it that there are no real alternatives to the "L" shock in terms of it's compressed/extended lengths?

In specific, I was hoping to find a "high-end" radflo/king etc. shock that would endure and provide a great ride, while at the same time having the range of motion afforded by the "L" shock.

In the front this seems like a less of an issue as many shocks could satisfy the range or motion that is limited by other components...

Still dreaming of my remote reservoir 2.5" rebuildable "L" shock.

:D
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We have worked with Radflo and have made the "L" series length with the correct 100 series mounting points. They are a special order item at this point and time but these shocks are fully rebuild able and will greatly increase your ride performance. Feel free to give us a call at 1-800-839-0684 and we can get you set up with them. I would recommend going with a 2.5" remote reservoir for performance and we have free shipping in the lower 48 states.
 
Iirc, the "l" can only be done with remote reservoir with the Radflo shocks. Something about the room needed for the nitrogen.
 
petrotk40 said:
With the L length shocks, does one need to lower the rear bump stops?
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I didn't touch the bumpstops, although 305's rub pretty bad at full compression it's not bad enough to worry about it. .5" is all you need to lower the bump stops
IMG_2547.webp
 
Per OME's published specs of both rear shocks (N101 and N74L) the N74L is 1.4" longer when fully compressed (Slee's site here: Slee - Old Man Emu Shock Details for Toyota Vehicles). Although I have also seen differences of same quoted in various threads from 1" and 1.2" collapsed length differences...so who knows?

AFAIK no one, or if they have I haven't seen their measurements, has cycled the rear suspension minus coils to see what/where the bottom out is on a stock LC.

That's the only way of knowing, for absolute, how tall a bump stop needs to be installed, for any shock...74L included.

FWIW apart of building some new upper rear mounts for my Radflos I measured the total travel available on mine, with custom mounts, at 14-3/4" (coils removed, shocks mounted, sway bar disconnected, LCA bushing bolt loosened; measured from full shock droop to full compression on the passenger side). There appears to be approximately another 1/2" or less available at the axle until the front control arm is bottomed against its mount. And the collapsed side is within about 1-1/3" of coil bind on my 864 springs...

Not sure how that compares to stock as I never measured it before we made the switch to rear shock mounts.
 
Its generally OK for the shocks to be the droop limiter but the shocks shouldn't be used as the compression limiter. You need to know how much the rubber bump stop compresses fully to be able to get it right...
 
I just love simple answers ;) thanks for the explanations. Would a shock with a compression bump built in be sufficient? like:
p4shock.jpg
 
No. If you collapse the suspension hard enough you're going to eff either or both the mounts. I just saw a 3" King shock that was being used as the compression limiter on a race truck (not intentionally...the guy that fabbed it up made some assumptions about bumped compression and missed the calcs). The 3/4" socket head cap screw was bent (!!!) on both sides of the shock bushings after a fully compressed hit! These bolts are rated at 170,000psi yield strength! Trust me...you don't want to subject the shocks and/or shock mounts to these types of forces...

The shock bumps are designed as a last line of defense on the compression side but should not be, at least when stock shock mounts are concerned, relied upon to be the compression limiter.

Its not rocket science. You need to determine where full bottom out is for your suspension and work back from there. Anything less and you're just hoping, praying and/or assuming. Not good.
 
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What spresso said. I posted but read his post and makes sense. Didn't even think about the shock mounts taking a blow if you bottom out hard. I will cycle my suspension and see when the 74L bottom out this weekend for you
 
Nick...you probably already know this but when you're cycling the suspension do it with the bump stop removed. The only way to determine where the bump stop stops compressing is in a press with a gauge...I would assume something like 4-5,000lbs of force would be adequate for compression info.

Closely inspect all the components of the suspension system when fully compressed. You don't want coil bind and you don't want the control arms bottomed out within their mounts. And on the other side, full droop, be sure to inspect the coils in their pockets, brake lines, etc. to be sure you don't have other things for mod consideration.

FWIW I just went through all of this with Timbren. For the TORSEQ rear bump stops they have a max deflection of about 2-3/8" @ ~4,500lbs per the info they sent me...I haven't actually put them in a press yet.
 
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2000UZJ said:
What spresso said. I posted but read his post and makes sense. Didn't even think about the shock mounts taking a blow if you bottom out hard. I will cycle my suspension and see when the 74L bottom out this weekend for you
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Don't do it for little ol' me, do it for cruiserheads everywhere!
 
spressomon said:
Nick...you probably already know this but when you're cycling the suspension do it with the bump stop removed. The only way to determine where the bump stop stops compressing is in a press with a gauge...I would assume something like 4-5,000lbs of force would be adequate for compression info.

Closely inspect all the components of the suspension system when fully compressed. You don't want coil bind and you don't want the control arms bottomed out within their mounts. And on the other side, full droop, be sure to inspect the coils in their pockets, brake lines, etc. to be sure you don't have other things for mod consideration.

FWIW I just went through all of this with Timbren. For the TORSEQ rear bump stops they have a max deflection of about 2-3/8" @ ~4,500lbs per the info they sent me...I haven't actually put them in a press yet.
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Thanks Dan, I'll do my best this weekend to get this done. I would like to know where my shocks top out so I can get everything dialed in and not have to worry about blowing a shock out. I've destroyed 6 shocks on my rig in the past 2 years so need to look into something a little tougher. Bump stops seem the cheapest way to protect the shocks. I will be working on a custom bumpstop soon, possibly offering it for the MUD community later this year if I can get everything perfected.
 
In that colossal mess of the N74L thread several years ago, Darren posted the max compressed measurements for the rear. That's where we came up with half inch bump stop spacer.
 
^ There's so many darn 74L threads and posts I got impatient about 1/2 through my search.

These types of data points should be placed in FAQ IMHO.
 
spressomon said:
^ There's so many darn 74L threads and posts I got impatient about 1/2 through my search.

These types of data points should be placed in FAQ IMHO.
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Agreed, I just spent 20 mins searching through the N74L threads, didnt find the measurement I was looking for, and am now in a bad mood after reading all that junk! :bang:

Edit: Couldn't leave it alone and went back and found the right thread here. Posts #68 and 69 have the details.

Based on Darren's post, it looks like the 100's minimum compressed shock length for the rear is 14 3/4 inches. Compressed length of N74L is 15.2 inches. This meant that a half inch bumpstop extension was needed to not over-compress the shock.
 
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Greg B said:
Agreed, I just spent 20 mins searching through the N74L threads, didnt find the measurement I was looking for, and am now in a bad mood after reading all that junk! :bang:
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One of my post from one of those threads:rolleyes:

ProComp ES9000 shock
#926510 comp -15.56, extended - 26.79, travel 11.23
#927510 comp - 15.8, extended - 27.29, travel 11.49
Data from ProComp Website

N74L comp - 15.2, extended - 26.3, travel 11.1
Data from Slee website <<< link

Note both ProComp models provide more travel then the No more famous N74L:flipoff2:
 
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Thanks Greg and Phil! I've seen a couple different dimensions published for the 74L. Apart of setting up any bumpstops I would take the measurements off the actual shock in hand.
 
spressomon said:
^ There's so many darn 74L threads and posts I got impatient about 1/2 through my search.

These types of data points should be placed in FAQ IMHO.
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Totally agree. Build a post in this thread with all the lengths in it and I'll link it.
 
If you are going to make a list, them made sure you have apples to apples. Define how the shocks are measured. Some will take bushings into account some will not. If you have lengths and they do not take bushings into account on a stem type shock, then you have to add the bushing stack to your calculations as well.
 
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