OP
thats what I was thinking, hes going to mess up the frame. unless he plans on just driving to the store and back
Ok, time for lets argue about your favorite shocks
- Thread starter Jmac00
- Start date
Can't say they are the best, or my favorite, but worth a thumbs up..
Just replaced the OPs choice of RC N3's with the highly recommended Rancho's on my DD. Much better ride without being overly soft.
Love the bling of the Fox, but not worth the coin for my intended use.
Slowly getting all the RC stuff replaced.. just because.
Just replaced the OPs choice of RC N3's with the highly recommended Rancho's on my DD. Much better ride without being overly soft.
Love the bling of the Fox, but not worth the coin for my intended use.
Slowly getting all the RC stuff replaced.. just because.
I received them this past week and I'll be installing them this week and will report back. I'm really looking forward to seeing how they compare to all the other shocks I've ran.
For anyone that has purchased shocks and then sent them out for a custom tune, how does that process work if the person tuning the shock does not have access to the vehicle?
Did you provide a description of the Jeep, weight per corner, guesstimate the total weight? I'm curious to know how the process works.
Did you provide a description of the Jeep, weight per corner, guesstimate the total weight? I'm curious to know how the process works.
I spoke with a tuning shop last week. I’m deciding between tuning my fox 2.0 or outboarding the rears. The tuner was out but worker I spoke with said the would do a base tune. He explained installing a flutter stack to help with the small stuff. Then he said to try them and we could go from there, if I wanted further adjustments I could bring the vehicle out (1 1/2 hour drive) he could drive it on a route he has to see what it was doing. He also does 1 or 2 test & tune days a month in the desert. Which would be the best option. You drive it pull the shocks and he makes adjustments then reinstall and retest. A buddy of mine did this with five sand rails at glamis, he was very happy by the end of the weekend, wished he had done it when he built the car 10 years ago. I think the biggest think is knowing what the vehicle is doing and communicating that to the tuner.
DougyintheBushies
TJ Enthusiast
I’m still trying to figure out which shock to go with between rancho 5000x or black max. I like that the black max can be ran can up.
OP
OP
@mrblaine had a good post that mostly addresses this:
https://wranglertjforum.com/threads...luence-ride-quality.62037/page-4#post-1117323
In addition to the longer travel that is better positioned relative to the ride height, it allows us to install a tunable shock like a Fox. We do a similar operation up front to get good shocks on both ends.
OP
thank you, I am very new at this stuff. so I may ask amateurish questions. Im trying to figure this out as fast as I can.
Beyond Blaine's post and Josh's above, this has the benefit of allowing more axle movement. That translates directly to rig stability as wheels are on the ground longer as the rig moves through difficult terrain.
Once shocks are tuned they're also more predictable with how they perform. So you can have a lot more confidence in knowing what your rig will do in different situations. Compare that to something like the rancho (or any non-remote resi shock most likely) where a bunch of sequential events will "stack" reducing the shocks effectiveness or cause too much heat leading to shock fade.
Keep asking. Some of us are deep into this and still have lots of questions.
You should have posted that first photo over on that swaybar inversion thread, JJ. A picture is worth a thousand words...
More axle movement, more shock movement, based on geometry, a little more shock movement for a given wheel movement, some ability to improve geometry. A smooth suspension requires a range of shock movement. Starting off with a greater range of shock movement makes a smoother suspension possible. Or at least that was my take away from several hours of reading. Another comment I think I recall is that given stock shock travel, it is hard to significantly improve on 5100x's (sure there are probably better shocks available, but they don't offer much more juice for a lot more squeeze) When you outboard, you have more opportunity to make something like a 12" tuned Fox 2.0 RR shine. When done right, a lot of posters will say stuff like - I never realized a TJ could ride so well.
Or from a more pessimistic viewpoint, while you have the opportunity to improve travel and ride - you also have the opportunity to mess things up worse.
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I already know I want to outboard, but also understand I have a lot of work to do first to make it a worthwhile long term investment. I need to deal with tires, gearing and lockers, bumpers, winch, and armor first. After looking under my jeep today, I am pretty sure I need to fix my existing lift first-probably fix my steering first. I will also be dealing with my hardtop first. Once I get all that done, then I can worry about attempting to outboard. Meanwhile, the couple hundred that 5000x that Rancho's cost will probably be an immaterial expense compared to EVERYTHING else that comes before outboarding.
Or from a more pessimistic viewpoint, while you have the opportunity to improve travel and ride - you also have the opportunity to mess things up worse.
—-
I already know I want to outboard, but also understand I have a lot of work to do first to make it a worthwhile long term investment. I need to deal with tires, gearing and lockers, bumpers, winch, and armor first. After looking under my jeep today, I am pretty sure I need to fix my existing lift first-probably fix my steering first. I will also be dealing with my hardtop first. Once I get all that done, then I can worry about attempting to outboard. Meanwhile, the couple hundred that 5000x that Rancho's cost will probably be an immaterial expense compared to EVERYTHING else that comes before outboarding.
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Just finished my first drive with the new blackmax shocks and I can definitely say they are my favorite. Do an outstanding job with all the small events like potholes and such. The movement is very controlled and at no point was it harsh.
There’s a large bump at an intersection near my house that I usually hit going around 40mph. With the OME I just replaced it’d be a large harsh event that would almost cause my rear suspension to bottom out and then rebound a few times before settling. These shocks were much more controlled and transmitted a lot less harshness to the cab. Had virtually no excessive rebounding.
I’d say these are at the top of my list for recommending shocks, next would be the ranchos 5000x, then probably OME, bilstein and the worst shock I’ve owned were the RCs.
That being said, for non outboarded custom tuned foxes, Id go with blackmaxs 10/10 times if their travel numbers are appropriate. If they aren’t then I’d go with ranchos and wouldn’t be disappointed in that route either.
Looking forward to seeing how they do off-road as well.
A harsh event that also uses almost all of the travel is part of why these shock discussions are difficult.