What Difference Do Shocks Make?

jjvw

jjvw

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In preparation for a larger winter project, I am about to swap out my rear All Tech TJ tuned 12" Fox 2.0 RR shocks for a temporary set of junk yard Ford f150 factory shocks that almost fit my outboard.

In the middle of this, I'll be taking a test drive without rear shocks. As well as another test drive with an identical pair of the Fox 2.0 RR's but with the off the shelf Fox tune.

Here is the big question for everyone. Those of you who have run different shocks, let's discuss the differences they make in the ride and behavior of the Jeep. Preferably, these different shocks will have been the only change and they will also be the proper size for the build. Meaning they will have their overall travel divided in half at the normal ride height.
 
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someguysjeep said:
you negated 15-30% of your audience from participation already.
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Probably. We don't need to limit this to outboards. But it will be a more productive thread if we can limit it to those who are better able to isolate the changes that were made and the effect they had.
 
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I've run at least a dozen different shocks on my TJs, purportedly the correct version for it, and the differences between some of them were downright dramatic. Some, like the Rubicon Monotube, made my Jeep downright nearly uncontrollable and scary at speeds on dirt roads between trails that others I was with had no problem with. Most rode fine on the highway, it was offroad where I noticed the biggest differences. The worst at everything, though on Jeeps I was having built for dealers but not on my own TJ, was the ProComp ES-3000 and Rancho RS5000 (not the RS5000x) which was horrible at everything including even the street ride.
 
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Driving without rear shocks is terrifying. Very comfortable, but terrifying. The rear end is uncontrollably bouncy. Body roll is severe. Lots of up and down during take off and braking. Fascinating!
 
jjvw said:
Driving without rear shocks is terrifying. Very comfortable, but terrifying. The rear end is uncontrollably bouncy. Body roll is severe. Lots of up and down during take off and braking. Fascinating!
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Yes, but absolutely zero harshness, zero road imperfection transmission, just like riding on a cloud, and a soft fluffy one at that.
 
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mrblaine said:
Yes, but absolutely zero harshness, zero road imperfection transmission, just like riding on a cloud, and a soft fluffy one at that.
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Very much so. Going in a straight line at a constant speed on a reasonably smooth road is truly delightful! But that isn't the world we live in.
 
jjvw said:
Very much so. Going in a straight line at a constant speed is truly delightful! But that isn't the world we live in.
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I tried out Monroe stock style length shocks for experimental purpose - pretty much the cheapest and softest shock you can buy for our jeeps. Like riding on a pillow, but also felt very dangerous.
 
the old 15ft boats we used to drive just bobbed up n down on bad shocks, but that's gotta be a fun feeling when it's almost right under your seat.
 
I'm not going to add much relating to the TJ... I've only had the stock shocks and the Zone Nitro's. Looking at a set of OME L's as they are better lengths for my build than the Zone's.

On my JK's, I've had 7 different shocks. And as Jerry said above, some are dramatically different. Currently on the Teraflex Falcon's... My favorite so far. Didn't like the Bilstein's, too harsh... The Rancho 5000X was remarkably good for the $$ ( I was an early adopter with help from Rancho). The Fox were decent, didn't really like the Teraflex 9550's. Was pretty happy with the Rancho 9000XL's.

On the trail, there wasn't much difference in most of the shocks. But on the street, and in particular over stuff like freeway joints, there can be drastic differences.


I would love to try the Teraflex Falcon's for the TJ, but they only make 1 length right now. Travel isn't bad, but they are too short and would require fabrication (maybe just some bolt on extensions) to set up properly. The OME's are going to be plug and play for my setup...

Good luck.
 
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mrblaine said:
The better way to do this would be to not install the rear shocks and then swap in all the fucking "stiff" springs everyone talks about. The difference in any of them is not actually perceptible.
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I wish I could do that. Though I can pretty well tell based on how the rear moves when damped vs undamped that a stiffer spring isn't going to change how the rear behaves.

My existing Foxes have an 8 point adjustor. The difference between softest and hardest is dramatic on that continuum alone. No shocks is off the scale.
 
Just swapped out Ranchos for some JKS shocks. There lengths gave me a closer 50/50 bias. A noticable improvement both on the street and the trail.
 
jjvw said:
My existing Foxes have an 8 point adjustor. The difference between softest and hardest is dramatic on that continuum alone. No shocks is off the scale.
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The difference from the adjusters is amazingly perceivable. I was really surprised at how much difference they make.
 
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I went from Ranchos to Fox 2.0 (no RRs) for both ends, at different times, with no other changes. The ranchos were a little too long, so that has some impact here.

However I noticed a substantially firmer feeling after each and less body roll. The damping, I’m assuming from the tune, was such that it wasn’t harsh despite the firmness. On longer dirt roads (granted not back to back) there wasn’t as much fade and the small bumps are less noticeable.
 
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mrblaine said:
The better way to do this would be to not install the rear shocks and then swap in all the fucking "stiff" springs everyone talks about. The difference in any of them is not actually perceptible.
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jjvw said:
I wish I could do that. Though I can pretty well tell based on how the rear moves when damped vs undamped that a stiffer spring isn't going to change how the rear behaves.
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I'm in the game right now for new shocks and springs.

If springs only set ride height and don't act "stiff" or "soft" then why do manufacturers such as Currie offer a heavy duty option? Is it strictly based on the weight of the vehicle and contents so it doesn't sag or is the something else there?

Secondly, vehicle weight in my experience also plays a factor in a non-tunable shock. For example, I know that Blaine can't stand Bilstein shocks. That was my first set of shocks on a vehicle with a lot of weight such as big bumpers on both ends, hard top and doors, steel sliders, steel skid etc. (coming from the PO's pro comp es3000) I thought they performed very well in that setup. Since then, I have put my Jeep on a diet and those same shocks now feel like I'm riding in a wagon. Tunable and rebuildable are very appealing to me now.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
I'm in the game right now for new shocks and springs.

If springs only set ride height and don't act "stiff" or "soft" then why do manufacturers such as Currie offer a heavy duty option? Is it strictly based on the weight of the vehicle and contents so it doesn't sag or is the something else there?
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Ride height. Nothing more, nothing less.

hosejockey61 said:
Secondly, vehicle weight in my experience also plays a factor in a non-tunable shock. For example, I know that Blaine can't stand Bilstein shocks. That was my first set of shocks on a vehicle with a lot of weight such as big bumpers on both ends, hard top and doors, steel sliders, steel skid etc. (coming from the PO's pro comp es3000) I thought they performed very well in that setup. Since then, I have put my Jeep on a diet and those same shocks now feel like I'm riding in a wagon. Tunable and rebuildable are very appealing to me now.
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Both the ride height and the weight changed. The change in ride height effected the travel bias and how much time/distance the shock has to perform it's work of damping the movement. Additionally, the change in weight changed how the valving responds to that same movement. Less weight needs less lighter damping.
 
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hosejockey61 said:
I'm in the game right now for new shocks and springs.

If springs only set ride height and don't act "stiff" or "soft" then why do manufacturers such as Currie offer a heavy duty option? Is it strictly based on the weight of the vehicle and contents so it doesn't sag or is the something else there?

Secondly, vehicle weight in my experience also plays a factor in a non-tunable shock. For example, I know that Blaine can't stand Bilstein shocks. That was my first set of shocks on a vehicle with a lot of weight such as big bumpers on both ends, hard top and doors, steel sliders, steel skid etc. (coming from the PO's pro comp es3000) I thought they performed very well in that setup. Since then, I have put my Jeep on a diet and those same shocks now feel like I'm riding in a wagon. Tunable and rebuildable are very appealing to me now.
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I keep getting sucked into this stupid game and I absolutely fucking know better. Now I have to go downstairs and get my hammer again.
 
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