What Difference Do Shocks Make?

alright stupid question time......................... what about sticking a 8" bolt through the lca and hang the shock off the end that runs long? then you could get the shock right beside and as low as the LCA and more protected.

lca mount.PNG

or weld a stud onto the LCA bracket.
 
mrblaine said:
Because it is fucking diminishing returns. The top of the inner is a whole bunch more difficult to cut clean and correct and there is no need to hack up a fucking stock air box for 1 more inch of down travel that only matters to someone bragging on the internet because it sure as fuck makes no difference on the trail. So if you want to be a fucking stud around the campfire and tell everyone you got 1 more inch, knock yourself the fuck out. In the meantime, 11" travel Fox fronts work perfectly for Currie 4" springs and not once ever has 1" more down made any fucking difference what so ever in how a rig makes it up or down the trail, NOT ONCE!
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"The top of the inner is a whole bunch more difficult to cut clean and correct" Agreed.

"no need to hack up a fucking stock air box" Agreed. Let my airbox be an example to show others the interferences when fitting a 12" shock in the front. I cut mine to get it on the trail Saturday morning as I cut it on that Friday night. It was not a long term solution as I had to change the air box to eventually go to after market fenders. Rest easy as my butchered airbox has a new home on the shelf.

"1 more inch of down travel that only matters to someone bragging on the internet because it sure as fuck makes no difference on the trail" Agreed. I have 12s in the front only because I got a good discount on them from a forum member second hand.


"In the meantime, 11" travel Fox fronts work perfectly for Currie 4" springs and not once ever has 1" more down made any fucking difference what so ever in how a rig makes it up or down the trail, NOT ONCE!" Agreed, and in a perfect world I would have 11" shocks in the front, however back to my original statement, I don’t think it’s a bad option for those that have already cut their fenders or plan to run aftermarket fenders in the future. Chasing numbers doesn't make much sense as you are more likely to unseat the spring with 12" shocks if you aren't thorough, when setting them up. With the opportunity to buy 11" vs 12" both options being available at the same price point I would pick 11" shocks. If my previous statement applied to anyone than I wouldn't pass up a good deal of 12" shocks for 11" shocks.
 
someguysjeep said:
alright stupid question time......................... what about sticking a 8" bolt through the lca and hang the shock off the end that runs long? then you could get the shock right beside and as low as the LCA and more protected.

View attachment 205524
or weld a stud onto the LCA bracket.
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The LCA bolt is 9/16 (or whatever the metric version is. The usual bolt size for a Fox 2.0 is a COM8 bearing with a 1/2 through hole.

I've tabbed off the lower LCA also. Never with Foxes though, that was a while ago.
 
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Quess I shoulda known a 250$ shock doesn't have rubber bushings.
Tabs would do. Might feel more confident off the side of a thicker aftermarket bracket but it'd work.
 
pcoplin said:
Fox has an hourglass bushing that can be pressed it. But personally I wouldn't run one in that orientation.
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With the right prep to the mounts, one may be able to run a version of the swaybar disconnect mounts that are the U shape with the bolt going up through the swaybar hole. Do similar, prep the mount flat by eliminating the horseshoe, plate it with 1/8" for some bolt centering, then run the bolt through the back of the mount for the shock with the shock bolt pointed fore and aft. One small 5/16" bolt at the top of the shock mount to stop any accidental rotation and it could work.
 
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i looked at if it would have been feasible to cut my shock extension bracket down and hang it from the LCA bracket side or the tube next to it (i got more tube than ya'll). it's sturdy 3/16" and already made, and it's enclosed around the bottom providing it's own skid in a way.
 
mrblaine said:
With the right prep to the mounts, one may be able to run a version of the swaybar disconnect mounts that are the U shape with the bolt going up through the swaybar hole. Do similar, prep the mount flat by eliminating the horseshoe, plate it with 1/8" for some bolt centering, then run the bolt through the back of the mount for the shock with the shock bolt pointed fore and aft. One small 5/16" bolt at the top of the shock mount to stop any accidental rotation and it could work.
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Something like this...


IMG_20190415_111416.jpg


and this?

IMG_20190410_080951.jpg
 
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pcoplin said:
So glad it's working out for you! The fact you have 7-8 inch uptravel is great, too. You can run nice soft valving if you like, and not blow through to the bump stops.
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As a follow-up, I got the time to go run Cliffhanger trail. I drove fast. as fast as I'm comfortable with, with speeds between 20-30 mph. We don't have whoops here, but we do have rocks, and lots of rutted terrain. I drove fast over it all trying to get it to bottom out. A have zip ties on the shock shaft that can be used to measure travel and the best I was able to do was 5.5" out of my available 7.5" I even found a nice hill/hump, hammered the throttle, and got a little air. The jeep landed like cat.

is the point I'm making that JJVW is correct and a tuned shock makes all the difference in the world?


Also thanks to Paul for his help and advice.
 
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pcoplin said:
5/8. You can get 7/8 but it's not warranted.
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From what I gather, converting a Fox 2.0 to a DSC requires a 7/8" shaft. But that's a different level of shock than what most who convert to better shocks are going to do.
 
kmas0n said:
...

is the point I'm making that JJVW is correct and a tuned shock makes all the difference in the world?


....
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If I didn't know that before, I do now. It was good to experience the differences again, but with more knowledge about what was happening. Springs and shocks have two distinctly different jobs. And the more we understand how separate those jobs are, the better choices we can make in our build plans.
 
jjvw said:
From what I gather, converting a Fox 2.0 to a DSC requires a 7/8" shaft. But that's a different level of shock than what most who convert to better shocks are going to do.
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Yes, that is what Fox told me. The 5/8 doesn't displace enough oil to make the adjuster effective.
 
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jjvw said:
From what I gather, converting a Fox 2.0 to a DSC requires a 7/8" shaft. But that's a different level of shock than what most who convert to better shocks are going to do.
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DSC is way more than I'd like to spend anyways.

I'm thinking of getting a set of the smooth bodies soonish, really tired of my fox 2.0 ifp's not traveling more than 2.5-3 inches max on really hard hits out of 6 up available. Thinking of 2.0's with the LSC rear and regular RR front, or just regular RR all around.
 
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