Hey guys and gals~

Long-time reader and first thread, NICE PLACE YOU HAVE HERE. I'm installing the cheapie budget boost on my wrangler and it doesn't come with shock extensions. I'm well enough pleased with the stock ride and would like to maintain it with some shock extensions. I see some 2" extensions included with some of the other kits but for the life of me cannot find an aftermarket source for them. Anybody have a link? I would like front and rear.

Here's the plan, I have a decked out X model, have Rubi tires arranged to be installed next week, 2" budget lift, and I really think that will suit me. You see, my super cool wrangler is my daily driver. My offroading includes hunting season and some sight seeing and photography mainly on forest service roads. A little lift and leveling the rake along with gaining some better rubber and traction seems about right.

Thanks in advance for any responses I really appreciate it!

Matt

 

Give NorthBridge4x4 a call. They may be able to get the shock extenders for you.

 

am I wrong to assume that if extended bumpstops are used anyway, won't the stock travel be maintained? My thought is extend the bumpstop, extend the shock = gaining 2" with stock travel. Or am I missing something?

 

What's missing is the idea of "travel" vs droop.

Droop is the furtherest down the tire can reach.

Travel is the total range of motion, uptravel, and down travel.

Lets say you start with 9" of wheel travel...

And your ride height is set at the mid point, or 4.5" from either limit.

If you add an extension of 2", you are moving the shock's top mounting point down 2".

So, lets say that the stock shock has 7.5" of shock travel, to give the 9" of wheel travel (The shock is inboard of the tires...there's a shortcut lengthwise from that....so shock travel is typically less than wheel travel, rather than a one to one relationship.)

So the tire is still only moving up/down the same 9" range, but is starting at a lower point, as the frame is 2" higher due to the BB coil spacers.

As the top of the shock has been dropped 2", the shock travel is maintained at the stock ride height piston shaft postion.

So, to summarize...the travel is the same, but the tire can droop further.

The shock still lets the tire go up/down 9" with the same 7.5" shock stroke.



This assumes that as most oem shocks are shorter than they have to be, that you can still fully compress the stock shock, even though it will have 2" less room to compress.

If the stock shock can't compress enough to let the tire come up to the bumpstops...then you would limit the wheel travel as well.

Just noticed the post above hitting before mine was sent...

Yeah, if the 14.5" oem compressed limit was not limiting, then the 16.5" compressed limit on the longer shock would not limit uptravel either...as both gave 2" less room for compression.

So - Assuming the OEM shock, and therefore the longer aftermarket shock, were both able to fully compress, neither would hurt uptravel, but the longer shock would help droop a lot more than the short travel oem shock could.

 

Well, having measured a bunch of live axles over the years....I can say that you can get more WHEEL travel than shock travel...its NOT a 1:1 ratio.

Remember...the axle PIVOTS....



IE:

1. Using a pair of sissors, open the blades like you were going to cut something.

2. Measure the distance from one blade tip to the other, across the opening....call it 4"

3. Measure the distance from one blade to the other, at a point near the pivot point/handle, it will be less, say 0.25".

4. Now open the blades more, say making the tips 8" apart across the opening.

5. Now, measure the new distance blade to blade closer to the handle at the same point as before, it might have gone from 0.25" to 0.5", but, it did NOT go from 0.25" to 4.25".

That's because the inboard angle is the same, but the distance is less.

When one tire drops, and the other tire is stuffed for example...the shock absorber, being inboard of the tire, only has to span the shorter inboard distance.

So - a small amount of shock travel can yield a larger amount of wheel travel.



Along the same lines, for a full flat droop, like when the axle is horizontal, and fully extended, both shocks will be at maximum extension...


...But, if you pick up one of those flat axle drooped tires, it pivots the opposite side tire down further....

.....When you are opposite droop/stuffed, as in one tire is stuffed, and the other is drooped, the drooped tire's shock will be LESS extended, even though the drooped TIRE will be lower. (Because the stuffed side is raising the drooped side of the axle a bit, shortening the needed shock distance)


(As I'm typing at work, and notice a big delay in posts here...just to clarify....you ABSOLUTELY get more travel and articulation with longer shocks vs shock mount extenders....all I'm clarifying is the mistaken impression that 7.5" of shock travel = 7.5" of wheel travel, and why)

 

The rest of the quote, probably not hit before you hit reply...

 

Yeah - I've been posting to do that all over here.

As my JK is still on order...

I ALSO keep asking people to POST those damn numbers for mount to mount distances.



So far, the closest I've gotten is that the oem FRONT shocks are 14.5" - 22" in length...No rear #'s, and no compressed/extended mount to mount numbers for front or rear.

:(

If I could get those numbers, I could start designing what I want/what's possible.

 

WOW! Thanks for the input guys, definitely some things to ponder now...