long travel shocks?

I did a quick search and found no info on long travel shocks in an XJ. So for a while I have been thinking about 16"+ shocks in front and rear of my 92. I don't plan on running any bigger than 33 12.5 on 16" rims with 4-4.5 BS. I have a TNT Y link lift.

I want to know if I can run the 33s with out the 3" bump stops that came in the kit. I know I will need to will trim and flare, so what I want to know is can the 33's be stuffed in with the stock bump stops?

I Know the shocks will bottom out if they are bolted in the stock location, so I plan to cut a hole in the inner fender and fabbing a shock loop that will allow me to have a stock bump stop height (for lower center of gravity) and add MUCH longer shocks for better droop.

The rear will be a multi link coil setup with matching shocks.

For now I am just working on theory and any input will help at this time.

Fox Racing Shox

Thanks for the input, but my mane question is not who sells the long shocks. I am looking for how to put long shocks in an XJ without extra bump stops. I want to use stock bump stop height and maybe use a hydraulic or air bump stop.

You only have one choice for what you're trying to do, and that's raise the upper shock mount. It doesn't matter where you put the bumpstop, as long as it keeps the shock from bottoming out and the parts and tires from hitting something.

16" is pretty long for the front of an XJ, it's going to be very hard to position things up there to be able to use all off that travel. You have to figure that the bumpstop itself will compress all the way, so the bumpstop should hit with a couple of inches of shock shaft showing yet. You also need to check for the driveline binding on full droop, the driveline hitting the exhaust, the upper arms hitting the driveline, and the track bar mount hitting the axle.

Most guys are happy with 12" shocks in front, and a couple use 14's. You have your work cut out for you to make 16" fit and to use all of the travel. BTW, Jeepspeed rules allow only 10", and those guys can run pretty fast. If you're crawling, it's hard to use all the travel that 12" shocks will provide, more just isn't needed.

I don't know what Jeepspeed is? But if it is racing, I will never do any of that in my Jeep. So rules need not apply.
The way I did my geometry, I wont really get that much extra drop over a 12" shock on a 6" lift. My goal is not for extra downward travel, my goal is for for extra upward travel (by not using the aftermarket bump stops). I want a Jeep that holds the ground like a mountain goat. My theory is with the same drop as most other long arm lifted Jeeps I can get a better center of gravity by allowing the wheel to get stuffed deeper in the wheel wells before tilting the Jeep over on it's side.

Another goal is great RTI. I know the best RTI does not mean the best crawler, but I love the look of an insanely flexed Jeep.

Your going to have to make a custom shock mount that comes through the fenderwell.

EDIT: Why don't you just go coilovers?

Here's a place to get them: http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/product.php?productid=644&cat=34&page=1
free shipping on fox stuff for awhile, coupon code: FOX-FREESHIP

OK a coil over system is an option.
But what about the wheel clearance? Does any one know what the wheel will hit at full compression? Other than the fenders.

Rickady said:

OK a coil over system is an option.
But what about the wheel clearance? Does any one know what the wheel will hit at full compression? Other than the fenders.

Click to expand...

At the very extreme, mind you this is very extreme, all the stuff thats mounted to the top/side of the fenderwells.

Rickady said:

I don't know what Jeepspeed is? But if it is racing, I will never do any of that in my Jeep. So rules need not apply.
The way I did my geometry, I wont really get that much extra drop over a 12" shock on a 6" lift. My goal is not for extra downward travel, my goal is for for extra upward travel (by not using the aftermarket bump stops). I want a Jeep that holds the ground like a mountain goat. My theory is with the same drop as most other long arm lifted Jeeps I can get a better center of gravity by allowing the wheel to get stuffed deeper in the wheel wells before tilting the Jeep over on it's side.

Another goal is great RTI. I know the best RTI does not mean the best crawler, but I love the look of an insanely flexed Jeep.

Click to expand...

So you are planning on chopping out the entire front fender wells then right?? Otherwise wise you are still going to be limited by that. :doh:
I run 3" of bumpstop upfront and just slightly rub the inner wells on 33" tires when stuffed.... So to get your "deeper stuff" you better get chopping!

Rickady said:

I don't know what Jeepspeed is? But if it is racing, I will never do any of that in my Jeep. So rules need not apply.
The way I did my geometry, I wont really get that much extra drop over a 12" shock on a 6" lift. My goal is not for extra downward travel, my goal is for for extra upward travel (by not using the aftermarket bump stops). I want a Jeep that holds the ground like a mountain goat. My theory is with the same drop as most other long arm lifted Jeeps I can get a better center of gravity by allowing the wheel to get stuffed deeper in the wheel wells before tilting the Jeep over on it's side.

Another goal is great RTI. I know the best RTI does not mean the best crawler, but I love the look of an insanely flexed Jeep.

Click to expand...

Jeepspeed is a Cherokee only class of desert racing. My point in mentioning them wasn't about complying with rules, just pointing out that they get very good performance out of 10" travel shocks.

You don't get more stuff by getting longer shocks, since longer travel shocks also have a longer body and a longer compressed length. You want the shortest shock that will give you the amount of droop that you're looking for, that way you'll have the most potential for stuff. Going to a real long shock works against you're goal of getting the most stuff.

You could remove the springs and shocks, drop the chassis down to the point of no more clearance, then measure how long the shock would have to be to stuff to that point. Then look at shock charts to see how much travel you can get in a shock with that compressed length.

I think the shortest shock length for the amount of travel is a Bilstein 7100 short body. I don't think you need to move the shock mounts up to do what you're trying to do, just spend some time measuring and shopping shock specs. All of the shock companies have spec charts that you can see online.

Goatman said:

You don't get more stuff by getting longer shocks, since longer travel shocks also have a longer body and a longer compressed length. You want the shortest shock that will give you the amount of droop that you're looking for, that way you'll have the most potential for stuff. Going to a real long shock works against you're goal of getting the most stuff.

Click to expand...

Thanks, but I understand all this. My plan was to relocate the upper shock mount with a shock hoop up higher so the bottom of the shock body will still be in the stock location. This way the stock bump stop location can be maintained. The only way to get good droop and keep the stock bump stop location is to cut into the inner fender well and build a shock hoop system. The extra shock travel is needed because with out it the suspension wont droop very far at all. So think of it like this, I put on a 6" lift so the shocks need to be 6" longer than stock IF I use the stock bump stops AND droop the suspension to the full potential of the lift.




Has anyone tried a shock hoop in an XJ?

yeah.... quite a few.... use the search feature.

Rickady said:

Has anyone tried a shock hoop in an XJ?

Click to expand...

Ahh....yeah.

Rickady said:

I don't know what Jeepspeed is? But if it is racing, I will never do any of that in my Jeep. So rules need not apply.
The way I did my geometry, I wont really get that much extra drop over a 12" shock on a 6" lift. My goal is not for extra downward travel, my goal is for for extra upward travel (by not using the aftermarket bump stops). I want a Jeep that holds the ground like a mountain goat. My theory is with the same drop as most other long arm lifted Jeeps I can get a better center of gravity by allowing the wheel to get stuffed deeper in the wheel wells before tilting the Jeep over on it's side.

Another goal is great RTI. I know the best RTI does not mean the best crawler, but I love the look of an insanely flexed Jeep.

Click to expand...

The most important word in that post is theory. What exactly do you mean by "holds the ground like a mountain goat"? I assume you mean that you want a rig that performs very well on the trail. Quite a few of us around here have been building rigs for a long time that perform very well on the trail. I'm like you, I like a lot of up travel. However, on the trail you are limited in up travel mostly by your spring rate, if your bump stops and shocks are positioned correctly. The spring rate for a 6" lift that will give you good handling and performance won't allow nearly the amount of stuff that you're talking about. Additionally, you don't get the most stuff out of your suspension when flexing on the trail, you get the maximum stuff when you're hauling ass to the trail. My bumpstops in the front can compress 3-4" on a hard hit, but they barely touch when I'm flexed out on the trail. Now, I do like a stiff spring rate in the front, and I have limited my flex to some degree since the days when we went for crazy flex, but it still flexes as much or more than most.

Regarding center of gravity, that is effected by your 6 inches of lift. Your suspension is still going to cycle up and down from the ride height position you have that gives you the 6" lift, how far a tire stuffs won't make much difference. Stability is the thing you are after, and stability comes with a reasonably low center of gravity, but also from spring rate, shock valving, roll center, and suspension design. We can talk more about how to get your upper shock mounts higher, but we can also talk about what you're really after and how to get it.

Thanks for the help, now I have some stuff to work with.

mattyj074 said:

So you are planning on chopping out the entire front fender wells then right?? Otherwise wise you are still going to be limited by that. :doh:
I run 3" of bumpstop upfront and just slightly rub the inner wells on 33" tires when stuffed.... So to get your "deeper stuff" you better get chopping!

Click to expand...

How long of bump stops do u run in the rear with your setup?