Shock Help

I feel kinda dumb posting this, but I need some help getting some front shocks. My numbers are:
compressed 12.5"
extended 26.5"
ride height 18.5"

I can go a bit less on the extended, because the coils are unseated about 2.5", but I'd really like to keep the compression where it is. I was planning on running some Rancho 9000's mostly to help with the road ride. I drive to the trails and these curvy Tennessee and North Carolina roads kill me with no sway bars. But I can't find a Rancho part number that gives me even close to these numbers. I'm running BPE's, so I've got the standard eye mounts top and bottom. I've looked through here http://www.gorancho.com/products/appguides/2005/2005_productshock_spec.pdf to no avail. Do I need to go to Bilstein to get this kind of travel with a fairly stiff valving?
nate

14" shocks?

what kind of lift are you running?

jebus...

id love to fit 14's

sounds like you will have to mount them up higher though - custom shock hoops through the hood perhaps...

It's just a run of the mill RE 6" kit with drop brackets. Nothing special at all. Looks like I'm going to have to limit uptravel and downtravel both, to get some shocks that will work. Has anyone mounted shocks to the LCA to gain some length?

SewerBoss said:

It's just a run of the mill RE 6" kit with drop brackets. Nothing special at all. Looks like I'm going to have to limit uptravel and downtravel both, to get some shocks that will work. Has anyone mounted shocks to the LCA to gain some length?

Click to expand...

Mount to LCA? How are you going to deal with the angle changes on the shack (both the CA end and body end) when you flex up and down?

SewerBoss said:

I feel kinda dumb posting this, but I need some help getting some front shocks. My numbers are:
compressed 12.5"
extended 26.5"
ride height 18.5"

Click to expand...

So you want 14" of travel on a shock with a compressed length of 12.5"? Good luck with that! :laugh3:

(For those of you who don't get the joke... the piston of the shock goes up into the body, so unless you can defy the laws of physics it's impossible to have more travel than the length of the compressed shock.)

Seriously, though you will have to compromise in there somewhere. The longer the shock is (the compressed length) the larger the travel can be. Monroe and Gabriel has shock length charts on their web sites too, along with Rancho and Bilstein.

Sorry, just reread that and realized I sounded like a dick - which was not my intent.

It sounds like you already know the impossibility of this. I would personally just limit my down travel a bit and call it good - especially if the coils are unseated the last 2.5". That extra flex won't do you any good since none of the weight of the Jeep is on that wheel, just the weight of the axle.

I took it back to the farm and remeasured with with tractor bucket, stopping right when the coil left the upper seat. I got some much more useable numbers of 15 and 24.