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Shocking information

S

Stumpalump

NAXJA Forum User
Location
Franktown Co.
If you want to put a Bilstein shock on the front of your XJ other than the weak valved one they offer as a direct fit you need to convert over to an eye type mount. JKS makes one but you loose 1.1 inch of shock lengh. Bilstein come( at least the 5150's) with a removable eye. A bilstein stud conversion kit (30 bucks a side) and you loose nothing! The JKS bar pin eliminators make you loose .5" and if you add that to the top you will end up with a lenght that needs to be 1.6" less than a bolt in shock. You could loose travel. I wonder if at least on the front if you can mount a bar pin eliminator on the bottom of coil bucket shock mount? The direct fit Bilsteins are valved 355/43 front and 139/59 rear and was told by Bilstein that it was not made specifically for an XJ but just happens to fit it and others so I steered clear of them.
 
XJEEPER said:
Those valving rates seem whacky..........
Click to expand...
The valving rates seemed wacky to the bilstein rep also who was helping me out and thats when he told me that the front and rear could have been designed for anything but happened to fit a lifted XJ so thats what they sell for a bolt in shock. I'm sure they would work OK as a shock but on a lifted rig with added on weight of big axels,tires,winch and skids I was told to defenitly go with a 255/70 for the compression.I would think this will be harsh on street and great on fast trails. I mainly wanted to let you guys know about the conversion that Bilstein makes that will save you 1.1 inch on the upper front stud mount and remind you that you the bar pin eliminators make you loose 1/2 inch more so measure carfully. Any body running this valving and could comment?
 
Stumpalump said:
The valving rates seemed wacky to the bilstein rep also who was helping me out and thats when he told me that the front and rear could have been designed for anything but happened to fit a lifted XJ so thats what they sell for a bolt in shock. I'm sure they would work OK as a shock but on a lifted rig with added on weight of big axels,tires,winch and skids I was told to defenitly go with a 255/70 for the compression.I would think this will be harsh on street and great on fast trails. I mainly wanted to let you guys know about the conversion that Bilstein makes that will save you 1.1 inch on the upper front stud mount and remind you that you the bar pin eliminators make you loose 1/2 inch more so measure carfully. Any body running this valving and could comment?
Click to expand...
whats wrong with bar pins? I just put some 5150's in the rear of my jeep, and pressed my bar pins into the bushing...

that valving (255/70) kicks ass in every jeep that ive ridden in with thoes shocks...
 
I'm running the 255/70 10" travel 5150's up front and they ride great. Replaced a set of Doestch ones with the Bilsteins, 1000x better ride. I went with the JKS conversion to run the shock with the eye on the top and I used my old bar pin through the bushing on the bottom. When I measured everything out, they fit perfect that way, the next shock they had, the 12" travel one, was too long when it was compressed, so it worked out fine.
 
I guess theirs nothing wrong with bar pins and it would be good to reuse you old ones if you needed the compressed length. It would be good to use the eliminators if you need a little more droop. I can't see that just because the eliminator supports the side of the bushing that it would make a big difference in bushing action or life. I noticed that in this hobby if somthing is slightly better then everthing else is labled junk or no good. There is more than one way to build it right. The right thing here is the proper lenght and at 100 bucks a shock, different mounting options may save the day.
 
I have been running the Bilstien 5150 with 255/70 valving for about a year now. I use the JKS bar pin in the bottom and Bilstien stud on the top. It works perfect for me.
 
I have the stock lifted Bilstein replacement shocks and they are good. Not perfect but I'm not sure anything would be unless I was able to valve them myself. Shane's the guy at bilstein to talk to about shocks.
 
Stumpalump said:
If you want to put a Bilstein shock on the front of your XJ other than the weak valved one they offer as a direct fit you need to convert over to an eye type mount. JKS makes one but you loose 1.1 inch of shock lengh. Bilstein come( at least the 5150's) with a removable eye. A bilstein stud conversion kit (30 bucks a side) and you loose nothing! The JKS bar pin eliminators make you loose .5" and if you add that to the top you will end up with a lenght that needs to be 1.6" less than a bolt in shock. You could loose travel. I wonder if at least on the front if you can mount a bar pin eliminator on the bottom of coil bucket shock mount? The direct fit Bilsteins are valved 355/43 front and 139/59 rear and was told by Bilstein that it was not made specifically for an XJ but just happens to fit it and others so I steered clear of them.
Click to expand...


If you think that mounting is shocking, try running some bilstien 7100's.

In fact, if you are worried about travel, get some 7100 short bodies. 12" of travel in a 10" shock body, and rebuildable.
 
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