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setting stop rings on coilovers

Vanimal

NAXJA Forum User
Location
escondido, ca
so i'm trying to calculate spring rates for the front of my xj when i swap in some coilovers.
the front corner weight is about 770lbs, the rear is about 670lbs.
in the rear, i am triple rate, 16" travel, 14" 200lb spring over a 16" 300lb spring.
I have the stop ring set about 3" above the dual rate slider at ride height. I do not know if this is right, but it was about 5-6" above it before and it seems a little better now. i cannot find any decent info online for setting the stop rings in a rock crawling/occasional fireroad sprinter/full bodied type setup. should i be running a softer upper spring but have my stop ring set much closer to the slider? i'm thinking a 135lb primary rate would be ideal for the front at 5" of lift, near 50% droop.
 
There's nothing set in stone for it; just gonna depend on your rig/spring rates/valving/driving style/expectations/etc.

Luckily though it's easy to adjust externally. Set it so it hit at around half your uptravel and go from there...does it have excessive body roll? Run it down a little closer to the slider. Do bumps seem firmer than they need to be and are you getting into it earlier than needed (check: am I also using full travel on my shocks/bumpstops)? Maybe run it up a little more. Try half-inch increments up and down over the same rough patch and see what it does.

One thing to keep in mind, the slider doesn't move 1:1 with the axle/shock shaft. It only moves 1:1 with the upper spring, which may only be ~50% of the wheel travel. So if you go through 3" of bump travel, the slider may only move 1.5". So many people say oh, I've got 6" of uptravel so I'll set the stop at 3" above the slider...then complain that the ride is harsh. When in reality the slider is never coming close to the dual rate stop and you're just feeling the bumpstop crash against the initial rate instead.

What kind of preload are you gonna be running on the springs? You also wanna try to make sure the shock body is threaded enough for the adjustment to be useful on your rig. Sometimes with too short/light a bottom spring the slider sits well below the threaded portion of the body and you can't crank the stop down enough for it to function. Depending on the shock manufacturer, you may have to use up to a 2" longer spring (16" lower on a 14" shock) for this to happen.
 
Yes dam good info.

I've been talking with accutune I just learned about slider stops.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk
 
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