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trying to decide on what shocks to buy...

boostamante

NAXJA Forum User
So my last trip to JV got me wanting to have a the best of both worlds, go fast and crawling. I wont be doing baja or antyhing like that but it be cool to go out and hit some whoops and have some fun in the jeep going faster than 5 MPH.

I am trying to decide on wether to purchase, fox's, Bilsteins, or procomp MX-6's. ALso not sure what the size/travel i should be looking for. am i gonna need a 10" trabel shock? help me out guys. any input would be greatly appreciated.

Julio
 
Go with either Fox or Bilstein. if you get the Procomps you will be sorry. if your not going to be running it hard for hours on end Bilstein 7100 shocks will be fine for you and a little cheaper. Shock travel will depend on how high your XJ is. at 5.5 inches on our racer we run a 10" front shock and 16" in the rear (rear coming through the floor).

Mods don't be mad for this spam..... just helping

Here is a good shock set up for you:

Front: Barnett Shock Mount with a Bilstein shock
Rear: Cross Enterprises Rear Shock Hoop with a Bilstein shock
 
Many of us have had good results with the short body Bilstein 7100's. They make a short body version that gives you 12" travel in a normal 10" shock length. This makes it easier to fit on the Jeep.

If you're willing to fab new shock mounts on the axle, you can fit a 12" shock on the front. It's hard to get a long shock on the rear unless you go through the floor, but it doesn't really matter unless you get much better leaves that have enough travel to use a real long shock. Take the shock off the lower mount and let the axle hang down and measure to see how long a shock you need. Buy the shocks based on the extended length, then adjust the bump stops to keep them from bottoming.

Bump stops are going to be important also. If you want to go faster, you're going to bottom out. You can spend the $$$ on hydraulic bump stops if you're really serious, or just get good poly bumpstops which will work pretty well. The Prothane coil inserts are the best thing to get for the front.
 
Not spam at all Tom! Good info here!


Although I'm not sure how I feel about that rear shock hoop, I think the angles leave something to be desired. Not sure you could even valve a 2.0 with enough rebound dampening to handle that.

Ditto on the Cross rear shock hoop, the angles defeat the purpose of having a longer shock. Once the shock gets angled, it doesn't use much travel anymore, so a longer shock isn't needed.
 
Many of us have had good results with the short body Bilstein 7100's. They make a short body version that gives you 12" travel in a normal 10" shock length. This makes it easier to fit on the Jeep.

If you're willing to fab new shock mounts on the axle, you can fit a 12" shock on the front. It's hard to get a long shock on the rear unless you go through the floor, but it doesn't really matter unless you get much better leaves that have enough travel to use a real long shock. Take the shock off the lower mount and let the axle hang down and measure to see how long a shock you need. Buy the shocks based on the extended length, then adjust the bump stops to keep them from bottoming.

Bump stops are going to be important also. If you want to go faster, you're going to bottom out. You can spend the $$$ on hydraulic bump stops if you're really serious, or just get good poly bumpstops which will work pretty well. The Prothane coil inserts are the best thing to get for the front.

Ditto on the Cross rear shock hoop, the angles defeat the purpose of having a longer shock. Once the shock gets angled, it doesn't use much travel anymore, so a longer shock isn't needed.

Thanks goatman! Loks like Bilsteins it will be. And yeah, i need to get bump stops for the front. i dont want to bottom them out like i have already done to the ones i currently have. Do you have a part numer or link to those short bodies you were talking about? Im sure i can fab up some mounts like you mentioned so that shouldnt be an issue. Ill just go to Jeeperjohns :p

Should i also invest in some good shocks for the rear? im currently running the 40 dolalr pro comps in the rear with bastard packs. need to bump stop the rear as well :p
 
I would see what Cal says as he runs 7100's on a full body XJ (or used to). Everyone said 360/80 valving was too stiff for daily driving but I loved it. I couldn't imagine going any softer. Ask anyone, my xj ran pretty good through the whoops with 7100's up front (360/80 valving) and procrap ES3000's out back. I am guessing it is because the stiffer front allowed the truck to get up on top easier. I would have eventually upgraded the rear shocks. That would have then probably pointed out weakness in front setup and front would have been addressed again. haha
 
I would see what Cal says as he runs 7100's on a full body XJ (or used to). Everyone said 360/80 valving was too stiff for daily driving but I loved it. I couldn't imagine going any softer. Ask anyone, my xj ran pretty good through the whoops with 7100's up front (360/80 valving) and procrap ES3000's out back. I am guessing it is because the stiffer front allowed the truck to get up on top easier. I would have eventually upgraded the rear shocks. That would have then probably pointed out weakness in front setup and front would have been addressed again. haha


i think thats how i will run it for a while. need to get some bilsteins then. Ill shoot Cal a PM or see if he chimes in. :)
 
I would see what Cal says as he runs 7100's on a full body XJ (or used to). Everyone said 360/80 valving was too stiff for daily driving but I loved it. I couldn't imagine going any softer. Ask anyone, my xj ran pretty good through the whoops with 7100's up front (360/80 valving) and procrap ES3000's out back. I am guessing it is because the stiffer front allowed the truck to get up on top easier. I would have eventually upgraded the rear shocks. That would have then probably pointed out weakness in front setup and front would have been addressed again. haha


x2 on Andy ruuning his jeep hard, That thing took whoops like a champ with 5 people and a cooler in there.
 
Go with either Fox or Bilstein. if you get the Procomps you will be sorry. if your not going to be running it hard for hours on end Bilstein 7100 shocks will be fine for you and a little cheaper. Shock travel will depend on how high your XJ is. at 5.5 inches on our racer we run a 10" front shock and 16" in the rear (rear coming through the floor).

Mods don't be mad for this spam..... just helping

Here is a good shock set up for you:

Front: Barnett Shock Mount with a Bilstein shock
Rear: Cross Enterprises Rear Shock Hoop with a Bilstein shock


Aren't the new pro comps built by Fox? I thought that was the case.

Not spam at all Tom! Good info here!


Although I'm not sure how I feel about that rear shock hoop, I think the angles leave something to be desired. Not sure you could even valve a 2.0 with enough rebound dampening to handle that.

I ran one, and the valving went to crap, although I am running a pretty serious angle on the Bronco, so who knows, maybe you could Valve it right.

I would see what Cal says as he runs 7100's on a full body XJ (or used to). Everyone said 360/80 valving was too stiff for daily driving but I loved it. I couldn't imagine going any softer. Ask anyone, my xj ran pretty good through the whoops with 7100's up front (360/80 valving) and procrap ES3000's out back. I am guessing it is because the stiffer front allowed the truck to get up on top easier. I would have eventually upgraded the rear shocks. That would have then probably pointed out weakness in front setup and front would have been addressed again. haha

360/80 Rocked on the front of my XJ as well. And Andy's Jeep definitely handled SUPER well!!
 
Aren't the new pro comps built by Fox? I thought that was the case.






360/80 Rocked on the front of my XJ as well. And Andy's Jeep definitely handled SUPER well!!

Yeah, crazyjim said something to fox making the MX6's. Not so sure though.

would 255/70 be too soft? thats all i see in the 4wheel parts site. and they are priced @ $198 for the 10" and $205 for the 12"
 
Yeah, crazyjim said something to fox making the MX6's. Not so sure though.

would 255/70 be too soft? thats all i see in the 4wheel parts site. and they are priced @ $198 for the 10" and $205 for the 12"

If you search around, you will find lots of guys recommend the 255/70. I didn't run sway bars after adding the 7100's valved 360/80 and never had a wallowing feeling or even excessive leaning while cornering. I would say if you can find someone running both settings, see if you can ride or drive with them a bit and get a feeling for it. If not, buy one and you can always change it (pretty easy) to a different valving. I highly recommend 360/80 given your import background you won't think it's too harsh. Just to give you an idea. I picked up my 2 10" front 7100's for $100 and picked up 3 14" 7100's for $50 all off of RDC. Keep an eye out and check daily and you will find a smokin deal, if you are not in a hurry.
 
255/70 is way too soft for the front, anyone who likes it doesn't run hard enough in the dirt.

Check out e-Shocks.com, good prices and a full list of Bilstein 7100's.
 
Also, call Lee at raceshock.com he is a wealth of knowledge and can help you out with ANYTHING you want. Explain your rig and what you do and he will help set you up with a good valving too.
 
word of advice, think about your suspension. if theres anything you think you might change, do it now! i was 'tied in' to my 3" lift for like a year, the shocks cost twice what the lift cost.
 
word of advice, think about your suspension. if theres anything you think you might change, do it now! i was 'tied in' to my 3" lift for like a year, the shocks cost twice what the lift cost.

Thanks! but i think im pretty set on the sixe lift and what i wanna do. Those bilsteins should do me right for what i want.
 
Just came across this thread.
In the front I'm running t&j's shock mount with 12" fox's valved at 60/50 with super soft rusty's coils.
In the rear I'm running the cross enterprises hoop with 10" fox's.
Its a little difficult to find a good balance in shock valving for street driving, rock crawling and prerunning.
My jeep rides good on the street, is perfect for trail riding, but is too soft for prerunning.
I'm running a bastard pack in the rear which is a little stiff.
To get a nice ride on the street I valved the compression fairly soft at 40.
The rear wanted to kick on big bumps because of the stiff spring and the angle of the shocks, so I ended up with a 70 for the rebound which works well for how I drive offroad.
I dont like to run much more valving than that because of the heat it creates(plus I dont have resi's in the rear)
If I wanted to go faster in the whoop's, investing in a set of hydro bumps would probably let me keep the best of both worlds.
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