Pre-runner type suspension stuff

[prerunnerXJ]

thats why id rather take the ranger, and i agree, the unibody is strong with proper reinforcement but if you wreck it you're screwed. a new frame at a junker can be had for not that much $

still, id take IFS and 2wd for serious prerunning over a solid axle and 4x4 any day

 

[clayman]

thanks for all the help!

i love jeeps and i was just hoping to do something new that i hadent seen done to a jeep before.

idealy i would like to buy a toyota but that is way out of my price range.

also my friend just destroyed his second ranger. both of them fell apart. jeeps seem to be invicible.

ill try my idea this summer and post pics if it works.

i would love to have the typical "dude bro" with his ranger that his dad bought him give me crap as usual about my jeep and then show him how its done =)

ive never liked any vehicle as much as my jeep


thanks again for the info

 

[prerunnerXJ]

yeah keep us posted, id say just run a deaver 4.5 or 6" coil with a 2.5x12" well valved race shock up front with some 11 leaf deavers out back with a 14" shock run through the floor.

make sure when you cage it your frame tie-ins are super secure, id say build off the T&J frame stiffener kit, and use that as your tie in spot.

trim your rear fenders as much as you can, my 33x12.5s buckled part of the 1/4 panel when i jumped it out at ocotillo with trimmed rear fenders.

id say get 6" hannemann glass up front, thats what ill be running as soon as i sell my 4.5" glassworks glass.

 

[Silent]

What type of shocks, are good for prerunning and daily driver, and valve rates too please.

Silent

 

[BrettM]

What type of shocks, are good for prerunning and daily driver, and valve rates too please.

Silent

several people here have been very pleased with Bilstein 7100s with 275/78 valving. that's for the front. I believe they've said they would run the same valving in the rear with the shocks angled, but if they ran them through the floor vertically they would use something different.

do a search for "7100"

 

[prerunnerXJ]

id say run a 2.5" shock, most likely bilstein, fox, king, or sway-a-way.

if you really want a fine tuned shock, buy it with whatever valving it comes with, then take it out and test it at controlled speeds over some whoops. then take the video to a shock valver and have them custom valved.

i am personally running fox shocks and love them

 

[tcm glx]

update, dont let this thread die!!

 

[BrettM]

update, dont let this thread die!!

so ask a question or post some tech

 

[Goatman]

update, dont let this thread die!!

OK.

I blew out my front SAW's, so I'm running my old Pro Comp ES3000's temporarily until I get the 2.0" Racerunners installed. With the stiffer coils, and the bumpstops just right, the ES3000's don't work too bad.....other than being too stiff and harsh. Stability is good though, better than my rig has ever been before.

After wasting the front SAW's, replacing new ball joints in six months, breaking an inner knuckle off the front housing, and breaking the sector shaft on the steering box...........I'm slowing down, at least over the whoops that put me airborne.

 

[Dingo509]

OK.

I blew out my front SAW's, so I'm running my old Pro Comp ES3000's temporarily until I get the 2.0" Racerunners installed.

I've been looking into swapping to coilovers in the front and have been told by tech guys at both SAW and Fox that i should use a 2.5" shock due to the extra weight we carry. the both said a 2" shock would be too light.

So what do you think CRASH after your recent experience with the 2" do you think the 2.5" would be better?

Dingo

 

[BrettM]

wait, are CRASH and Goatman the same person!? well ain't that a bitch.

 

[CRASH]

I love my 2.0 bilsteins valved 278/75. They are very good in the rocks and lovely in the fast stuff for short runs. However, Jes reports that they do get hot after extended desert runs. This is likely a function of valving. For running extended time periods in the desert, you really should run multiple shocks valved in the 150 compression range to keep the fluid in each shock flowing with minimal heat buildup.

Of course, if you are this serious about desert running, a bypass shock really ought to be on your list. The position dependant valving of these units makes tuning much easier, especially for controlling landings.

 

[Jeff 98XJ WI]

What exactly does "blew out" mean in this instance? Bent, smashed, leaking, look like a crushed pop can, look like a bomb went off inside them? Can they be rebuilt and why not if they can't? Now the racerunners that you refer to are what brand? Or is that the brand? Just curious. Jeff

OK.

I blew out my front SAW's, so I'm running my old Pro Comp ES3000's temporarily until I get the 2.0" Racerunners installed. With the stiffer coils, and the bumpstops just right, the ES3000's don't work too bad.....other than being too stiff and harsh. Stability is good though, better than my rig has ever been before.

After wasting the front SAW's, replacing new ball joints in six months, breaking an inner knuckle off the front housing, and breaking the sector shaft on the steering box...........I'm slowing down, at least over the whoops that put me airborne.

 

[Goatman]

I've been looking into swapping to coilovers in the front and have been told by tech guys at both SAW and Fox that i should use a 2.5" shock due to the extra weight we carry. the both said a 2" shock would be too light.

So what do you think CRASH after your recent experience with the 2" do you think the 2.5" would be better?



Dingo

A 2.5" is better, but I don't know about neccessary. Given a choice, I'd go with the 2.5", but coilovers are already a little tight on the front of an XJ, so you'd want to know that the larger springs would fit.....may have a problem contacting the frame on extension depending on your axle width. My SAW's that blew out were 2.25". Unless you're going to do some really serious desert running, I don't think it matters. The larger body allows for basically the same dampening force with less heat build up, the larger shock doesn't work as hard to do the same job. For trail work, or street driving, or short blasts through the desert, it doesn't matter.


CRASH is my alter ego.............



Well, he's my alter something, anyway.

 

[xuv-this]

just curious, could a 3-4" lift w/ shocks thru the floor, hyd. bumps, etc be made to have enough travel to be competitive?

 

[xuv-this]

if i was to build one for that, i would not so much worry about the front, just make it stiff but try to get a buttload of soft(er) sprung travel in the rear. how much would physically be possible with mabye elliptical or leafs or coils w/o removing wheelwells?

 

[Goatman]

What exactly does "blew out" mean in this instance? Bent, smashed, leaking, look like a crushed pop can, look like a bomb went off inside them? Can they be rebuilt and why not if they can't? Now the racerunners that you refer to are what brand? Or is that the brand? Just curious. Jeff

The internal seals went out, and the gas leaked into the fluid, so they don't work anymore. They are repairable, but since the rears have already been rebuilt, I decided to ditch them for now. I did like the valving, though, and I would have adjusted it slightly with a rebuild. They are Sway-A-Way Big Bore series, with a remote resevoir, and are similar in length to a Bilstein 7100 short body, basically a 12" shock with a 10" body, making them easier to fit on the XJ. The Racerunners are also SAW's, and are the shocks that come with their 2" coilovers. I'm leaning towards running just the Racerunner shocks without the coilovers.

 

[BrettM]

just curious, could a 3-4" lift w/ shocks thru the floor, hyd. bumps, etc be made to have enough travel to be competitive?

given enough time and money, absolutely!

bypass shocks and air-bumps are a great place to start. do you have $2300 for each Blackhawk shock?

 

[XJoachim]

I love my 2.0 bilsteins valved 278/75. They are very good in the rocks and lovely in the fast stuff for short runs. However, Jes reports that they do get hot after extended desert runs. This is likely a function of valving. For running extended time periods in the desert, you really should run multiple shocks valved in the 150 compression range to keep the fluid in each shock flowing with minimal heat buildup.

Of course, if you are this serious about desert running, a bypass shock really ought to be on your list. The position dependant valving of these units makes tuning much easier, especially for controlling landings.

Second that, i run the stiffer 360/80 in the front and they seem to be the perfect choice for me matching the 255s in the rear.

 

[xuv-this]

given enough time and money, absolutely!

bypass shocks and air-bumps are a great place to start. do you have $2300 for each Blackhawk shock?

what about just a set of hydraulic bumps on the uniframe? could 12-15" of travel be had with ellipticals or leafs mounted near the stock spring mounts and tied into the cage?