Ordering Shocks for lift.

[Kris Guilbeaux]

I e-mail for a quote on a full set of Bilstien Shocks to compliment my lift I will be installing. They Replied with:
WE'LL NEED TO KNOW THE EXTENDED AND COMPRESSED LENGTHS YOU'LL NEED.

Is there any way to know what shocks I need. I will be running a James Duff front with (bluedogbandit) spacers and Extended Radius Arms. In the rear I will have OME Springs and warrior Shackles with Ray's Skidplates.

 

[DOGMAN]

First of all, how much actual lift are you going to have? If the amount of your lift equals an amount like 4", then you can crossreference the values that lift companies use for their shock specs. In other words, if the total lift you are achieving equals 4", go to Superlift's or Trailmaster's website or catalog, find the shock specs (collapsed and extended) they use for that lift, and presto, there you have it!

If you don't have an exact match to a common lift height (such as 3.5"), just subtract or add a little from the given specs.

The easy guesstimate way: Add the amount of lift you have to the stock shock specs, collapsed and extended. You can also add in the amount of increase in suspension travel over stock that you think you'll have once the lift is installed.

Of course the most accurate way is to wait until you have the lift installed and measure actual full droop and compression limits. This is easy to do. For full droop, just lift the vehicle by the frame and measure the distance between shock mounting points (with the shock removed of course, or at least one end disconnected).

Compression is a little harder (but not much). Drive one wheel (front and rear seperately), up on a rock or ramp or something to fully compress the suspension on that corner, and again measure the distance between shock mounting points.