Most comfortable shocks?

p m · Mar 16, 2018

OK, here's a little bit on "little."

My WAG on the force it takes to compress a Bilstein or OME shock to install it is about 100 lbs.
IIRC, they have half-inch diameter studs; if the nitrogen pressure inside a shock is 150psi, this force should be close to 120 lbs.
Expedition Exchange doesn't seem to have spring table on the revised website - but my 2nd WAG is the medium-duty springs have a rate of about 200lb/in - so installing a stock-replacement Bilstein or OME shock will net you close to half an inch.

It may be enough for a previously quiet truck to exhibit moderate driveline vibrations.

modernbeat · Mar 16, 2018

With my previous good experiences with Bilsteins, I'm going to try them out on my RRC with a 2" lift.

These models are a UK-market only shock that are direct fit to RRC and D1 with a small lift.

19-217000, rear
19-216980, front

I measured them before installation, the actual compressed and extended lengths are:

19-217000, 15.75"-23.75"
19-216980, 15.25"-23.25"

I'm a Bilstein Motorsports dealer in the US (don't contact me, the shop only does racecars) and even with my full access to the Bilstein catalog, I could not get these shocks. So I ordered them from a retailer in the UK and paid the $$ shipping charges.

coop74 · Mar 17, 2018

p m said:
OK, here's a little bit on "little."

My WAG on the force it takes to compress a Bilstein or OME shock to install it is about 100 lbs.
IIRC, they have half-inch diameter studs; if the nitrogen pressure inside a shock is 150psi, this force should be close to 120 lbs.
Expedition Exchange doesn't seem to have spring table on the revised website - but my 2nd WAG is the medium-duty springs have a rate of about 200lb/in - so installing a stock-replacement Bilstein or OME shock will net you close to half an inch.

It may be enough for a previously quiet truck to exhibit moderate driveline vibrations.

That might be true if the purpose of the gas was to carry weight, it is not however...

"The mono-tube gas pressure technology was developed by BILSTEIN Sport Shocks and remains the standard in automotive construction. Buy BILSTEIN Shocks for technology that involves the keeping of the oil in the absorber under pressure, preventing it from foaming when temperatures and loads are increasing. " directly from their website.

a Shock is a closed circuit. It follows the ideal Gas law. PV=NRT as soon as the volume expands the pressure will fall. To add the 200 lbs you are speaking of the piston likely would have to be fully retracted or at least in the neutral position of the shock in its travel. As most people who have changed shocks to compress a gas fill shock is not that hard till you reach the middle of the travel.

I dont have the information about how much volume is in a shock but i know the bulk of it is the oils used for Dampening. I do have a professional shock builder tuner that i could ask if people really are interested. I personally am not but it would be a worthwhile reason to ring up an old friend.

modernbeat · Mar 17, 2018

Shock tech here.

It take around 30-60 lbs to fully compress most Bilstein shocks.

Since the oil won't compress, the insertion of the shaft forces the nitrogen to compress by the amount of shaft entering the shock. For most truck Bilsteins with an 8" stroke, the shaft that enters the body is about 2 cubic inches. The nitrogen chamber is 6-9.5 cubic inches. If the shock is charged to around 80lbs, assuming 8"2 nitrogen chamber, that would raise the pressure to 106 lbs. If the shock is charged to 100lbs, assuming 6"2 nitrogen chamber, that would raise the pressure to 150 lbs.

Using 200lb springs, which is what my MED 2" lift springs rated at, then you could potentially lift the truck as much as 0.25" by refreshing the shocks. But factoring in bushing friction, probably a little less.

DiscoTech · Mar 20, 2018

1920SF said:
I'm intrigued about the RTE springs comment. I currently have OME springs to get me to a ~2.5-3" lift but am seriously considering switching to RTE 3" progressive coils. Comments from folks that have used them (sorry for the hi-jack, though I think it all ties together).
r-
Ray

I can't give you any technical reasons why my ass felt they were the best setup, but I would imagine it was a combination of the 7100s and the springs. I had this kit back in 2008 or so; I've heard the newer RTE offerings have different spring rates, which may or may not change the ride quality.

1920SF · Mar 20, 2018

DiscoTech said:
I can't give you any technical reasons why my ass felt they were the best setup, but I would imagine it was a combination of the 7100s and the springs. I had this kit back in 2008 or so; I've heard the newer RTE offerings have different spring rates, which may or may not change the ride quality.

Good stuff. I'm running a mixture of Fox and 7100's but am thinking the OME springs are giving it a fairly harsh ride all things considered. May call up RTE and look at their progressive rate 3" setup.
r-
R

Jeff Blake · Mar 20, 2018

Anecdotal, but I have the RTE 3" front and rear springs, with the terrafirma all-terrain shocks. Perfect height all around after installation, but the rear sagged 1.5-2" within a month. These being the stiffest springs I've found, I'm not sure where to turn to next.

p m · Mar 20, 2018

Jeff - how old are the springs? There was a whole period in Rovertym's existence when their springs sagged quickly.

Jeff Blake · Mar 20, 2018

p m said:
Jeff - how old are the springs? There was a whole period in Rovertym's existence when their springs sagged quickly.

I bought them new from Simon last fall, September or October I think. I think I recall him mentioning the "improved ones", but I'm not sure. He definitely mentioned they'll never ever sag. Setup wise I have:

Rear right seats removed (saves a good 100-150 pounds)
plastic false floor.. ~70 pounds
Steel rock sliders
Steel Greg davis bumper
Aluminum roof rack w/ hi-lift mounted
Aluminum gas tank skid
Fair bit of gear... 65L fridge/freezer, tools, recovery equip... maybe 150-200 pounds total. I don't drive much, other than going on trips, so I leave it all in there 24/7

1920SF · Mar 21, 2018

Jeff Blake said:
Anecdotal, but I have the RTE 3" front and rear springs, with the terrafirma all-terrain shocks. Perfect height all around after installation, but the rear sagged 1.5-2" within a month. These being the stiffest springs I've found, I'm not sure where to turn to next.

OME can get you to 3" if you use a spacer and such-and you won't have sag, that's for sure.

p m · Mar 21, 2018

1920SF said:
OME can get you to 3" if you use a spacer and such-and you won't have sag, that's for sure.

Not for 15-20 years, that's for sure.

Jeff Blake · Mar 21, 2018

I thought OME springs were rated for lower weight than both Terrafirma HD and RTE?

K-rover · Mar 21, 2018

The TF027v springs are rated at 360lbs/in!!!

1920SF · Mar 21, 2018

Rating is only as good as the quality of the spring. While I find the new nitrocharger shocks from OME to be somewhat less than awesome, their spring quality seems to be the same as ever.

K-rover · Mar 21, 2018

1920SF said:
Rating is only as good as the quality of the spring. While I find the new nitrocharger shocks from OME to be somewhat less than awesome, their spring quality seems to be the same as ever.

I ran OME springs and shocks before on the same truck. Worst ride ever! probably because the rear springs were 440lb/in The shocks were too short for the springs... Overall I wasnt impressed with OME stuff.. The only issue with the TF springs is the powder coating. As far as shocks go I love my Fox 2.0's

JUKE179r · Mar 21, 2018

discostew said:
The shock wont fix sagging. The spring is what you need.

coop74 said:
True shocks have little to do with ride height... they are dampers.

All true. I mentioned shocks due to the OP question about shocks only and not springs.
BTW... If anyone wants to buy RTE springs, they don't accept PayPal.

bnmack1 · Mar 22, 2018

HD Bilsteins are slightly stiff but provide a nice ride and handling in bumpy roads.

bri · Mar 23, 2018

1920SF said:
I'm intrigued about the RTE springs comment. I currently have OME springs to get me to a ~2.5-3" lift but am seriously considering switching to RTE 3" progressive coils. Comments from folks that have used them (sorry for the hi-jack, though I think it all ties together).
r-
Ray

Plenty saying that the RTE stink now and I did not like mine back when they were considered "good".

DiscoTech · Mar 27, 2018

1920SF said:
Good stuff. I'm running a mixture of Fox and 7100's but am thinking the OME springs are giving it a fairly harsh ride all things considered. May call up RTE and look at their progressive rate 3" setup.
r-
R

Yeah, I am really not impressed with my OME springs. Granted they are HD, and the truck does not have any body armor on it yet, which I knew would lead to a stiffer ride. They were on the truck when I bought it, but I will probably be replacing them in the very near future.

RavenMocker · Mar 27, 2018

I have a three inch lift with OME Sport Shocks and they ride fairly well. I have used the OME HD springs on the rear of my FZJ80 LC and they did ride a bit harsh. But under a load with camping gear they road nicely. I?ve used OME springs and shocks on other rigs and never had any complaints.

Most comfortable shocks?

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