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What length shock are you using?

eacook1

eacook1

Red Skull Member
ST4x4
Joined
Feb 25, 2021
Member Number
3550
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212
Loc
Temecula, CA
What length shocks does everyone typically use for a SASs on their trucks or 4runners?

I realize I should have my swap done and cycle everything and take measurements but I am hoping to find some quality rebuild-able reservoir shocks on the cheap, and re-build them before I start the swap this summer.

Seems 14" shocks are the norm, but 4-5 inch springs also seem to be the norm from what I can find. I will be using 3" springs from Sky's off-road.

Thanks
Evan
 
I'd be willing to bet almost every leaf sprung and many linked Toyota is running much longer shocks than they need. A full 14" of travel on a 58" wide front end is going to be about impossible with a full body and frame. I ran 12" shocks on my SAS 4runner and I don't think I was using all of it.

Unlike most, I actually disassembled the leaf pack and did some cycling before ordering shocks.

Having built a jeep with 14s front and 12s rear and recently 14" front and 12s on trailing arms for about 16" wheel travel. it's waaay more travel than most realize. The first jeep we had 1 tire on the lift and it was chest high before it lifted a tire.

But I'm sure someone will be in shortly to tell me how they use their whole 16" shock with their home built leaf pack. :flipoff2:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'd be willing to bet almost every leaf sprung and many linked Toyota is running much longer shocks than they need. A full 14" of travel on a 58" wide front end is going to be about impossible with a full body and frame. I ran 12" shocks on my SAS 4runner and I don't think I was using all of it.

Unlike most, I actually disassembled the leaf pack and did some cycling before ordering shocks.

Having built a jeep with 14s front and 12s rear and recently 14" front and 12s on trailing arms for about 16" wheel travel. it's waaay more travel than most realize. The first jeep we had 1 tire on the lift and it was chest high before it lifted a tire.

But I'm sure someone will be in shortly to tell me how they use their whole 16" shock with their home built leaf pack. :flipoff2:
Click to expand...
facts

12" shocks are the proper length for a leaf sprung toyota
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'd be willing to bet almost every leaf sprung and many linked Toyota is running much longer shocks than they need. A full 14" of travel on a 58" wide front end is going to be about impossible with a full body and frame. I ran 12" shocks on my SAS 4runner and I don't think I was using all of it.

Unlike most, I actually disassembled the leaf pack and did some cycling before ordering shocks.

Having built a jeep with 14s front and 12s rear and recently 14" front and 12s on trailing arms for about 16" wheel travel. it's waaay more travel than most realize. The first jeep we had 1 tire on the lift and it was chest high before it lifted a tire.

But I'm sure someone will be in shortly to tell me how they use their whole 16" shock with their home built leaf pack. :flipoff2:
Click to expand...
Came here to post something similar. My last toyota had a homebrew RUF pack that made around 3-4" of lift and was not cycling a complete 12" shock. I ran a 10" shock in the rear of that truck with a similar height 56" bastard pack.
 
Kinda just went through the same thing. I was running 12" shocks with ancient allpro leafs. I flexed it out to get some info for linking it and realized I was only using about 7" of shock travel in the front. Knowing that I decided to step down to 10" coilovers. It'll allow the suspension to not bottom out on the shocks when articulating, make spring selection easier and I'm still picking up a couple inches of travel over what I had.
 
I read through the old FAQ/Bible and a lot recommended 14. I have maybe $80 in all 4 so it wasn't a big deal.
 
12" 7100 short bodies and they are way too long on the front of my Tacoma. I am also running f250 shock towers so I don't have them tucked up super high. It was my first SAS and there is a lot of lessons learned, but I just don't have the motivation to fix.
 
My hoops are welded to the top of the frame in the front and mid frame on the rear.
At the time I knew the 16” were too long, but the deal was too good to pass up.

Maybe 7” exposed at ride height , front and rear.

I cut the front clip to let the hoops into the engine bay and the bed in the rear for the hoops.
 
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13.5 inch rancho rs5000s. I don't use the entire travel. I think I fudged my upper shock mounts a little bit.
 
12" Bilstein 7100 short body. Don't have to punch them into the engine bay and still gets all 12" of travel. Same shocks front and rear.
 
Ford 12"inchers on my truck with 48" rufs. I could use a little more down travel, usually the only time I notice I need more is when both front wheels are hanging off of something.

We put bilstien 14s on on my buddys 51 ruf runner, and that gave us plenty to work with.

Heres a handy little chart for the ford shocks.

1643036087982.png
 
3rd gen rear leafs or anything longer = yes you can use the entire travel of a 14" shock in the front

all depends on your rig and how its set up, most people will only need 12"
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Toyota axle or full width?
Click to expand...

why not ask what size tire? what about lift height? because that all matters too

the low and slow rigs with 2" of lift and no up travel dont need a 14" travel shock because they have barely any up travel

the guys that set their rigs up with 50-40% up travel and have 37s instead of 40s can actually use that travel if they have 51"+ leafs and long shackles

just because you didnt need 14" shocks on your build doesnt mean everyone else that uses 14" is a dumb retard that doesnt know wtf hes talking about :homer::flipoff2:
 
rockyota83 said:
why not ask what size tire? what about lift height? because that all matters too

the low and slow rigs with 2" of lift and no up travel dont need a 14" travel shock because they have barely any up travel

the guys that set their rigs up with 50-40% up travel and have 37s instead of 40s can actually use that travel if they have 51"+ leafs and long shackles

just because you didnt need 14" shocks on your build doesnt mean everyone else that uses 14" is a dumb retard that doesnt know wtf hes talking about :homer::flipoff2:
Click to expand...

Never said no one needs 14s. I said most don't use even close to even close to it but just order them because that's what someone else has. People that take the time to actually tune their suspension and utilize all of the travel are definitely not the majority.
 
YotaAtieToo said:
Never said no one needs 14s. I said most don't use even close to even close to it but just order them because that's what someone else has. People that take the time to actually tune their suspension and utilize all of the travel are definitely not the majority.
Click to expand...
no you didnt say that, i was just summarizing your post and mostly your last sentence :flipoff2:

i agree with you though, hell the majority of regular cookie cutter toys only need a 10" shock
 
After reading these responses, I’ve decided I will wait on looking for shocks until I get everything put together, cycle everything and get the correct length shocks. I don’t want cookie cutter.
 
eacook1 said:
After reading these responses, I’ve decided I will wait on looking for shocks until I get everything put together, cycle everything and get the correct length shocks. I don’t want cookie cutter.
Click to expand...

Thats actually what I was going to say.

Like 83 said though, if you go one step up, it won't hurt. Especially since new leafs may not flex as much as they will worn in.
 
When I posted this question I was thinking this has been done thousands of times and there was a cookie cutter recipe that everyone uses, not thinking about all the variables.

I’ve been looking at radflos and they seem decently priced and can be valved for my application. This isn’t going to be a race truck but I will do more than just rock crawl so I want to setup the shocks and such correctly.
 
There is no cookie cutter answer. Trucks sit higher than others and some springs settle more than others. Best bet is to break the pack down to the main leaf and measure from there.
 
Building lower mount brackets tomorrow for the rear. At this point, I have 22" from top mount to bottom mount.
I need to compress and extend to see how much travel I have.
63" chevy leaf spring with 38.5 Super Swampers under an 89 4runner.
Any guesses on what shock I need to look for?
 
4runner said:
Building lower mount brackets tomorrow for the rear. At this point, I have 22" from top mount to bottom mount.
I need to compress and extend to see how much travel I have.
63" chevy leaf spring with 38.5 Super Swampers under an 89 4runner.
Any guesses on what shock I need to look for?
Click to expand...

You going to mount them like this /\?

:flipoff2:
 
YotaAtieToo said:
I'd be willing to bet almost every leaf sprung and many linked Toyota is running much longer shocks than they need. A full 14" of travel on a 58" wide front end is going to be about impossible with a full body and frame. I ran 12" shocks on my SAS 4runner and I don't think I was using all of it.

Unlike most, I actually disassembled the leaf pack and did some cycling before ordering shocks.

Having built a jeep with 14s front and 12s rear and recently 14" front and 12s on trailing arms for about 16" wheel travel. it's waaay more travel than most realize. The first jeep we had 1 tire on the lift and it was chest high before it lifted a tire.

But I'm sure someone will be in shortly to tell me how they use their whole 16" shock with their home built leaf pack. :flipoff2:
Click to expand...
Leafs are for trees. Wanna bet a steak dinner I use all of my shocks?🖕
 
YotaAtieToo said:
You going to mount them like this /\?

:flipoff2:
Click to expand...
No, using stock location...I made new lower mount brackets...right now I just need to get it drivable and on the road...all I have is a motorbike to get to work.
Heck, I dont even have a shifter for the Tcase...
 

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Dragrcr65 said:
Leafs are for trees. Wanna bet a steak dinner I use all of my shocks?🖕
Click to expand...

Not sure why keep bringing up your buggy in leaf spring pos discussion, but sure post pics :flipoff2:

4runner said:
No, using stock location...I made new lower mount brackets...right now I just need to get it drivable and on the road...all I have is a motorbike to get to work.
Heck, I dont even have a shifter for the Tcase...
Click to expand...

I think you might have a hard time getting a shock to work correctly in the stock mounts. I just ripped the bottom eye off a shock on my 81 using stock mounts and 63s.

But if you're mostly trying to get it on the road and mild trails that aren't totally flexing it out constantly. Just get some cheap shortish ones that won't bottom out.
 
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