96rokee

So im not sure i really have any questions.
just want opinions on where im going with this haha

so start with the basics
4.5in rough country long arm
1 3/4" coil spacers
custom built shackle relocators and shackles
and 10" travel skyjacker shocks.

i started in the front and i jacked the car up from the body until driver front tire came off the ground. then crawled under and decided my limit straps will go from right next to where the shock mounts to the axle, to the frame rail up above it. measured and got 15" (size limit strap i need to insure my shock doesnt get fully extended)
then i dropped it back to the ground and had the thought of trying again with the shock off.
i got 17" measuring the same spot as before. I stopped drooping when the coil just started to get loose in its bucket.

so my logic tells me i need shocks with at least 3+ inches more its fully extended length then my current ones, at least in the front.
(my 10" travel shocks are 25" fully open, so optimum would be 28"+ fully open)
at least if i want to achieve maximum efficiency from what i have.

sitting flat on the ground measuring where my limit straps will go i get 13.5" so if i get 17" limit straps then i can weld them in and be fine on level ground and it will keep me from drooping past the point of my coil coming out and also keep me from drooping so far that my shock is fully extended (and stressing its mounting bolts)


after finishing the front i then proceeded to do the same test in the rear. and came up with the fact that i dont have eneough droop in the rear to fully extend my 10" travel shocks. which in my logic means i either dont have enough droop in the rear. or i dont need limit straps in the rear.? or both.?

i measured from oem shackle bolt to where my custom shackle mounts the the leaf pack and got 10" (keep in mind i have shackle relocators)
previously i had teraflex revolver shackles that would extend to 11"
but i switched to custom shackles for my custom relocator kit to achieve more lift on flat ground. i could potentially still use my teraflex revolvers with my shackle relocators but then is have like 15" of droop in the rear wayyy more than i know what to do with lol.



my thoughts after all this were
bumpstop all around (already have 7.5in jegs coil inserts for the front, and plan on welding my own adjustable bumpstops to the rear axle.)
new longer front shocks
limit straps for front shocks
leave rear as is until i can go 4link or something else.

96rokee

oh forgot to mention shock relocator in the rear..
not sure what you would call it but it allows for me to mount the rear shocks at different angles
(mounts to axle the same just has a tower thing of sorts with 6 holes so u have 3 options of angles for rear shocks )

i was curious what the effects of a straight up and down shock compared to a shock mounted at an inward angle

Lowrange2

Sounds like a plan.

Tho, instead of jacking it up with a floor jack try to find some real world examples. Go find a big ditch and drive off in it. 9 times out of 10 the suspension isn't going to work the same way in real life as it would on a jack.

96rokee

great tip.

ya ive been looking into either building or finding an rti ramp somewhere
(like a loading dock sidewalk where the loading dock goes down but the sidewalk stays level) but even that doesnt do quite the same as on the trail.

thats why i plan on getting shocks with like 2"+ more travel then my limit straps will allow.

and my bumpstops are deff larger then they need to be, at 7.5", but i can always trim them down later if needed. and my rears i plan on making adjustable by 1/2" incriments so i can dial it in more on the trail

96rokee

does anyone have pictures of limit straps installed on the XJ?

very interested to see how you did it, compared to my plan

The_ocho

For the rear you were saying that you dont have enough droop to max the shocks. while that may be true for a jack when you flex it on a real obsticle the higher tire is going to hit the bumpstop and thats going to creat a piviot point forcing the other lower tire to go lower than it normally would without the pivot point. As suggested befor go find some real world obsticles and measure then I bet you get differnt results. If you dont have propper height bump stops then you wont get the pivot point because your tire will hit the wheel well before your axle hits the bump stop.

96rokee

curious could i simulate this by,

jacking up entire rear of car like 2ft, take rear tires off, and let axle droop completely.
then with a second jack lift one side of the axle till it hits bumpstop and then it will shove other side down more?

or can i only do this by finding the right obstacle

Lowrange2

Just find the right obstacle... You live in CA. Shouldn't be that difficult.



https://www.google.com/search?q=limi...MeXj0gG_qoDACw

93XJLI

I stopped reading like halfway through, but limit straps usually stretch an inch or so. Just figured I'd let you know.

The_ocho

fork lift picking up one tire lol

96rokee

ordering quad thick straps from ruffstuff.
i hope they dont strech..

but as mentioned id like to get shocks with at least 2"+ more then my straps will allow. so 1 in of strech should be allowable..

96rokee

Ive always wanted to do that!!!
just need to find a buddy with a forklift lol