Thread: Front Shocks-how much travel needed?

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Originally Posted by joeybsyc

Whats the deal with the little rubber ring on the shock? Mine doesn't have that, and the more i look at yours, it looks like the shaft is bigger above that ring, like the only true travel you have is the area between the top of the shock body and the rubber ring itself... is that true? If so, you don't really have much more travel than I do... if the part above the rubber ring can go inside the body of the shock, then those look like they'd be better than what i got now. What's the purpose of the ring? Can you remove it? Looks sorta awkward there inthe middle of the shaft.

Here's what mine look like... the drivers side has a little less travel at rest than the pass. for some reason.

they are there to help keep the shaft clean and so you can check the travel of the shock. if yours don't have them, do what some have said and tie something around the shaft, push it down as far as it will go, and then go for a ride. the shock will push the tie up, and if it bottoms out you need dif. shocks.

Mine are about the same.
You should be fine

At 2" exposed shaft, you're a little less than the ideal, but it's no big deal. You should be fine. These shocks measure 9 1/2" compressed, and 14 1/2" extended, so there's 5" of total shock travel. Because of the mounting angle of the shock, and the distance from the tire, you will have more than 2" of suspension travel. It1s10 has some good advice. You need to have some"up" travel as well as some "down" travel for a good ride, so I'd say you're okay.

If you change to the "short" shocks, the total shock travel is only 3 1/2", so they are harder to set up correctly. They are much less forgiving if you don't have them at the 50-60% position.

Originally Posted by joeybsyc

Whats the deal with the little rubber ring on the shock? Mine doesn't have that, and the more i look at yours, it looks like the shaft is bigger above that ring, like the only true travel you have is the area between the top of the shock body and the rubber ring itself... is that true? If so, you don't really have much more travel than I do... if the part above the rubber ring can go inside the body of the shock, then those look like they'd be better than what i got now. What's the purpose of the ring? Can you remove it? Looks sorta awkward there inthe middle of the shaft.

Here's what mine look like... the drivers side has a little less travel at rest than the pass. for some reason.

Sorry but that justs doesnt look right.Not enough travel ,and uneven shock height.IMO not good

Like Dave said ,check your travel ,then buy the correct shocks.Either that or move the mounts.You always want to use the correct legnth shock,not something close.

It might also be a good idea and get your tape out to see if your chassis is leaning to one side,or worse ,uneven mount heights.

Originally Posted by BigTruckDriver

Sorry but that justs doesnt look right.Not enough travel ,and uneven shock height.IMO not good

Like Dave said ,check your travel ,then buy the correct shocks.Either that or move the mounts.You always want to use the correct legnth shock,not something close.

It might also be a good idea and get your tape out to see if your chassis is leaning to one side,or worse ,uneven mount heights.

Thanks for your advice, but it should be noted that when you jounce the car once with your hand the shock height evens out side to side, so there's no big deal there... I've been looking at deuces from that link someone posted in another thread, and there are literally hundreds posted that have roughly the same shock travel as me, some with even less. I'm leaving it alone til I drive it, I'll check the travel as described by several, but based one what I've seen and heard, I can't see the need to go to shorty shocks, which could likely cause a whole different set of issues with lack of travel. Who was it that said if it aint broke don't fix it?

i agree, we have 20 post on whether there is enough travel in the shock or not. if it was my car and i could drive it i wouldn't ask nobody, i'd check it myself. cant no one look at that pic. and give you a for sure answer. check it, drive the car with normal weight in it and hit some bumps and go around some corners and then look at how much the shock travels. thats the only way you'll ever know.

Well, I decided i didn't have enough travel... it was ok 90% of the time, but every once in awhile it would hit hard in a PA pothole, so i bought a new pair of Pro shocks from Speedway... Gained a bit of clearance up front, so that's a good thing. I like the shape of the shock better than my old ones too... Anyone need a pair of nearly new Chassis Engineering chrome front shocks?

Here's the old vs. the new:

Just for the record, since installing the new shocks with the little rubber ring on them, I've found that my shocks have never compressed more than about an inch and a half, which basically indicates the old shocks I had were probably fine too... I would have thought there would be alot more travel than that, and mind you, PA roads are NOT smooth...
I figured I'd post this info just FYI if anyone else is worried about shock travel... seems you don't need too much.