Fox 3.0 Ride Height Adjustment Help

[Deleted member 12951]

@ntm, So before you measure where does your shock need to be at, with as little preload as the coil bucket allows? Then full droop, measure to know half and adjust accordingly? Does this apply no matter what brand 3.0 you have?

 

[Evil Twins]

Correct, max cv angle at full droop.
When you crank the coil over up, the less torque they can handle in 4wd before they break.
Other downside to cranking it up too much is that your out of the bypasses ride zone, or close to the end of it. So you get a crap ride, and poor performance on chop, same as running top perch on stock shocks.

I'm following you with that at a higher ride height puts you further out of the sweet spot in the center bypass zone. I get that.

Just so I have it straight, spring preload doesn't change compression or droop travel, that is limited by the shock itself. CV axle strength is proportional to its angle. So at full droop or full compression, regardless of what the spring preload is set at, the strength of the CV axle is far less than it is at say normal ride height. Correct?

I'm going to use your guide for setting preload by measuring the exposed shaft at full droop. Does it matter where my shock collar is currently set at when I take this measurement?

 

[ntm]

@ntm, So before you measure where does your shock need to be at, with as little preload as the coil bucket allows? Then full droop, measure to know half and adjust accordingly? Does this apply no matter what brand 3.0 you have?

Preload doesn't matter full droop is full droop. The shock should be the limit.
Yup, any coil over really, 50/50 travel is a good starting point for most vehicles. The exception would be a very long travel setup where you run 65/35 droop/compression.

---------- Post added at 05:46 PM ---------- Previous post was at 05:40 PM ----------

I'm following you with that at a higher ride height puts you further out of the sweet spot in the center bypass zone. I get that.

Just so I have it straight, spring preload doesn't change compression or droop travel, that is limited by the shock itself. CV axle strength is proportional to its angle. So at full droop or full compression, regardless of what the spring preload is set at, the strength of the CV axle is far less than it is at say normal ride height. Correct?

I'm going to use your guide for setting preload by measuring the exposed shaft at full droop. Does it matter where my shock collar is currently set at when I take this measurement?

The cv axles are at zero angle right around 70% compression travel. So the higher you lift the front end from stock height, the more cv angle you will have.
Preload does not alter overall travel range, simply your "neutral" point within it.

 

[JayneCobb]

I believe it is 9 full turns on the coil over to reach mid perch.

 

[Deleted member 12951]

Preload doesn't matter full droop is full droop. The shock should be the limit. Yup, any coil over really, 50/50 travel is a good starting point for most vehicles. The exception would be a very long travel setup where you run 65/35 droop/compression.does not alter overall travel range, simply your "neutral" point within it.

Okay, apologize for the stupidity here as this is somewhat new to me. My shocks already have about 9 threads showing above the collar and measures the 26.5" from bottom fender to center hub but from what I understand, that doesn't matter right now.

I jack the front of the truck to allow the suspension to fully droop. I measure the exposed shock shaft. Let's say it's 8". I cut that in half to get 4", got it so far. What do I do with the 4" measurement to obtain the proper ride height? Would the 4" be what is showing on the exposed shock shaft after driving around (so the suspension has been cycled)?

 

[Evil Twins]

Okay, apologize for the stupidity here as this is somewhat new to me. My shocks already have about 9 threads showing above the collar and measures the 26.5" from bottom fender to center hub but from what I understand, that doesn't matter right now.

I jack the front of the truck to allow the suspension to fully droop. I measure the exposed shock shaft. Let's say it's 8". I cut that in half to get 4", got it so far. What do I do with the 4" measurement to obtain the proper ride height? Would the 4" be what is showing on the exposed shock shaft after driving around (so the suspension has been cycled)?

Yes that's my understanding. If 8" of the shaft is exposed at full droop, set your preload so that 4" is showing without the truck jacked up. So at sitting ride height, the shock will be resting at exactly the half way mark of travel.

---------- Post added at 08:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------

@RDFTS please report your findings. Exposed shock shaft length on my passenger side is 8.5" at full droop and 6" at resting height. Does not compute on my truck withat above mentioned theory.

 

[ntm]

Yes that's my understanding. If 8" of the shaft is exposed at full droop, set your preload so that 4" is showing without the truck jacked up. So at sitting ride height, the shock will be resting at exactly the half way mark of travel.

---------- Post added at 08:01 PM ---------- Previous post was at 07:43 PM ----------

@RDFTS please report your findings. Exposed shock shaft length on my passenger side is 8.5" at full droop and 6" at resting height. Does not compute on my truck withat above mentioned theory.

Why doesn't it compute ?
You're simply running a bunch more compression travel than droop.
How does your truck look for height on the front end ?

Ah never mind you had a pic on page one.
50/50 is the ideal. You've got the front cranked up to try to match the rear, which must have new +3 springs or something. I wouldn't stress out about it, but I wouldn't go any higher.
You running 37's with standard sized fenders ?

 

[Deleted member 12951]

@RDFTS please report your findings. Exposed shock shaft length on my passenger side is 8.5" at full droop and 6" at resting height. Does not compute on my truck withat above mentioned theory.

Did you drive around after letting the truck back off the jack, then measure? I know when I was adjusting mine the shock compresses a lot more after driving it vs. resting height just after being lifted.

 

[Evil Twins]

Why doesn't it compute ?
You're simply running a bunch more compression travel than droop.
How does your truck look for height on the front end ?

Ah never mind you had a pic on page one.
50/50 is the ideal. You've got the front cranked up to try to match the rear, which must have new +3 springs or something. I wouldn't stress out about it, but I wouldn't go any higher.
You running 37's with standard sized fenders ?

The springs are WSI SD's which are +2 equivalents. They are freshly installed so I suspect they'll settle a bit.

Yes 37's with stock fenders.

Did you drive around after letting the truck back off the jack, then measure? I know when I was adjusting mine the shock compresses a lot more after driving it vs. resting height just after being lifted.

No I did not. Good point. I'll remeasure tonight.

For the time being, I adjusted the front to 26.5" hub to fender lip, which is about 1/2" higher than the picture I posted. The truck still has a little bit of rake but should be perfect after the new springs settle out.

 

[Fb73]

I'm in the same boat. Freshly installed Fox 3.0"s on all four corners and Deaver +3, the rear still looks more higher than the front and I guess I should have it leveled...So I need to measure things out and check that preload thing...

Anyone could post a pic of their front preload ring and threads?

Btw the @ntm for the precious tips!