Gen 2 OE rear shocks on gen 1

[Stricken]

(the cv's will reach there maximum and not allow the tires to drop anymore)

*their

 

[Pacific Wheel]

Rebuild of what?

Rebuild of the 2.5's. If it's cheaper to upgrade to GEN2 3.0's rather then rebuilding 2.5's I'll go that route.

 

[Stricken]

Alrighty, I finally had time to do some tinkering with this I'm looking at only the rear first and my suspension is all stock otherwise. These measurements were taken with the shock in its free state and compressed as much as I could get with a ratchet strap. The travel seems to be less than Ford advertised so maybe I wasn't compressing enough. All measurements are eyelet to eyelet.

Gen II fully extended - 31.125"
Gen I fully extended - 28.5"

Gen II fully collapsed - 18.875"
Gen I fully collapsed - 17.75"

This tells us the Gen I shock collapses to a shorter package which means you need taller bump stops with the Gen IIs to prevent bottoming the shock. Makes sense since the body obviously has to be larger for the extra travel. Note that I don't have a good way to compress the suspension on the truck to see if Ford left any margin of safety in bottoming it out. Presumably you, should get a 1.5" taller bump to maintain that margin.

I also installed one of the Gen II shocks and left the other stocker in. Ride height is actually .5" LOWER with the Gen II. Furthermore, it only droops out about .25" farther.

SO, combined with the 1.5" taller bump, I would be losing 1.25" of travel. Not really a great drop-in solution. Now, would I get more droop out of Deavers?

It seems like some +3s would give me more droop and thus be able to take advantage of the extra travel of the Gen II shocks and make this a viable replacement for my stockers.

 

[Gamma goat]

So, in reading this thread, (in its entirety), I see that there is a bunch of negligence going on in terms of the front shocks. There are a few of you out there that understand, many more do not.

First off, the gen 2 shock body is too long, therefore it will not work well because.
A- during full compression of the front control arms the shock will become the bumpstop, that 2” extra length might not seem much, believe me, it is.
B- once you have managed to install the gen 2 shock the rod will be positioned lower than it should in its stroke, that matters.

You guys are all worried about full top out, wrong worry, full bottom out should be your worry.

I agree with those that say if you are just rolling around on the street, looking cool in the mall parking lot, you will never have a problem, even if you decide you don’t want that mocha frapucino and drive over the little dirt mound that separates the Starbucks drive-thru from the Taco Bell parking lot.

But, if you actually use your truck, the way Ford/SVT never really intended you to (yep, I bent the living bejesus out of my rear rails when it had 2,200 miles on it). If you are one of us guys you will most likely see a problem, like broken stuff problems, most likely somewhere you don’t wanna see problems.

Could you make them work? Yeah, you could. But after you have wasted your weekends and money trying to make it work ask yourself.
How much is your time worth to make something work half as good as if you just went out and purchased a King or Fox package that fits your truck and does not create the possibility that you will end up somewhere with no cell reception, sun setting, bits of truck trailed behind you, no ride home. Again, if you are just wearing out your tires doing donuts at the mall, the gen 2’s should work just fine.

 

[Stricken]

I haven't gotten around to the fronts yet but I too suspect that between the longer body and limiting straps, travel will be limited there as well.

I bought this set of Gen II shocks for $650 and they're basically brand new, so losing a bit of travel may be worth it to some people. I was looking at Deavers in support of a Whipple anyway. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my limited research, it seems like Deavers+Gen IIs would be a nice upgrade on the rear and may even gain a bit of travel?

 

[ogdobber]

I haven't gotten around to the fronts yet but I too suspect that between the longer body and limiting straps, travel will be limited there as well.

I bought this set of Gen II shocks for $650 and they're basically brand new, so losing a bit of travel may be worth it to some people. I was looking at Deavers in support of a Whipple anyway. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my limited research, it seems like Deavers+Gen IIs would be a nice upgrade on the rear and may even gain a bit of travel?

+3 deavers with rpg +2 shackles give more rear suspension droop. (Its more than an inch.)
That combo also gives stock rear height


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[ogdobber]

I haven't gotten around to the fronts yet but I too suspect that between the longer body and limiting straps, travel will be limited there as well.

I bought this set of Gen II shocks for $650 and they're basically brand new, so losing a bit of travel may be worth it to some people. I was looking at Deavers in support of a Whipple anyway. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my limited research, it seems like Deavers+Gen IIs would be a nice upgrade on the rear and may even gain a bit of travel?

+3 deavers with rpg +2 shackles give more rear suspension droop. (Its more than an inch.)
That combo also gives stock rear height


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[ogdobber]

I haven't gotten around to the fronts yet but I too suspect that between the longer body and limiting straps, travel will be limited there as well.

I bought this set of Gen II shocks for $650 and they're basically brand new, so losing a bit of travel may be worth it to some people. I was looking at Deavers in support of a Whipple anyway. Someone correct me if I'm wrong, but from my limited research, it seems like Deavers+Gen IIs would be a nice upgrade on the rear and may even gain a bit of travel?

+3 deavers with rpg +2 shackles give more rear suspension droop. (Its more than an inch.)
That combo also gives stock rear height


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

 

[Stricken]

+3 deavers with rpg +2 shackles give more rear suspension droop. (Its more than an inch.)
That combo also gives stock rear height


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I actually want a bit of lift as well because I'm losing the compression travel with the taller bumps.


I don't think there's a good way to get a bit more droop and lift out of the front, is there? I recall CVs may be a limiter. I'll probably take one out to be sure, but I think the fronts will be losing ~1" of travel.

 

[ogdobber]

I actually want a bit of lift as well because I'm losing the compression travel with the taller bumps.


I don't think there's a good way to get a bit more droop and lift out of the front, is there? I recall CVs may be a limiter. I'll probably take one out to be sure, but I think the fronts will be losing ~1" of travel.

Yes the stock cv's are the limiter in the front. RCV makes cv's that do extreme angles but they are $2700 a set
Btw on the front, the gen 2 shock body is (1.5?) Longer... So you will lose much more than that in travel


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