GEN 2 New Fox 3.0 live wire VS. stock 2020 fox 3.0 live wire?

[DMATT]

I ask Nick from Apollo Optics this question. What are the advantages of going with the new fox 3.0 live wire shocks over just keeping the stock 2020 raptor fox 3.0 live wire? I thought some you might be interested in his answer.

Hey Dennis,

The biggest thing I'd say is overall ride comfort and added functionality. The Fox shock is physically longer and out of the box will level the truck. Additionally, height can be adjusted up or down with the threaded collar to dial in height, you will need a preload spanner wrench. With the longer shock, there's no need to play with leveling collars, leveling springs, or anything like that unless you want to raise or lower the truck from level.

The next thing is that they give you the ability to adjust the compression and rebound on the shock itself in addition to still fully integrating with the truck's OEM Live Valve system. So you'll still get the various drive modes while also being able to dial in the shocks to your preferred driving style.

Additionally, the shocks are physically larger and have a larger internal piston than stock as well as an additional reservoir with a dual hose design. You're getting more travel than stock, more dampening ability than stock, and your able to have more fluid in the system by using both the internal capacity of the shock and the reservoir to make sure that your shock fluid stays cooler and maintains it's functionality with spirited driving. The reservoirs are also finned, basically a heat-sink design, to expel heat from the shock fluid and the dual hose design with built in check valves means that with every stroke of the shock shaft, you're pushing hot fluid out of the shock, through the finned reservoir and then cooled fluid back into the shock giving you the coolest fluid possible and the best performance.


Cheers,

Nick Lykos
Owner
Apollo Optics, Inc.
www.Apollo-Optics.com

 

[OEMPlus Raptor]

I would agree with all he said with the exception that they level the truck out of the box. I had mine put on with zero preload and the height was same as stock. I bought the king preload wrench which has a much better design for adjusting the preload. I added 1/2 of preload that gave me one inch of ride height over stock. Overall I'm happy with them.

 

[2slo4u]

I bought a set of OEM shocks to replace my worn out shocks so I wouldn’t have any down time when I sent them off to be rebuilt. I’m now wishing I’d gone with 3.0

 

[Badgertits]

I bought a set of OEM shocks to replace my worn out shocks so I wouldn’t have any down time when I sent them off to be rebuilt. I’m now wishing I’d gone with 3.0

Isn't the price difference pretty significant?

What are the advantages of going w/ the Fox Factory shocks in the rear vs staying w/ OEM? IS there are ride height adjustability in the rears? Do people typically use these in conjunction w/ deaver leaf springs or can you use w/ stock rear leaf springs?

 

[TerribleONE]

Isn't the price difference pretty significant?

What are the advantages of going w/ the Fox Factory shocks in the rear vs staying w/ OEM? IS there are ride height adjustability in the rears? Do people typically use these in conjunction w/ deaver leaf springs or can you use w/ stock rear leaf springs?

Rebound and compression adjustments as well as increased cooling capability. No height adjustability in the rear. I would definitely do deavers before dropping the coin on these but you could run these with stock leafs if you wanted to.

 

[Ryan C]

I think the advantages are, in order of importance:

1. three damper settings, which allow you to adjust to better suit driving style - the firmest setting is great when pushing offroad, the medium is good all around, and the soft - well if that's your thing then you have the option - its definitely softer than stock but not much use IMO when driving at speed offroad
2. more oil and better cooling capacity
3. ride height adjustable (best to take off the truck to do this, but it is quite a bit of work) on the front, to get the exact height you want while maintaining up and down travel. As mentioned you need the proper tools to do this adjustment, including the preload collar tool and spring compressor
4. retains live valve - many will say that going to full adjustable coilover and rear shock is better, but live valve has been great for me, for on and off road driving

I don't believe the diameter of the shocks or the pistons inside the shocks are any different than stock - the specs don't indicate any difference and from a visual comparison, there is nothing in it. I also don't believe they give any additional travel.

 

[mattl600]

Definitely feel the difference in the front end when driving around town. Off-road I was also very impressed and no shock fade even out in the desert.

only bummer is i pretty much sand blasted the passenger side shock which removed the (soft/medium/firm) decal with one outting.

I picked up a set of shock guards to hopefully eliminate this next time and protect them.

last off roading I ran them in medium…. Going to throw them into “firm” next weekend. Thoughts ?

 

[Ryan C]

I was destroying stock rear shocks and later the fox factory 3.0s from rock spray off the front tires until I protected the shocks with rubber and then later some mid flaps. They are both kind of ugly, but save the rear end from a lot of abuse. I was really worried about pitting on the shaft of the 3.0s, as they come with just a soft rubber protector that lasted less than one drive offroad.

When on the gas offroad, its remarkable how much you can hear stuff coming off the fronts and smashing into the mid flaps.

Please ignore the fluid film I just sprayed over all the steel of the bottom of the truck. Its ugly but helps prevent rust up here in Vancouver, with all the rain and snow we get.

I really like the setup now (fox factory 3.0s, deavers, bump stops), and am driving faster and using the stiffer settings exclusively. For this reason, they are a big improvement IMO from stock. But they don't come cheap!

 

[amREADY]

I was destroying stock rear shocks and later the fox factory 3.0s from rock spray off the front tires until I protected the shocks with rubber and then later some mid flaps. They are both kind of ugly, but save the rear end from a lot of abuse. I was really worried about pitting on the shaft of the 3.0s, as they come with just a soft rubber protector that lasted less than one drive offroad.

When on the gas offroad, its remarkable how much you can hear stuff coming off the fronts and smashing into the mid flaps.

Please ignore the fluid film I just sprayed over all the steel of the bottom of the truck. Its ugly but helps prevent rust up here in Vancouver, with all the rain and snow we get.

I really like the setup now (fox factory 3.0s, deavers, bump stops), and am driving faster and using the stiffer settings exclusively. For this reason, they are a big improvement IMO from stock. But they don't come cheap!



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Fxn over form gets my respect every day.

Interesting way to approach it with the mid flaps. Are they firm enough to actually work at speed?

Now that you have some time in the saddle, how do you like the FRS 3.0's?

 

[Ryan C]

Yes they work at speed and yes I really like the 3.0s. I’ve written here about them before but better cooling and more support make them worth it for me. It’s a dangerous game though as now I want a bypass rack haha