The FRF Shock Shootout! All pre event details and discussion here

[BlueSVT]

There's kickers... And there's frame benders... Keep in mind with a 3.0 shock it will take an even larger kicker than usual to cause any damage... And even stock it takes one hell of a hit to do it.

Bump kits interfere with the designed shock operation, so which bump kit do you pick?

Mine was setup terrible with the Icons at first. I had to tune the bump shock and lower the pressure before I found a sweet spot. It could skew the results dramatically if not setup correctly.

At the very least, it's a topic that needs to be well thought out, considering the impact bump stop kits have on the shock operations. I know myself and Greg both had to make adjustments due to the rear bump kits, which improved the way the rear end behaves.

 

[BigJ]

Sway bar installed. We're getting too crazy with setup.

Entertaining ideas like this makes for a better test.

My personal opinion is bone stock + shocks.

Even a bump kit is NOT needed if the course is properly scouted and pre-ran to ensure there's no surprise kickers. You don't need a bump kit for whoops!!!

A course without a kicker here and there isn't much of a course. Let's see these shocks run through the full gamut. I think a bump kit should be mandatory assuming the truck will be properly pushed.

There's kickers... And there's frame benders... Keep in mind with a 3.0 shock it will take an even larger kicker than usual to cause any damage... And even stock it takes one hell of a hit to do it.

Bump kits interfere with the designed shock operation, so which bump kit do you pick?

Mine was setup terrible with the Icons at first. I had to tune the bump shock and lower the pressure before I found a sweet spot. It could skew the results dramatically if not setup correctly.

At the very least, it's a topic that needs to be well thought out, considering the impact bump stop kits have on the shock operations. I know myself and Greg both had to make adjustments due to the rear bump kits, which improved the way the rear end behaves.

I agree the bump stop component needs to be well thought out. However I am still convinced the truck we chose needs to have them. I am flat unwilling to risk it. Shit happens, and I think we'd be fools to pretend it wont happen to us.

And since the idea of speed limits has come up, I'm starting to think there's another reason bump stops are a must: I'm considering having a 4th driver; the truck's owner. Lets let them drive the setup as hard (or not) as they want. While I don't think their data will be directly comparable to the other three driver's data, I do think having an actual potential customer "try before they buy" as part of the dataset will be very informative, all on its own.

In terms of the details, so far we have OEM shocks and ICONs. As I understand it (and I'll confirm with ICON), they recommend no bump stop kit. What we can do is air down to zero if need be the stops for that test. If we pick up another shock setup or two from a different manufacturer, we'll go with their recommendations and set the stops accordingly as well. But in all cases, the frame reinforcement will be there, and the stop will help account for the 'oh shit' moment, like a tire blowout, or a chupacabra crossing, or whatever.

I see no issue varying the stop to the shock manufacturer's spec. Do you?

 

[BlueSVT]

Assuming even when retracted, it doesn't interfere with the travel (aside from just before bottoming out), then it's likely not an issue.

As far as we're getting into the details here, it may not mean much if we can't get the other manufacturers to play along... Does it seem like we have any interest at all or even an "I'll get back to you" reply yet?

 

[BigJ]

No interest to date.

Having said that, I'm not surprised at all. Across the dozens of automotive aftermarket products I've tested in a similar way, almost no manufacturers participated directly. Some companies see value in something like this, other's don't. And that's ok. I understand the business implications, and so I do NOT see a decline as a negative reflection on the company. They have to do what they believe is in the best interest of their company.

I'm still hopeful a member or two will be willing to lend us parts they've purchased. We don't need direct support from the manufactures to make this happen. Far from it.

 

[Kanakry]

all i gotta say..... kings...

This kinda of stuff is basically what everyone is trying to avoid.

 

[pat'sRAPTOR]

No that's a good point J you can either site te stops down or just remove the actual air bump itself and leave te frame brace in. I know a lot of the kits allow for you to remove the stop so that could be an option too if there's too much of a controversy over it. But like you said even aired all the way down on the bump it acts as a last contactin point in case you hit real hard. So instead of hitting the frame it'll hit the bump even with it aired all the way down. Me personally I would like to have something like that there as a protection kinda thing but it's up for discussion really either remove the bumps completely or jus air them down

 

[bstoner59]

This is getting some legs!

I agree we should keep the trucks as 'stock' as possible. Maybe springs but I'm inclined to stay with stock springs for the test.

Another idea I think might work well is to give the drivers a day of pre running the course in their trucks. They can learn all the twists, turns, bumps rocks etc and develop a baseline for the course and really be able to tell the difference for each of the setups. Also, they risk their truck learning the course and not the donor truck

We should also have a co-pilot to look out for other vehicles, watch the speed limit and take notes of any feedback the driver may have during the run.

I'd let you use my Fox shocks but there is no way I'm taking them off my ride for that long!!

 

[justvettn]

I would like to see them perform with out the aftermarket bump-stops because they can help or hinder certain setups. If you think you must, use King bumps for King shock, Fox for fox and ICON for ICON's. ICON may have bumps already if not I'm sure they probably will by the time you get this organized.

 

[BlueSVT]

I would like to see them perform with out the aftermarket bump-stops because they can help or hinder certain setups. If you think you must, use King bumps for King shock, Fox for fox and ICON for ICON's. ICON may have bumps already if not I'm sure they probably will by the time you get this organized.

If a shock "needs" the bump system to perform... then that's even better information to be known to the customers!

 

[BigJ]

If a shock "needs" the bump system to perform... then that's even better information to be known to the customers!

That's not a fair statement, and we both know it. No more, please. Lets keep this thread about the test and its parameters.

Since we have zero truck right now, I am hardly in a position to be picky. However, if two or more do volunteer, I will be selecting the one with a bump stop/frame reinforcement kit. I won't budge on that, guys.

What I will be flexible on is how those stops are set up. If ICON tells their customers not to run any, we'll lower them to 0 pressure. If they say aok to run X pressure instead, that's what well do. We'll do what King tells their customers to do, and we'll do what Fox (RPG) tells their customers.

But no matter what, given the choice, I will take the reinforced/protected truck over the bone stock truck.