shock question/ advice ?

[TyJ]

Hey guys I have to get new shocks for the front of my k20
I am going to go with rancho 900s, but I have heard everything from 70-30 body to shock, all the way to 50-50 body to shock, any advice?

I am running a 2.5 softride lift and want it as soft as possible as its currently my dd and I only put it in 4x4 in the snow-

Thanks
Ty

[LONGHAIR]

Rancho 900?
Do you mean 9000? Are you looking for an adjustment point on an adjustable shock?

[TyJ]

Yeah 9000 typo

I have 9000s on it now but the shock is far too tall, almost fully compressed just sitting, maybe 2-3" travel

I guess my question would be better stated

Should the body of my shock be half the distance from the perch to the mounting point, or should the body of the shock be some other ratio, 60 % 70%?

Or even better how much shorter should this shock be?
Thanks

[FormerMember]

You should cycle the suspension and measure it at the shortest and longest points.

Then buy a shock that has the right extended and collapsed lengths.

[TyJ]

Yeah that's what I'll do I just thought somebody might have a easy answer/ equation for this

Hey grendel by the way looked into that air switch and $$$$$$$$

Think I'm gonna put a trap door in the console so I can access the 241 shifter and still get everything else I want, I'll just have to shift it from passenger side, think that will work?

[Stocker]

I put my 2.5" Softrides up front years ago and I took measurements at full compression and full extension. Had a good front-end guy (shop owner) research for me and the shock he came up with was.... exactly the same as the stock rear shocks!! I used KYB Gas-A-Justs and they are still working great.

[FormerMember]

Originally Posted by TyJ

Yeah that's what I'll do I just thought somebody might have a easy answer/ equation for this

Hey grendel by the way looked into that air switch and $$$$$$$$

Think I'm gonna put a trap door in the console so I can access the 241 shifter and still get everything else I want, I'll just have to shift it from passenger side, think that will work?

That would work fine. Quite frankly, I prefer a lever.

You could also go with a cable shifter and place it where ever you want. I had a friend stick his to the left of his driver's seat.

[LONGHAIR]

Well, to be precise about it:
You need to have a shock that has at least a little more jounce (compression) travel than the gap between your bumpstop and the spring pad where it hits...but, not so short that it limits the rebound (droop) travel either. To put it simply, the shock should not be the travel limiter in either direction. The mounts are not designed to bear this kind of force, nor is the shock itself.
If this is not possible in the current configuration, you need to shorten the bumpstop's gap. This will lessen the over-all difference.

From the looks of your pic, those shocks are too long. The shock would bottom-out before the bumpstop even gets close.

[Stocker]

Originally Posted by LONGHAIR

To put it simply, the shock should not be the travel limiter in either direction. The mounts are not designed to bear this kind of force, nor is the shock itself.

Exactly right, and this was considered when selecting my shocks. The shop I dealt with is one of the best in the area and does alignment and suspension work (including modification) on every type of vehicle on the road.