Just installed a 6 inch Donahoe Racing all spring lift kit. I ordered 10" King shocks for the front and 12" for the rear. There's about 4 inches of compression travel on the fronts but about 8 inches in the rear. Does anyone know if that sounds right? Why would I need 6 inches of rebound in the front? Are my fronts too long? Any thoughts appreciated. These were the recommended lengths posted on the DR website. Hmm.

 

I did a bit of shock study before buying my new Ranchos because I was kind of ignorant on front suspension stuff.

You have to measure both compression and extension. Usually a happy medium is to have a 50/50 split on the shock length/travel. Say 10" = 10" travel in either direction which makes it a 20" shock (travel). Nothing is worse for a shock then supporting an axle all by itself at full extension by a sudden drop followed by being jammed all the way in on a bounce.

I would say 10" sounds about right, I am sure your suspension could be compressed more then 4" in the front. A 10" shock should allow the suspension to drop 10" before it bottoms out. Before it reaches that point, your limit strap should kick in to save the shocks and brake lines. Your bump stops should be adjusted accordingly too.

 

i know know what model truck you have, but i know at jeffs bronco graveyard they sell them by what size lift you have, but you would think ordering shocks sepereate they would want a measurement of the truck sitting on its own weight fron shock mount to shock mount, then they would determine the amount of travel you needed inside the shock.

 

I guess I should have measured before I ordered the shocks. But at least they look and work really well. 50/50 seems to make sense. It's supposed to be a six inchlift but maybe the weight of the diesel brings it down an inch? If it were an inch higher, it would be 50/50 - 5 inches on compression and rebound. But I'm not going to complain about an inch. 4 on compression and 6 on rebound is probably more than I had before and it looks sweet! Thanks for the info. Live and learn and have fun doing it is what I'm talking about!!