Not sure what degree I will end with, and honestly I'm not sure if I wanna attack this with caster shims alone, or caster shims and caster/camber dual adjustable bushings. It all depends on what degree i'm already at.

Stewart

 

So I would guess it would depend on how much lift a truck has to since adding caster with shims just turns the pinion in an unfriendly direction away from the driveshaft.

 

I bought 08 Springs to do the swap, and ordered the pmf brackets in November (told would ship in December) several years ago. I had the month of December off work and was looking forward to installing them. Asked where the brackets were in December, was told they were busy and because I'd bought them on sale, that my order was "always going to be at the back of their list" or something to that extent. Was told they would ship by end of December. Didn't come. January February March no brackets, more excuses, owner tried to refund money a couple times instead of deliver the brackets but I already had a few hundred bucks tied up in 08 Springs so I held his feet to the fire. At some point, maybe April, he said they were changing the design of the hangers and said he could send me the old ones right away or I could wait and get the new ones, which were better designed. At that point I told him, you know, what's another month or two at this point? If my memory serves correctly, I think he did finally ship the brackets in may or June and he did refund like fifty or a hundred bucks for the wait.

I've never ordered a part from a manufacturer and been told it would ship in weeks and had to wait 6 months.
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That was like 2 years ago. The brackets are still laying here. I wish I would have spent the money I wasted on springs and brackets on deaver springs that I could have installed that December when I had time. Maybe I'll get around to installing them when I'm out of recruit school and I'll be able to give my feedback, but even if they are fantastic, I'm not sure that would make up for the disaster that is dealing with pmf.

Edit I checked my emailed records. Ordered 11/27/14 and received 5/14/15.

 

Wow. Ok good to know. That's really crazy any business would treat customers like that. They usually don't last long doing so. That said, I'd imagine it's not one of their hottest sellers so they probably don't focus long on manufacturing them as opposed to something else that fly's of the shelf. Still though of your gonna actively market it you better have it.

 

I had actually contacted him a few times prior and had been told when I ordered that they would ship before the first of December. He then said he was "overwhelmed" over the holidays.

Mine are sitting in a box, if I was smart I'd just copy them in cad and distribute the file for free so no one has to deal with them.

 

the kyb monomax only comes in a stock length and why I reconnected them to the non lifted guys.

But it if you want a better shock then the Bilstein that can be accomplished easy enough.

 

the amount of caster you want depends on the handling you desire not on how much lift you have,

choosing to to use leaf shims depends on how often you use 4X4 and how much driveline vibration you are willing to tolerate.

 

impatiently waiting for your opinion on a better shock than the bilstein. Obviously fox are probably better. My question was about the fabtech stealth series specifically.

 

My point was that adding shims causes the pinion to turn down thus creating more opportunity for vibration from the driveshaft connection through the u joint. This is exaggerated more when the truck is lifted because the angle on the driveshaft is already higher than it was before the lift.

 

kybs are made in Japan and they do not private label, Monroe doesn't make a monotube shock like the stealth. In fact Fab tech makes their shocks in house.

the reason the salesman " raved" about his shock was because he was trying to make a sale. Fact is, the Fabtech stealth is a monotube shock just like every other monotube including a bilstien. The basic difference comes down to how they are valved.

 

ill ask again
Why are you wanting to do this ? What are hoping to accomplish ?

 

I've since spoken to Rocky Mountain Suspension and their salesman had good things to say about the stealth series too. They both explained the plating on the piston rod that's exposed that resist nicks and scratches that could compromise the shock. This plating is supposed to be better than the chrome on the bilstein.

Neither told me fabtech make them themselves. If that is true I'd feel better about trying them. My concern was they were just a painted kyb or Monroe and I'm not the least bit interested in that crap.

 

they are are a basic gas pressurized mono tube shock just like the bilstein or fox. According to fabtechs website their main selling feature is they are painted black. Aka Stealth.

i have never run the fabtech stealth but have run their High end Dirt Logic series and in my opinion they miss the mark on valving.
Perhsps the stealth has a better tune on it but I Can't really know until I tried a pair.

 

For one of the same reasons ford did it, for a better ride. The longer the spring the longer the radius of travel is. This should in all theory create a smoother working spring. The fellow that did the conversion even said it rides better. There doesn't seem to be many that have done it for a lot of feedback on it.

 

That's exactly why I'm asking about the shocks. I've installed hundreds of coilovers on cars by reputable and some not so. Anyway most manufactures will never tell you where they source the shocks from and in my experiences, like you, I've thought the valving was not correct on many of them to match the spring rates.