so yes..I been digging into this subject a little and my understanding is that the RANCHO 9000 and 7000 series dampen in both directions...when you cut the strap that hold the shock closed upon reciept...the 9000's and 7000's don't expand like blisteins do...so that tells me that dampen in both directions. the blisteins will expand when you cut the strap so that tells me they dampen only on compression.

King has a IBP valve option that is hydraulic and will dampen non linear in both directions due to a venture shape of the needle body and curved needle which provides more exponential dampening as more compression occurs


air bags (which do solve adjust my ride height problem) are a lot like coil over springs of yester year in which dampening only occurs upon compression.

so anyway...a lot of folks will lean more towards fox, king and other shock offerings (2.0 and 2.5 piston size) if they are looking for better shock control in heavy duty applications and off road rugged applications that the small piston consumer grade shock just cant provide.

air bags work great on loaded trucks like camper loaded or 5th wheel loaded because the weight of the load provides some dampening on extension.....basically the weight of the load is the resistance. but you loose that when empty.

 

I run 26 psi in the rear tires unloaded. 37x13.50x20 Toyo RT. That is enough psi to support the truck unloaded according to the Toyo inflation charts for these tires.


I think it's funny when guys think they can't have a capable 3/4 and 1 ton pickup that rides well. My 2002 rode much better than my 2012. Night and day difference on concrete highways unloaded.

 

Well finally got around to installing my carli 2.5 leveling kit. For the most part it went ok. However I am pretty pissed at myself and at them about the brake line relocation brackets. They are pretty much a joke. For one had to drill them so I could reuse the oem frame bolts, 2 they supplied cheap sae ( the rest of the truck is metric) grade 8 bolts with chincy washers that were to small for the oem bracket, 3 rd had to bend the poo out of the brake lines. I am most mad at myself about this, I should have made my own brake line extensions and not bent the factory lines. Lastly in the instructions the track bar is supossed to be 37.5 inches center to center. Well with it as short as it can go it’s 37.75. So I’ll have to call and see what they say. So with those issues and for the price they didn’t instill a ton of confidence in the rest of their stuff.

 

That's interesting. I don't remember having to drill anything on my Carli level. I do remember the track bar being as short as it would go to get to their measurement, but it did get there. What shocks did you end up going with?

 

Wow. Expanding when the strap is cut is a normal characteristic of a gas-charged shock. The gas charge helps prevent aeration of the hydraulic fluid (present in all of the shocks you mention). Just because the shock expands DOES NOT mean it only dampens in one direction. All shocks dampen in both compression and rebound (both directions).

 

it’s all relative to your vehicle ...mine is 9800lbs empty .

i would have to put 2 gas charged shocks at each position , the second being upside down to have equall dampening in both directions.

the shocks I have in mind are the king with internal by pass. But in order to use those, I need a 3” lift in the front and then adjust accordingly in the back. Dana 110 axles in the back so not the standard basic block lift.

So yes, I figured out what’s next for me based on the weight of my vehicle.

basic f-250 shocks won’t cut it.

 

Say what? O_o

 

what i I was thinking.