True you wont gain much oil in two inches but from a 6” to a 10 or 12? Plus the size of the reservoir. Your right about the rear it will never fade compared to the front but the oil(5wt what fox recommends) will get hot and loose to much viscosity over time. I mean if you put 300 miles on a set of 8”x2.5 in any local desert they would be fine? That oil would be smoked in the front.
For a truck that lives 75% of it life on road 6-8” is great probably wouldn’t have to rebuild them for five years. All I’m saying is for what my plans are I dont think its enough. As for the rear no bed cage still need a truck. Just deavers 6” lift pack and a 10” or 12” bypass if it can fit. Im not looking for monster travel just a smooth 10-11” strapped, that is solid for those heavy footed ahh shit moments alot can be accomplished with 10” of smooth,solid..... travel. I plan on using this more these days and retiring the race truck.
James im not trying to get into a pissing match with you but you have this knowledge that im looking for and this is what im into and I don’t get to talk to anybody else about it. Dont get me wrong I really like to go fast and read alot of technical issues but offroad is where its at for me suspension and electrical everything else is a huge bonus.
Hey op. How long did it take you to cut those brackets out and what did you use? (Tool wise) how much did it suck???
Bud, i dont think you are considering all the variables i posted. Remember, there are two different fox shock oils and one will substantially stand up to temps much better than the other but the shock better have vitron seals to do it. Resi means nothing for cooling, there is very little oil in the resi and it does not cycle through the shock. Longer shock is like adding a deep pan to the Allison, all it does is prolong hot temp from happening as quick as before but it still will happen and take longer too cool down. It is not the length that you should be looking at if you want to keep things working well. if it was, desert racers wouldnt be going with larger and larger piston diameters on shocks. i would have no issue running these shocks for 300 miles in the dirt because i know where the limitations are and its not in the shocks. they will last that amount of time just fine. Ive logged more miles than that in the dirt on 2.0 coilovers on the front end of a dmax that was driven as hard as you can drive one without bending the frame or losing control arms. Those coilovers lasted WAY beyond my expectations and never had one leak nor did it burn the oil up in the testing sessions. there was some very unconventional shock valving going on inside and other tricks done to make them work though. in the end, coil springs were my actual issue, not the shock for a bolt in stock height replacement. Now if you wanted to get that truck to bomb 2-3ft whoops, it wouldnt happen but you wont get that from one of these trucks without alot more wheel travel, way more shock/s, and no drop brackets or very small ones with extreme reinforcement to the frame rails/crossmembers. by that point, all this about 2.5 shocks and what we are discussing is a mute point.
you are concerning yourself with fade WAY too much. Fade isnt even going to be your main combatant by the time you have that much valving in the shock. The shock doesnt care how much weight is up front, it only cares about shock shaft velocity. what i meant by the rear end is not that it WONT fade, its that you will be limited on travel. This means you either trade comfort for speed or vise versa and you will be limited on speed. the rear end will hold you up from going fast enough to use the front end to its full potential. And if its all on a lift kit using drop brackets, that will be the next weak point/hold up before shock fade.
If you are fading shocks under these conditions, its time to look at shock tuning and experimenting or change to something else you feel will work better.
Honestly, in the end, if it works for you, Screw it! in suspension, there are a few ways to skin a cat and if what you do works for you, then it doesnt really matter but i know what works for me and i know where the potential is or isnt. im always trying different stuff whether its dmax related, cummins, sand car, rzr's, tracker or spit balling ideas with other shock tuners. sooooo much to learn in this section its ridiculous. tuning a shock is like tuning an ECM, you can get 2 vehicles to run sections just as fast and as the other but it doesnt mean you both have identical tuning inside. Just from what i posted, it doesnt mean you CAN NOT do what you would like to do. im simply stating the draw backs of what you may think you are gaining from it. if you want to run a 10-12" stroke shock, you certainly can and it will do its job and give you a big shit eating grin off road. You just asked why i say its a waste to go so big so i gave the reasoning behind it.
EDIT: Fabtech got a 4" shock to fit inbetween the UCA with a custom UCA setup. There should be no reason a 3.0 coilover cant fit. Nets you better springs to holding that weight as well. you already are cutting the stock mount out so may as well go that route assuming you truly feel the 2.5 wont do what you want it to.
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