There are a lot of good shocks out there that will work great on our WK/XK's, but they're not listed in application guides. I put this together to help members select shocks beyond the very few "off the shelf" selections that are available.
Here's what i've gathered based off my own experience and/or research"
Length:
Fully extended length of 27.5 is ideal. Anything significantly longer will require brake line extensions (or modify the mount which is pretty easy). Anything shorter and you're sacrificing articulation for no good reason.
Fully compressed length of 17" is OK, as long as you install 2" bump stop extensions since stock compressed length is 15".
-->Click here to jump to Brake Line Extension thread<--
-->Click here to jump to Bump Stop Extension thread<--
Bilstein Valving:
170/60-180/75 I've seen this range used and people say they like the ride. I personally think this is too soft for the weight of our vehicles BUT might be good for a smoother on-road ride if you're basically using it as a modified DD.
255/70 Seems to be the ideal valving for these vehicles based on weight/spring rates. You should have a good on road ride and improved offroad performance.
275/78 This may be best suited for the weight of a V8 loaded XK with heavy springs (OME HD) that's offroad often; will help maintain clearance when coming off the rocks while wheeling.
FOX Valving
Fox uses a different valving system thats a percentage of available damping for compression/rebound. So a 40/60 setup (which i believe is their "standard" if you order pre-built shocks) is 40% available compression and 60% available rebound. There aren't a lot of WK/XK members running these shocks so I'll list the members and what they're running for now:
Omelet- 30/60 (originally 30/90)
TrialByFire- 30/60
06JeepXKHEMI - 30/90
Matt - 40/80
I've created a spreadsheet to keep track of shocks I've acquired the p/n's and specs for-
which can be downloaded -->by clicking here here<--
I'll continually update that spreadsheet as I get more information. And if anyone has ANY questions, post up!
Update
Members running shocks from spreadsheet:
1) 06JeepXKHEMI
P/N 980-02-038-A
FOX 2.0 Emulsion shocks from JBA.
Click here for more info
2) Matt
P/N 980-02-039 with 815-00-036
Fox 2.0 Emulsion Remote Resi shocks with CD adjuster
Click here for more info
3) Core-XK
P/N RS999286
Rancho 9000XL adjustable rear shocks.
Click here for more info
Reply With Quote