Rear Shocks

[GPintheMitten]

It's time to replace my rear shocks. After a little research and some advice, here's my plan. Does this sound right?

I have a 2 inch lift and 32" tires. I'm going with Bilstein's 5150 12" travel with 255/70 valving. Part number BF5-A187-H1.

I found them for $99/each at A.O.R. (Advance Off-road Research, Inc.). Anybody have any experience with them?

http://www.fortcom.com/aor/public_html/bilstein.htm

Also, I've read that there may be different bushing sizes or bolt sizes...so they aren't loose in the shock mounts. What have others done?

And lastly, I suppose this is a reasonable diy job in the driveway?

[LWM]

I'm going with Bilstein's 5150 12" travel with 255/70 valving. Part number BF5-A187-H1. Anybody have any experience with them?

There are a couple members with the 5150 shocks, I am sure 07JeepXK will speak up as he installed those on his XK. I was thinking about the same ones when my Rocky Road shocks need replaced.

[07JeepXK]

I installed the Bilstein 5150's last September and absolutely love them. Unfortunately though, I had a seal on the rear passenger side blow so im going to have to replace it. I'm not exactly sure why or how it blew but I don't think it had anything to do with a defect in the shock. I do a lot of off roading so that might have caused the problem.

The 10" travel with 255/70 valving works perfect with a 2 inch lift. It does make the ride stiffer which is how I feel all lifted vehicles should ride. That and I have the front Bilstein HD struts which stiffened it up a little too. As for the shocks, the mounting eyelets are a little narrower then the stock shocks. So you have to use a few 1/2 inch washers for them to fit properly. Also I went to the local hardware store and picked up some new bolts that are slightly larger so I wouldnt have the clunk so others have had with the shocks since the eyelet is slightly larger.

[jcoulter]

I've got Bilstiens. I don't think I have the A187's. I think they are the 196s. But you can't go wrong with them.

[07JeepXK]

I just realized that you mentioned getting the 12 inch travel shocks and wasnt paying attention when I posted. My shocks are the 10 inch travel with 255/70 valving. The 12 inch travel 5150's would be a better application for someone running a 4 inch lift with an extra spacer like phunkeydude had. I took the measurement of the oem shocks provided by adamag25 and the 10 inch travel shocks are perfect extended and collapsed length for the added two inch lift. This might be something you want to consider. I think the 12 inch travel shocks would be over kill. Here is a picture of the XK flexing with the sway bars disconnected. The shocks are almost fully extended and the coil is still snug in place. If the extended length was any longer the coils would fall out.

[Doc in AZ]

#1 a shock should NEVER be used to limit your suspension travel. you can buy limit straps that work in tandem with a shock to limit travel but otherwise you will blow seals on your shocks and sometimes you can pull the shaft out of the can.

#2 there are a couple different ways to keep the spring from popping out, you can use a spring retainer that mounts to the axle and holds the spring captive in the cup, and, on even longer travel suspension, you can run a longer bump stop.

something to keep in mind.... if you were driving a truggy in the baja 1000 at 90+ mph you need UP travel in your suspension... but offroad, when negotiating obstacles at low speed, you need DOWN travel. this is more commonly refered to as DROOP. do a google search for LCG builds... that's low center of gravity. these are basically stock height vehicles running 40" tires that rely solely on droop and are very capable rigs.

[Doc in AZ]

and one more thing...

fwiw, you don't really need any kind of high tech or high dollar shocks for street driving and low speed offroading. i refer again to my previous statement of low speed & droop vs. high speed & up travel.

for trail driving you need only to dampen the the vehicle coming down on the axle. i have tried several different shocks on my rig which is my daily driver and a purpose built rock rig, and i have to say the pro-comp shocks @ $35 each are just about the best i've had.

they flex well offroad and have great road manners. i don't have a front or rear sway bar on my rig and drive it at least 300 miles a week.

this is with a 2" coil spacer and stock springs



this is with a 4" coil spring and the same shocks



when shopping for shocks also keep in mind that the road manners and ride quality often associated with shock quality will also be dictated by tire inflation. just because the tire has a max psi doesn't mean you should run that pressure. that is only for a heavily laden vehicle. my jeep is just under 4k lbs. i run about 24psi in tires with a max psi of 40psi for a comfortable ride and correct wear pattern

[GPintheMitten]

Thanks for all the comments and advise guys. I'll have to think this over some. I don't really do much off-roading. I do a little mudding and will probably go to Silver Lake Sand Dunes in western Michigan sometime. The rest of my driving is just road driving and a little forest trails. I don't plan on putting on disconnects either.