Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

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DesertDriver
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Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by DesertDriver »

I’m curious to learn who has adjustable shocks and for what reason?

Do you really change the setting each time offroad? Is it easy? Is it worth the extra dirhams? Plenty of questions to start a nice chat.

Gerard



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scotchyl
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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by scotchyl »

I am also keen to hear the feedback. Best I have seen on reasonable budgetbare Fox, Titan and Falcon.
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Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by Zeebzog »

I have radflos which are adjustable and can be done very easily by simply turning by hand a small dial.

However never change them.

I also have Arb which are adjustable and these can be adjusted by a special spanner, which is not really convenient. So never change these either.


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Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by DesertDriver »

Ok so it seems to be of little use to you then? Why did you decided to buy them anyway?

Is there someone who actually uses the adjustment frequently?


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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by Rogue One »

Hi,

I assume it's for your newly purchased jeep (congrats!)

Incase the shocks youre looking for are mechanically identical except e.g. the compression adjustability
you can easily save some money.

Most users anyway don't know what to do with the
settings, and leave them the way they are shipped.

A proven combination of shocks and springs are more important, depending on driving style and vehicle weight/loading.

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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by Jeep Al Ain »

Adjustable shocks are typically the ones with external reservoirs. Most of the products in the market come with OEM valving from their manufacturers such as king and fox. others are customized by specialized offroad shops such as RadFlo.

If you are paying allot of $$ for a custom valved shock then whats the point adjusting the compression manually afterword?! In my personal opinion they are only worth it with shocks that are factory tuned to allow the option of a softer more comfortable ride for your daily driver/offroad truck.

Explained in more details:
Watch this first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpEqmHknBJM

then this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29T9-xGy380

Hope this helps.
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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by omar_kid77 »

Jeep Al Ain wrote:Adjustable shocks are typically the ones with external reservoirs. Most of the products in the market come with OEM valving from their manufacturers such as king and fox. others are customized by specialized offroad shops such as RadFlo.

If you are paying allot of $$ for a custom valved shock then whats the point adjusting the compression manually afterword?! In my personal opinion they are only worth it with shocks that are factory tuned to allow the option of a softer more comfortable ride for your daily driver/offroad truck.

Explained in more details:
Watch this first:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rpEqmHknBJM

then this one:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=29T9-xGy380

Very informative, thanks for sharing

Hope this helps.
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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by DesertDriver »

Thanks guys, and these movies are really informative.

The verdict is still out there but I feel that it is actually not worth the extra dirhams spend. And I still haven't heard anybody who is actually using the adjustments?

And yes, I'm figuring out what I will use as lift kit and shocks under the new JKUR. I started off with the Mopar 2" and standard fox shocks but believe that I can get a better deal outside the dealer while spending the same amount.

On the list to be considered is teh Teraflex 2,5" with Falcon 3.1 reservoir shocks. The latter can be upgraded to adjustables later if I feel the need to. Believe this actually is also true for the Fox with reservoirs. DO I need to start a separate topic on the pros and cons of them are can I just include it here?

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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by DesertDriver »

After a lot of talks with fellow club members (always very helpful and nice), in-depth internet research and a visit to the custom car exhibition last weekend I decided to jump into the deep and upgrade our JKUR with a Radflo 2.5" adjustable suspension system by Mebar. I believe and expect that this is a great system which is fully capable of keeping up with my driving ambitions. I'm really excited to test the new setup coming weekend. I'm afraid from now onwards I can only blame my own driving skills if I fail.

Curious to hear other member their experiences with this or a similar setup.

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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by Rogue One »

Im pretty sure you will be satisfied with the suspension!
Curious to know how often you will adjust them; i left mine at the settings as delivered (just lowered the coil overs 1 inch in the front)

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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by DesertDriver »

This weekend I had the opportunity to test my new setup, on Friday during an intermediate trip and on Saturday during my first advanced trip.

I was continuously smiling for the 1st hour of the intermediate trip, I couldn't believe a suspension system is able to make such a HUGE difference. It made things much easier and comfortable, and easy to step up the speed.

The next day I adjusted the suspension from soft to middle and I did noticed a clear benefit again. I surely needed al good suspension system and clearance for my first "wave surfing" experience during the side-cresting. OMG, I had great fun, the JKUR with the setup is truly amazing. The only thing to decide next is my tyres, as I run the stock 2445/75/R17 Goodyear Wranglers. Frankly speaking, they are not bad. But Evelien doesn't likes the looks of them (and neither do I).

In short, I do conclude that high quality adjustable shocks are worth it (if you can afford them). It took me a while to decide and accept that I had to "break the bank" but I'm very pleased with the Radflo's and professional installation done by Mebar. Rashad, based on his racing experience is very knowledgeable and helpful. If you do consider an upgrade I suggest to visit him as well before you decide what to do.

To be continued.

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Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by Zeebzog »

You made a good choice. The external reservoir keeps the shocks performing all day. They can be maintained so performance is always good. My only advice would have been to wait a bit, they allow you to do and get to areas in your car which would not have been accessible to you. As your reactions speed up and things become a bit more second nature this would be okay, but as you are just starting advance I advise you still take care that you are not doing things that the car can achieve but as a driver you are a bit slow to control.

For me I have had Radflos for a while and am a definitely fan.

Have fun and drive safe.


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Re: Adjustable shocks, are they worth it?

Post by DesertDriver »

Thanks for the rightful feedback, duly noted. I indeed do recognize that the car + suspension makes it much easier to do certain maneuvers I could not with the old JKU. I will need to practice.

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