bypass shocks vs. resevoir shocks?

[vwtipeii]

Hello everyone,

I am going to be stretching my YJ soon. I am trying to figure out the best type of shocks to purchase. I have tried Bilstein 5160's and they were crap. Currently I am running a set of Rancho RX9000 adjustable shocks. They are crap too, I turn the knob to the stiffest setting and as soon as I let go I watch the dail spin from 9 down to 3 and then I slam my "rear" all the way down any whoops or dips on the trail. I finally duct taped the dial at 9 to try and keep some stiffness in the ride until I get a real pair of shocks. So my question is what is the main difference between bypass shocks and resevoir shocks? I see King, Fox and Icon as the major players in the market place with quality and expensive offerings. I am trying to figure out the best solution at a reasonable price for my little YJ. I have fixed bump stops currently that I want to replace with a set of hydrolic ones to lessen the slamming down on the rear axle tube when going over whoops. Please remember I have already completed a coil conversion and now am running a RockKrawler 4 link in the rear to a trussed 8.8.

Thanks in advance!
Brett

[Tumbleweed13]

Resevoir's Help cool the fluid in the shock, during sustained, and rapid cycling. The shock stiffness is not adjustable. The Bilstein resevior shock is a 5160 with a resevoir.

By-Pass shocks have reseviors and are tune-able. The stiffness of the shock can be adjusted through out the stroke. The shock can be softer in the range that you would use while driving on the street. Then stiffer at the top of the stroke, when the shock is being compress, like in whoops or big pot holes.

How much up travel do you have in your shock? Most crawling suspensions are designed for droop. With my LA kit I only have about 3 inches of up travel. If yours is similar, then you wont have enough up travel to do adjustments. If you notice on "go fast trucks" that use by-pass shocks. They have alot of up travel to absorb the inpact of whoops.

[Rawkon]

i have a descent go fast and still can crawl setup on my TJ. some tuned 2.0s or bett er will work from any of the big brands. up travel is key. get as much as you can. also look into at least gusseting your front axle. you will be VERY suprised at how fast you can go.