suspension?

[goodtimes]

All I can say is: Don't waste your money on cheap shocks.

Heading south out of San Felipe at speed will destroy a cheap set of shocks before you hit Puerticitos. (been there, done that). High end remote resivore shocks are all the rage among those who spend alot of time down there. Fox, SAW, Bilstein....get 'em valved for your application, spring for the remote resivor (add a heat sink if possible)....you gotta get rid of the heat that you will build...and you will build a LOT of heat!

You can find the extended/compressed lengths just like you would for any other application. Stuff one tire until you are on the bump stops...measure the distance between the shock mounts. Next let one tire droop as far as your suspension allows, again measure the distance between the shock mounts. Repeat for the rear. You want a shock that will compress to a shorter length than your fully compressed measurement, and will extend longer than your fully drooped measurement. You may find you need to make adjustments to your bumpstops...but in the interest of saving you the pain of destroying a $200+ shock....do not use the shock as either a bump stop or a limiting strap. In baja, you tend to hit the extremes of wheel travel at much higher speeds than here in the states (at least I do...).

[Adam Q.]

Thanks goodtimes.......I have been looking around at all of these brands, and I agree that is sounds like the remote reservior is going to be the way to go. When I'm looking at the various options, is there a difference between the front and the back shocks other than the travel? What do you run on your rig?

[goodtimes]

The valving will likely be different front to rear. IMO, the only way to go is to find a truck stop with a scale, and weigh the front and rear (seperately) of your jeep, then figure out the unsprung weight of both the front and rear. From this (and the measured spring height both with and without load), you can calculate the spring rate. With this info (spring rate, weight supported by each axle, and unsprung weight at each axle), they will be able to set you up with what you need. Don't be afraid to call the manufacturers directly to get what you want. I have talked with Fox a couple times, they have always been helpful and never pushed their product on me.

As for what I run....cheap shocks. I destroyed a set of DT's on the rear of my TJ somewhere just north of Punta Bufeo. I sheared one bar pin, bent both shafts--by the time I was headed north from Bahia de los Angelos a week later, I had both rear shocks on the passenger side floor board. It was a long ride back to Tucson.

I still have the worn out DT's on the front, and a set of almost as cheap Ranch RSX's on the rear. I'm not done playing with my suspension yet, so the high dollar shocks will have to wait until I get the suspension done. I don't want to pay for those more than once.