Coil-Over Options

[RockMonkey]

Okay, so what are all my options for coil-over shocks? I would prefer 12" or 14" travel. Price is a primary factor. I would prefer to stick with 2" body shocks due to the roughly 50% cost of springs. Emulsion shocks are fine. If anyone knows where to get 3" ID springs for ~$40 I would love to know.

Here are some of the options I know of:

Sway Away - I've used them before and liked them.
They sell them direct for $265 each, any length. http://www.swayaway.com/RockCrawling_2.php
Eshocks.com price $238.50 each, any length. http://www.eshocks.com/bil_ORvh.asp?Series_Index=5Q1&Length_Index=9Q2&Manf=All&SubChar=Q

Bilstein - Nice. I don't see that they make an emulsion shock. They do have 2" body. Significantly more than Sway Away.
$312.84 from eshocks. http://www.eshocks.com/bil_ORvh.asp?Series_Index=Q5&Length_Index=6Q1&Manf=All&SubChar=Q

Doetsch - I've used their standard shocks before, and was happy enough. I know Carl used their coil-overs on his first buggy and was not thrilled. Any input here, Carl? They are very hard to find online. It looks like what would fit my needs would be the 2.2 Mono-Tube shocks. They are a 2" threaded body. I can't find anywhere to order them, but I've the the $199 each figure thrown around a bit. Cheap (if that really is the price), but for another $154 I can have Sway Aways at all four corners.

First Over All - These are new, so unknown quality. Feedback on the web has been positive. I like their attitude. Shocks don't have to cost a fortune, so they don't charge a fortune. They are cheap, but it doesn't look like they offer 2" body, only 2.5". They sell 3" springs for as cheap as I've seen them, but they're still $75 each. That's $600 for springs when I could get away with only $304 for a full complement of 2" springs, and I already have half of them, so I really only have to spend about $150 for 2.5" springs. If only they made 2" body shocks my decision would be made!
http://f-o-a.com/shop/index.php?main_page=product_info&products_id=5

Radflo - I'm totally unfamiliar with this brand. I've been told by a couple people that they are good. They do make a 2" body coil-over. They are priced competetively with Sway Away.
$230 each http://eastsidecustomtruck.com/i-60267-radflo-coil-over-2-0-14-58-shaft.html

King - They do have 2" body. I've never heard anything bad about them, except the price!
$400 each! http://www.polyperformance.com/shop/2.0-Pre-Runner-Shock-p-2067.html

Fox - These seem to be a quality product. They have 2" threaded-body emulsion shocks. The 12" and longer travel shocks have 7/8 shaft diameter. A little more expensive than Sway Away.
$285 http://cgi.ebay.com/ebaymotors/Fox-...-99-011-A_W0QQitemZ120152622148QQcmdZViewItem

Fabtech - Only 2.5" body. Can't seem to find non-applicaction-specific ordering info.

So, who am I missing? From the list above Radflo might be the best option, but I know exactly what I'm getting with Sway Away, for a tiny bit more money. I really wish F-O-A made a 2" threaded-body shock.

 

[I Lean]

To compare apples to apples, the Fox shox include the dual-rate kit, where the SAW's don't. I don't know about the others, but that's definitely part of what you'll need, so factor that into the price.

I was happier with my SAW coilovers than with my Doetsch. Any Doetsch dealer can get the coilovers if you want them (including me) but I'd suggest you pay a little bit more and get a better shock. The customer service SUCKS from Doetsch if you have any issues, which I did. (mostly my fault, but getting parts was difficult)

I know Shaffer's Offroad sells Radflo, you might call one of those guys and get some more info on 'em?

 

[RockMonkey]

To compare apples to apples, the Fox shox include the dual-rate kit, where the SAW's don't. I don't know about the others, but that's definitely part of what you'll need, so factor that into the price.

I was happier with my SAW coilovers than with my Doetsch. Any Doetsch dealer can get the coilovers if you want them (including me) but I'd suggest you pay a little bit more and get a better shock. The customer service SUCKS from Doetsch if you have any issues, which I did. (mostly my fault, but getting parts was difficult)

I know Shaffer's Offroad sells Radflo, you might call one of those guys and get some more info on 'em?

Good points. The Radflo says it includes dual rate hardware. That may shift the advantage that way.

 

[Milner]

I have been happy with my Fox's and used them on some other's rigs too. When I was making the same decission, Fox seemed the best value. King is the king of shocks, but you pay for it too. If it was a race truck, I'd go only with King, otherwise I like Fox. IIRC Fox gives a the same travel in a little shorter body. Also suppose to be easier to rebuild yourself....

 

[RockMonkey]

It sounds like QA1 has a new line of coil-overs and air shocks coming, but they are having manufacturing problems. Supposedly they will be competitively priced, but not the cheapest. Man, I really wish FOA made a 2" body.

 

[RockMonkey]

I found another option, although it's probably not a viable one for me.

Rancho has a coilover version of the RS9000. I'm not convinced this is of comparable quality to the Sway-A-Way, Radflo, or Fox shocks. It doesn't look like it is available without springs. They have two different lengths, with 5 different spring combinations each. They are remote-reservoir with a dial to select performance. The lowest price I can find seems to be Summit Racing, at $413.69 each. http://store.summitracing.com/egnse...sults=false&Ntk=KeywordSearch&DDS=1&N=700+115

Compare that to the Radflo shocks, which are rebuildable, tunable shocks, with nearly limitless spring rate options. $230 for the shock plus $37 (*2) for springs you're at $304. You save about $110 and have a higher quality shock, but without the bypass.

 

[RockMonkey]

Wow, only $7 shipping and handling on a pair of the Radflo shocks. I'm soooo close to ordering two of these for my rear suspension, then I'll keep my options open on the front suspension. I really need to wait for some quotes that I've requested from a few people to come through though.

 

[chadschoon]

i like my fox coilovers, I run the qa1's springs with them and I am happy so far

 

[RockMonkey]

i like my fox coilovers, I run the qa1's springs with them and I am happy so far

Where did you get the Foxes? The springs are all the same, as far as I can tell. I've never noticed any significant difference between brands, aside from color. QA1s are what's 37 or 38 dollars at Summit Racing. I've got some Eibachs and some Sway-A-Ways that I'll be running as well.

 

[chadschoon]

I bought them from rocklogic a while ago. I know ben hanks is stocking alot of fox products, he also does qa1's I believe

 

[Meat_]

Rancho has a coilover version of the RS9000. I'm not convinced this is of comparable quality to the Sway-A-Way, Radflo, or Fox shocks. It doesn't look like it is available without springs. They have two different lengths, with 5 different spring combinations each. They are remote-reservoir with a dial to select performance..

If you are considering remote reservoirs there's a set of race runners that is lightly used and set up for an XJ over here

 

[Bart]

I've run Kings and SAWs and liked them both. I've run the Fox air shocks and they were great too with excellent customer service. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these.

I did see Shaffers Off Road mentioned and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't order anything from them. They told me 8 times in a 2 month period they had shipped a CTM to me. Then they told me it should have shipped from the supplier bit mever could give me a shipping number. I called CTM and they said they don't drop ship for anyone but themselves. Then they told me who had them in stock so I ended up ordering another one from 4 Wheel Parts (great customer service and they next dayed it to me so I could have it in by Price). I kept calling Shaffers and ended up having to dispute my charge with Shaffers with the CC company.

 

[RockMonkey]

I've run Kings and SAWs and liked them both. I've run the Fox air shocks and they were great too with excellent customer service. I don't think you can go wrong with any of these.

I did see Shaffers Off Road mentioned and to tell you the truth, I wouldn't order anything from them. They told me 8 times in a 2 month period they had shipped a CTM to me. Then they told me it should have shipped from the supplier bit mever could give me a shipping number. I called CTM and they said they don't drop ship for anyone but themselves. Then they told me who had them in stock so I ended up ordering another one from 4 Wheel Parts (great customer service and they next dayed it to me so I could have it in by Price). I kept calling Shaffers and ended up having to dispute my charge with Shaffers with the CC company.

Yikes. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[gripguru]

http://www.rockequipment.com

TonyK sells an aluminum body/aluminum 1.25" shaft threaded shock that can be used as an airshock or a c/o. I was dialing his number on those, when I found a used set of SAW airshox for my jeep. I would check them out at least as an option.

 

[RockMonkey]

http://www.rockequipment.com

TonyK sells an aluminum body/aluminum 1.25" shaft threaded shock that can be used as an airshock or a c/o. I was dialing his number on those, when I found a used set of SAW airshox for my jeep. I would check them out at least as an option.

Haven't seen those. Thanks! At $249 plus $99 each for the "coil install kit" they are almost the price of Kings. They have a threaded aluminum body that I would be really afraid of galling the threads on.

 

[gripguru]

That radflo that you linked to has a 5/8" shaft. I would look at a more stout product than that for our sport. That does not seem like a good investment. The 7/8"s is acceptable IMHO.

 

[RockMonkey]

That radflo that you linked to has a 5/8" shaft. I would look at a more stout product than that for our sport. That does not seem like a good investment. The 7/8"s is acceptable IMHO.

I believe that's a typo. If you look at Radflo's site directly, it shows the 14" 2.0 emulsion shocks have a 7/8" shaft.

Near the bottom are the specs:
"14" c/o emulsion 7/8 shaft"

 

[gripguru]

I believe that's a typo. If you look at Radflo's site directly, it shows the 14" 2.0 emulsion shocks have a 7/8" shaft.

Near the bottom are the specs:
"14" c/o emulsion 7/8 shaft"

There seem to be three shaft sizes available from Radflo, 5/8, 7/8 and 1"
Just monitor closely so that you have an accurate idea of pricing for each. It would suck to get 5/8 and then get poor customer service like listed above.

 

[Milner]

Walker is another option, not the cheapest, but adjustable.
http://www.walkerevansracing.com/sand.rock.shocks

 

[redrockcrawler]

you should check out spyder customs they have a lot of used mock up springs 3" id for around $30-$40