Growing up doesn't have to suck

[89Suburban]

I just got some new Bilstein 4600 B6 struts to match the rear Bilsteins I have. Just posting this for part number documentation and notes about the rear shocks.

Front struts, OEM replacement: 24-186926

Rear shocks, Jeep Cherokee XJ stock rear replacement: 24-010467
I'm using them as shorter shocks for my 4.5" drop

Belltech's specified shock for a 3"-5" rear drop is the 2410FF- 13.0" compressed, 20.5" extended.
The Bilstein 24-010467 is 13.01" compressed, 20.39" extended. It has a bar pin that will need to be removed, the bushing drilled out and the bolt sleeve/spacer from the original shock pressed in.

I've been running this shock with the stock Jeep TJ rear coils as my drop coils for over four years and about 35K miles now. I've towed 2,000+ miles and carried a few hundred lbs. in the cargo hold. I have Air Lift bags that I kept 6-9 psi in. Never a problem. With no air in the bags, the combo is a little too soft for handling but rides very comfortably. Upgrading the sway bars resolved the handling aspect while maintaining the great ride characteristics.

This is next on my list. I want shorter rear shocks to keep the lowering springs from dangling when the weight is lifted off them. I assuming the shorter shocks help with this? Do you still need to run the drop brackets with the shorter shocks?

 

[89Suburban]

@randeez yeah I would ask you but you lift sh*t.

 

[iamdub]

Do me a flavor and measure from the center of your hub to your fender arch. I wanna see how comparable our drops are

Fo sho. I have terrible memory. Text me this evening to remind me.

 

[randeez]

This is next on my list. I want shorter rear shocks to keep the lowering springs from dangling when the weight is lifted off them. I assuming the shorter shocks help with this? Do you still need to run the drop brackets with the shorter shocks?

the drop brackets correct some of the angle you get from dropping it, ive used them and not used them - dont really notice a difference honestly

@randeez yeah I would ask you but you lift sh*t.

it's a lot easier to work under lifted

 

[iamdub]

This is next on my list. I want shorter rear shocks to keep the lowering springs from dangling when the weight is lifted off them. I assuming the shorter shocks help with this? Do you still need to run the drop brackets with the shorter shocks?

There's more to it than that. But, basically, yeah. If the shock is too long, it'll be too compressed and in danger of bottoming out. But, it could have too much extension travel to allow the rear to droop too much and springs become unseated. I use the factory setup as my starting point. If I drop it 2", then stock shocks with 2" extenders will keep the travel just like the factory design. An inch either way doesn't make enough difference to be of concern, so 2" extenders on a 3" drop is fine. The shock will only have lost 1" of travel. Beyond that 1" difference is where things can start to get questionable if your springs aren't tall enough when unloaded.

I'd have to look up the compressed and extended dimensions of the OE shock and compare to the 2410FF or XJ shock to answer if the extenders are needed. Off the top of my head, I'd say they aren't, but don't hurt to have. I'm running them to ensure I have enough up travel cuz I'll never be jumping my Tahoe and fully extending the shocks. Compressing them is the much more likely possibility. This also ensures that the rear never droops enough to allow the springs to be unloaded.

Another way to limit droop is to have proper-length end links on the sway bar. Shorter ones (to match the drop) will limit the droop. But it's not quite as effective as having the proper shock length.

 

[89Suburban]

There's more to it than that. But, basically, yeah. If the shock is too long, it'll be too compressed and in danger of bottoming out. But, it could have too much extension travel to allow the rear to droop too much and springs become unseated. I use the factory setup as my starting point. If I drop it 2", then stock shocks with 2" extenders will keep the travel just like the factory design. An inch either way doesn't make enough difference to be of concern, so 2" extenders on a 3" drop is fine. The shock will only have lost 1" of travel. Beyond that 1" difference is where things can start to get questionable if your springs aren't tall enough when unloaded.

I'd have to look up the compressed and extended dimensions of the OE shock and compare to the 2410FF or XJ shock to answer if the extenders are needed. Off the top of my head, I'd say they aren't, but don't hurt to have. I'm running them to ensure I have enough up travel cuz I'll never be jumping my Tahoe and fully extending the shocks. Compressing them is the much more likely possibility. This also ensures that the rear never droops enough to allow the springs to be unloaded.

Another way to limit droop is to have proper-length end links on the sway bar. Shorter ones (to match the drop) will limit the droop. But it's not quite as effective as having the proper shock length.

I'm not worried about unloading the springs road wise, just when I put it up in the air on a lift. Or jack one side up. I know my springs will wobble unloaded, possibly not seating correctly in the top hats or on the isolator when reloaded.

 

[KidWgn]

the drop brackets correct some of the angle you get from dropping it, ive used them and not used them - dont really notice a difference honestly

what you’re correcting with the drop brackets is the geometry during the compression stroke and rebound stroke. They are, in fact, important.

There's more to it than that. But, basically, yeah. If the shock is too long, it'll be too compressed and in danger of bottoming out.

You also have to factor that a shock has a working “range”. It isn’t effective through its entire range of motion. If you start a shock 50% compressed, it may only have 20% of its effective range left

 

[iamdub]

You also have to factor that a shock has a working “range”. It isn’t effective through its entire range of motion. If you start a shock 50% compressed, it may only have 20% of its effective range left

And I feel Bilstein would have more engineering in their design than Belltech. But, who's to say BT doesn't have a top-name shock manufacturer build their shocks and they just paint 'em silver and slap their stickers on 'em? Their Street Performance shocks and struts are pretty good, just tuned too "sporty" for what I want.

 

[randeez]

And I feel Bilstein would have more engineering in their design than Belltech. But, who's to say BT doesn't have a top-name shock manufacturer build their shocks and they just paint 'em silver and slap their stickers on 'em? Their Street Performance shocks and struts are pretty good, just tuned too "sporty" for what I want.

KW is the parent company of belltech, IE they have coilover product lines from from 1k-10k
although i think they just let belltech do whatever they want

 

[KidWgn]

And I feel Bilstein would have more engineering in their design than Belltech. But, who's to say BT doesn't have a top-name shock manufacturer build their shocks and they just paint 'em silver and slap their stickers on 'em? Their Street Performance shocks and struts are pretty good, just tuned too "sporty" for what I want.

All of these companies manufacture a handful of shock lengths, and just change the ends to fit the application. This is where researching valving profiles comes into play, and knowing the shocks' effective range. Atomic Fab was a huge help with the Viking shocks, and you can order them by length and effective range.