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RubiRob

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Anyone with a lot more experience than I know if it's worth the money to go from the mopar fox shocks to the Falcon 3.3s? Are the Mopar shocks even worth anything?
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DanW

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Anyone with a lot more experience than I know if it's worth the money to go from the mopar fox shocks to the Falcon 3.3s? Are the Mopar shocks even worth anything?
I just spent a week on the Rimrocker and in Moab, and I can tell you the Fox shocks are outstanding. If anyone disagrees and wants to discard theirs, send them my way. I'll mothball them for when mine eventually wear out.
 

butcho

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I just spent a week on the Rimrocker and in Moab, and I can tell you the Fox shocks are outstanding. If anyone disagrees and wants to discard theirs, send them my way. I'll mothball them for when mine eventually wear out.
Well you have to differentiate between FOX shocks vs shocks built by FOX but designed by Mopar.

One is better than the other.
 

DanW

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First of all, designing the valving, dampening, and rebound characteristics to Mopar's desired spec is not having Mopar design the shock. Secondly, Mopar does not have the capacity to design or manufacture their own shocks, but only to tune specs for their desired outcome. For example, JK (and probably JL) Rubicon shocks are designed and manufactured by Tenneco, the parent company of Rancho and Monroe, and other brands. Jeep simply communicated what they wanted, then with help, dialed in the desired spec. Tenneco then manufactures the shock. With the Mopar lift's Fox shocks, the same process was used, but it appears that Mopar's spec is exclusive, at least for the time being, as Fox won't sell it on their own. Make no mistake, it is a Fox design, and it performs very well, and has some similar qualities to other Fox shocks. Btw, I just spent a week abusing them, and they performed better than any shock absorbers I've ever owned.

Two of my buddy's brand new Pro-Comp monotube shocks failed after 3 days, navigating the same trails and obstacles. They appear to have overheated. The Fox shocks on my JL had no fade or other issues, no matter how hard I ran them. They then drove beautifully on the 21 hour drive home.
 

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butcho

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Are you implying that the Mopar fox shocks are subpar?
I believe you think they are subpar since you're asking if you should replace them with Falcon 3.3s. Something also I'm currently working on also de-Moparize my JLU. The fox/mopar shocks are currently too short travel.
 

RubiRob

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I believe you think they are subpar since you're asking if you should replace them with Falcon 3.3s. Something also I'm currently working on also de-Moparize my JLU. The fox/mopar shocks are currently too short travel.
I didn't say anything about them being subpar I'm just seeing what people's opinion on the matter would be. However, I think we're in the same boat. I wouldn't mind falcon shocks and metalcloak springs. Already have MC track bars and front control arms.
 

butcho

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I didn't say anything about them being subpar I'm just seeing what people's opinion on the matter would be. However, I think we're in the same boat. I wouldn't mind falcon shocks and metalcloak springs. Already have MC track bars and front control arms.
We definitely are. The fox/mopar shocks are much to short travel to use with anything other than the mopar springs so we're required to swap them out if we're going to use different springs. I'm going with RK myself.
 

RubiRob

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First of all, designing the valving, dampening, and rebound characteristics to Mopar's desired spec is not having Mopar design the shock. Secondly, Mopar does not have the capacity to design or manufacture their own shocks, but only to tune specs for their desired outcome. For example, JK (and probably JL) Rubicon shocks are designed and manufactured by Tenneco, the parent company of Rancho and Monroe, and other brands. Jeep simply communicated what they wanted, then with help, dialed in the desired spec. Tenneco then manufactures the shock. With the Mopar lift's Fox shocks, the same process was used, but it appears that Mopar's spec is exclusive, at least for the time being, as Fox won't sell it on their own. Make no mistake, it is a Fox design, and it performs very well, and has some similar qualities to other Fox shocks. Btw, I just spent a week abusing them, and they performed better than any shock absorbers I've ever owned.

Two of my buddy's brand new Pro-Comp monotube shocks failed after 3 days, navigating the same trails and obstacles. They appear to have overheated. The Fox shocks on my JL had no fade or other issues, no matter how hard I ran them. They then drove beautifully on the 21 hour drive home.
Are there any other shocks for the JL that are 2.5" like the Mopar shocks?
 

DanW

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Are there any other shocks for the JL that are 2.5" like the Mopar shocks?
Not sure. I haven't looked around. If not, I'd bet someone will have them out before too long.
 

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Jschmadeke

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Mine handles about how you’ve explained. I wish I could have remembered how my Rubicon handled. I don’t recall any handling issues. It flexed so much I had to replace the front driveshaft with an Adams driveshaft. That’s all I had to do after the lift install on that one.

Since I started with RK components, I’ll keep replacing the Mopar stuff with RK. It’s just sad the Mopar kits aren’t perfected any better than what they are for the cost. I know I paid for convenience being I was able to drive the Jeep off the lot lifted. From what I’ve read, even the Mopar 4” has weak points that have to be corrected with aftermarket parts. I’ll be doing exactly all that you’ve done until the Mopar lift is essentially replaced. I’ve even considered taking the Jeep to my local shop and seeing if they would take the whole lift in as trade towards another lift and install. I’m sure they could sell it to someone who wouldn’t care as much.

The sales guys sometimes have no idea. I already let mine know I wasn’t happy with the rear tire carrier. He bragged about how Mopar made the rear tire carrier brake light adjustable to accommodate the bigger spare tires. Problem is, don’t seem like they reinforced the hinges or anything on the gate to handle the extra weight. My tire drags on my rear bumper already when opening and closing the gate. I told my sales guy I plan on having that addressed when I come back for service. I at least want it documented so when it’s sagging to the point I can’t open or close the gate they will have to replace it under warranty.

Another thing I notice when installing the RK correction pads, the Mopar 2” lift flexed stretches the ABS sensor wiring and brake lines to their max. I don’t know how much flex the lift provides when actually off-roading. If its anything like I observed in the driveway, the ABS and brake lines are gonna be stretched beyond what they should be. This might be worse if running sway bar disconnects.

Here are the before and after photos with only installing the RK correction pads. I still need to install the track bar. What a improvement.

View attachment 101624

Thanks for sharing the info about the RK correction pads. I'm not sure why Mopar did such a shitty job on the ones they included with the kit.
 

DanW

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Well you have to differentiate between FOX shocks vs shocks built by FOX but designed by Mopar.

One is better than the other.
You are mistaken. Mopar has no capacity to design a shock. They set specifications and Fox designs the shock to meet them. Fox engineers were there when they developed and tested the specs, too, giving input along the way.
 

Jarod129

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You are welcome. I try to share my experiences for those considering their options or experiencing similar issues. I try do a lot of research when considering my options. I'm no expert and this is only my second Jeep, I traded my 2500 Cummins in for this Jeep. I miss the diesel but the Jeep has a certain fun factor to it. If I had been patient, I would have just bought the Jeep and had a Metal Cloak or RK lift installed. Their entry level lifts are about the same cost as the Mopar. I did have mine at the dealer and they told me the Mopar lift is made by Teraflex. Not sure how true that is.

I did install the front trac bar yesterday. For those who do it themselves the hardest part is torqueing the jam nut to the specified torque. I couldn't find any way of doing it while mounted on the Jeep, which would be the easiest to get the most stable leverage on it. I did it with a vice and marked the jam nut with a grease pen to see if it moves any. I didn't have a crows foot to put onto the torque wrench, so I just got it as tight as possible with leverage. Also, the traction control light comes on after installing the front trac bar if the steering wheel is not centered back up. With the traction control light on, you may experience a loss of power. It will go out after the steering wheel is centered and driven a short distance with a couple of left and right turns. I'll post some pictures soon of springs so people can see the outcome after installing the RK correction pads and RK trac bar.
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