Rubi springs - longest shock without unseating springs?

[Nick p]

The more the shock is inclined the more travel you can get. Obviously it reduces the effectivness of the valving and therefore needs to be valved differently to a vertical setup.

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[Glamisfan]

All right AnnDee, now you got me thinking. Every other vehicle like a Ford ranger or my rzr , the shock travels less than the actual tire. On my razor it has 16 inches front travel and 18 inches rear wheel travel. The front shock is an 8 inch stroke and the rear shock is a 12 inch stroke. So the rear is a 1.5 motion ratio. 1.5 wheel travel equals 1 inch of shock travel. 12 inch shock gives you 18 inches of travel.

I just put my tape measure on the rear Jeep frame and it’s 5.75 inches to the bump stop pad. And I marked the shock. I’m going to jack up the frame and see what it does.

 

[Glamisfan]

Shit. 4 inches oh spring travel down word anyways equals 4 1/8 of shock travel.

 

[AnnDee4444]

Yeah, it was a surprise to me too when I first realized that. I was used to double A-arm and McPherson struts where the shock and spring move less than the wheel, but a live/solid axle is a little different.

@Glamisfan thanks for actually checking, it doesn’t look like the real world results are as extreme as my calculations.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

A lot of good info here, thanks @Glamisfan

I'm still gonna be researching and the next time I do my rotation I'm gonna mess around with the rear axle and see if the springs start wanting to pop off. When I did the swap to rubi springs I didn't really think of it, but I don't recall dropping the axle too far to even install the springs.

 

[blnewt]

Great info in this thread, this pic scared me a little though

 

[Glamisfan]

Me too. But the spring was in so it wouldn’t fall too far........

 

[Caymanedge]

There are a couple measurement you can do before you make a selection.

Shock length at rest center to center.
To get more shock travel the shocks get longer. So you can't just pick one with more travel. If it's not centered at rest you will be limited on one side of the travel. Find one that centers up for your length and see how much travel you can get.

Distance between bump stops F/R.
The upper factory bump stop compresses, not sure how much unfortunately. At stock you will have like 4.5" of travel in the front and 6" of travel in the rear, plus compression. This will limit the spring compression and ultimately the shock compression, giving you the total travel. You can add some lower bump stops if you need to limit the travel too.

I have done a ton of research on this and found that the guys at Accutune in CA are awesome to work with. They have a set-up sheet if you really want to dig into the details, plus they can valve the shocks for your liking if you don't go for adjustable shocks.

 

[CptFloridaMan]

So i’ve got a theory since I haven’t had the time to measure out the jeep.

Knowing that the falcons are about as long as the fox 2.5s… in theory the fox 2.5s for 2in lifts should be just fine when drooped out on stock rubi springs.

Not sure how good of an idea it would be to run them slightly longer and maybe throw in small a spacer to get it lifted so that the shocks are about 50% extended.

	Compressed	Extended	Travel
OEM Rubi front	15.57	23.625	8.055
OEM Rubi rear	17.5	26	8.5
Falcon 3.3 sp2 0-1.5" front	16.2	26.6	10.4
Falcon 3.3 sp2 0-1.5" rear	17.5	28.4	10.9
Fox 2.5 DSC(2-3) Front	16.34	26.51	10.17
Fox 2.5 DSC(2-3) Rear	17.43	28.6	11.17

 

[Jtphoto]

The biggest issue with longer shock travel is the swaybar links flipping over backwards once you flex it out. So be warned, if you go with long travel shocks like MC RockSports you will have crazy flex but you will need quick disconnects. The Rubi E disco is also useless and will just cause you grief.

 

[Roky]

. The Rubi E disco is also useless and will just cause you grief.

Disagree……… Rubi disco and unhooked there’s no difference with the right sway links…..I’m running 31 “ extended shocks…….

hooked and disconnected

unhooked

 

[Yellow Cake Kid]

...the right sway links.

I have read about this many times here at the forum, and was curious what the right sway bar links might be

This past Easter we put a Game Changer 3.5" kit lifted Rubicon with 37's on the CTI trailer and compared the results when the Rubicon's electronic sway bar was disconnected while some common, but adequately sized, sway bar links were still bolted on, with the results after we unbolted and removed the sway bar links completely.

There was no difference in measured flex.

I guess if you did a lift and forgot to install the appropriately sized sway bar links you could hamper the flex, but it appears to be a non issue if you use links that are not too short.

 

[Jtphoto]

Disagree……… Rubi disco and unhooked there’s no difference with the right sway links…..I’m running 31 “ extended shocks…….

hooked and disconnected

unhooked

You see how flat out your swaybar is, it’s maxed and at that point could be restricting even more flex. It is so close to being flat out that when you are on the trail it can easily flip back the wrong way and bend around your Tierod bar when you come back down. Way too close for comfort for me. . And if you put a link on any longer when you stuff up you will jam it right up into your wheel wells. Past the spring tower which is equally as bad.

 

[Roky]

I have read about this many times here at the forum, and was curious what the right sway bar links might be

This past Easter we put a Game Changer 3.5" kit lifted Rubicon with 37's on the CTI trailer and compared the results when the Rubicon's electronic sway bar was disconnected while some common, but adequately sized, sway bar links were still bolted on, with the results after we unbolted and removed the sway bar links completely.

There was no difference in measured flex.

I guess if you did a lift and forgot to install the appropriately sized sway bar links you could hamper the flex, but it appears to be a non issue if you use links that are not too short.

Yeah, that’s right, by right links it’s more of wear and tear, longevity of the links. I’m using a double ended heim style link so there’s no binding. Your long links will work as you mentioned, however we’ve already swapped out my buddy’s MC links because the bottom bushing was tearing. Also matters how much your using it, how long it will last… we’re out almost every weekend…..

 

[Roky]

You see how flat out your swaybar is, it’s maxed and at that point could be restricting even more flex. It is so close to being flat out that when you are on the trail it can easily flip back the wrong way and bend around your Tierod bar when you come back down. Way too close for comfort for me. . And if you put a link on any longer when you stuff up you will jam it right up into your wheel wells. Past the spring tower which is equally as bad.

Not sure what you’ve been looking at, but there’s no way this will flip, I think it’s the angle of the pic, here’s better one, and one from full stuff, there’s absolutely no interference. Perhaps what you’ve been looking at just isn’t set up right…..

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