So.. About using rear shocks on the front

[XtremeRetard]

Considering the rocksports from MC are the same front and rear...

Is there any reason I can't use for example the 13" stroke fox 6" lift remote resi shock on the front?

I'm guessing yes, subject to appropriate valving?

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[Roky]

Considering the rocksports from MC are the same front and rear...

Is there any reason I can't use for example the 13" stroke fox 6" lift remote resi shock on the front?

I'm guessing yes, subject to appropriate valving?

@Bocephus is running rears in front, may holler at him, see hows going…..

 

[Zandcwhite]

Collapsed length may be an issue with the longer fox shocks, you'd have to measure shock eye to shock eye at full bump. The rears have more distance between mounts and are mounted at an angle allowing for more travel. The rocksports have one of the longest travel to collapsed length ratios available, which is why they can get away with the same shocks front and rear.

 

[Bocephus]

It’s going fine.

I run fox 2.5 dsc’s, with the piggyback style “rears” on both front and rear. This because the MC 3.5” lift provides a ton of droop, and with that droop potential comes their super long sway bar link. In our flex testing, there was concern of the sway bars potential to snag the resi hose at full stuff. There was just no positioning of the hose where the shop thought it was a safe/solid/smart setup.

Of the options, using the piggybacks in the front seemed to be a low compromise option. For example… you could use shorter sway links, but you may risk inversion with the long coils and droop. So you could consider using shorter coils…but I’m prioritizing travel.

In going this path, we talked with fox and MC. Both were aware of our concern, had heard it before. Both endorsed the plan of using rears up front. As OP said, using rocksports would be the same front and rear. And it’s not as though piggy backs up front are new / crazy; King uses a piggyback front and rear for their 2.5 option IIRC.

What may be lost by using piggybacks up front? . AccuTune notes that the fox piggyback rear valving is different than the fox front resi , and that the front resi is a better design for the application . They know way more than me, and so I’m pretty sure they are right. Still, I have lots of high and low speed adjustability with the dsc valving. I daily drive it, and weekend wheel it, and I don’t have deserts near me for high speed anything. This is where I say - maybe I don’t know what I’m missing.

I think the piggyback shocks needed to be clocked for the front orientation. Like loosen one bolt, rotate, tighten. Shop said it was simple / too easy. As I’m sure you know, make sure to purchase based on compressed/extended shock lengths as opposed to buying based on lift height.

Fwiw, and slightly off topic, I am getting ready to swap in MC 4.5 coils up front, will leave 3.5 in the rear. I have the heavy v8 engine, so i sag more than an inch in front. I want to capture a little more up-travel for shocks and hydro bumps.

my impressions of the overall set up are that the shocks can be dialed in to feel very plush or very taut/tight and many points in between. There’s also the MC coils, which pair with the shocks for the overall feel. Tbh no shock settings have been as dialed-in as the stock 392 suspension. The stock 392 suspension gave me the feel of a perfect pairing of shock damping and coil rate. I think the MC coils are stiff in comparison, and there’s no amount of damping that will make them as compliant as stock. But they also bring the advantages that dual rate coils are known for. It’s all trade-offs and prioritization of goals and interests. Fwiw, I had plush evo coils on my last jeep …super soft but saggy and not much droop.

assuming I get the travel I want with the 4.5 coils, I’ll be super pleased with my setup. The only thing I’d consider and probably not anytime soon, would be swapping in coil overs from a group like accutune. But that’d be just for fun and because I can’t leave well-enough alone, not for real need.

 

[Roky]

Considering the rocksports from MC are the same front and rear...

Is there any reason I can't use for example the 13" stroke fox 6" lift remote resi shock on the front?

I'm guessing yes, subject to appropriate valving?

My .02 …… I wouldn’t run the 4.5-6” rears in the front… For one, like Zach said, you’ll have 3 ish inch up travel. Second, that much droop might unseat the coils, even MC coils, so you’d have to run limiting straps, which really gets you back to what running the front shocks would be. Then at full droop the front driveshaft will likely hit the exhaust…IIRC Bo is running the 3.5-4” shocks on all 4 corners, which mimics the rocksports lengths.

I’ve been running 4.5-6” shocks with 3.5” springs for couple years now but with fronts in the front…….The only drawback is you sacrifice about an inch of up travel, but in my case that’s fine, I still have 5 ish inches uptravel….Running this setup, the flexibility is insane for a non coil over setup…..

I have my bumps tuned so at full stuff I’m using all the compression I can…….

with the angle of the droop, the extended length is more than advertised. Fronts are 31.375 and the rears are 33.25.

In the rear when both wheels droop at the same time my springs were falling out…they’re tight AF when drooping one side and stuffing the other…… So just in case my rig leaves the ground ( not likely) but more importantly when I put it on the lift, I decided to use a limit strap. Not wanting to lose any droop, I decided to run one strap in the middle….. got the idea from Kevin on the stepchild actually……

……and you can tell it works because my springs aren’t laying on the floor …..

obligatory flex pic, and I’ll shut up now…..

 

[AccuTunedJL]

Tossing in a good article to check out we recently put together on this subject:
https://accutuneoffroad.com/how-to-measure-for-jeep-shocks/

If you really want to get picky and technical, get out some tools, floor jack and start measuring.


@Roky that limit strap angle and bolt on frame scares me. Not pulling straight, could rip it out of the frame. It's probably fine for slow speed stuff though.

 

[Roky]

Tossing in a good article to check out we recently put together on this subject:
https://accutuneoffroad.com/how-to-measure-for-jeep-shocks/

If you really want to get picky and technical, get out some tools, floor jack and start measuring.


@Roky that limit strap angle and bolt on frame scares me. Not pulling straight, could rip it out of the frame. It's probably fine for slow speed stuff though.

Yeah, as fast as I’ll be going is the speed of a lift in the shop……

 

[XtremeRetard]

Thanks all. Yes the mc and rocksports are good. But if i go bigger tires and bump down then in theory I could add droop etc.

Using rears in the front etc gives more options.

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