Ezun
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Chad
- Joined
- Oct 30, 2018
- Threads
- 15
- Messages
- 266
- Reaction score
- 227
- Location
- St. Louis area
- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 392
- Vehicle Showcase
- 1
Wow, thank you for all of this, you just made my research move forward by leaps!There are two unique but overlapping issues in keeping the stock length shocks after lifting.
- Reduction in available down travel at ride height. Down travel is an important part of ride comfort, especially as the terrain gets rougher. After the 2.5" Clayton lift my front shocks are ~23" eye-to-eye at ride height. My shocks are designed for 2-3" lifts and have an extended length of 26.5". This means my jeep has approximately 3.5" of down travel. The front stock shocks have an extended length of 24.75" and get into their top out dampening travel at around 24.375". This means you would have approximately 1.75" of down travel on the stock shocks after lifting. The Jeep may ride good enough with only 1.75" of down travel but you would have to determine that for yourself. You can always replace shocks separate from the lift if you don't like the way it rides.
- Not as important as point 1 but with keeping the stock shocks you also miss out on the extra flex/articulation a lift typically provides. The Clayton control arm bushings can handle significantly more droop than my 2-3" lift shocks can provide so the extended shock length will determine your maximum droop when flexing out off-road. With stock shocks, your maximum flex will be the same as stock. Not a big deal if you only do light trail riding or stay to the pavement but if you are on the rocks the extra articulation is a nice benefit to lifting if you increase your shock length.
If you decide to increase your shock length there is a major choice to make. Stick with front shocks that have an extended length of around 26.5" or go full-hog and get shocks with an extended length near 30" like the MetalCloak RockSports. The 30" shocks will give you more suspension articulation but they come with additional complexity and cost to your setup because you will need to add a new front driveshaft, shock relocation brackets, and wheel spacers. Sticking with 26.5" length shocks you can continue to use your stock driveshaft, shock mounting locations, and wheels without issue. I personally chose the 26.5" option and have no regrets. I've attached the PNs and shock Lengths of different options below if you decide to replace your stocks.
392: Front 24.75" / 16.75" | Rear 27"/ 18"
Mopar Lift Fox: Front 26.25"/ 17.5" | Rear 28.5" / 19.25"
Fox 2.0 Monotube:
- 0-1.5 (Lift Height): 985-24-171, 985-24-172. (Part Numbers)
- 25.920-16.3-9.620, 26.920-16.8-10.120 (Front, Rear)(Extended length-Compressed-length-Stroke)
- 2-3: 985-24-177, 985-24-178
- 26.42-16.8-9.62, 29.62-18.5-11.12
- 3.5-4: 985-24-179, 985-24-180
- 28.52-17.9-10.62, 30.620-19-11.62
Fox 2.0 Remote Resivoir:
- 2-3: 885-24-183, 985-24-184
- 26.52-16.4-10.12, 29.020-17.4-11.620
- 3.5-4: 885-24-185, 985-24-186
- 29.020-17.4-11.62, 30.520-18.4-12.12
Fox 2.5 DSC:
- 0-1.5: 883-26-049, 883-26-053
- 25.500-15.83-9.67, 26.6-16.43-10.17
- 2-3: 883-26-050, 883-26-054
- 26.510-16.340-10.17, 28.6-17.43-11.17
- 3.5-4: 883-26-051, 883-26-055
- 28.51-17.34-11.17, 30.3-18.43-11.87
Rocksport Long Travel Shocks Front/Rear
- 30.0-17.7-12.3
6Pak Shocks
- 28.25-13.25-15.0
BTW, I also agree with your photo comment, that the photo does not do justice to the difference in robustness, quality and fit/finish compared to stock. Once I ordered my 392 I didnāt even glance at another lift after personally installing the Clayton lift on my 19ā. I had a few buddies over that day and for one of them I think this was his 6th lift he worked on. He kept commenting on how impressed he was with the beefiness and quality of the parts Compared to all the other lifts heās worked with.