Single vs dual shocks

[ntsqd]

That's a lot like saying "I've set the bar, now don't trip on it."

The truth is that they can ride surprisingly nice. They may not ride like a Caddy in all situations, but with some effort they can work pretty well. I've had the privilege of riding in two that I consider to be the most well developed examples, and I've chased both of them all over the desert in vehicles that should have been their equal (if you only consider the simple specs & not the fine tuning) and had to work to keep up.

 

[lars]

Im running dual WH standard shocks at each corner. I built it that way because I was building my rig the way I would've done it in the 80s when I was a young guy. The ride? Who cares, I mean how good can a lifted heavy,solid axle, shortie, with big tires and wheels ride??:?:-[;D

Just spotted this thread. My current setup is front single Fox 2.0 reservoir shocks custom built by raceshock.com in PHX, rear single 7100 Bilsteins valved 255/70 in back, all on mounts I fabbed myself. I went through a couple of evolutions, but the big improvement came from dumping the Ranchos I had on there before. A friend helped me burn through the install one long Saturday, ages ago. I remember us giggling like fools when we realized how fast we could hustle my Bronco down the pothole-strewn farm road that passed for a suburban street enroute to the shop at work, compared to what it was capable of about 12 hours earlier. The difference is unsubtle.

What I have now is an improvement on what we installed that day, but it's a matter of degree. Decent gas pressurized monotube shocks are transformative. Valved wrong, they will obviously miss the mark. As did mine. But even then they were better. A lifted short wheelbase early Bronco can be made to handle stupid well. As in, I become a teenager and get stupid sometimes when I drive it.

 

[ntsqd]

Lars' is one of those that I've chased all over.

I've seen that teenager after runs like the below link, it was like looking in a mirror......
Note the speedo reading: https://photos.smugmug.com/photos/i-kSvj2nH/0/71328ea4/L/i-kSvj2nH-L.jpg
;D

 

[Boss Hugg]

I'm going to add in that I put my front swaybar back on. Drives great for me now. I don't think it's worth buying special shocks for, but maybe one day i'll hit the lotto???

 

[ntsqd]

If you're just crawling and not even street driving I don't see the need for good dampers. You do need some damping, but they're not a huge factor in vehicle performance.

However, the need for good damping increases in direct relationship to the increase in speed. It is also a little known thing that the shorter the vehicle's wheel travel is, the more good damping is needed. Said differently, if all you have is 2" of up-travel then you need the best damping that you can possibly buy. If you have 12" of up-travel then the damping needs aren't as critical.