You have much more negative camber than I'm able to get...I'm jealous!

Also, what did you do to get the rear so low? I am running the Slam Specialties bags with the FBI mounts and mine doesn't get that low. I was thinking about changing out the rear shocks for greater drop. Any suggestions?

 

i did a bit of research (ok allota bit) and found a Monroe shock that was the same hight and stroke distance as the front struts.... So now my butt end doesnt go into the clouds and put my kit into the asphalt midway in the stroke... The lift is now even front to rear. Oh and i use no bumpstops in the rear. Now if i was a nice guy, id prolly share all that research w/ yas. And better yet, if i remembered the model #'s might be helpfull too. But i do remember it was from a sequoia minivan rear shock. i have the model #'s at work. If ya want em, ill get em tomarrow. >Mikey

 

I would LOVE to have the model # of the shock you're using in the rear. A major reason I went with air ride is so I could lay it low and if this will get me lower in the rear, I'm all for it. Also (and I know this is a really really basic question but I'm going to ask anyway) where are the bump stops & how do I remove them?

Thanks very much if you decide to share your research information...it will not be unappreciated.

 

Mikey i could use that info as well on which shocks because even with the Monroe Sensa Trac 5870's(i think thats the model number) i'd like to see more suspension travel on coilovers in the rear for even more comfort

 

Ill get ya the #'s i used today... And Bumpstops are the lil foam-rubber bushings on the shaft of the shock that prevent the shock from compressing fully. Just remove them prior to install. Or do not transfer them once your installing the new shocks.



Plz understand that the rear shocks i use now have much LESS travel than the others. Its that extra travel that let the rear go WAY up in the air, which i didnt like. The stroke of these shocks is the same as the front ES air struts. Im just making sure you know this. >Mikey

 

i do understand this. the issue with shocks are...they are progressive. Once the fluid gets compressed within the valved area...it gets harder to compress it. So when you reach the limits of a shock you get less feedback and more bump(in my terms). shorter shock will be valved better to compensate for its shorter stroke. Hope that makes sense.

Jeff

 

It makes sense to me now that it's been explained. And the shorter shock travel sounds like exactly what I need. It's annoying as hell when I raise my car to full lift and the rear end is 6 inches (yes, that was a slight exaggeration) higher than the front. If I can eliminate that AND get the rear a bit lower with just one set of rear shocks, I am all for that.
This has been a very informative thread all around!

 

okay, I retapped the Cusco nut for the E/S struts. I also has the pos camber. installed the plates and pushed them in to god, -6 or more. Storm, GET THE CAR ALIGNED! Don't do it soon and you'll burn off the tires quick. It pulls cuz your toe-in is ridiculous. You don't know it, but I bet your car is covered in tire dust now. Well, -6 put me at -1.25/27 on the front realistically. Although it still looks as if I have pos camber, it's the fenders that exaggerate it too. front fenders contour in at the top a bit. opitical illusion. Now if I can solve the rattle...

 

I just picked up my retapped nuts a few mins ago, they should be on this afternoon. I called on monday to get my car an appointment to be aligned and the soonest they could get me in was tomorrow morning. Unfortunately, I have to drive 30 miles to the next town to get it aligned...nobody in this small town is able to align a lowered car from what I was told by two different places here. I guess we'll see how it turns out.

I'm hoping maddsciontist posts the rear shock info before too long so I can pick up the shocks while I'm over getting it aligned.

 

I am not Madddsciontist, and I do not know what part number he used. I know that most of the guys who want to have a shorter shock are commonly using the Monroe Sensa-Trac part number 5870. I did a quick check and here are some shocks that would LIKELY work. I want guarantee anything, but they have the same upper and lower mounts...

5870
Upper Mount: S4
Lower Mount: L1
Compressed: 14.250"
Extended: 23.875"
Stroke: 9.625"

5753
Upper Mount: S4
Lower Mount: L1
Compressed: 10.375"
Extended: 16.750"
Stroke: 6.375"

5854
Upper Mount: S4
Lower Mount: L1
Compressed: 12.125"
Extended: 20.000"
Stroke: 7.875"

5882
Upper Mount: S4
Lower Mount: L1
Compressed: 13.625"
Extended: 21.125"
Stroke: 7.500"

There are others that will work as well, but I really didn't feel like going through every single shock Monroe has available online. There are a couple of Sensa-Trac shocks that fall in between some of those listed above, but use a L1/CP3. That is a loop style end that includes a cantilevered stud mount. They would likely work for ours, but I am not sure. They also have several offerings in other types of shocks other than the Sensa-Tracs.

Now how do you choose the one that is right for your application? Well, I won't speak on coil-overs specifically, but some of what I will say about bags transfers over to coil-overs pretty well.

You want a shock whose body is short enough so that at full drop the bags are fully compressed, but the shock is not. You also want a shock that can limit the stroke of your air bags. But not by much. Usually stopping them short by less than 1/2" is ideal. This helps extend the life of the bags without decreasing the life of the shock too much. If you limit the stroke too much by installing too short a shock the force from the bags will have a tendency to want to blow the shock by pulling the shaft right out of the body. Simply put? Use the bags to limit your drop, and use the shocks to limit your lift.

I hope that helps. If I had bagged my wife's xB yet I could probably give you precise information about which shock is prefect for that particular set up. Until then you can use this as a guideline to try and hunt down just the right shock for your application.

 

nice job

 

Yeah RT, thanks for the super informative post. I do have one question though. Do you (or does anybody else) know the specifics of the stock shocks? Specifically the same info that you posted about replacement shocks (compressed, extended, stroke, etc) is what I'm looking for.

 

Okay, I need some more advice. I took my car in for an alignment today and it aligned just fine and goes perfectly straight. However, now something weird is happening. Whenever I turn a corner, it pulls whichever direction I turned. The place that aligned it told me about it before I went and picked it up and said that it appears something is binding up near the top of the struts because if after you turn a corner and it starts pulling, if you sharply turn the wheel in the other direction it drives straight. I tested this out for myself and that is the truth (about the pulling). They suggested I take off the camber plates and see if it continues to happen. So, I put my stock top hats back on and now it does not pull after a corner. Of course the toe is screwed on my alignment now, but it drives straight. Has anyone had this happen with these plates or do you have any suggestions? I'm not sure what to do at this point. As a side note, it has also gotten rid of the rattles that now appear to have been coming from the plates. Did I possibly install the camber plates incorrectly? I noticed that there was an "RH" & "LH" designation on the plates...so I put the LH on the driver's side and RH on the passenger side. I even tried greasing up the pillow ball mount things hoping that was what was causing the binding but it did not help.

Can anyone please help? This is driving me nuts!

 

Did you make sure to use that lil spacer supplied with the plates? there was a lil bag w/ 2 spacers that go under the plate to give it clearance. Ive had no problem of the sort. And ive looked for those darn boxxes at work... i cant find the model nuber they were. I could look on the shocks themselves, but i guess im lazy. I remember they were rear shocks for a sequoia. part like 4*** i cant remember. I suck. >Mikey

 

AHHHHHHHHHH! You may be onto something maddsciontist. I saw that little bag with the spacers but had no idea where they went and since the instructions were in japenese, I just figured they were something for the stock struts.

So, those little spacers in the bag go under the cusco plates, but on top of the big metal washer that's on top of the strut, right?

 

That is correct... Atleast thats how i did it anyhow. Mine has no problems... So this may be it! Hope it works >Mikey

 

I owe you, Mikey. I went out after I read your last piece of advice, took the stock top hats off, put the black spacers I never used on and then the camber plates on. I took it for a quick spin around the block (it was starting to rain and I try not to drive it too much when it could hail) and it seems 100% better. I'll give it some more drive time, but it sure felt nice and smooth when turning corners now, too. There didn't seem to be any pull at all and the rattles are almost completely gone!
Again, thank you for taking the time to post your idea; I think it worked.

 

To Storm 13... Unfortunately Monroe does not list part number 5987 on their online catalogue. You could get the numbers yourself by pulling off one of the shocks and taking the measurements. You would measure the compressed length by compressing the shock and measuring from the center of the loop to the bottom of the stud. Measure the extended length by letting the shock fully extend and taking the same measurement. The difference between the two is the stroke.

To Madddsciontist... I looked all over the Monroe site and couldn't find anything that even resembled a 4**** part number you gave. The closest I could find were Limited Edition Load Leveler shocks. There were a couple that MAY work. Then again, they MAY NOT. The only problem with these shocks, is that since they are load leveling shocks they actually include a spring to assist with heavy loads. That makes me seriously doubt that they were the shocks you purchased.

LE40428
Compressed: 12.625"
Extended: 20.375"
Stroke: 7.750"

LE40510
Compressed: 12.750"
Extended: 21.375"
Stroke: 8.625"

 

I REALLY think it was a 4 digit nuber staring with a 4... My cars in the paint booth tonight but ill get under it tomarrow and get the # for sure.

 

Is it tomorrow yet?