Shock Length - How to decide?

[Srikumar]

Hi, 

I needed some help in deciding the shock length for my XJ which is primarily used for offroading. My current XJ setup is as follows:

    - 3" lift by means of bigger springs at the front, and a spacer at the rear

    - All sway bar link rods, control arms are original and have not been modified

    - Existing shocks are original, but they are fully extended after installing the bigger springs.

While searching online I found that for a 3 inch lift shocks of Bilstein you have two options:

1. Bisltein 5100 2" - 3" lift (Recommended)

                                              Front Extended Length(in): 22.09, 

                                              Front Collapsed Length(in): 13.58         Travel = 8.51"

                                              Rear Extended Length(in): 21.85

                                              Rear Collapsed Length(in): 13.68         Travel = 8.17"

2.  Bisltein 5100 3.5" - 4" lift

                                              Front Extended Length(in): 24.61

                                              Front Collapsed Length(in): 14.98         Travel = 9.63"

                                              Rear Extended Length(in): 23.84

                                             Rear Collapsed Length(in): 14.88          Travel = 8.96"

Now, I am able to prevent the shocks from bottoming out by increasing the bump stop height, but my question is how do I prevent the shocks from getting fully extended. Does the LCA prevent the full extension?

So even though, the recommended is to go for 2"-3" shocks, I am more inclined towards the 3.5" - 4" shock just to prevent full extension. Any suggestions on how should I go about deciding?                                         

[Gaurav]

Do you want to lift more than 3" in the future?

What is the stock suspension height? (fully extended and collapsed)?

[Srikumar]

1. No, i dont want to increase beyond a 3 inch lift.

2. Stock Shock Heights Front
                                         Extended- 21.25"
                                         Collapsed- 13.0"
                                         Travel- 8.1"
                                     Rear
                                         Extended- 21.5"
                                         Collapsed- 13.4"
                                         Travel- 8.1"

[Gaurav]

As your current OEM setup is very close to Bilstein 3 Inch so I would suggest to go for 4 Inch shocks for various reason:

• To have an extra two inch of suspension travel when off-roading in tight uneven places.
• If with almost same size you are hitting bump stops, then choosing tad higher is better. I know old one must be worn out, but so as new will wear out in few years so to have a bit safety cushion is better for extending usable life.
• Last but not least if you change your mind to lift 1 more inch in future, you can do that without changing the shocks.

[desertdude]

Forget about unless you are doing monster lifts stock length is good enough  And in the desert really doesn't matter too much anyways. Only for rock crawling where you need to have all 4 wheels planted to the ground at all times.