Shock Guide - From The Track To The Trail

In this mounting configuration, the spherical bearing in the shock eye does more articulating than it does rotating. This isn't a problem as long as the spherical bearing doesn't run out of movement and bind up. In this instance, there was still enough articulation available in the spherical bearing.

OEM-configuration lower shock mounts often hang down well below the axle. This is to allow the upper shock mount to clear the vehicle floor above. Jeep did a smart thing with the Grand Cherokee's lower shock mounts and tucked them in close to the wheel where they stand a good chance of surviving in nasty terrain.

Two birds were killed with one stone here. The upper spring plate doubles as the lower shock mount. This tall shock mount height meant that punching through the bed for the upper shock mounts was the only way to mount long-travel shocks.

When you've fabbed your upper and lower shock mounts, you're not quite done. The shocks still need to be protected from slamming metal-to-metal at full compression/bump and full extension/droop. Bumpstops protect the shocks at full compression. These urethane 'stops are simple, economical, and effective. Drawbacks? They're not tunable, and they're not as durable as racing-style pneumatic bumpstops.

Bilstein's 2-inch-diameter, 4-inch-stroke bumpstop can be tuned with oil volume and nitrogen pressure. Mounting is left up to the fabricator, who takes advantage of the premade mounting can surrounding the bumpstop in this photo. The bumpstops' stroke length can be shortened by the factory if needed. King also offers tunable pneumatic bumpstops in 2- and 2.5-inch diameters.

The JounceShock from Light Racing is the most tunable, most sophisticated version of a bumpstop we've come across. JounceShocks feature separate compression and rebound damping circuits that are externally adjustable. Light Racing offers a variety of mounting hardware to adapt the JounceShock to almost any off-road vehicle, track or trail. JounceShocks were part of the reason the Donahoe FJ dominated in both Baja and Moab.

No matter what type of bumpstops you use, a sturdy, cleanly designed mounting bracket is essential. This one is simple in design but was built after careful measuring and clearance checking. The bumpstop should stop the shock's compression before the shock fully bottoms out. The shock should have at least 1/2 inch of shaft still showing when the bumpstop reaches full compression.

To properly set up bumpstops and limit straps, the suspension should be cycled to see how far it moves in compression and extension. Ideally, suspension cycling should take place with the vehicle supported on jackstands. The next step is to remove the coils from a coilover shock or pull all but one leaf from a leaf pack and replace the missing leaves with spacers. At this point, you can cycle the suspension using a fork lift, an engine hoist, ratchet straps, or whatever you have that will safely do the job. This method is very accurate, but it's time consuming. The next best method is to twist up the suspension using a ramp, stair steps, or whatever is available. This small ditch worked well.

The shock is bottomed out, and the bumpstop is nowhere near making contact with its strike pad.