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Suspension question

Ziggy

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I'm aware of Shock Therapy for respringing and revalving.
I know there's another place that does similar work but can't remember the name. Can someone help me out with the name or other similar references?
Thanks
 

rivrrts429

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MTS Off-Road is another. Also based in Phoenix and sets up shop in Glamis for tuning.
 

HavaToon

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UTVShocks.com - Gary Fries in Havasu and SoCal

Ben Porter in Phoenix he’s with Foddrill / independent

Ed the Suspension Guy in SoCal
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LargeOrangeFont

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Down the rathole you go Zig :) I'm sure everyone has told you, it will make a huge difference.

I have heard good things about all of the above places.

My recommendation is find a place you don't have to ship the shocks to.

I have had direct experience with Ed in Fontana and Shock Therapy. @Bpracing1127 just had DC do some work on a rebuild/revalve and I believe is very satisfied.

Ed pushes for a 2.5" Walker front shock upgrade pretty hard and does not like messing with the stock front shocks. I don't think you are going nuts out there, and while the 2.5" fronts are better, the 2" stock fronts are adequate. That would be my only warning for using Ed.
 
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Ziggy

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Down the rathole you go Zig :) I'm sure everyone has told you, it will make a huge difference.

I have heard good things about all of the above places.

My recommendation is find a place you don't have to ship the shocks to.

I have had direct experience with Ed in Fontana and Shock Therapy. @Bpracing1127 just had DC do some work on a rebuild/revalve and I believe is very satisfied.

Ed pushes for a 2.5" Walker front shock upgrade pretty hard and does not like messing with the stock front shocks. I don't think you are going nuts out there, and while the 2.5" fronts are better, the 2" stock fronts are adequate. That would be my only warning for using Ed.
Yeah, pretty much everyone has said night/day difference.....and when the other guys wife tells my wife "its soooo much better" the hints from the mrs start coming. One guy even said just changing the springs made all the difference.
So yeah, rathole entry I seek.
 

DLC

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I think my havasu neighbor called DC in havasu yesterday and DC said to just drive his car over and he will handle it all in a week or 2, Some where around 2/15 or 2/17 they also seemed reasonable priced.

the big delay right now is getting the springs a lot of them are back ordered. Due to Covid plant shutdowns and demand Is high. So make a few calls and get in line so you have a spot
 

LargeOrangeFont

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Yeah, pretty much everyone has said night/day difference.....and when the other guys wife tells my wife "its soooo much better" the hints from the mrs start coming. One guy even said just changing the springs made all the difference.
So yeah, rathole entry I seek.

Yea the springs make 80% of the difference.
 

Bpracing1127

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It is night and day difference!! Welcome to the fast guys club!!
 

Ziggy

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I think my havasu neighbor called DC in havasu yesterday and DC said to just drive his car over and he will handle it all in a week or 2, Some where around 2/15 or 2/17 they also seemed reasonable priced.

the big delay right now is getting the springs a lot of them are back ordered. Due to Covid plant shutdowns and demand Is high. So make a few calls and get in line so you have a spot
Might just let it settle down a bit and handle it during the off season. Boating time is knocking on the door so it's going in for the spray on keel guards next week.
 
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Ziggy

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I think my havasu neighbor called DC in havasu yesterday and DC said to just drive his car over and he will handle it all in a week or 2, Some where around 2/15 or 2/17 they also seemed reasonable priced.

the big delay right now is getting the springs a lot of them are back ordered. Due to Covid plant shutdowns and demand Is high. So make a few calls and get in line so you have a spot
Called Kurt at DC Shock Service last month and he responded in less the 15 minutes, none of the other shops I rang up returned my call.
Kurt said no problem give him a week or two advance notice. Called a week ago to set it up. This afternoon I dropped it off, he'll rebuild, revalve and replace all springs with Eibach and set up for Havasu type riding. I pick it up on Friday, my Bday.🤘
Essentially a one day job for him.
If the result is anything like his handling of this biz transaction I will be a happy camper👍👍
.
So, I'm curious what others have paid for their shock work elsewhere? I'll be in this ~$1700.
 

DLC

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did he get you Eibach springs? The springs are a grand by themselves…. Nice thing is he is local so if you need some adjustments your good to go!

my neighbor had it done a few weeks back, but to hot to try it out in the dirt.

Happy Birthday!!

Called Kurt at DC Shock Service last month and he responded in less the 15 minutes, none of the other shops I rang up returned my call.
Kurt said no problem give him a week or two advance notice. Called a week ago to set it up. This afternoon I dropped it off, he'll rebuild, revalve and replace all springs with Eibach and set up for Havasu type riding. I pick it up on Friday, my Bday.🤘
Essentially a one day job for him.
If the result is anything like his handling of this biz transaction I will be a happy camper👍👍
.
So, I'm curious what others have paid for their shock work elsewhere? I'll be in this ~$1700.
 

Ziggy

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did he get you Eibach springs? The springs are a grand by themselves…. Nice thing is he is local so if you need some adjustments your good to go!

my neighbor had it done a few weeks back, but to hot to try it out in the dirt.

Happy Birthday!!
Yes, Eibach.
 
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LargeOrangeFont

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Oh, and I'd like to thank @dspracing for the nice glass windshield and frame, fit my pro-armor cage perfectly.👍

That is great news the windsheild fit Ziggy!
I think I told you I ended up slipping mine under the roof and bolting the windshield frame to the roof to keep it in place better. It has stayed in place flawlessly sines then, I don’t even run the gasket on the bottom.

And $1700 is a pretty reasonable price. Springs are $750-$800 (ours are smaller springs and therefore cheaper) and ~$200 per shock for a rebuild and revalve is good and on the low side of average. Car will be night and day different. Don’t be afraid to turn the knobs to dial it in to your liking. It makes a huge difference.

Only other thing to consider now are upgraded rear sway bar endlinks, and also a sway bar mount brace. The rear sway bar mounts are weak and can bend and break off the chassis. With the suspension now softer initially on bump and rebound, you are working the sway bar more and relying on it for handling. Again not critical, but it is one of the few known weak points of the chassis, so definitely keep an eye on it. If you see cracks in th paint around the rear sway bar mounting area, go get it welded up. The rear sway bar brace makes this a non issue.

I am of the opinion these days that you probably don’t NEED a upgraded rear sway bar. The stock one works pretty well in Havasu with the upgrades I mentioned. I used to run Walker links on the sway bar, but am off those now that I have the shocks dialed, and the car handles better at higher speeds with solid endlinks.


Happy birthday!
 
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evantwheeler

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That is great news the windsheild fit Ziggy!
I think I told you I ended up slipping mine under the roof and bolting the windshield frame to the roof to keep it in place better. It has stayed in place flawlessly sines then, I don’t even run the gasket on the bottom.

And $1700 is a pretty reasonable price. Springs are $750-$800 (ours are smaller springs and therefore cheaper) and ~$200 per shock for a rebuild and revalve is good and on the low side of average. Car will be night and day different. Don’t be afraid to turn the knobs to dial it in to your liking. It makes a huge difference.

Only other thing to consider now are upgraded rear sway bar endlinks, and also a sway bar mount brace. The rear sway bar mounts are weak and can bend and break off the chassis. With the suspension now softer initially on bump and rebound, you are working the sway bar more and relying on it for handling. Again not critical, but it is one of the few known weak points of the chassis, so definitely keep an eye on it. If you see cracks in th paint around the rear sway bar mounting area, go get it welded up. The rear sway bar brace makes this a non issue.

I am of the opinion these days that you probably don’t NEED a upgraded rear sway bar. The stock one works pretty well in Havasu with the upgrades I mentioned. I used to run Walker links on the sway bar, but am off those now that I have the shocks dialed, and the car handles better at higher speeds with solid endlinks.


Happy birthday!

I second the sway bar link upgrade and sway bar mount stiffeners. The eibach rear sway bar also made an enormous difference in how my XP1K handled. I would spend the money on it again, and would do so before shocks personally. I had stock shocks up to 2500 miles and put the sway bar on around 1750 or so. HUUGE difference everywhere. I actually ran Ed's 2.5 fronts and 2.5 rear revalved & re-sprung test setup back to back with my stock shocks out in glamis in 2016. I couldn't tell enough difference to justify the cost of ANY suspension work. I suspect if I had them on in the washboards of Havasu, I would have been able to tell a huge difference and it would have been worth it. I left them stock and kept hammering on it. That being said, my shocks are at Shock Prep Unlimited in Riverside now getting rebuilt & revalved just so I can turn around and sell the car as being fresh.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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I second the sway bar link upgrade and sway bar mount stiffeners. The eibach rear sway bar also made an enormous difference in how my XP1K handled. I would spend the money on it again, and would do so before shocks personally. I had stock shocks up to 2500 miles and put the sway bar on around 1750 or so. HUUGE difference everywhere. I actually ran Ed's 2.5 fronts and 2.5 rear revalved & re-sprung test setup back to back with my stock shocks out in glamis in 2016. I couldn't tell enough difference to justify the cost of ANY suspension work. I suspect if I had them on in the washboards of Havasu, I would have been able to tell a huge difference and it would have been worth it. I left them stock and kept hammering on it. That being said, my shocks are at Shock Prep Unlimited in Riverside now getting rebuilt & revalved just so I can turn around and sell the car as being fresh.

After going to Glamis in my car and running an identical stock car to mine, you made the right decision with the sway bars only for the sand. As you noted, the desert is the complete opposite however- You need the upgraded shocks springs. The stiffer sway bars in the desert with the stock shocks and springs just make the ride even worse than stock actually.

My group has played around with various sway bar setups, and we are kinda thinking if you have the right springs and stock valving, aftermarket sway bars aren’t needed for the desert in most cases. Sand is a different story, you can absolutely use stiffer bars in the sand.

Another good desert setup is to run the OEM front sway bar on the XP41K (standard on 19+ And Turbo models I believe) and Walker links on the rear bar.

I am running the stock rear bar only with solid links these days. No front bar at all.
 
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Ziggy

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That is great news the windsheild fit Ziggy!
I think I told you I ended up slipping mine under the roof and bolting the windshield frame to the roof to keep it in place better. It has stayed in place flawlessly sines then, I don’t even run the gasket on the bottom.

And $1700 is a pretty reasonable price. Springs are $750-$800 (ours are smaller springs and therefore cheaper) and ~$200 per shock for a rebuild and revalve is good and on the low side of average. Car will be night and day different. Don’t be afraid to turn the knobs to dial it in to your liking. It makes a huge difference.

Only other thing to consider now are upgraded rear sway bar endlinks, and also a sway bar mount brace. The rear sway bar mounts are weak and can bend and break off the chassis. With the suspension now softer initially on bump and rebound, you are working the sway bar more and relying on it for handling. Again not critical, but it is one of the few known weak points of the chassis, so definitely keep an eye on it. If you see cracks in th paint around the rear sway bar mounting area, go get it welded up. The rear sway bar brace makes this a non issue.

I am of the opinion these days that you probably don’t NEED a upgraded rear sway bar. The stock one works pretty well in Havasu with the upgrades I mentioned. I used to run Walker links on the sway bar, but am off those now that I have the shocks dialed, and the car handles better at higher speeds with solid endlinks.


Happy birthday!
The windshield tucked right up under the roof edge, can't say that I could put a bolt through them though, if anything I could add a couple more of the insulated clamps. As it is I put a strip of foam tape between them to lessen possible vibration noise. Was nice not feeling like I was in an air fryer driving down the hill.
I'll see how it all works and make sway bar/link mods as needed.
 

LargeOrangeFont

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The windshield tucked right up under the roof edge, can't say that I could put a bolt through them though, if anything I could add a couple more of the insulated clamps. As it is I put a strip of foam tape between them to lessen possible vibration noise. Was nice not feeling like I was in an air fryer driving down the hill.
I'll see how it all works and make sway bar/link mods as needed.

My windshield just slipped down into the hood is all when I was using just the 4 clamps. Once it hits the hood it just rubbed through the paint in one small spot next to the A pillar bar.

I was more worried about removing the dash panel in the field if needed, as my fuse box is under the dash. So getting the windshield off the hood let’s me check or change fuses easily.
 

Ziggy

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My windshield just slipped down into the hood is all when I was using just the 4 clamps. Once it hits the hood it just rubbed through the paint in one small spot next to the A pillar bar.

I was more worried about removing the dash panel in the field if needed, as my fuse box is under the dash. So getting the windshield off the hood let’s me check or change fuses easily.
I put the lower side straps atop of the bottom crossbar to help minimize its chance of slipping down🤞
 

LargeOrangeFont

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I put the lower side straps atop of the bottom crossbar to help minimize its chance of slipping down🤞

Solid plan, you are likely fine. Did you end up getting white or black?
 
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