outdoor.adventures
Well-Known Member
- First Name
- Tyler
- Joined
- Apr 4, 2022
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- 2
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- 73
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- 134
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- Vehicle(s)
- 2021 Gladiator Mojave
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- Occupation
- Software Engineer
To add more to my original thread post:
My OG post is describing the bypass zones of the shock. Jeep engineered (and shipped from factory) the optimal ride height of the shock to be 3.5" of downtravel (aka extension) and 4 3/8" of uptravel (aka compression). The front shock length (aka ride height) for these two measurements to be true is 20.5". This is why mine, when originally measured, and @Aj58 's brand new Mojave are 20.5" front.
In many cases besides the Mojave shocks, the shock optimal extension and compression is split 50/50 - but not for these, like @mx5red said, for hitting bumps at speed and allowing for more dampening during shock compression. This is in part because the Mojave shocks have two distinct compression bypass zones, while only one extension zone.
Here's an image I made showing the zones and ride height of the front Mojave shocks. It illustrates how the more your springs have sagged/compressed such that your shocks are less than 20.5" eye to eye, the closer the piston gets to Zone 2 - causing for a harsher ride. If you're at 19" or 19.5" you're literally riding up on the firmer zone. If you're at 20.5", you're 1.5" from Zone 2. On the other side of it, the longer your springs are, the less downtravel you'll have as the piston moves closer to Zone 1 and the bottom of the shock - which is worse for articulation/traction off-road, especially in rock crawling.
Sometimes springs sag over time and accessories (steel bumper, winch, a bunch of ducks) can cause them to ride lower, effectively shortening the ride height length of the shock.I uninstalled my Mojave’s Fox 2.5 shocks and took some measurements based on applied pressure on my bench and did some math. Hopefully these are helpful!
Bypass Zones
There are two compression ports and one rebound (extension) port. This is a common setup so that the travel towards bottoming out is dampened in two progressive stages.
Zone Travel
- Zone 3: 1 7/8” from full compression
- Zone 3 is very firm to prevent bottoming out
- Zone 2: 2 7/8” from full compression (1” from Zone 3)
- Zone 2 is slightly more firm than the ride zone to slow the compression before hitting Zone 3
- Zone 1: 1/4” from full extension (4 3/4” from Zone 2)
- Zone 1 is to prevent the shock from slamming into full extension
- Ride Zone: this zone is implicit based on Zones 1 and 2 above and lives between 2 7/8” and 7 5/8” of extension - 4 3/4” travel.
I measured that my Mojave (YMMV) sits level on the ground at 3 1/2” from full extension, or 4 3/8” from full compression. With that in mind, in my opinion these are the most practically useful measurements to determine proper use of the bypass zones with lifts/levels:
- 2 1/2” uptravel from ride height to Zone 3
- 1 1/2” uptravel from ride height to Zone 2
- 3 1/4” downtravel from ride height to Zone 1
My OG post is describing the bypass zones of the shock. Jeep engineered (and shipped from factory) the optimal ride height of the shock to be 3.5" of downtravel (aka extension) and 4 3/8" of uptravel (aka compression). The front shock length (aka ride height) for these two measurements to be true is 20.5". This is why mine, when originally measured, and @Aj58 's brand new Mojave are 20.5" front.
In many cases besides the Mojave shocks, the shock optimal extension and compression is split 50/50 - but not for these, like @mx5red said, for hitting bumps at speed and allowing for more dampening during shock compression. This is in part because the Mojave shocks have two distinct compression bypass zones, while only one extension zone.
Here's an image I made showing the zones and ride height of the front Mojave shocks. It illustrates how the more your springs have sagged/compressed such that your shocks are less than 20.5" eye to eye, the closer the piston gets to Zone 2 - causing for a harsher ride. If you're at 19" or 19.5" you're literally riding up on the firmer zone. If you're at 20.5", you're 1.5" from Zone 2. On the other side of it, the longer your springs are, the less downtravel you'll have as the piston moves closer to Zone 1 and the bottom of the shock - which is worse for articulation/traction off-road, especially in rock crawling.
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