Gas shock vs. Air shock vs. Emulsion Shocks.... ???

REDLYNER

REDLYNER

Mall Crawling Race Rig
Joined
Oct 31, 2008
Location
Mountain Island
I have done tons of work with my suspension and others, but have never used anything besides a standard $35 shock absorber (BDS, DT3000, Rancho, etc). I'm at a point where I would like to upgrade to a major improvement over what I have- which is currently the $37 BDS shocks.

Assuming coilovers are a long distance off, what is the best solution between then and now?

The jeep is daily driven and rocked pretty hard off-road. I just have zero education on the higher end shocks. I'm doing as much reading as possible, but thought I would reach out for help.


For arguments sake, let's say the budget was around $200 per corner. What would you go with for a stretched TJ on 3.5" of lift?
 
I am personally a fan of nitro charged shocks

Bilstein 5100s and 5150s are a great shock and hard to beat and will keep you around the $100 mark.

Fox emulsions are over rated IMO until you get into coilovers and air shocks. If it was a remote res its a different story since you get a IFP (internal floating piston) this separates your oil and nitrogen to reduce foaming of the oil and fading, something you probably not going to have to worry about with just something for you to know. With a Fox you get the option to rebuild and change your valving which is nice and something we do on a regular basis to get the rides right. Some will argue whether or not its worth the money but it depends on how much time you want to spend getting the ride dialed in 100%. Fox RR's will be around $200

There are many more options but this is what I have good personal experience with.
 
Interesting.


A few I was looking at:

Fox with res (front): $210 each

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Fox emulsion (rear): $150 each

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Walker Evans Racing emulsion shocks (front and rear): $185 each

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I found a pair of Bilstein 5100s (rear) for $140 shipped, is there a huge drop in performance over the ones above?
 
Any monotube shock valved for your jeep will work well for what you want. If you want the look of a reservoir shock then the 5150 isn't a bad choice for the price. You probably won't notice any difference at all beyond that with a stock tj suspension unless you just want to spend money.
 
Give F-O-A a call. The guys there are SUPER knowledgeable and have some killer prices on great, quality shocks. They will valve them and build them to what you want to do with the jeep and you will end up with a great shock that is designed to do what you want it to.
 
Buy a threaded shock.. then down the road when you're ready for coilovers, you're just some springs and hardware away. They're not that much bare..
 
CarolinaTruggies said:
Jay Im a Fox dealer....my customers never pay list....
Don't buy a fox emulsion
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I'll give you a call Alex. Interested to get your feedback on some of the rigs that have gone through your shop.
 
braxton357 said:
You probably won't notice any difference at all beyond that with a stock tj suspension unless you just want to spend money.
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No problem with it, but buying high dollar shocks is nothing but an exercise in spending money when done on a stockish rig.
 
awspence said:
No problem with it, but buying high dollar shocks is nothing but an exercise in spending money when done on a stockish rig.
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I'm not sure if this is directed at me, but I don't think mine is a stockish rig.
 
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