ORI strut reviews

87TPIYJ said:
What brand are you talking FOA? Don’t forget limit straps.

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Haha





No. Don’t ever buy FOA. Anyone, for any reason. Never, don’t even think about it. If you have to spend carefully, buy used and rebuild or buy Profender.

My prices were straight off wide open design site, radflo. They have the shortest current lead times out of the big brands. Fox prices are pretty comparable to radflo.

They can use fox shims.

If I weren’t looking for quick prices, and had plenty of money I’d buy ADS. They have some of the best quality control, and part selection that far exceeds the others. They are race shocks.

Fox and king lead times are crazy right now.
Swayaway is still a great product but there is practically no support, it’s terrible to order, and lead times are like maybe you’ll get them, maybe not. I had to give afe power the part numbers from my old catalog to look up parts and shocks.

There is absolutely no need for anything bigger than a 2” travel 2” diameter bump stop in this discussion.

Generally you want 20% of your uptravel in bump stop travel. Any more than that and it’s active in too much of the travel range and develops quirks and workarounds. Everyone should start with 50 psi in air bumps and work up to generally no more than 125.

If you need that much, for east coast stuff, you need more compression dampening.

Limit strap prices vary so much, anywhere from $5 to $75. So I didn’t price them.

They arent enough cost for me to justify in comparing. Shipping and taxes on this stuff is more than limit strap cost.

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@Mac5005 is the man and I look up to his advice a lot.

Limit straps are a given, and both ORIs and coilovers need them so it doesn't matter for cost comparison.

I've rode in a buggy with tuned airshocks and while they aren't the end of it all, I was happily surprised by the performance.

As for the ORIs, most people I know that like them never rode in any buggy with tuned shocks. The day I sat my ass in a buggy with proper suspension work was the day I saw the light. Just like most people who get to experience this.
 
Mac5005 said:
I’d budget $600-$800 for tuning, and that includes a spring swap, get it correct early on and no additional cost.
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Who even does this, and where is it done? I've never seen anyone around here advertise a shock tuning service, and know nothing about how it is done. I'm picturing needing to be in a big field with bumps or at Uwharrie or somewhere that you can go at least fairly fast across some rough terrain. Then the rig would need to be framed on some jack stands, all four units removed, dis-charged, disassembled, valving changed, reassembled, re-charged, put back on the rig, then test drive again. Repeat at least a few times? Probably figure on a full day?
 
drkelly said:
Who even does this, and where is it done? I've never seen anyone around here advertise a shock tuning service, and know nothing about how it is done. I'm picturing needing to be in a big field with bumps or at Uwharrie or somewhere that you can go at least fairly fast across some rough terrain. Then the rig would need to be framed on some jack stands, all four units removed, dis-charged, disassembled, valving changed, reassembled, re-charged, put back on the rig, then test drive again. Repeat at least a few times? Probably figure on a full day?
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Yes that general scope of it.

I’m doing it, given not a lot yet outside of wheeling buddies and friends and family. I’m not advertising yet as no yellow star and LLC is being finalized.

If done in the field, really just need a small table or tailgate, two vises and handful of specific tools, oil, valve shims, and n2.

I have whoops, washboard, big jump, and a rock pile at my shop for doing it there.

I use engine hoist to pick up one end at a time for removal. This helps keep front/rear valving theory separate when taking them apart.

Also have a gantry I built to use instead of engine hoist. Both work. It’s actually more difficult using the lift than either of those two methods.

I’ll be posting more details and official info soon.

So read this as, not really fully taking customers fully yet, but it’s in the pipeline.

Doesn’t really take much speed, as you want to tune for the intended usage.

Ex: tuning at my shop is great for east coast trails and such, but is no where near enough speed/force to get it close for the sandbox stuff.

In theory to me, get it to 80% at my shop, which is good for most trail rigs, for race stuff need to follow up at a big park somewhere to fine tune.

Most of the work is getting the shocks off, and getting the springs off. I let the vehicle owner mostly do that, and I focus on taking the shocks apart, and making changes. Because it’s been for friends and family I don’t mind helping with that part, but in the future I’ll move away from helping in that regard.

Also in theory, could do two rigs at a time and break up some of the associate total cost. Ex, two rigs show up and a couple helpers. Remove shocks off one rig, while the other drives around, rinse repeat.


And yes, it’s good to plan for a whole day. It’s never a got it right on the first shot.

Usually takes 1-3 times to get an idea of what it needs then another 1-2 times apart to nail down the magnitude. That said, a lot of improvement is seen in the first ride/revalve.


You only need to go fast enough as normal trail riding to get the shocks working. Tune for what your rig will be doing most of the time.
 
drkelly said:
Who even does this, and where is it done? I've never seen anyone around here advertise a shock tuning service, and know nothing about how it is done. I'm picturing needing to be in a big field with bumps or at Uwharrie or somewhere that you can go at least fairly fast across some rough terrain. Then the rig would need to be framed on some jack stands, all four units removed, dis-charged, disassembled, valving changed, reassembled, re-charged, put back on the rig, then test drive again. Repeat at least a few times? Probably figure on a full day?
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Right! A friend was needing tuning and no one local that we could find does this. He ended up with ORIs
 
I have always heard X is better than Y and pretty much took it with a grain of salt and called it opinions.

However with the tech and data provided by @Mac5005 in a way that I can (mostly) understand, I can see why one is better than the other.

Some people just sound like a know it all, this is better simply because I have it and need to justify the route I went... and I don’t get that vibe at all from him. Just facts explained in a non bias way while still giving credit where it’s due for the other options and recognizing where they shine and fall short.
 
McCracken said:
STX Strut

Read the paragraph just above the bulleted list of features.
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If you beat on it hard enough a strut bolt could snap or a weld on the strut bracket could fail. Straps and bump stops would be helpful in that scenario.

I bought used coilovers from a guy who wasn’t pleased with his pre tuned fox coilovers on his V8 YJ on tons. Sounds exactly like what Mac is explaining. He was really excited for his ORIs.

I scooped up all four coilovers for less than the price of a single ORI so I was excited, but the task of valving will certainly require some time. I am young and dumb in the eyes of some people.

The seal on an ORI failing just sounds too risky to me. They do seem built very nice though.


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NickMaul said:
The seal on an ORI failing just sounds too risky to me.
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This was the deciding factor for me too. Keeping a spare air shock (at a minimum) to salvage the weekend made me focus more on coil overs. Sometimes shit just happens.
 
NickMaul said:
If you beat on it hard enough a strut bolt could snap or a weld on the strut bracket could fail. Straps and bump stops would be helpful in that scenario.

I bought used coilovers from a guy who wasn’t pleased with his pre tuned fox coilovers on his V8 YJ on tons. Sounds exactly like what Mac is explaining. He was really excited for his ORIs.

I scooped up all four coilovers for less than the price of a single ORI so I was excited, but the task of valving will certainly require some time. I am young and dumb in the eyes of some people.

The seal on an ORI failing just sounds too risky to me. They do seem built very nice though.


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I've been running them for a while and I'm not the easiest on equipment. I'd consider a failure is the exception and not the norm. Shit happens. If it craps out then so be it. I'll fix it and be on my way. I've seen coilovers break even with straps.
 
NickMaul said:
If you beat on it hard enough a strut bolt could snap or a weld on the strut bracket could fail. Straps and bump stops would be helpful in that scenario.

I bought used coilovers from a guy who wasn’t pleased with his pre tuned fox coilovers on his V8 YJ on tons. Sounds exactly like what Mac is explaining. He was really excited for his ORIs.

I scooped up all four coilovers for less than the price of a single ORI so I was excited, but the task of valving will certainly require some time. I am young and dumb in the eyes of some people.

The seal on an ORI failing just sounds too risky to me. They do seem built very nice though.


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You can’t break anything on Jackstands just web wheeling, so you’d be good with anything really. No limit straps needed.
 
My thoughts on bump stops and limit straps.

Air shocks and ORI’s use the compression ratio inside the shock to act as a hydraulic bump stop.

The displacement of the shaft volume going into the sealed cylinder increases the pressure inside the shock to prevent bottom out.

As n2 is compressible but the oil is not, the more oil that’s in the shock, the more progressive the shock acts as a bump stop.

This is why so many people have great results with running air shocks near max oil volume.

Too much oil, and the shock hydrolocks.

Emulsion coilovers typically have much lower CR due to the smaller shaft diameter. While there is still some bump stop effect, not enough to matter. Hence why you need bump stops with coilovers, but you may not “need” them with air shocks and ORI’s.

Remote reservoir shocks use an Internal floating piston ( dividing piston) in the reservoir to separate the oil/n2. As the shaft displaces fluid upon compression, the IFP moves in the reservoir, further compressing the n2, and the compression ratio is much much lower. Again need bump stops.

If you don’t have bumpstops and you have some pretty hard compression events, the forces are all placed on the two 1/2” mounting bolts for the shocks. This load can be huge in a dynamic bottom out event.

When you start tuning air shocks to really work well, I’ve seen times where it helps to add 2” air bumps or poly bumps just to help cushion big bottom outs.

Limit straps:

In a top out event ( full droop) gravity is trying to rip the axle out of the chassis while the spring force ( coil or n2) is pushing the axle away also.

On most shocks the bottom cap (gland end) is just designed to hold the pressure in the shocks, hold the seals for the shaft, and guide the shaft. It is not designed for severe top out loads. Can easily damage internals of the shocks from top out events without limit straps.

ORI’s use the lower chamber to dampen the rebound, this is why “ they don’t body roll” or “extend” like an air shock.

The smaller lower chamber handles the top out, droop, compression ratio. This is why they are advertised as not “needing” limit straps. Again, it’s a good idea to have them as insurance if you lose an o-ring, and you lose lower chamber psi. However when I have seen ORI’s lose an oring, typically the chambers mix go to equal psi.

Most Air shocks have coil springs inside the shock between the piston spacer and the bottom cap to slow down the shock at full extension. Similar to a big valve spring. This just cushions the top out load.

Limit straps are cheap enough to run as insurance to prevent driveshaft problems and to protect the expensive shocks from damage if anything goes wrong.

Personally I like having separate bump stops as i can tune the final range of compression with the bumps.

* when you apply this to trailing arms, both bumps and limit straps are required when the shock/spring of any type is no longer mounted axle to chassis. You need the bumps over the axle to absorb the load directly, not somewhere down the link at a mechanical disadvantage.
 
Mac5005 said:
My thoughts on bump stops and limit straps.

Air shocks and ORI’s use the compression ratio inside the shock to act as a hydraulic bump stop.

The displacement of the shaft volume going into the sealed cylinder increases the pressure inside the shock to prevent bottom out.

As n2 is compressible but the oil is not, the more oil that’s in the shock, the more progressive the shock acts as a bump stop.
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This is not totally true for an ORI. There is an internal hydraulic bump in the strut.

ORI STX Struts Guide | Setup and Tuning


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It is a lot of force. I will eventually add bumps, but not to worried about it until then. Just lay-off the trophy trucking.
 
With all this shock discussion I feel we should talk about mounting, angles, and all that jazz. Would love to hear others methods of doing it. Pretty much all the stuff I've done was based off other builds and common sense of making it fit.
 
Outboard as far as possible for stability. Preferably vertical and perpendicular to the links to utilize all of the shock dampening.
 
87TPIYJ said:
Outboard as far as possible for stability. Preferably vertical and perpendicular to the links to utilize all of the shock dampening.
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It doesn’t exactly matter if your shocks are vertical or not(within reason). The angle just increases or decreases the spring, dampening, and rebound forces necessary to get the desired ride.
 
Mac5005 said:
Yep pretty cool tech, a lot goes on inside of an ORI for sure.

My overall point before with ori/bumps, is that all that load is still only going thru 2 -1/2” bolts.
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I definitely don’t think it’s mandatory. More of just check your bolts from time to time for bending/wear.

If you see issues that point towards abuse on them, get some bumps added.
 
The shocks perpendicular to the links at full bump.

Put them where they fit.

If you have tons of angle, you don’t want much free bleed.

I like the shocks mounted as high as possible within reason. Not so high that they move a ton laterally during articulation and get into clearance issues.

Ideally so the cog is below the upper shock mounts. Makes a much better feeling in the seat when doing silly stuff off camber.
 
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