Skyjacker n8088 Shocks??

[jeep0517]

How are Skyjacker n8088 shocks for the rear shocks after a 2.5" lift? And what is wrong with Rocky Road Outfitters OTT Lift, i keep hearing bad things with no explanation.....

 

[Eddo]

Stay away from the OTT lift unless you don't plan on 4-wheeling at all. They use and over the top strut spacer to create the whole lift. The springs are not stiff enough and since you lowered the mounting point of the strut you will end up bottoming out your struts and that will ruin them pretty fast. The springs just compress too far and you bottom out the strut before you hit the upper bump stop. Also, the a-arms will droop too much because the strut is what limits it's down travel. The mounting point for the strut has been pushed down with the strut spacer. This will result in the upper ball joint contacting the spring eventually ruining the upper ball joint.

RRO knows about these problems and has been contact by probably 15-20 people who installed it and experienced these problems. Everytime they just refuse to admit it is a problem. I cant believe they still actually sell this lift with all its known problems.

You will need longer shocks after a lift. I recommend the Rancho RSX17004, they are the perfect lenght for a lift KJ and what most people seem to run.

 

[Se7enLC]

How are Skyjacker n8088 shocks for the rear shocks after a 2.5" lift? And what is wrong with Rocky Road Outfitters OTT Lift, i keep hearing bad things with no explanation.....

Not sure what the deal is with that lift, but if you want to see a whole thread of people giving their opinions on what lift to get, check out this thread I started on LOST awhile back

http://www.lostkjs.com/forum/phpBB2/viewtopic.php?t=1915

 

[jeep0517]

Bumb Stops

Stay away from the OTT lift unless you don't plan on 4-wheeling at all. They use and over the top strut spacer to create the whole lift. The springs are not stiff enough and since you lowered the mounting point of the strut you will end up bottoming out your struts and that will ruin them pretty fast. The springs just compress too far and you bottom out the strut before you hit the upper bump stop. Also, the a-arms will droop too much because the strut is what limits it's down travel. The mounting point for the strut has been pushed down with the strut spacer. This will result in the upper ball joint contacting the spring eventually ruining the upper ball joint.

RRO knows about these problems and has been contact by probably 15-20 people who installed it and experienced these problems. Everytime they just refuse to admit it is a problem. I cant believe they still actually sell this lift with all its known problems.

You will need longer shocks after a lift. I recommend the Rancho RSX17004, they are the perfect lenght for a lift KJ and what most people seem to run.

I understand what you are saying about the bottoming out part. Due to the fact that the bumbstops are not in the strut themselves but the question that i have is how and when does the upper ball joint rub the strut. If it is only when fully extended or fully tucked in the wheel well. I would like to make mention that when doing a spacer that goes inbetween the the spring and the upper strut mount you increase the spring rate, i dont no how much but that was the reason i went away from that kind of lift. If you could

 

[Eddo]

Re: Bumb Stops

Stay away from the OTT lift unless you don't plan on 4-wheeling at all. They use and over the top strut spacer to create the whole lift. The springs are not stiff enough and since you lowered the mounting point of the strut you will end up bottoming out your struts and that will ruin them pretty fast. The springs just compress too far and you bottom out the strut before you hit the upper bump stop. Also, the a-arms will droop too much because the strut is what limits it's down travel. The mounting point for the strut has been pushed down with the strut spacer. This will result in the upper ball joint contacting the spring eventually ruining the upper ball joint.

RRO knows about these problems and has been contact by probably 15-20 people who installed it and experienced these problems. Everytime they just refuse to admit it is a problem. I cant believe they still actually sell this lift with all its known problems.

You will need longer shocks after a lift. I recommend the Rancho RSX17004, they are the perfect lenght for a lift KJ and what most people seem to run.

The upper ball joint runs into the spring. Basically the whole wheel will drop or droop until it is stopped by something. Normally the strut is what stops it. Now that you have effectively increased that length of the strut assembly the whole wheel with the a-arms will droop further. The strut no longer limits the droop because you have pushed the strut down further with the over the top spacer. Thus the upper control arm runs into the spring because the wheel has moved so far down. It just happens that usually the upper ball joint is what contacts the spring. Go underneath your jeep and look at the upper a-arm. Now imaging the wheel dropping and the arm coming down with it. You will see that the upper control arm will hit the spring eventually.

As far as in the strut spacer, they DO NOT increase the spring rate. They increase the spring pre-load or pre-tension. Similar concepts and can have some similar perceived effects, but yet different. Yes it can make the ride seem harsher.

However, the preload on the stock assembly is very low. So what has been done is what RRO calls the combo lift. A little bit of a spacer for some lift but not enough to increase the pre-load too much. Then an over-the-top spacer for a little more lift but not enough to run into upper ball joint contact problems. Combo lift is a very good lift and works well for allot of people on a budget.

Best way is just to go with some longer springs, however that can be more pricey. BTW, longer springs also increase the pre-tension so sometimes you need a longer strut or a top-plate that increases the fully extended length of the strut assembly, thus reliving some pretension but not too much or you run into upper ball joint contact problems and bottoming out struts. The Frankenlift by boulderbars.com really incorporates the what I mentioned above and works very well.

 

[Eddo]

Just one quick note. It seems complicated but isn't really. Just one of those things once you see what is going on it makes perfect sence. Really need to see for yourself to understand.