Shock Tech

4runner DOA

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Looking into tuning and debating doing it myself now that I have a coil compressor or having a shop do the first one. Stole this from elsewhere and wondering which one I should concentrate on if I'm gonna do it myself first.

My shocks are too soft in general for my weight. I bottom out like crazy front and rear. The rear bucks pretty badly so I'm not tuned front to rear. I know compression needs to go up to handle the weight, but should I be looking at the same for rebound?

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madtaco461

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I’d firm up both compression and leave your rebound the same. You typically want a pretty fast rebound (front slower than the rear)unless you are losing control. It might take a few tries.
 

AssBurns

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You should probably pull your shocks apart and get a micrometer to measure the shims you currently have as a baseline. From there figure out what you want out of it. You can either call and order a valve stack or you can order a bunch of shims and start getting creative with things. First time I did a revalve I just ordered a whole stack but it ended up not being what I needed. From there I started buying a bunch of shims in the range I needed and started making my own stacks. Be prepared to pull your shocks apart and revalve multiple times. Unless you are really good, you’ll have to learn by trial and error like the rest of us.
You’ll also need a nitrogen tank as well. Get some soft jaws for your vice while you are at it. And a bunch of rags and some oil absorbing kitty litter stuff. You’ll make a mess, be ready to clean it.
 

4runner DOA

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You should probably pull your shocks apart and get a micrometer to measure the shims you currently have as a baseline. From there figure out what you want out of it. You can either call and order a valve stack or you can order a bunch of shims and start getting creative with things. First time I did a revalve I just ordered a whole stack but it ended up not being what I needed. From there I started buying a bunch of shims in the range I needed and started making my own stacks. Be prepared to pull your shocks apart and revalve multiple times. Unless you are really good, you’ll have to learn by trial and error like the rest of us.
You’ll also need a nitrogen tank as well. Get some soft jaws for your vice while you are at it. And a bunch of rags and some oil absorbing kitty litter stuff. You’ll make a mess, be ready to clean it.

Good call on the oil absorbing material. Also knew I'd need a nitrogen tank. Unfortunately you and @Airdog are too far to make use of yours regularly haha. Sounds like the money I'd currently save doing it myself is going to get spent on other things but long term I think it'll be worth figuring it out myself. I know it's going to be trial and error but each trip out this summer should give me a better idea which gets me closer to being set up for next desert season.
 

AssBurns

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Good call on the oil absorbing material. Also knew I'd need a nitrogen tank. Unfortunately you and @Airdog are too far to make use of yours regularly haha. Sounds like the money I'd currently save doing it myself is going to get spent on other things but long term I think it'll be worth figuring it out myself. I know it's going to be trial and error but each trip out this summer should give me a better idea which gets me closer to being set up for next desert season.
Yeah the cost of entry into DIY shock tuning is more than the cost of paying someone else to do it one time, however it's one of those things where the first time will pay for itself and the knowledge gained is worth a ton in the long run. Still not quite as good as paying a professional shock tuner, but its always good to learn and have the tools to DIY.
 

Stairgod

Two bad decisions away from buying a bulldozer
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Good call on the oil absorbing material. Also knew I'd need a nitrogen tank. Unfortunately you and @Airdog are too far to make use of yours regularly haha. Sounds like the money I'd currently save doing it myself is going to get spent on other things but long term I think it'll be worth figuring it out myself. I know it's going to be trial and error but each trip out this summer should give me a better idea which gets me closer to being set up for next desert season.
If you have a welder, or have a buddy who welds, you can use 100% argon instead of nitrogen. It's not that much more expensive for the argon vs nitrogen
 

4runner DOA

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If you have a welder, or have a buddy who welds, you can use 100% argon instead of nitrogen. It's not that much more expensive for the argon vs nitrogen

No welder, plenty of these guys that do, but I don't mind spending the money to have all my own gear. Maybe I'll offer coil swaps and rebuilds locally if I get good at it, recoup some of the overhead.
 
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I've been slowly but surely learning and stacking up tools to do shock rebuilds and tuning. It's really not that bad of a cost for all the stuff if you have a tank of noble gas already as stair noted and when comparing to sending 4 shocks out to rebuild. Especially here on the east coast where and extra $1-200 applies for shipping. That's why i want to get into doing it here. Tons of trucks and suvs starting to get big shocks but little to nobody out here does rebuilds and tuning, at least not even close to the level of the guys out west that do it for a living. The knowledge and experience is where the high costs come from. Seems like most of the experienced guys keep that info close
 

4runner DOA

Hold my beer
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I've been slowly but surely learning and stacking up tools to do shock rebuilds and tuning. It's really not that bad of a cost for all the stuff if you have a tank of noble gas already as stair noted and when comparing to sending 4 shocks out to rebuild. Especially here on the east coast where and extra $1-200 applies for shipping. That's why i want to get into doing it here. Tons of trucks and suvs starting to get big shocks but little to nobody out here does rebuilds and tuning, at least not even close to the level of the guys out west that do it for a living. The knowledge and experience is where the high costs come from. Seems like most of the experienced guys keep that info close

I figure I'll try to capitalize on the overlander movement. Most of them don't realize what a revalve can do. I'm thinking 100-200 for a tune with a free retune if it doesn't do what they expected. First I have to experiment on my friends though. :peep:
 

Itaro

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I figure I'll try to capitalize on the overlander movement. Most of them don't realize what a revalve can do. I'm thinking 100-200 for a tune with a free retune if it doesn't do what they expected. First I have to experiment on my friends though. :peep:
Guess I’m guinea pig #2
 

Airdog

Did Your Mom
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Guess I’m guinea pig #2
I figure I'll try to capitalize on the overlander movement. Most of them don't realize what a revalve can do. I'm thinking 100-200 for a tune with a free retune if it doesn't do what they expected. First I have to experiment on my friends though. :peep:
Talk a big game....but we all know who you gonna fall back on for help.
 

Arcticelf

Head BFH Operator at Gray Man Fab
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Looking into tuning and debating doing it myself now that I have a coil compressor or having a shop do the first one. Stole this from elsewhere and wondering which one I should concentrate on if I'm gonna do it myself first.

My shocks are too soft in general for my weight. I bottom out like crazy front and rear. The rear bucks pretty badly so I'm not tuned front to rear. I know compression needs to go up to handle the weight, but should I be looking at the same for rebound?

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All of these are missing flutter shims on compression. You want to add a .08 shim between 2-3 and again between 4-5 (based on the current 6 shim stack numbering).
 
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