front shock set up

[Polarcub]

Yes I am running off the front of the beam but I have a mount to run a 10" upfront. Going to the autofab bucket doesn not mean you have to have adjusters, I dont they are an option. WRT the street ride in my set up is fine a little on the firm side but tolerable. I fI was too worried about the street ride i would consider changing my valving. The bronco is not a daily driver it is primarily a toy. It gets us out to the desert or wherever and allows me to play and get home. For the amount of money spent though the quad bilsteins are tough to beat. I never ran out of shock (temp etc) up front when I was running that set up. While I am happy with the autofab set up if I were to do it all again ( I got mine used) I would go straight to coil overs for a few reasons. One its a cleaner setup less stuff in the way, to greater adjustability, and where I am at today I want to go coilover. With that said the autofab buckets work great. I have a few issues that stem from mixing and matching things.
Bottom line if your using your bronco for a weekend do everything vehicle the cost and simplicity of the quad shock set up is tough to beat. You really need to be playing with the bronco at the next level (dedicated pre runner) to warrant the expense of going to a custom hoop (autofab) setup.
As I said I dont regret going the route i did as it works really well but all things being equal I would have spent less int he end with going straight to coilovers up front. I still may have my buckets up for sale later in the year if I can figure out how to pay for the coilovers. For the price of 4 Bilsteins though you will get yourself a whole lot of fun while you decide how far you want to go. IRC a set of 4 5100s is about 300? The cost of a used coil bucket shock hoop 400-800 plus the shocks then working on the valving etc. I will try to get pics later over the weekend for you right now I am wore out lol.

[monkei]

What kind of travel do you get with that setup?

Already have the Autofab style buckets (just coil buckets), need to get an upper coil retainer or adjuster and either run a hoop for a shock or have something welded to one of the sides of the coil bucket for a shock mount. I could stop where I'm at and sell of those aftermarket coil buckets and just use the set of OE dual shock/coil towers I have sittin' in the pile o' parts with 4-6" lift 5100s. My rig will be more of a daily driver, but I thought I would be able to get far better travel with a longer shock mounted higher up than stock. I just want to use all droop that the front driveshaft and u-joints will allow with extended rad. arms and c&t beams.

I probably won't get around to adjusting shock valving or ride height too much, just looking for something that'll droop well and hold up to *some* abuse, but nothing like real prerunning or chasing. I just don't envision spending coilover money or serious fab money for a while, so I thought I might be able to slowly pick up pieces to do some kind of budget longtravel front.

[Polarcub]

I am getting about 16" of travel. If you already have the buckets then its worth it. For someone without the buckets already and isnt planning on playing hard then its a lot of money when compared t the quad shock set up. You will be able to get much better travel with the longer shock. Depending on the shock 12-14" stroke is the norm to get 16"

[monkei]

Fox,Bilstein,King, and sway away all have good shocks (though sway aways have had some quality issues) if you run a shock off the front of the beam most 14s

The sway aways are the cheapest/more entry level? Will they hold up in street use? I assume you made a custom lower mount on the front of the beam for more strength?

[Polarcub]

Sway aways will do fine many race on them They are not considered an entry level shock per say. They have been known to have some quality issues though Not as good as they used to be so to speak. That is the shock that the autofab buckets/hoop are generally built around base don their lengths (collapsed/extended). You will most likely have to use a custom mount on the front of the beam I did it was not a strength issue. The factory mount IMO would be plenty strong for 99% of the people out there. It just depends if it works for your application. You will/should cycle the front to determine where the mounts need to be to get the best use of your shock.

[hobbyturnedobsession]

since talking with you all ive got one more question before i dive into shocks. kartek is havin a sale on their 2.25 x 14" shocks for 191.99 a piece. also the 12" would this be good enough? two 14"s with a hoop and 2 12" in the rear with a shock support up near the floor?

[philofab]

The sway aways are the cheapest/more entry level? Will they hold up in street use? I assume you made a custom lower mount on the front of the beam for more strength?

My Swayaways have a ton of miles on them, both street (10K plus this year) and race course (2K plus). The quality on a Swayaway is fine, it's support where they lack. The King race series and Bilstein 9100 are a little tighter on machine tolerance but 95% of people will never know the difference. Swayaways are equivalent to the King prerun series. Both King and Bilstein have much better support. Bilstein is best when it comes to little guys like us... King spends more time/resources to support racers and the bigger guys.

[SteveG]

since talking with you all ive got one more question before i dive into shocks. kartek is havin a sale on their 2.25 x 14" shocks for 191.99 a piece. also the 12" would this be good enough? two 14"s with a hoop and 2 12" in the rear with a shock support up near the floor?

That would work fine. What brand are they?

[hobbyturnedobsession]

sway-aways

[monkei]

Any reason not to use these for shock mounts with my fabbed buckets?

[Nick]

Any reason not to use these for shock mounts with my fabbed buckets?

I don't see why not. I think that is a great budget mod!

[SteveG]

You might be able to cut them to the height you need and weld them to the top of the coil-buckets facing to the rear of the vehicle. Then add some reinforcements the the backs of the mounts to keep them flexing.

[shockseals.com]

Swayaways are equivalent to the King prerun series.

I disagree with that thoroughly.

[philofab]

I disagree with that thoroughly.

Please educate me. I don't see any real differences.

[towerace1]

I agree Sway away's are great shocks, like philo said service is lacking but really pick a color.. They are all good shocks in my opinion..

[shockseals.com]

I disagree with that thoroughly.

Please educate me. I don't see any real differences.

Rod seal height, oring choice, wiper choice, machining tolerances, fit and finish, hose adapters on SAWs if not piggybacked but resi out the bottom, lacking of knowledgable staff, and I can go on.

Sway Away does use better oil than most other mfg's though if they are still using torco synthetic but thats a moot point since its not necessary on probably 99.5% of SAWs sold.

[baja-chris]

Despite all that, there are plenty of SAW Racerunner shocks out there working fine, not leaking and with happy customers. Mostly non-racing applications. For non-racers, the SAW shocks are good enough for many guys especially if price is a priority. I would not want them though. There is a difference in the design and quality and its reflected in the price. And there are guys racing on them that are happy also (maybe happy to have free shocks...)

[shockseals.com]

Despite all that, there are plenty of SAW Racerunner shocks out there working fine, not leaking and with happy customers. Mostly non-racing applications. For non-racers, the SAW shocks are good enough for many guys especially if price is a priority. I would not want them though. There is a difference in the design and quality and its reflected in the price. And there are guys racing on them that are happy also (maybe happy to have free shocks...)

agree 100%

On top of that a knowledgible tuner can make them all work good.

PS..I recommend and prefer Fox above all. Simple design, good materials, and great prices up front and on service items.